It's Got To Be Perfect. Haley Hill

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СКАЧАТЬ the economy and current affairs. Now they were writhing on leather sofas: tongues locked, limbs entwined, hands up skirts, down tops, under shirts, down trousers. The candles, once flickering gently, were now burning violently, wax dripping down their shafts.

      Perched on a sofa in the only uninhabited alcove, I looked on, watching an equities trader dry humping a pretty florist at the bar. He really reminded me of something. Now what was it?

      ‘Randy dog,’ a man’s voice said, directed at me.

      Yes, that’s it, I thought, before looking up to see a broad smile beaming down at me. We both turned back to see the subject’s bottom bobbing up and down with increasing momentum.

      ‘He’s with me, I’m sorry to say,’ he said, still grinning.

      I smirked. ‘Can you put him on a leash, then?’

      He laughed. He sat down next to me, fixing me with the most beautiful brown eyes I had ever seen. ‘I’m Nick,’ he said. ‘Mind if I join you?’

      I shuffled up the sofa, eyeing him suspiciously.

      ‘So you’re the brains behind all this, then?’ he asked.

      I nodded. ‘Although there’s not much brain activity happening here tonight.’

      He looked around the room and smiled. ‘What were you expecting?’

      ‘I don’t know … a little more self-restraint.’

      He laughed. ‘If you put kids in a candy shop—’ he gestured in the direction of a man, whose hand was emerging from a short denim skirt ‘—they get sticky fingers.’

      I tutted, then rolled my eyes while he continued to laugh at his own joke.

      ‘And you?’ I asked. ‘Haven’t you found a florist to dry hump or a sticky place to put your fingers?’

      He shook his head. ‘There’s only one girl who caught my eye.’

      ‘And?’

      ‘She seems to have a bit of an attitude problem.’

      A smile edged out from the corners of my mouth.

      ‘I knew you’d crack eventually,’ he said, his hand skimming mine as he reached for his drink. Suddenly, a tingle shot up my arm and a flash of white light ripped through the bar. I looked up, my eyes squinting against the neon beams, as though abruptly awoken from a dream. The music stopped and voices hushed.

      ‘Time, everyone,’ Steve announced. ‘Bar’s closing.’

      The light shone down on us, and when Nick looked at me, it was with such intensity that I suddenly felt as though every pore, every blemish and every scar that I’d hoped to conceal were exposed. A surge of panic raced through my nerves and I jumped up from my seat, mumbling something incoherent about needing to help tidy up. Then I walked away without looking back.

      Absent from the comforting canopy of candlelight, the crudeness of reality was unveiled. The guests clambered to their feet and wiped their lipstick-smudged faces as though desperate to reclaim some dignity. From a hidden alcove, I watched everyone leave. My eyes tracked Nick as he sauntered up the stairs, my stomach churning when I noticed a leggy brunette tottering after him. When he smiled at her, the smile that I’d secretly hoped he’d reserved for me, the electricity tripped and the room was plunged back into darkness.

      By the time Steve had flipped the fuse, the bar had emptied out. I dropped back down on my seat. Only a few hours earlier, before the guests arrived, the atmosphere had seemed charged and full of anticipation, but now the flowers had wilted, with their stems slumped and petals curled. The candles had withered down to useless stumps, droplets of wax eating away at the polished veneer. Beside them stood smeared glasses containing fluids mixed and merged. Beneath the tables, trampled cherries bled into the carpet.

      ‘Imagine all the shagging that’s going on tonight, thanks to you!’ Kat said as we shared a taxi home.

      ‘There might be a little baby being made as we speak,’ Cordelia joked.

      I huffed. ‘That’s not how it’s supposed to work. I was hoping for blossoming love not rampant sex.’

      ‘Don’t the two go hand in hand?’ Kat answered.

      ‘I’d settle for rampant sex,’ Cordelia chipped in.

      ‘Rampant rabbit for me tonight,’ Kat said before curling her bottom lip. ‘Not quite RAF pilot. But—’ she paused, retrieving a damp piece of paper from her cleavage ‘—I got their numbers!’

      ‘So, what about you, Ellie?’ Cordelia asked. ‘That guy you were chatting to—what happened there? He looked gutted when you walked off.’

      ‘Yes, he was cute but—’

      ‘He had a cute butt, I saw.’

      ‘Kat, stop it,’ Cordelia interrupted and looked back at me. ‘But what?’

      ‘But I don’t have time for a relationship at the moment. I’m concentrating on other things.’

      ‘That’s utter bollocks!’ Cordelia shouted, waving her arms around. ‘You haven’t had a relationship since …’ She paused, placing her hands back on her lap.

      ‘You can mention it, you know. I’m not going to break down into a gibbering wreck. Since I got dumped by my fiancé, you meant to say?’

      ‘No. Since your lucky escape from that twat. That’s what I meant to say. You know it wasn’t your fault.’

      ‘Look, I really don’t want to talk about it again. It’s in the past.’

      ‘You never want to talk about it. And it’s not in the past if it’s stopping you from meeting someone new.’

      ‘I’m fine. I just want to focus on—’

      ‘Whatever!’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Great strategy. You’ll never get hurt again if you never have a relationship again. Brilliant idea!’ She folded her arms and looked away from me.

      ‘Okay, that’s enough, ladies!’ Kat interrupted. ‘You can have one of my pilots if you like?’ She turned to me with a silly grin.

      ‘I’d make sure she washed the milkmaid outfit before borrowing that though,’ Cordelia said, unfolding her arms and offering me her olive branch smile.

      I leant forward and put my arms around them both. ‘Stop worrying about me, you two. I’m fine.’

      Initiating a drunken group hug was a bit of a challenge in the back of a fast-moving taxi, especially as the driver took a sharp corner onto my road at our most vulnerable moment. Kat went flying, bottom over boobs and onto the taxi floor, Cordelia managed to retain her composure for a few seconds and grabbed my arm to steady me, but as the driver slammed on the breaks outside my flat, it was too late. I knew I was going down and that she was coming with me. Flying out of our seats, I landed across Kat, my face cushioned by her inbuilt airbags, but Cordelia continued to slide around the taxi before finally settling between Kat’s СКАЧАТЬ