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The waitress leaves with our orders and returns a few minutes later with drinks. As she swaggers off, I can’t help but note Archer checking her out. Do all guys check out women? Even in front of their alleged girlfriends? Is he thinking about how he’d have sex with her? Is he imagining her naked? I left the house with a bounce of confidence in my step, but now I feel like the ugliest person here.
Maybe I should have dressed sultrier.
‘So, Frankie,’ Georgia says. ‘Did you and my son meet at school?’
‘Yeah,’ I reply. ‘He’s technically two years above me, but we see each other during lunch.’
Her eyes widen. ‘You’re only sixteen?’
‘No. No. I had really bad grades last year, so they kept me in Year 11 an extra year.’
‘Why’d you have bad grades?’ Demi asks, sounding bored. She hasn’t looked up from her phone since we sat down.
‘Demi,’ her mum scolds. ‘Don’t be so rude.’
Demi rolls her eyes, but I force a smile. ‘It’s okay. I’m used to Demi’s impulsiveness.’
We grin at each other as we both recall the hair dye and tattoos at Archer’s party.
‘What do you see yourself doing when you graduate?’ Georgia asks.
‘Fucking hell, Mum,' Archer mumbles. ‘Give it a rest. She’s not filling out a job application.’
Her warm eyes turn piercing when she turns to him. ‘I’m only trying to show a bit of interest in your life. Isn’t that what you want? For me to be more involved?’
His nostrils flare, but he looks right at me when he says, ‘You’re only interested in coming over when Dad’s away.’
‘Your father and I have a complicated relationship. You know that.’
Demi leans towards me and whispers, ‘My mum has a restraining order on my dad because he used to beat her when they were married.’
‘Oh.’ I’m not sure she should have told me that, but it makes me see Archer a bit differently.
Did he witness his father being violent? Was he violent to Archer?
‘Good parents will put aside their differences for their children,’ Archer tells his mum.
‘Hence why I am still married to your father,’ Georgia says coldly. ‘If not for me, you wouldn’t have that house. The least you can do is show a bit of gratitude. Now,’ she adds, and forces a brilliant smile. ‘How are my girls?’
She must mean her other two daughters'.
‘Away with Dad,’ Demi supplies absentmindedly. ‘Crystal is a little cow. She keeps stealing my lipstick and writing on the kitchen cupboards. Tasha is daddy’s perfect little queen. Honestly, I swear she does everything for him. Last week she helped him cook Shepard’s pie and he bought her a phone. Which is actually really unfair, because I kept his affair from you and he didn’t buy me a present.’
I’m glad I have my drink to stare at as a heavy silence falls over the table.
Georgia excuses herself to smoke a fag, and Demi goes after her, but I think she leaves so she doesn’t become the third wheel.
As soon as we’re alone, I lean across the table. ‘Are you o—?’
I gasp and grab the edges of the table.
Archer quirks a brow, but there’s a wicked smile on his lips. ‘You were saying?’
‘What—?’
It happens again, more intense this time. The vibrations in my panties hit that spot, and I bite my lip to keep from moaning.
‘Is everything alright, love? You seem… flustered.’
