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Holly joined Jen behind the counter, placing a coffee by the till. ‘Thought you might need a caffeine boost.’ Her eyes never strayed from Alison.
Tension hung in the air like a guillotine.
Two seconds later, a customer swanned in. A quick side-eye told Jen he felt he’d walked into something; he just hadn’t put his finger on the fact he was now the innocent pawn in a gunless showdown.
Even with Jen’s quiet music playing you could have heard a pin drop.
Holly took a sip of her coffee. Alison’s stare didn’t waver.
The guy placed two pouches on the counter and Jen did her best to be normal. It was tough with the unmistakable crackle of conflict in the air. It was so buzzed that Jen swore if she reached out a finger it would spark, lighting the room like a plasma lamp.
Finally, he left, never knowing how close he was to witnessing a death.
Holly broke the silence after another sip of coffee. ‘Need a hand with anything, Alison? Or you good?’
Alison’s eyes flashed; Jen knew that look. Holly had about two more nudges before she detonated this bomb. ‘I came here to speak to Jen, so if you could leave us in peace, thanks.’ She pulled a face, her clipped tone saying she was trying to be polite for Jen’s sake. Under any other circumstances, Holly would be headless by now.
Holly nodded, her face serious but light. ‘Yeah, sure, no probs. I just want to finish having coffee with my girlfriend, then I’ll be off.’
Ooft.Holly was being a badass. Was it weird that Jen was a little turned on just now? She’d never had anyone fight over her before.
The problem was, as good as Holly was, Alison was better. She was the queen of cool and getting what she wanted.
‘Don’t let me stop you, although you could have brought one for me too, since you obviously knew I was here.’ She leaned on the counter, not going anywhere.
Tension descended further over the shop, like a smothering avalanche.
Jen couldn’t bear the back and forth any longer. ‘Bar Orama tonight, did you say?’
Alison perked up. ‘Yeah, the gig starts at 7.30.’
‘Early.’
‘I know, right? And I don’t have my band. But I want to test some new material, so I promised Kev a two-hour acoustic set.’
Jen nodded. ‘Nice of you.’ She swallowed hard, her body fighting what she planned on saying next. ‘Right, I’ll see if I can swing by, if I’m not too busy here.’
She could feel the shift in mood from Holly. She’d explain later. Alison was the one to convince just now.
Alison’s face broke into a grin. ‘Brilliant – I’ll see you there.’ She turned to Holly. ‘Leave the bodyguard at home.’
With that, she was off.
Jen broke into a ramble as soon as the door clicked shut. ‘I’m not really going, I just wanted to get rid of her. Promise. I’m not.’
Holly was white as a sheet. She groaned. ‘Urgh, I feel a bit sick.’
Jen couldn’t help but kiss her.
* * *
‘She’ll be round any minute,’Holly said, sprawled on the sofa.
As a thank you for being so amazing about the whole situation, Jen was cooking Holly dinner. Veggie chilli, to be exact.
‘Well then, she can just fuck off any minute, too,’ Jen called from the kitchen, stifling a chuckle.
She emptied the water from a tin of kidney beans into the sink before tipping its contents into her simmering pot.
