AllFreeNovel
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I kick back one of my Jimmy Choos. “I’ll have broken my ankle within the hour. Go black lace, you’ll look stunning in that.”
“You’ve sold me.”
Whether it’s down to the bubbles or the company of my best girlfriends, I’m feeling lighter, much happier than I have been in too long.
“Holy hell, call the fire brigade. We’re on fire in here!” Rachel appears at the door in a fuchsia mini, more Saturday night club than cocktails and dinner, but she rocks it. She’s busy doing an awful impression of a siren when Teddy and Yvette stop at the door. Teddy is in pristine black tie. “Seriously? You’re the best we could get?” Rachel jibes.
“Can I escort you, ladies?” Teddy asks, deliberately ignoring Rachel.
I scowl at him, unmoving.
“I know you’re not still mad at me, Snot Face. Let’s go.”
Despite myself, my scowl won’t hold, and I hook an arm through his, second wing to Yvette’s first. There’s music coming from the lounge. The lights are down, and I can see the flicker of firelight. When we reach the bottom of the stairs, a smartly dressed waiter appears, holding a tray of what look like French 75s.
“Happy birthday, Miss Cross,” he says, inching the tray a little closer towards me.
“Thank you, ah…”
“Stefan. I’ll be taking care of you tonight.”
There’s a whoop from behind me, followed by Rachel whispering, “How do I get one?”
I don’t want Stefan to feel uncomfortable, but I also can’t hide my amusement. I cover my smile with my fingers and take a cocktail with my free hand, sipping the tasty blend of champagne, gin and lemon. “Thank you, Stefan.”
I move into the lounge, which has been covered with candles. The long wooden dining table has been set and looks immaculate — white linen, black accessories, silver candelabras, crystal confetti. I take in everything, rotating on the spot. “Wow, this all looks—”
I stare at the most mesmerising thing in the room. Clark’s dirty-blond hair is slicked back, and the contours of his face are illuminated by the soft glowing lights. He’s broken with convention; his dinner jacket is velour. Smooth, rich, modern. He’s ditched a bow tie in favour of opening the top two buttons of his crisp white shirt. He sits in one of two high-back chairs by the fire, his elbows resting on the arms, a French 75 in one hand. His legs are wide, long and athletic.
I’ve seen the pose before. I’ve crawled between his spread legs and unfastened his shirt, trailing my mouth down his abdomen with each button. I’ve straddled him in a chair just like that and seduced him, his arms holding my hips, taking my weight, helping me move around him while he was buried deep inside me.
I close my eyes and take a sip of my drink to soothe my suddenly dry throat. A hand grabs my chin, making me open my eyelids. Rachel. “It does look fabby, doesn’t it?” she says through her mouth while the rest of her face screams at me to pull myself together.
“Ah, yes, yep. Does. Yes.”
Well, all the girls are on my side, even if Cupid is firing bloody arrows that conspire against me.
Despite seeing them less than two hours ago, I kiss the others on the cheek — Matty. Tim. Spencer. Clark stands but doesn’t make a move towards me. He just looks at me, neither of us moving, awkwardness stretching between us. He flinches, as if he might take a step, but he doesn’t. For God’s sake. As if this isn’t already complicated enough for the others. I step in to the silverback’s cage. I make the mistake of breathing him in. He definitely doesn’t smell like a gorilla. He smells rich, indulgent, intoxicating. I put one hand on his chest to steady my weak legs. My fingertips slide down his sleek blazer. He bends towards my neck, his hand on the small of my back.
“You said if I tried to kiss you again you’d slap my face,” he whispers. The caress of his breath beneath my lobe is warm and sensual.
“Call it a weak moment.” I press my lips to his cheek and linger longer than I should, giving him time to tighten his hold on my waist. “It’s a shame you’re such a fuck-up,” I whisper against his ear.
He pulls back, rolling his jaw, and jerks his neck. I seem to have wounded the ape’s pride. Oops.
I hadn’t noticed it before, but I do now sense tension between Matty and Clark. Matty’s back is strong, his shoulders back as he watches the exchange. Tim and Spencer on the other hand, seem chirpy, maybe a little boozed already.
We talk for almost an hour, everyone in the group taking a role, everyone laughing and joking. More than once I take a moment to just sit back and watch my friends, grateful that they get along, immeasurably thankful that they’re here with me. Dinner brings with it more joviality and a lot of wine. We finish up a game of Who Am I? over port and cheese, although I abstain from the cheese, knowing there’s bikini activity to come, and skimp on the port because I definitely don’t need more booze.
Teddy was the author of the sticky note on my forehead. I should have known, without having to ask any questions, that he’d have written Drop Dead Fred. Unbelievably, and I suspect thanks to Shiraz, I didn’t guess it right.
Stefan comes to clear the table and tell us that the hot tub is ready. I nip upstairs and slip into a black all-in-one—backless with a thick halter strap, the two pieces of material coming down across my breasts and meeting at my navel, held together by a gold bar just below my cleavage.
Outside, the others are already in the tub. Faking courage I don’t have, I drop my towel and take my skimpy swimwear into the steaming bubbles as quickly as I can. I take the last free seat, cursing silently as I slide into the space between Clark and Matty, not daring to look at either of them.
“Okay, time for I Have Never,” Rachel announces, bobbing into the middle of the tub. “Someone hand Dayna a drink, please. When it’s your turn, you come into the middle, and you tell us something naughty, minxy.” She shimmies her breasts as she speaks, definitely affected by wine. “The rest of us have to guess if you’ve done it or not. If we guess right, the person in the middle drinks. If we guess incorrectly, we drink. Simple?” She sips from her glass. “Right. I’ll go first. I have never… had sex in a hot tub.”
“Bullshit!” I shout.
