by Billie Rae
Well, what else could she expect?
Tony had warned her that he wasn’t the type to stick to one girl, and although she wanted more from Scott than a one night stand, that was all she might get, if that.
Sleep finally took her around 2am, but she was woken by a terrible nightmare. She sat up in fright, breathing hard and dripping with sweat. The light was still on and Lorraine dropped her feet to the carpet, nausea sweeping over her in a tide of relief. Her dark, tangled hair fell about her face, and she pushed it away. The dream was still fresh in her mind, bringing fear into reality and she went quickly to the kitchen. Searching for a glass, she poured a drink of cool orange juice and sipped it thankfully.
Sitting at the large kitchen table, she rested her head on her crossed arms, hoping that soon the memory of her dream would fade. Lorraine had been having the same nightmare ever since her mother had been tragically killed when Lorraine was only six. It would start at their beautiful two storied home in Blenheim, and Lorraine would be standing in their living room looking out onto the busy street.
Her mother’s red Cortina would drive past, and for a few moments Lorraine could see her mother’s beautiful face, smiling and happy. Then a green station wagon came into view, travelling far too fast. Before Lorraine’s six year old eyes, the station wagon hurtled towards her mother, and before she knew it, the smile on her mother’s face had turned to an agonising scream as she flew through the front window screen.
It was always the same nightmare and every time Lorraine woke feeling sick and coated in sweat. Then the thirst would hit her.
When she had been smaller, her father had made her hot, sweet lemon drinks to put her to sleep after a bad dream. Lorraine smiled to herself as she remembered the long hours he had stayed awake by her bedside, only to get a few hours of sleep for himself before he had to leave for work.
“Not sleeping, huh?” Donna’s voice broke into Lorraine’s thoughts.
She walked to the fridge, wearing Tony’s bathrobe and began to devour the remains of a chocolate pie.
“I had another bad dream,” Lorraine murmured through the soft material of Tony’s shirt.
Donna strode to her side and laid an arm across her shoulders. “Wanna talk about it?”
“I just want to sleep,” Lorraine said. “I’ve only had about an hour of sleep.” She lifted her head and attempted a smile. “I haven’t even had any beauty sleep.”
“How about you go back to the couch and I’ll make you a nice hot toddy,” Donna suggested as she ran a hand over her friend’s sweat beaded brow.
Lorraine didn’t need to be told twice. She slipped back under her blanket and made herself comfortable once more.
Her last thoughts before she dropped into a deep sleep were of the next night and their planned party. She wondered what the evening was going to turn out like, or whether it would be a memorable night, something that she would not forget for a long time.
* * * *
“Donna, telephone,” Lisa yelled up the stairs. “It’s Tony.”
But Donna was already talking on the second line on the telephone in her bedroom.
The girls were lying on their beds and Donna was busily ringing all her friends about the party.
“I’ll go,” Lorraine said as she got up off the bed and walked down to the kitchen. She smiled as she took the phone from Lisa. “Hi, Tony, it’s Lorraine,” she said through the receiver. “Donna’s on the other line.”
“Is she? That’s okay then,” Tony replied. “I was just making sure that things were getting organised.”
“Being organised,” Lorraine corrected. “But I feel a bit useless. There’s nothing else I can do, is there?”
“I don’t suppose you can get a car?”
“Hang on…” Lorraine cupped a hand over the receiver and turned to Lisa. “Would Aaron mind if I borrowed his bike?”
Lisa shook her head. “He has the day off so he doesn’t need it today. Just bring it back in one piece.”
“Thanks.” Lorraine gave her a warm smile and turned back to the phone. “I have transport. What do you want me to do?”
“Would you mind going to the supermarket and picking up a few things?”
“Sure.”
“Have you got a pen and paper handy?”
Lorraine looked around and found an old envelope and a pencil. “Ready.”
Tony read out a whole list of items and before too long she was on her way to the mall.
It was one o’clock when she left the house, and being a Saturday the mall was busy. Lorraine had thrown on her cut-off jeans, her favourite red sleeveless blouse and commandos. Her hair was pushed back into a high ponytail and she wore no makeup.
By seven o’clock, however, she had undergone a complete transformation for the party.
As she stood before the mirror, wrapped neatly in a soft purple towel, her hair twisted onto the top of her head, Lorraine thought about what she would wear.
Donna had told her to come to Christchurch prepared for a party, but as Lorraine looked through her clothes, none of them appealed to her for that evening. They just didn’t seem to fit the mood she was in. Being unknown to most of Donna’s friends, she wanted to make a good impression, meaning she wanted to wear something that would turn a lot of heads.
Her own clothes were spread across her bed and she glanced through the pile once again before slumping down among them.
“I don’t have anything to wear,” she said as Donna appeared from the bathroom.
Donna laughed. “What are those?” She walked to the bedside and began to rummage through Lorraine’s clothes.
“I’m sick of all my stuff,” Lorraine said as she let her hair out and began to brush it.
“Okay, let’s go and see what Lisa’s got.” Donna slipped into a white towelling robe and pulled the ties tight around her waist in a loopy bow.
Lisa was already in her bedroom, getting ready for her own night out. She was more than happy to let the girls paw through her wardrobe.
“Have you got any black trousers?” Lisa asked Donna. Seemingly, she was in the same predicament that Lorraine was.
“I have,” Lorraine said in haste.
“Would you mind?” Lisa asked, giving Lorraine a cheeky smile.
“If I can wear this.” Lorraine held up a red taffeta skirt with flecks of gold through the material.
Lisa looked at the skirt for a moment. “Go ahead.” She followed the girls through to their bedroom, where Lorraine handed over her black trousers. Happy with their trade, Lisa disappeared again to continue getting ready.
Thirty minutes later, Lorraine stood before the mirror once more. The red skirt went perfectly with her white sleeveless blouse, white stilettos and red denim jacket, finished with a simple string of pearls that had once been her mother’s. Her makeup was light, her sparkling blue eyes highlighted with azure eyeliner and dark mascara. Her lips shone a glossy red to match the rest of her outfit.
She caught Donna’s reflection behind her in the mirror and whistled loudly.
The slimmer girl wore a brown leather minidress with a black stretch belt around the middle, black shoes and black studded earrings. Her hair, freshly washed, had been braided into a French plait, small curls left to frame her petite face.
“Watch out, Tony,” Lorraine said, smiling.
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Donna said as she grabbed her coat. “Shall we go?”
Chapter Three
They were the first to arrive at the flat, but they had planned to get there early to help Tony and Scott.
“Here’s my two lovely ladies,” Tony said as they let themselves into the kitchen.
He turned and took Donna into a warm embrace, kissing her tenderly on the lips.
Lorraine made a gagging sound as she took off her jacket.
Donna giggled as she pulled away from Tony.
Tony’s attention was immediately torn away from his girlfriend when he caught sight of Lorraine w
ithout her jacket on.
“You’re going to turn a few heads tonight,” he said. His attention soon swung back to Donna as she began to unbutton her black trench coat. “What’s under here?” he asked.
Donna slipped the coat from her shoulders and added it to the pile forming on the back of the door. “We work in pairs.” She looped her arm over Lorraine’s shoulders. They both smiled at Tony. “You like?”
“Very nice,” Tony replied as he blew Donna a kiss.
“Where’s Scott?” Donna asked.
Tony continued to empty the contents of a bag of chips. “Marty said he’d do the late shift for Scott, if he’d do the triple feature. He’s going to be a bit late, that’s all.”
“What time does that finish?” Lorraine asked as she sat at the kitchen table. She should have known that something would spoil their plans.
“Nine o’clock,” Tony said. “He’s gonna get back as soon as he can.”
Lorraine busied herself, taking glasses through to the back porch, moving the furniture and fixing up the stereo system, only to find that she could not get Scott out of her mind. She didn’t know why she felt the way she did about him, as she hardly knew him, but then, attraction was a funny thing. She knew she had no hope in hell of being anything other than ‘Donna’s friend who he had to put up with’, but it couldn’t stop her hoping that there could be something more between them. She also knew that if anything did happen between them, she would only end up being hurt. When she fell, she fell hard, and she had no intention of falling for someone she could never have a future with. But still, her body and mind kept telling her she wanted to know Scott better, physically if nothing else. Maybe this once, given the situation, she was ready for a one night stand, or holiday fling, as Donna would have called it. People did it all the time, so why shouldn’t she?
“Lorraine, where are you?” Donna’s cheerful voice yelled from the kitchen.
“In here,” Lorrain replied as she went to the stereo and turned it on. Loud music filled the room and fine quality speakers vibrated sound through the floorboards. If it was one thing that could really get Lorraine moving, it was music. She loved to dance, at parties and discos, especially if everyone else was feeling the same mood. For a little while nothing else existed and she could let go of all her inhibitions.
Lorraine heard unfamiliar voices and went through to the kitchen. Sure enough, some of the first guests had arrived. Four people stood just inside the door, talking to Donna.
Donna turned and smiled when she saw Lorraine.
“Lorraine, this is Michael.” She pointed to the tall dark haired young man who smiled and nodded. “And this is Sarah, Simon and Nick.”
Lorraine knew she wouldn’t remember any names, and sure enough, in the next ten minutes she met so many new people that her head was spinning.
“Donna, I didn’t know you invited so many people,” she whispered as she stood in the kitchen, looking through to the living room. The volume of noise was already quite strenuous but nobody was dancing yet. Of course it was only expected, as the first hour of a party was usually spent mingling, drinking, catching up on the latest news, and so forth.
Most of the people present knew each other, which made Lorraine feel like an outsider, however she had expected that. With Donna’s help she was determined to become part of the crowd.
“I told you we had lots of friends,” Donna said, smiling as she crossed her arms tightly across her chest.
Tony stopped behind her as he came into the kitchen and slipped his arms around her waist. “Good party, eh?” he said, bending his head and kissing Donna softly on her neck.
“Not bad,” Donna said as she lifted her arms and wrapped them around Tony’s neck.
Lorraine decided it was time to leave them alone, so she moved through to the living room.
Before the party, Tony had removed all the light bulbs and replaced them with coloured ones. Red, blue, green and yellow lights dimly coloured the floor and lounge walls, making it much darker than usual.
“Lorraine, isn’t it?”
She turned to face a dark figure whose face she could not quite make out in this light.
“Yes, you’re…” She squinted to try and force her eyes to adjust.
“Nathan. We met earlier.” He flashed a pearly smile.
“Sorry, Nathan. I’ve met so many new people tonight that I don’t think I remember nearly half their names.”
“Sure, I know what it’s like when you’re new in town,” Nathan said. Dimples creased his cheeks as he smiled again. “Do you want a drink?”
“Thanks.” She watched as he poured a beer for her into a plastic cup. “So, how do you know Donna?”
“Ah, we went to Hornby High together when she was here.”
“Oh, so you’re still at school?”
He nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”
The two slipped easily into a comfortable conversation and were soon joined by several more of Tony’s friends. Lorraine found herself enjoying their company, and the attention she seemed to gather, being Donna’s only friend from Blenheim.
A few people finally began to dance and Lorraine sat back to watch, content to finish her beer and nibble on a few chips. When she realised the bowl was empty, she took it through to the kitchen for a refill.
Almost immediately the music was turned up a few notches and Lorraine felt the beat pulsate through her body. The kitchen was quite crowded and at first she did not notice Scott standing by the door, watching her.
She stood at the bench and, as she opened another bag of chips, she swayed her hips from side to side in time to the music. As she turned around, her steps somewhere between a walk and a dance, she caught sight of Scott and their eyes met.
She stood, transfixed by the intensity of his gaze and the music suddenly faded to nothing in contrast to the power she felt in his aura.
His eyes travelled slowly down over every inch of her and she knew that her body pleased him. His deep brown eyes looked almost black in this light, but she knew he was staring at her. Someone passed between them, almost breaking the spell, and then was gone, leaving them caught in each other’s gaze once more.
“Lorraine, come and dance with me,” Donna’s excited voice brought Lorraine back down to earth.
Donna caught her arm and dragged her back through to the living room. It was no use protesting, as Lorraine’s legs felt like jelly and she had momentarily lost the power to speak. She couldn’t get rid of the image of Scott staring at her like that.
She shook her head to get the thought out of her mind, focusing instead on Donna and the music.
Although he could no longer see her, she could clearly still see Scott, standing where she had left him by the door. Tony had thrust a beer into his hand and he was laughing at something somebody had just said. She could hardly tear her eyes away from the way his thighs pressed tightly into his jeans.
Suddenly she couldn’t breathe. She excused herself from Donna, leaving her with a group of friends to slip out onto the back porch. She fanned herself with her hand. Where was all the air?
There were only a few people sitting talking in the darkness and Lorraine gladly poured herself a glass of wine. She leaned against the white railing that surrounded the verandah, sipping her drink and listening to the happy voices coming from inside the house.
It wasn’t long before Donna discovered where she was. “Scott’s asking after you,” she said over her shoulder.
“What?” Lorraine’s eyes widened. “Why?”
She shrugged as though she had no idea, but grinned all the same. “I think he wants to dance with you. Word is the couples want some slow music on.” She took Lorraine’s hand and began to walk back towards the house.
Lorraine pulled back, not moving from her spot. “Donna, wait.” Her friend stopped and looked back at her questioningly. “If you’re shitting me—”
“No, I’m not,” Donna said quickly. “I wouldn’t. Not when it’s so obvious h
ow you feel about him.”
“Is it that obvious?” Lorraine laid her hand on Donna’s shoulder.
“Oh, come on, this is me you’re talking to.” She shrugged. “Besides, you sleep talk.”
Lorraine blushed deeply, knowing that she had indeed been known to sleep talk. But just what she could have said about Scott, was beyond her.
The music changed to a slow song, one that was a personal favourite of Donna’s. Tony approached them and Donna went into his arms, not unlike several couples on the dance floor.
Lorraine headed for the sanctuary of the kitchen but knew straight away it had been a mistake when she saw Scott standing in the doorway between the kitchen and lounge. The impact of his gaze stopped her in her tracks momentarily and she quickly attempted to push past him. She felt his large, warm hand on her shoulder and she turned slowly. Unable to meet his gaze, she waited, looking straight ahead at the smooth brown skin of his chest. He placed his other hand gently under her chin and tilted her head back so she had to meet his gaze. He smiled, a warm crooked offer of friendship that made Lorraine’s heart thump so hard she thought he must be able to hear it, even over the loud music.
He took her hand and led her to the dance floor, pulling her into his arms as he turned back to her.
Lorraine felt breathless as their bodies moulded together in time to the music. She felt his thighs beneath the thin denim material pressed firmly against her own warm hips, and a tiny shiver passed down her spine. His shallow breath was hot against her forehead as his arms found the slim round of her waist and her own arms encircled his neck, her head finding rest below his right shoulder.
After dancing like this through two songs, she felt him move away slightly. She lifted her face to his, and his lips connected with hers in a soft kiss. Once, twice, three times their lips met in a lingering kiss, until Lorraine felt giddy.
Without a word, Scott led her through the crowd and out onto the back porch. They were alone in the darkness and the cold air wrapped around them like a blanket.
