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With twilight descending,the fairy lights were coming into their own; the route to the food trucks were looking more like a wonderland as the evening wore on.
Jen gave Holly’s grip a little pump as they held hands. ‘You nervous?’
‘A bit.’
‘Me too. Don’t worry – if we have to do a speech, I’ll handle it. You know how good I am with words,’ she joked.
‘Want to run it by me first?’
‘Yeah, sure,’ Jen replied, clearing her throat. ‘Thank you.’
Holly waited, her breath bated. When nothing further came she snorted with laughter. ‘Short, sweet, to the point.’
‘As always.’
Jen was so lost in Holly’s smile that she almost didn’t clock who was glaring at them from the taco truck.
Alison.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Of course she was here. Where else would she be?
‘Let’s find somewhere quiet to sit,’ Jen said, pulling Holly in the opposite direction, hoping she wasn’t being too obvious.
‘It’s like you’re a mind reader.’
With a final look to her ex and what she prayed was her beststay-the-fuck-awayeyes, Jen led Holly back to towards the tree line.
What stunt was she planning on tonight? Was Jen’s absence in Bar Orama not enough of a hint to her? She’d brought her friend Nikki along. Last time Jen had seen her she was picking up the last of Alison’s boxes from the flat. She’d been a mess handing the stuff over and could have quite happily never seen Nikki again in her life. Her presence just about gave Jen a full house on the ‘how fucked up can it be?’ bingo card.
If she could avoid Alison for the rest of the night and stop Holly from spotting her, all would be well. Jen’s gut said to tell Holly, but everything was already so twisted, and after the turmoil of last night her head was screaming that ignorance was bliss. They’d be on stage in forty minutes: surely she could pull this off?
‘We finally meet,’ boomed a deep, friendly voice, pulling Jen from her thoughts.
She turned to find the gay couple from tonight’s competition, James and Scott, or the Daddy Bears as Holly playfully called them, heading their way.
The nickname was even more spot on in the flesh. They were big, hulky men who towered over them – James with a grey beard, Scott with a face of ginger fuzz – and were both in their late forties. They were anything but grizzly, though. James’s eyes lit up with kindness as he stopped just short of their hiding spot.
‘Can’t believe it’s taken us this long,’ he said, flashing a smile.
‘Me neither,’ Jen replied, happy to now have a literal shield from Alison’s prying eyes. ‘How do you fancy your chances tonight?’
‘We’re in the running, that’s for sure,’ Scott replied, his deep voice a calming rumble. ‘We’re not in it for the money though.’
James snared his eyes and Jen noted the sparkle. ‘What about you?’ he asked, breaking away from Scott’s gaze.
‘Deffo just here for the money,’ Holly joked, unable to keep a straight face.
Jen quickly grabbed her side, giving her a playful tickle without breaking eye contact with the lads.
‘I meant, do you think you’ll win?’ James asked with a hearty chuckle.
Holly let out a low whistle. ‘No idea, really. I thought Debbie and Nick had it in the bag.’
‘I know,’ Scott said, his eyebrows shooting skyward. ‘Who saw that one coming?’
