Touched (9 page)

They had lost Craig somewhere on route to here. No one seemed to know where or how.

Meanwhile Hannah and Grieg had argued about something at some point in between leaving the last bar and arriving at the Indian and, even through his alcoholic glow, Dan could feel the frost his colleague was giving off.

On Dan’s right was Jenny. She had reached a stage of drunkenness that was rambling, slurring and very, very friendly.

‘You’re a really lovely guy, you know that Dan, really lovely,’ she said running her hand up and down his thigh under the table, so high up indeed that his knee jerked and made the plates jump off the tablecloth. ‘You know I think you’re really, really so lovely. Han…HAN!’

She banged her other hand on the table to get Hannah’s attention.

‘Dan’s a lovely guy isn’t he?’ She was more demanding an agreement rather than asking a question.

‘Yes, Jen, he’s gorgeous,’ said Hannah giving Dan a slightly sympathetic smile.

Jenny banged the table more angrily, making a knife jump onto the floor. ‘Wha’ you say that for? You keep your eyes off him!’ she pointed a finger threateningly at her friend who raised her hands in mock surrender.

‘Take him, he’s yours. I’ve got my own pain in the ass to deal with, thanks.’ She said.

‘Good, you remember that,’ said Jenny, burping loudly, ‘scuse me,’ she said, ‘he’s mine.’

‘Don’t I get a say in this?’ Dan protested.

‘No,’ said Jenny, ‘Hannah’s right, you need someone to make your mind up for you.’ She threw her arm around his neck and pulled him towards her lips. He found himself being kissed fiercely amidst the cheers of Martin and Steve. Jenny broke off for air, smiled, then said loudly, ‘I really need shagging now,’ before closing her eyes and sliding surprisingly gracefully under the table.

‘Oh dear, poor Jen,’ sighed Hannah, ‘She has this funny thing with drink. One below her limit and she’s fine and sweet, one over she’s briefly a slut and then it’s over and out. We’d better get our bill and get her home. Won’t we Greg?’ she added in a tone that brooked no argument.

Ten minutes later they were out in the street. Jenny, propped up between Greg and Hannah was looking extremely white. They said their goodbyes, Dan easily resisting Martin and Boris’s urging to go onto a club.

The cool of the night air cleared Dan’s head a little, so much so that he decided not to take a taxi but to walk back to his flat instead. It was a nice night and it would only take him about 40 minutes. He could definitely do with the exercise.

He had been going perhaps ten of those minutes when he began to feel uneasy. He noticed a prickly feeling on the back of his neck. He became certain that there was someone following him. Involuntarily he found himself checking his wallet even though he remembered being told that this was something that you shouldn’t do; it showed any mugger that you had cash and just where it was. Well, he thought, the damage was done now, what he had to do was find a way of minimising the damage. He tried to think, was there anyone around? Yes, there were some people waiting at a taxi rank on the far side of the street, a little way ahead. They were certainly within shouting distance. That gave him a little more security so he risked turning round and looking back over his shoulder.

There
was
somebody there.

It was Tess.

‘Are you stalking me?’ he said, surprising himself with his directness but knowing that the beer he had had was doing most of the talking.

‘Maybe,’ she said, stopping short a few steps away from him. ‘OK, yes I guess I am following you. Actually I saw you in town and, well, I thought I at least owed you an explanation.’

‘OK,’ said Dan somewhat warily. 'I think you do as well. Why do you keep running off?'

‘I felt really bad leaving you like that again.’

‘Again, yes, and you're not the only one who feels bad.’

Tess looked crestfallen.

‘Oh you sound angry, I knew you would be. Please, give me a chance. It’s just, well, I get so upset because...because... it's when I can’t remember things.’ She looked appealingly at him, then walked right up to him. ’Please, it's hard to explain, you'll think I'm crazy if I do. But...can we start over?’

Could they? He tried to think. Well, what did he have to lose?

‘It
is
nice to see you,’ he admitted, trying to keep her in focus. She seemed to be moving. He realised that he was swaying, that the beer was now winning the fight against the cool night air. ‘Of course we can start again. Just please don’t keep disappearing on me!’

‘Thanks,’ she smiled, and her smile seemed to play music in his ears, ‘I’m not sure I deserve it but thanks anyway. Are you heading home?’

‘Yes. Yes that’s what I’m doing, heading home.’ He turned and started walking again, ‘I’m a bit pissed I’m afraid.’

‘You don’t say!’ she said, walking alongside him and laughing. Dan joined in.

‘You going to come home with me?’

She stopped walking. Dan stopped too and tried to focus on her face. She looked shocked.

‘Why Mr Jackson, that’s a bit forward! What type of girl do you think I am?’

‘Oh…no…sorry…I didn’t mean…’ he began, then
realised she was laughing.

‘Come on you, let’s go,’ she said, ‘You really are sweet you know.’

‘You’re the second girl to say something like that to me tonight,’ he said stumbling on.

‘Well we’re both good judges of character then.’

‘She was pissed too though.’

‘I’m not pissed.’

They walked together side by side. Dan wanted to put his arm around Tess but wasn’t sure that he should. He was also meandering slightly, much to Tess’s amusement and was a bit worried that he would bring her down with him.

‘Are you going to vanish on me again?’ he asked again.

‘Dunno. Maybe,’ she replied, ‘Isn’t that part of my mystery?’

‘Yes. Prefer you to stay though?’

‘Why?’

‘I’d like to get to know you.’

‘Why?’

‘Just because.’

‘You are good at arguing aren’t you?’

‘You may have noticed that I’m not at my best at the moment.’

‘I have,’ she said, ‘and at my flat your excuse was…?’

Dan found this stupidly funny and, once he had started giggling he couldn’t stop himself.

‘Why do you bother with me then?’ he managed to gasp at last. 'If I'm so bad?'

‘Oh just because,’ she said airily.

‘Hey that’s not fair! That’s my argument! And if it wasn’t good for me…’

‘…it’s perfect for me,’ she finished for him, grinning, ‘under my rules anyhow.’

Dan was quiet for a few moments.

‘Do I get to see these rules?’ he said at last.

‘Don’t be silly.’

Dan shook his head slowly. They walked on in silence, occasionally exchanging the odd amused glance.

‘This is me,’ he said at last nodding in the direction of his flat.

Dan lived in a new but typically nondescript block built, like so many others to meet the demand from buy-to-let investors during the last property boom. Dan rented it and found it comfortable and practical if a bit soulless.

It was, at least, a huge step up from his London digs.

‘OK,’ she said quietly, shyly even, the confidence seemingly gone. He wondered if he should be asking her in but in the end decided to just to walk up to the front door and open it and use that as the invitation. To his relief she meekly accepted his unspoken invitation.

In the hall he said: ‘Second floor, I’m afraid, and there’s no lift.’

‘Lead on,’ she said. Again he was struck how the certainty had gone out of her voice. Was she scared of him? If so why not just walk away? Dan just couldn’t work her out. Then another problem occupied his mind.

This was down to the stairs. The stairs and the alcohol. The first flight of stairs he took confidently but, by the second, the stairwell had started to swirl. At his door he was fighting back waves of nausea.

‘You OK?’ she asked.

‘Sorry, yes, just about,’ he said trying to concentrate, ‘OK, actually I'm not. Not really. Sorry,’ he said again.

‘We seem to do a lot of
apologising to each other, don’t we?’

‘Yeah,’ said Dan, searching his suit pockets for his keys. For a nasty moment he thought he had lost them but found them in his inside jacket pocket. He got them into his lock at the third attempt, opened the door, reached in and turned the light on, then let Tess in first.

‘This is it,’ he said when they were in the lounge, ‘It's not fantastic I’m afraid,’ he added.

It was not false modesty. There was very little in the flat that was his. It had come furnished, that was one of the attractions to him. It saved him from having to buy stuff. The furnishing was OK, a pair of newish two-seater sofas, a nest of chunky wooden tables, a small dining table with four chairs. It was all a bit stark though, bland with its beige carpet and white walls and ceiling. The only things that Dan had added were some framed prints; his own
favourite photographs that he had had printed in A3 and A4 sizes on good quality art paper and professionally framed. It had been an expensive luxury that had almost physically pained him when he had got the bill but they did help to brighten the place up a little and gave him an element of ownership. Tess wandered around looking at them.

Dan would have liked to concentrate on her but his head was really swimming now.

‘I should be a good host, make you a coffee,’ he mumbled.

She turned towards him, a frown on her face.

‘Dan, just sit down before you fall down,’ she said.

He was going to protest but then common sense kicked in. She was right.

‘Just for a while then,’ he said, slumping into one of the sofas. The room spun, waves of nausea rolled over him. In sitting he also realised how tired he was. He hadn’t had much sleep lately.

Tess walked around the lounge looking at the photographs.

‘These are really lovely,’ she said. ‘Yours I take it?’

‘Yes.’

'They're beautiful. You really do have a talent.'

'No I don't. Not really. They're just snaps.'

‘Don't be silly. They're really good. Where’s this one?’

He tried to work out which one she was looking at. It wasn’t easy as the walls of the flat seemed to be shifting. At last though he focused on her and worked out where she was standing and which photograph she was looking at.

‘Moscow. I was there last year with work.’

‘The light’s amazing,’ she said, walking onto the next one. ‘Wow,’ was all she said. Dan had closed his eyes now to stop the room from spinning but he knew which one that would be which had caused that reaction. It was one of his own personal
favourites.

‘That’s a sunset just north of Oban. West coast of Scotland. My
favourite place on Earth,’ he murmured almost to himself.

‘It’s stunning,’ she said, ‘When did you take it?’

There was no reply. Dan knew he was drifting into sleep, he fought it but he couldn’t stop himself. Vaguely he heard her footsteps as she walked over to him and in his dreams he was sure he heard someone softly say, ‘Your turn to leave me this time, Mr Jackson.’

He couldn’t be sure but he thought something cold brushed his lips.

Then it was gone.

Saturday morning, 3 am

Dan woke up stiff and cold and with a full bladder. He was still on the settee, fully clothed and the lights were still on.

Having quietly limped his way to the toilet he came back into the kitchen and drank a large glass of water from the tap. He had a raging thirst and a thumping head and decided that water would really help so ran a second one too which he sipped more slowly. Turning off the kitchen and lounge lights he padded into the hall. The light here was on too.

His bedroom door was ajar, the room in darkness. Cautiously he pushed the door open.

The bed was empty.

He stood in the hall for a full minute before he switched the bedroom light on and the one in the hall off. He took his suit and shirt off and tossed them uncaring onto a chair then got into bed.

Although he still felt very rough he had an empty, lonely feeling. The hope that Tess might have been there had been dashed. The old demons came back, keeping him awake though for only a few minutes until his tiredness took over again.

He had a dream. In it Tess came into the room and sat quietly on the end of the bed. He wanted her to get in with him, to feel the warmth of her body against his but it seemed his imagination wouldn't let that happen.

It was a shame. It seemed so real.

Chapter Seven

Saturday Morning

Dan woke with at start at around 8am. He had jumped out of the bed and was in a panic that he was going to be late for work until he remembered that it was Saturday. He tried getting back into bed, tried to find sleep again but annoyingly it wouldn’t come, his mind filled with thoughts of Tess. Within half an hour he had given up. Throwing the duvet off he got out of bed.