Lucy in the Sky

She gives a mock shudder.
    ‘Oh, they’re not that bad,’ James defends them. ‘Anyway that’s Zoe, who obviously isn’t of interest…’
    ‘Pretty,’ Chloe muses, and we can just hear her above the music.
    ‘Not my type,’ James bats back. ‘And next to her is where it gets interesting.’ I sneak a peek. That one in the dark grey shirt is pretty cute. ‘He’s new,’ James explains, clocking Chloe’s interest. ‘His name’s William.’
    ‘Single?’ Chloe asks, eyes lighting up.
    ‘Yep.’ James grins.
    ‘Gay?’ she asks, wryly.
    ‘No!’ He laughs. ‘Split up with his girlfriend a few months ago. Bit shy, though.’
    ‘Okay…’ she says.
    ‘Next to William is Tim—’
    ‘Nah, don’t fancy him,’ Chloe interrupts so James moves on.
    ‘And then we have Bryce. Canadian,’ he explains.
    ‘Not bad.’ Chloe nods. Yeah, he’s not bad actually. I’ve met him once before.
    ‘And that’s John and Nicholas. Both got girlfriends,’ James shouts, as Jeremy comes back from the bar with our drinks.
    ‘Here you go, ladies,’ he yells, and we thank him. He starts to nod his head to the music. I like The Chemical Brothers, so even I’m feeling more in the mood for this. I take a sip of my vodka cranberry. Strong. It’ll be doubles.
    ‘So what do you do?’ Jeremy shouts at Chloe, and I turn to James and smile happily.
    ‘It’s nice having you here,’ he shouts in my ear.
    ‘Ouch!’ I reply.
    ‘Sorry,’ he says, giving me a kiss. He taps Chloe on the shoulder. ‘Come and meet the others,’ he yells, taking her hand and leading her over to the table. Jeremy looks disappointed. I follow them and smile at everyone as he introduces ‘Lucy! My girlfriend!’ and ‘Chloe! Her friend!’ to all the people she or I don’t know.
    ‘How’s Lila?’ I turn to Jeremy, referring to the leggy blonde he was shagging in Spain.
    ‘Fuck knows,’ he shouts back. I look at him reproachfully and turn away, but he pulls me back and shouts in my ear, ‘I haven’t seen her since June.’
    Zoe passes me on her way back from the loo and I motion to her.
    ‘Where’s Jim?’ I shout.
    ‘Atasttasar!’ she answers.
    ‘Sorry?’
    ‘AT. ANOTHER. BAR,’ she shouts, louder this time. ‘GOING. TO. MEET. HIM. SOON.’
    ‘WHY. DOESN’T. HE. COME. HERE?’ I shout back, just as loud, and she shrugs at me, before heading back to her seat. Bugger off, then. I turn back to Chloe. She’s talking to Bryce, who’s stood up to join us. William is still sitting at the booth, though. He glances up at me and I smile. Come and talk to me and I’ll set you up with my friend, I tell him telepathically, but he doesn’t move. James must be right about him being shy. I attempt to join in Chloe and Bryce’s conversation but I can barely hear them, so I decide to go to the ladies’ room instead.
    When I come back, Zoe is standing up with her coat andbriefcase and appears to be saying goodbye to James and Jeremy. She walks out through the bar as I approach and I clock Jeremy raising his eyebrows at James.
    ‘What’s up?’ I ask.
    ‘She’s being a moody bitch at the moment,’ Jeremy shouts back.
    Lovely, I think, and James pulls me to him and gives me a kiss on the lips. He grins at me, then leans in to kiss me for longer this time.
    ‘Cut it out, you two!’ Jeremy yells in our faces.
    It’s actually a really fun night. The music is great, the drinks keep flowing, and Chloe seems to be having the time of her life. It’s hilarious seeing the guys fawn over her. She’s been single for over a year since splitting up with her man and she deserves some attention. It was a complicated break-up. They shared a flat together–although they didn’t own it, thank goodness–but they had to continue living together for six weeks after they ended it because they couldn’t terminate their contract and neither of them could afford the rent on their own. At least the split was mutual; a case of growing apart. But it was still traumatic towards the end for Chloe when Chris, her ex, started seeing someone else.
    James is on top form. Funny, witty, sexy, and I’m proud to be there with him. I notice a few girls at the bar checking him out, but he’s the perfect boyfriend, paying me lots of attention. Jeremy drags us to a club and we all go, minus John and Nicholas, who head home to their girlfriends.
    We secure a spot at the back and pile our coats and bags up on the velvet bench seats.
    At about 2 a.m., James and