Baby Be Mine

disappointment.
    ‘Barney,’ I explain. ‘I don’t want him to wake up without me.’
    He nods and sits up himself. I look around for my cat costume.
    ‘I’m going to feel like a right tit going home in this,’ I say.
    He laughs. ‘Do you want one of my shirts?’
    ‘No, you’re alright. At least it’s still dark.’
    I smile at him and he raises one eyebrow at me sexily before pulling me back down again. We kiss, long and languidly.
    ‘Don’t, you’re making me feel drunk again,’ I say.
    ‘Without the hangover,’ he replies.
    ‘That’s true.’
    More kissing. I pull away and stare down at him.
    ‘Did you use to have your eyebrow pierced?’ I ask. I can just make out two tiny holes there.
    ‘Yeah,’ he replies. ‘A long, long time ago.’
    ‘Can’t have been that long,’ I reply.
    ‘Feels like forever to me.’
    ‘Back when you had a West Country accent and wanted to know how to fight,’ I say with a smile, but his has faltered somehow.
    He kisses me perfunctorily on the nose and goes to sit up again. Something has changed in him, but I don’t know what.
    ‘I’ll call you a cab.’
    ‘Don’t worry, I’ll ring Davey.’
    ‘Are you sure?’
    ‘Yes. You’d better tell me your address, though. I wasn’t exactly paying attention in the car.’
    He makes me tea while I wait for Davey. He lives in an apartment block with two other wannabe actors. It’s a bit of a tip.
    ‘Where are your flatmates?’ I ask him.
    ‘Out and about. Networking, probably,’ he replies.
    ‘You don’t seem to do much of that.’ I try to ignore his naked torso – he’s wearing black PJ bottoms and nothing else.
    ‘No.’ He grins. ‘Not as much as my agent would like me to. It’s not really my thing.’
    ‘Yet here you are, wanting to be an actor.’
    ‘I’m not that desperate.’
    I smile and stare at him for a long moment.
    ‘You’re going to be huge one day.’
    He raises one eyebrow at me. ‘Is that right, Mystic Meg?’
    I crack up laughing. ‘Oh my God, do you remember her from the National Lottery?’
    ‘Yeah, I do. Did she ever predict the winner correctly?’
    ‘I have no idea.’
    My phone buzzes. Davey is here.
    ‘Gotta go,’ I say and stand up. ‘Thanks for having me.’
    ‘It was my absolute pleasure,’ he replies with a cheeky twinkle in his eye. ‘Thanks for having me.’
    I laugh. ‘Oh, that was a pleasure also.’ I place my hands on his beautiful chest one more time, just for luck and all that.
    He kisses me softly on the lips.
    ‘You can go back to bed now,’ I say.
    ‘I’ll call you,’ he replies, but I recognise something in his eyes – a sadness. As I walk out through the door I wonder who it was that hurt him.
    Soon my thoughts gravitate towards Johnny and Christian, and my earlier euphoria dissolves into dust.

 
  Chapter 40  
    ‘What the—’ I murmur out loud. ‘What’s going on?’ I ask Davey with alarm.
    We’ve pulled through the gates to Johnny’s house and now I see that the whole driveway is lined with cars.
    ‘I think the boss is having a house party,’ he replies chirpily. ‘I thought you knew?’
    The hell I did. I can hear the music pounding before I even climb out of the limo. It’s almost one o’clock in the morning. I hope Barney is alright.
    ‘Thanks, Davey.’
    ‘Will you be needing me again tonight?’ he asks.
    ‘No, no. Sorry I called you out again,’ I say apologetically. I should have rung for an ordinary taxi – I don’t know what I was thinking.
    ‘Of course, it’s no problem if you do,’ he says graciously.
    ‘I’m pretty sure we’ll be in for the night, now,’ I tell him unhappily, looking at the house. It’s practically vibrating with the noise. I must check on Barney.
    I hurry to the front door and get there seconds before a group of Goths. No, hang on, they’re vampires. I recognise a couple of them from Sylvester Middleman’s Halloween party. What are they doing here? I hurry through the door and see Dana almost immediately, standing a few feet away with a couple of guys. One of them turns around and laughs while pointing at someone behind me.
    ‘Look what the cat dragged in!’ he shouts gleefully. I turn to see who he’s pointing at.
    ‘Fuck off, Derek,’ a vampire guy jokes, giving him the finger.
    ‘That’s fucking HILARIOUS!’ Dana screams, hooting loudly. ‘Look what the cat dragged in! ’ she repeats the joke, pointing at me and almost crying with laughter. Is she on