The Drop

remedying, if we were not going to have the longest, most embarrassing journey home imaginable.
    Luckily we had to stop at a red light, so I could safely turn round and face them both. I glanced briefly at Sarah who looked like someone had just slapped her hard in the face. She didn’t want to look at me directly. Instead I looked Joanne in the eye, put on a serious looking frown and asked her outright, ‘you mean you wouldn’t?’
    And she roared with laughter, instantly breaking the spell. ‘Eeh you cocky bastard!’ she cried.
    ‘I must be slipping,’ I added for effect, before turning back and easing the car away through the green light. I could hear Sarah laughing in the back again too. I was glad I’d spared her blushes and I made a conscious effort to stop feeling so bloody chuffed with myself.

TWENTY-ONE
    ...................................................
    W hen I dropped Joanne off at her mum’s house, Sarah got out of the back seat and climbed into the front passenger seat next to me. She wound down the window and called after Joanne’s retreating rear, ‘laters bee-yatch!’
    Joanne span round and flicked the Vs up at her before calling out, ‘be good you two and if you can’t be good be careful!’ then she did a pretty clear mime of a blow job, pushing an imaginary cock into her mouth with her hand while making the inside of her cheek bulge outwards with her tongue.
    ‘Classy,’ I said quietly as Sarah wound up the window.
    ‘I only hang round with her ‘cos she makes me look good.’
    ‘I can see that,’ I acted like the little conversation we’d just had hadn’t happened, ‘you enjoy yourself tonight then pet?’
    She smiled happily, ‘yeah, I did. It was great. You? Sorry you couldn’t drink.’
    ‘No harm in it this once. Told you, I spend my life in clubs.’
    When I got her home, the gates to Bobby’s house were wide open and I drove on through, parking up so she didn’t have far to walk up the gravel driveway, but not right by the windows. ‘Don’t want to wake your dad,’ I said.
    ‘He won’t be asleep,’ she told me, ‘not till I get in.’
    I wouldn’t sleep either if I was him.
    ‘So where is it then?’
    ‘Where’s what?’ I asked.
    ‘My present,’ she said, ‘unless you are gonna carry on pretending you’ve not bought me anything for my 21 st ?’
    ‘Glove compartment,’ I said quietly.
    Without another word she opened up the glove compartment and took out the long, thin box I’d put there at the beginning of the night. ‘Mmm, it’s beautifully wrapped,’ then she got suspicious, ‘did you get Laura to do it?’
    ‘Why would I do that when I could just flirt with the lass in the shop until she did it for me?’
    ‘Thoughtful,’ she said and she took her time unwrapping the gold paper, opened the box and took a long look at the watch I’d bought her. It was a nice gift, just expensive enough to thrill a 21-year-old who wasn’t expecting something that good, but not so extravagant that Bobby or Laura were going to want to take it in turns to beat me to a pulp for buying it. It was just the right side of innocent.
    Sarah didn’t say anything at first. I was about as sure as I could be that she was going to like it, so I said, ‘what’s the matter? Not up to much?’
    ‘It’s great and I fucking love it, thanks!’ and she did and that also gave me more pleasure than it should. Sarah wrapped her arms round me and gave me a big, friendly hug that could just about be described as platonic. ‘You coming in? Dad’ll be chuffed if you do.’
    ‘No he won’t,’ I said,
    ‘Yes he will,’ and she laughed self-consciously, ‘you can have one drink with me.’
    ‘I’m driving.’
    She stuck her tongue out at me and called me boring, ‘got to get home to the wife have you?’ she knew how to press my buttons.
    ‘She’s not my wife,’ I said uselessly, ‘but I do have to get home, yes.’
    ‘Oh-kay,’ she said it in a sing-song voice and started to climb out of the car, ‘thanks for my pressie, it’s beautiful.’
    ‘Not every day a girl turns 21.’
    ‘So true,’ and she was out of the car and gone, except she wasn’t, because there was a blur of movement as she went round the front of the car and was suddenly standing by my window. I wound it down and she said, ‘thanks pet,’ and held her hands wide for another hug and when I didn’t react she said, ‘oh come on, give me some sugar,’ in her mock-American accent. I