Chapter Twenty-Eight- The Party’s End

“You know what I hate about you…?”

I turned my head to look along the bar, “Sorry?”

The girl pouted at me pathetically, her pale green eyes looking glassy and heavy-lidded. I decided that she probably wouldn’t remember this exchange in the morning- no matter what she said. She tottered down the bar towards me in her heels, leaning on it for support as she wobbled dangerously. “You took him from me,” she announced, jabbing one finger pointedly into my chest. Wow, she needed to cut her nails. They felt like talons. “I was making progress…and you stole him.”

I recognised her now through her slurs. It was the girl who had been handing off Danny when he had asked me to the cinema on our first ‘date’. I was never sure whether to think of that as our first date before; since I didn’t know it was a date at the time… “I’m sorry,” I told her, trying to look and sound as genuine as possible.

She shook her head, “You had to come along and be…hot! I couldn’t have him…”

“I’m sorry,” I repeated, seriously fighting the urge to burst out laughing

“And so you should be,” she declared, gesturing so wildly that she stumbled into me. As my hands gripped her arms to steady her, she stared straight at me. “I hate you,” she said firmly. Then she was silent for a long moment before biting her lip and letting out a drunken giggle. “But you’re hot… If you weren’t a gay geek, I’d shag you right now.”

Pain. Physical pain. My stomach tensed up as I fought not to laugh in her face. “Thank you,” I said in what I hoped was a calm voice.

“What’s going on here?”

Her eyes brightened. “Danny!” she trilled, shaking me off and throwing her arms around his neck. She pressed herself right up against him in a way that I guessed was meant to look seductive rather than desperate. “You’d shag me, right?”

He flushed bright red,” Sammi…” He looked to me for support, but I just gave him a bright smile and a double thumbs up. This was too amusing to stop. And I didn’t any remorse when he glared at me.

She didn’t seem to notice our silent communication. “I wanted you long before he did…” she purred, as I nodded with mock sincerity behind her. “You know that. Then he got in the way. But it’s okay now… I’ve thought up a compromise…”

“Oh?” I asked with a smirk.

She nodded eagerly, “Yeah. I’ve reconsidered. And I think he’s hot.” More pain. “We can have a threesome!”

Oh, I was gone. Danny choked on air as I doubled over, unable to contain myself any more. “What?!”

“Sammi!” A girl hurried over, seizing the intoxicated girl by the arm and pulling her away from Danny. “What are you doing?! I am so sorry! Danny, Tom.” She nodded at both of us, then- with a bright red face- steered her friend away.

Now I’d started, I couldn’t stop laughing until I could barely breathe. “Oh, that’s classic!”

He pouted, “Shut up!”

“No. I’m sorry, but that was the funniest thing I’ve seen in ages…” I stepped up to him, and wound my arms around his waist, “You know, I pity her really.”

“Why?”

“Because she can’t do this.” I touched my lips to his fondly. “What were you and Dougie talking about?”

He tensed up under my touch, “What?”

“I saw you talking to Dougie before,” I told him with a frown. He’d done it right on the dance floor- it wasn’t like he’d tried to conceal his communication with my ex. “You don’t have to tell me what about if you don’t want to…”

“No,” he told me with a smile. “It’s just… You know that we haven’t been getting along?”

I grinned, “It might have occurred to me, yeah.”

He nodded curtly, putting his hands on my hips to draw me nearer to him, “Well, I thought that I should try to smooth it over. I mean, we seem to be hanging out with Dougie and Harry a lot, and it would be better for all concerned if we…got along a bit more.”

“Aw… Aren’t you civil…?” I purred.

He smiled, but his eyes didn’t quite pick up on the emotion they were meant to convey. “Yeah… But I don’t think he took me seriously. He just…laughed at me.”

I moved my hands up to play with his hair, “Don’t mind him. Dougie takes very few things seriously… But thank you so much for trying.” I kissed him again softly, “It means a lot to me.”

*****

“Dougie?” I asked timidly as I piled up bowls later that night. Everyone else had left, and it was just us doing the tidying up.

“Ja?” he asked easily, stuffing streamers into a black bin-liner.

“Why aren’t you trying to get along with Danny?”

He paused in his action, “Was?” He was still in German mode, but I ignored that for now.

“Why aren’t you trying to get along with Danny?” I repeated, determined to get an answer now that I had dared to ask the question “He’s trying.”

His snort was derisive; his voice was dry. “Oh, is he now?”

I sighed, “Dougie, I’m not asking for you to be best mates or anything. I just want-”

He dropped the bin-bag, “Look, Tom, I can deal with you dating. It’s only fair, since I am as well. But don’t ask me to be chummy with your new bloke, because I won’t do it.”

“And why not?!” I demanded.

He made a noise of frustration in the back of his throat. “I’m not having this argument with you,” he muttered, striding across the room. He pulled open the door of the cupboard he had pointed out to me earlier.

“What are you doing?”

“I’ll come out once you drop it,” he said, before shutting himself inside with a decisive snap of the door.

I groaned, moving over to the door and pounding on it. “Dougie? Dougie?!” I banged even harder, trying to drive him out with the noise. “Don’t be so bloody immature! Problems don’t go away if you shut yourself in a cupboard!”

“Go away!” I heard him shout from the other side of the door, though his voice was muffled by the wood.

But I was not to be deterred. “No, I won’t, Dougie!” You’re being totally unreasonable! I’m just asking you for one tiny favour and you’re acting like I’ve asked you to kill your mother! What the hell is wrong with you?!”

I went to pound on the door once more, but the wood swung back beneath my hand and I stumbled forward. He grabbed hold of me, pulled me into the cupboard, and pulled my lips onto his.