Authors: Portia MacIntosh
I laugh. ‘You’ve got some stories,’ I tell him.
‘A few. But you must have some too.’
I shrug my shoulders.
‘Come on,’ he reasons, but as hard as I try, I don’t have anything.
‘I have a few after this week.’ I laugh. ‘But no, nothing.’
‘No awkward moments? No holiday romances? No awkward one-nighters with Z-list celebrities?’
‘Nope. I never had any wild teenage years because I was looking after my parents, then I got with Will not too long after that. Oh, actually…’ My voice trails off.
‘Go on,’ Danny prompts as he eats.
I push the food around on my plate a little.
‘No, it’s not a nice story,’ I insist.
‘Come on, try me.’
‘I had a one-night stand – my one and only one-night stand,’ I quickly add.
‘You dark horse.’ Danny laughs. ‘What happened?’
‘It was sort of while I was seeing Will, actually. We had this night in a hotel planned after a work party, but then his wife turned up and he not only ignored me all night, but he told me I’d have to leave. I was upset – and that was when I was thinking it was because they were pretending to still be together, not because they were actually still together. He wasn’t very nice to me that night and I was upset, so by the time I’d got a few drinks in me I told him I wasn’t going to do this any more, to which he said “fine” – although he later told me he was calling my bluff, but at the time I thought he meant it, that I meant so little to him. That’s why it was so easy for me to go over and flirt with Liam after our argument, one of the young drivers. Will looked furious – I think that’s why he got so upset when he would see me talking to you.’
‘Yeah, that explains a lot.’ Danny laughs. ‘So what happened?’
‘Long story short, Liam took me back to his flat. It was awful. A disgusting, dirty place in the attic above a Chinese takeaway. After you climbed all the stairs you walked into his grubby kitchen. He poured me a vodka and Coke in a pint glass and it was so strong it made me feel sick. I remember setting it down to one side with no intention of drinking it and hoping I didn’t offend him. Then he showed me into the other room and it turns out he didn’t even have a bed, just a tatty old sofa with an old duvet on top. It was a single duvet, with Thunderbirds bedding on it, but it was all faded like maybe he’d had it since he was a kid or he’d picked it up from a charity shop.’
‘Oh, nice,’ Danny says sarcastically. ‘So you…’
‘Yep,’ I admit. ‘On the floor. It lasted all of five minutes before he – honest to God – announced: “I’m spent” and rolled off me. It was gross and horrible. He had the worst carpet burn on his knees to show for his efforts, and for a moment he sat and picked at his skin. I just lay there, on the floor, almost shell-shocked and most definitely not in the least bit satisfied. There’s no way in hell I wanted to stick around, but it didn’t matter. He asked me to leave, like he was done with me so I needed to get out. He slapped me a high five as I left. So, that was that.’
‘That’s not a nice story at all; that’s horrible,’ Danny gasps.
‘I warned you,’ I tell him, setting my fork down because I’ve lost my appetite suddenly.
‘Does he still work there?’
‘Nope. I was wracked with guilt and all it did was push me back towards Will. I told him the next morning. He was furious with me – and even more so with Liam. He transferred him to a different branch of the company.’
‘Which one?’
‘Birmingham.’ I laugh.
‘Shit, no wonder you don’t want to go there,’ Danny says. ‘So, note to self, help Candy have more anecdotes that won’t make the person listening to them want to kill themself when they hear it. Can we go there so I can punch him in the face, please?’
I laugh. ‘He’s not worth it.’
The waitress wanders over when she notices that Danny’s plate is clean and that I am not eating.
‘Everything OK?’ she asks.
‘Great thanks,’ Danny replies.
‘Great,’ I echo. ‘Just full.’
‘Any desserts?’ she asks, nodding towards the dessert board on the wall.
‘Two Rainbow Rocky Roads, please,’ Danny says.
‘That doesn’t sound like clean eating,’ I say once the waitress is gone.
‘Yeah, but pudding is pudding. If it were clean, it wouldn’t be worth it. Plus, I think we both need cheering up after that story.’
‘Yeah. Sorry,’ I say weakly.
‘Don’t apologise,’ he insists. ‘Just promise me you won’t ever let another man treat you like crap again, because you’re an awesome lass. Naive, maybe. A little bit of a fuddy-duddy at times, yes. Borderline stuck up, perhaps – ’
‘OK, I get it,’ I interrupt him, sufficiently offended.
‘But, you’re sweet and you’re funny and you’re a top lass. Any man would be lucky to have you.’
I am temporarily taken aback by such a sweet and sincere compliment. I don’t really know what to say, but it doesn’t matter because the waitress puts our desserts down in front of us.
It’s a delicious-looking, chocolaty rocky road, except its insides are all kinds of different colours, making it brighter and more beautiful-looking than your average slice. Just looking at it causes my mouth to fill with saliva in anticipation.
‘It’s things like that that make me think I could be fat and happy,’ I joke, grabbing my fork.
Danny laughs. ‘It’s just nice to see you eat,’ he says, quickly adding, ‘without you throwing up on my car afterwards.’
‘I know I’ve said it a billion times,’ I start, placing my fork down for a second, but instantly wanting to pick it back up and eat, ‘but I am sorry about that.’
‘It’s fine,’ he assures me. ‘Some people are worth swilling bodily fluids off your car for.’
‘Ew! Yes, I bet it’s seen worse,’ I say, grossed-out but amused.
‘Actually, I don’t think it’s ever seen better,’ he replies.
Running through the street, dodging the pedestrians speed-walking in the opposite direction not unlike something from a video game, with nothing but a copy of the
Birmingham Post
to protect me from the elements, I couldn’t feel happier. Today has been so much fun, despite it being the hottest day of the year fast turning into the wettest day of the year with the loudest thunderstorm of the year.
When we decided to walk from the hotel to wherever it was Danny was taking me today, my concern was that it was too warm. Turns out what I really needed to worry about was having to walk back in the heavy rain. Every time the thunder claps I can’t help but squeak, but a particularly loud rumble really makes me jump, causing me to drop my newspaper umbrella on the ground. I go to pick it up but it’s already soggy, so Danny pulls me underneath the shelter of a fire escape between two buildings.
‘God, you’re so girly I want to push you in front of traffic,’ he jokes. ‘We’re nearly there now. I can actually see the hotel.’
‘Can we just rest for a minute?’ I ask. ‘My feet are killing me.’
‘That’s because your shoes are basically a weapon,’ he tells me.
I laugh, shivering a little because the rain is surprisingly cold.
‘Come here, kid,’ Danny insists, wrapping his arms around me, rubbing his hands on my back to try and warm me up.
A droplet of water drips from the staircase above us and lands right on my nose, so Danny pushes me back against the wall out of the way, bringing a hand forward to gently wipe my face with the backs of his fingers before embracing me with both arms again. With his body pressed up against mine, his arms wrapped around me and his face just inches from my own, the noise of the city and the storm slowly fade out, until it’s just us. All I can see is Danny, all I can hear is his heavy breathing from running, all I can smell is his aftershave. We stare at each other for a moment and I get that feeling I always get when he looks into my eyes, like he knows exactly what I am thinking and how I’m feeling. Today, I don’t mind, but that bothers me even more.
I wriggle free from his grasp. ‘Look, the rain has stopped,’ I say awkwardly, stepping out onto the pavement. Whether the rain had stopped or not, I needed to move to get out of that situation.
‘Candy, look out,’ Danny warns, but it’s too late. A car drives past at such a speed, ploughing through the puddle next to me, spraying me with water. All that effort to try and keep dry and I’m soaked. As I stand there, dripping wet, Danny joins me on the pavement…just as the sun comes back out.
Danny lets out a little laugh at my expense, but it’s awkward now. Whatever kind of moment we were having, I ruined. But I can’t have moments with Danny, for all kinds of reasons.
We walk back the rest of the way to the hotel in silence, before heading up to the room. I unlock the door and step to one side so that Danny can walk in first, but he doesn’t.
‘I might go and chill in the bar for a bit,’ he says, nodding down the corridor towards where the bar is.
‘Yeah? Well, I’m just going to have a bath so…’
‘OK, cool,’ he replies.
We pause for a second, before we both open our mouths to speak at the same time. I’m not even sure what I was going to say, because as soon as we realise the other is about to say something we pause again.
‘OK,’ I say, eventually. ‘Well, see you.’
‘Yep,’ he replies, strolling off slowly. He glances back a couple of times, before meaningfully walking the rest of the way.
I head inside and close the door behind me, looking at my soggy reflection in the mirror.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ I ask myself. Before my reflection has a chance to reply, there’s a knock on the door. My first thought is that it’s Danny, that he’s come back to say whatever it is that he was going to say before. As I open the door and see that no one is there, it occurs to me that if it were Danny, he would’ve just used his key. With no one there, I close the door and head back in. As I slowly peel off my wet clothes, there’s a knock at the door again. I hurry my top back on and open it, but there’s no one there again.
‘Hilarious,’ I call down the corridor, confident someone is messing with me.
I take off my clothes and run my bath before climbing in and overanalysing what just happened with Danny. If I didn’t know better, I’d think we were about to kiss down that alleyway. OK, so he
is
gorgeous, but he’s been more like a big brother to me this trip – apart from when we were pretending to be a couple, obviously. That, plus the fact I’m still in a mess over Will are two very good reasons why we shouldn’t go there. Plus, I clearly annoy him as much as he annoys me. At this stage, an awkward kiss would be a terrible idea, especially considering we’ve still got a few days left before we head back home.
I am distracted from my thoughts by that familiar knock on the door. I know it’s the same one, because it follows that same rhythm, but I’m not playing.
‘Fuck off,’ I yell, not that they’ll hear me. They’ll have run off down the corridor and hidden by now.
I mean, no one could ever start anything with Danny anyway, because he doesn’t stay in the same place for long enough. Will even offered him a full-time position, but he didn’t want it, and he made it clear that nothing would change his mind, so that’s that I guess.
Another knock at the door. So much for my nice relaxing bath.
I climb out, grabbing a fluffy white towel and wrapping it around my body.
I shuffle over to the door and look through the peephole, but there’s no one there. I pick up the phone next to me and call reception.
‘Hello,’ a man chirps.
‘Hey, someone keeps knocking on my door and running away,’ I tell him.
‘Ah,’ he replies, sounding unsurprised. ‘We’ve got a school trip staying with us – spirits are high.’
‘Well, if you could…lower their spirits,’ I request. ‘It’s driving me crazy.’
‘Of course,’ he replies. ‘I’ll have a word.’
I have no sooner put the phone down when there’s that knock at the door again. As I’m standing right behind it, I take this as my cue to catch out whoever is doing this, so I fling the door open and step out into the corridor.
It all happens so quickly that I’m not even sure how it happens. I only make it out quick enough to see the backs of three teenagers’ heads as they leg it away, but as I made my dash through the door my towel must have got caught on something in the room, ripping it from my body. I realise this in the same second that the door to my room closes behind me. For a moment, I freeze. Unsure what to do. I mean, I’m butt naked, locked outside my room. What
can
I do? I think for what feels like a very long time, but it’s probably only a few seconds.
If I can get along the corridor towards the bar, I can get Danny’s attention and he can let me back into the room. Oh God, but he’s going to see me naked! But what choice do I have?
Thankfully, the door to each room is recessed, so I can dash quickly from one to another, ducking in whenever I think I hear voices. I make it halfway along the corridor when I notice a shining beacon of light – well, a lit-up stand with tourist information booklets on it. I grab one and open it up, before using it to protect my modesty. I cover my boobs with my free hand, and I’m careful to keep my back to the wall as I sneak along the corridor. When I finally reach the door to the bar, I have no idea what to do next. I can’t go in there. I notice the fire alarm on the wall next to me. No, I can’t do that. Not only is it against the law, but all that would do is bring everyone out, not just Danny.
I slowly push the door open and poke my head around, glancing around the room for Danny. I spot him nursing a drink, looking down at the table deep in thought.
‘Danny,’ I call in a loud whisper, but he doesn’t hear me. ‘Danny,’ I say again, a little louder. This time he hears me and looks up. ‘Can you come here, please?’
I wait until he is making his way across the room before stepping into the doorway of the nearest room.
‘Where have you gone?’ he asks once he’s out in the corridor.
‘I’m here,’ I say, stepping out.
‘What the fuck?’ he asks, his face lighting up like I’ve never seen before. ‘Nice Bullring.’
Danny nods towards my crotch. I look down and see that the tourist brochure I’m using as underwear has a big picture of the Bullring on the front.