“Can’t you just admit this girl made youfeelsomething?” he says. “Not down there, inhere,” he adds, pressing a hand to his heart.
It takes a lot not to take the mickey out of him for being so soft. He’s such a bloody romantic, always has been (despite his own misfortunes in that department).
But I can’t lie to him anymore than I can lie to myself. I rub my neck, struggling to get the words out.
Alicedidmake me feel something. I can’t put my finger on what, but she lit something in me. Reminded me what it’s liketo laugh so hard it hurts, and that I should aspire to be joyful more often.
“Fine, I admit it,” I manage.
“I knew it!” He slaps my back so hard my fork goes flying. Emine doesn’t flinch, just picks it up and hands me a new one. There’s a knowing expression on her face when I look at her.
“Don’t you start,” I say. She puts her hands up and shakes her head, stifling a smirk.
“Now that you’ve told me that, as your best friend, there’s something you need to know about Alice.” Aiden fiddles with his water glass, his tone hesitant.
“Okay,” I say, dragging the word out.
“I was curious, so I looked up all the Alices who were at The Orion that night, and there were three.”
“Go on.”
“Only one of them fits the style you were describing. Did she say what she was doing there as a VVIP?”
“No, I didn’t want to talk about that, so I didn’t bring it up. Neither did she. Why?”
“She’s not a VVIP. Not even a member. She was working there that night.”
I put my fork down. “Working? As what? She was dancing when I saw her.”
“She’s one of the atmosphere models I hired to fill up the place at the start. I let them all stay on. They don’t get to come to The Orion regularly, you know. Let them enjoy.”
“And get it on with the guests?”
“No, that was on her own time. She wasn’t hired to do that, obviously. ”
“What then?”
“She was there to greet people, mingle, get people on the dance floor. That kind of stuff.”
I rub my forehead, letting his words sink in. Thisexplains her extreme excitement about the place. She said she hadn’t been there before. But she’s not a member. Not … like me.
“Why are you frowning, Mark? Does it bother you?”
I look at my friend and the defiance in his eyes.
My friend who was bullied as a child because his mum worked for the other kids’ mums. I know I should tell him it doesn’t bother me. That it doesn’t matter.
“I … I’m not sure.”
“You just said she made you feel something. So it shouldn’t matter.”
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“I told you, I’ve never seen you so worked up about a girl before. I wasn’t just going to hand you some excuse to give it up, but I also knew I had to tell you.”
Aiden glances up at Emine, who’s been cleaning the same spot for too long. “What do you reckon, Emine?”
She pretends to lock her mouth and throw away the key, moving over to the other side of the kitchen. Wise lady.
