Some Girls Do (28 page)

‘Yeah. Bridget Jones would be more of a laugh. Or Elizabeth Bennet.’

‘Or anyone, really.’ Claire laughed.

Friday had been a beautiful day, and when she arrived at Luca’s place that evening, the front door was open and a couple of girls were sitting out on the steps, enjoying the last of the evening sunshine. Claire was in high spirits as she went in and raced up the stairs to Luca’s door. It was Friday night, the start of the weekend, and she was not in work the following day. She was in a celebratory mood. Her mother was coming home on Sunday, and she wanted to make the most of every second of the last weekend she could spend almost entirely with Luca. She had bought cava and smoked salmon, crispy bread and lots of deli luxuries for an indulgent picnic-style dinner. She had been thinking maybe they could eat it in bed, grazing leisurely between vigorous bouts of sex.

‘Claire, hi!’ Luca opened the door and she swept past him
into the living room. ‘I was trying to call you. You didn’t get my text?’

‘Oh! No, I mustn’t have heard it when I was out in the traffic,’ she said, fishing her mobile out of her bag. Sure enough, there was a missed call from Luca and a text alert.

‘It’s just this friend of mine is playing at The Grand Social with her band tonight, and I said I’d go. I’m sorry. I’d completely forgotten about it until she texted me about an hour ago. She gave me the tickets way back.’

‘Oh. Okay,’ Claire said, trying to school her features and not look too disappointed. After all, Luca had been spending all his free time with her. It was only fair that he should have a night off. It wasn’t his fault she’d built tonight up in her head and had been so looking forward to it. She just wished she’d seen his message and saved herself the trouble of coming over.

‘So we don’t have time for dinner,’ he said, eyeing her shopping bags. ‘Sorry.’

‘That’s fine,’ she said, desperately trying to affect nonchalance.

‘You don’t mind?’ He gazed at her anxiously.

‘No, of course not. You go – we’ll still have tomorrow. That’s if you’re free.’ It was ridiculous how deflated she felt. She would have to rein that in. He wasn’t her boyfriend – he didn’t owe her anything. It was probably a good thing this had happened – it was a timely reminder of what their relationship really was. He had been very generous with his time and she had let herself get carried away, expecting him to be available to her whenever she liked. But he had his own life. ‘Just let me stash this food in the fridge and I’ll go.’

‘Oh, no.’ He frowned. ‘I want you to come with me.’

‘You do?’ She couldn’t help the goofy grin that spread across her face.

‘Yeah – I mean, if you’d like to. If you’d rather not … I know it’s not really your scene but—’

‘No, I’d love to.’ She was excited anew at the prospect of going out with Luca – and it was ages since she’d been to a gig. It would be fun.

‘They’re really good, the band,’ he said. ‘I’d say you’ll enjoy it. And we can use it as one of your lessons too – kill two birds with one stone.’

‘How?’

‘Doing it in public.’ He grinned. ‘It’s in your blog, remember? Your alter ego is quite the exhibitionist. That time you gave Mr Bossy a blowjob in a crowded restaurant was seriously hot! Or the time you had sex at the football match. I had to run to the bathroom with that one.’

She laughed. ‘I wish I’d seen your text earlier, though. I’m not exactly dressed for a gig,’ she said, holding her arms out. She was still in the fitted white shirt, denim skirt and flat pumps she had worn to work.

‘You look great. And you’re wearing a skirt – that’s the important thing.’

‘Huh?’

‘If we’re going to be doing it in public, easy access is essential.’

‘Oh.’

Luca laughed. ‘Hey, don’t look so worried. It’ll be fun.’

‘I’m not sure I’m ready for doing it in public,’ she said nervously, though she did feel a thrill of anticipation.

‘You know you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, don’t you?’ He grabbed her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers, and looked at her so sternly that Claire knew he wanted an answer.

‘Yes, absolutely. But I’d like to try.’ She couldn’t deny the idea excited her.

‘Okay. But if you want to call it off at any time—’

‘I’ll just tell you to fuck off.’

‘That’s my girl.’ Luca laughed. ‘Emma’s band is great. We’ll have a good time either way.’

The downstairs bar was heaving when they arrived, a Friday-night cocktail of heat, light and noise as the hipster crowd
laughed and roared over the crash of glass and a thumping bass soundtrack. Claire held on tightly to Luca’s hand as he pulled her through the throng to the upstairs venue. The room was packed and stuffy, a crush of bodies standing, drinks in hand, in front of a small stage where the band were setting up under a banner bearing the name The Legendary Fall. Luca seemed to know a lot of people and he was stopped several times by friends greeting him with hugs and claps on the back as they wove towards the bar. He was obviously very popular and everyone seemed happy to see him. There was a lot of ‘Where have you been hiding?’ and ‘Haven’t seen you in ages’ while eyes slid curiously in Claire’s direction. Luca didn’t let go of her hand, introducing her to everyone he met and exchanging a few words with them. She couldn’t help noticing the admiring, hungry looks he got from a lot of the girls, or the inquisitive, assessing way their eyes raked over her, blatantly checking her out. It gave her a shallow feeling of pride at being with him that she liked more than she should have.

They got a couple of beers, then took up position close to the stage, Luca standing behind Claire with his arms wrapped around her, occasionally bending to nuzzle her neck, for all the world like an adoring boyfriend who couldn’t keep his hands off her. Claire tried to relax, but she kept wondering if he was going to jump her right there in front of everyone. She half-expected to feel him pulling her skirt up from behind, and it put her on edge, even though she reminded herself that she could just tell him to stop.

When the band started playing, however, she forgot her nerves, forgot about her sex lesson and just enjoyed the music. There were six band members packed onto the tiny stage, three guys and three girls. The singer was a tall, striking girl with long, flaming red hair and a powerful voice, her clothes an eclectic cross between Goth and fairytale princess. Luca pointed out his friend, Emma, a gorgeous, raven-haired girl who swayed
sinuously around the stage as she played the violin, oozing sensuality. Claire was envious – she was so sexy and graceful. She wondered if she and Luca had ever been more than friends.

Claire loved the music, and she found herself having fun, dancing with the crowd, or swaying in Luca’s arms during the slower songs. She felt light and carefree and
young
. It was good to be out on Friday night with people her own age for a change. The room was alive with youthful vibrancy; the very air seemed charged with energy and possibility. She felt more herself than she had in a long time – or maybe like a new version of herself that she’d never been before. Whatever it was, she liked it.

‘Do you want another drink?’ Luca asked her, when the singer announced that they’d be taking a short break after the next song.

‘Yes, please.’

‘I’ll beat the rush to the bar,’ he said, releasing her as the intro played. ‘Won’t be long.’

On his way to the bar, Luca glanced back at Claire and stopped in his tracks, turning to watch her for a while as she moved to the music. She looked so happy and carefree – and hot. She had no idea how sexy she was – which made her even sexier. And he wasn’t the only one who saw it, he thought angrily, as he watched a guy beside her leering at her in a way that infuriated him. He was tempted to go back and tell him to take his eyes off her and get lost, but Claire wasn’t aware of the guy’s staring and it would only make her self-conscious if he drew attention to it. She was enjoying herself, and he didn’t want to spoil her fun, so he told himself not to come over all caveman and continued to the bar. He kept an eye on her, though, glancing over regularly as he waited impatiently to be served. When the band left the stage and the lights came up, he was annoyed to see the guy turn to Claire and start chatting her up, leaning in far closer than was necessary to talk into her ear. She was responding to him with a polite smile, but she was darting anxious glances towards the
bar. Luca knew she was looking for him and tried to catch her eye. She didn’t see him, but he caught the desperate plea for help on her face before her eyes slid away again.

Fuck off, arsehole
, he thought, grabbing the two bottles of beer off the counter as soon as he’d been served and pushing through the crowd. He hated guys like that. Couldn’t he see that she just wanted to be rid of him? He obviously wasn’t fluent in body language or else he was choosing to ignore hers because every time he leaned closer, she compensated by leaning away, until she was almost doing a limbo in the middle of the room. The guy glanced round as Luca approached with a scowl, trying to quell him. To his satisfaction it appeared to work, because the man said something to Claire, smiling regretfully before he quickly disappeared.

‘Hi.’ Claire smiled as he reached her, and he could see the relief in her face.

‘Was that guy bothering you?’ he asked, handing her a beer.

‘He was just being friendly, really.’

Luca rolled his eyes. ‘Yeah, right.’ He took a slug of his beer. ‘So, having fun?’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘The band’s great – I love their music. Thanks for bringing me.’

‘Thank you for coming.’ He put an arm around her and pulled her to him, planting a kiss on her mouth. ‘Sorry, I just have to go for a slash. Do you mind?’ he asked, handing her his beer to hold.

‘No, of course not.’

‘I won’t be long. Don’t talk to any strange men.’ He grinned, then zipped off towards the exit.

Claire turned back to the stage, doing her best to look aloof and unapproachable, while she willed the band to reappear or Luca to return. She didn’t want that guy to see her on her own and come back. Though she didn’t admit it to Luca, he’d been a bit of a creep and wouldn’t take no for an answer, even when she’d said she was waiting for her boyfriend who was just up at the bar.

‘So, you’re here with Luca?’

Claire turned to see a pretty blonde standing beside her. She had seemed vaguely familiar earlier when Luca had introduced her – Aisling – and now Claire recognised her as the girl who had been sitting in his lap the night they had first met.

‘Er … yeah.’

Aisling nodded, her expression openly assessing. ‘Welcome to the club,’ she said, with a sly smile, raising her cocktail glass in salute.

‘Sorry?’

Aisling grinned, and took a gulp of her drink, obviously enjoying Claire’s discomfort. ‘It’s not a very exclusive club,’ she said, ‘but congrats anyway on becoming our newest member.’ She clinked her glass against one of the bottles Claire was holding.

‘I have no idea what you’re talking about,’ Claire said stiffly, even though she knew damn well this was Aisling’s unsubtle way of telling her that she shouldn’t think she was anything special because she was with Luca.

‘Oh, I think you do,’ Aisling said. ‘Well, have fun – while it lasts.’ She drifted away, leaving Claire reeling.

‘Claire?’ A female voice behind her called her name and she turned to see Yvonne arm in arm with Ivan, both of them clutching bottles of beer.

‘It
is
you!’ Yvonne said.

‘Oh, my God! Yvonne! Hi!’ Claire’s eyes darted to the exit in panic, hoping now that Luca wouldn’t come back too soon.

Yvonne gave her a one-armed hug. ‘You remember Ivan?’

‘Yes. Hi, Ivan,’ she said, as he bent to kiss her cheek.

‘Lovely to meet you again, Claire.’

‘I’m surprised to see you here!’ Yvonne said. ‘I didn’t think this would be your kind of thing.’

‘Yeah, I, um … I came with a friend.’ She waved the two bottles of beer.

‘Are you enjoying the band?’ Ivan asked.

‘They’re good, aren’t they?’ Yvonne said. ‘Justine – the girl who plays the keyboards – is Ivan’s sister.’

‘Yeah, they’re great! I’m really enjoying it,’ Claire said, desperately hoping they would go before Luca came back. ‘This is a nice place. I’ve never been here before.’

‘So, who are you here with?’ Yvonne asked.

‘Oh, just …. just a friend.’ Claire was relieved when she saw the band coming back onstage out of the corner of her eye.

Yvonne’s eyes lit up. ‘Is it that guy we were talking about the other day?’ When Ivan turned away for a moment, she mouthed, ‘Fuck buddy,’ at Claire, her eyebrows raised.

Over Yvonne’s shoulder, Claire saw Luca making his way through the crowd towards them. She tried to signal to him with her eyes that he should stay away, but either he didn’t pick up on it or he chose to ignore her because he strode right up to her.

‘Oh, hi, Yvonne,’ he said casually. ‘Ivan.’

‘Luca!’ Yvonne exclaimed. ‘Wow, everyone’s here tonight. We just bumped into Claire – you remember Claire? – and now—’ She stopped abruptly as Luca slid an arm casually around Claire’s waist and pulled her into his side, while he took his beer from her. ‘Oh!’ She smiled as her eyes darted from one of them to the other. ‘
Oh
,’ she said, eyeballing Claire.

Claire was relieved when the light dimmed, hiding her blushes and taking Yvonne’s focus off her.

‘Our friends are over there,’ Ivan said, waving to the other side of the room. ‘We’d better go back and join them.’

‘We might see you later, yeah?’ Yvonne said, as the band started playing.

‘What was that about?’ Luca chuckled, pulling Claire in front of him and propping his head on her shoulder.

‘I’ll tell you later.’

As the gig drew to a close, Claire wondered if Luca had forgotten about her lesson. Not that she minded – she was having so much
fun. In fact, she was glad he seemed to have forgotten it so she could just relax and enjoy herself. When the applause faded and the lights came up, everyone milled around for a while, dazed and blinking in the harsh light, ears still ringing. Emma came over to them with the rest of the band, Yvonne and Ivan.