by Rhoda Baxter
‘To say nothing for any pissed-up girls from his karate class?’
‘Not so much. Most of Hibs’s students are blokes. The few girls are a bit scary, frankly.’
‘Not all of them. I think little Jenna quite likes you.’
Vik shook his head. ‘No, she likes Hibs. But he won’t touch his students.’
‘Rightly so.’
‘He’s funny, Hibs. On the one hand he has no scruples whatsoever when it comes to picking up random women. On the other hand, with students and colleagues, he’s all moral.’
Beth paused. ‘Colleagues? Which colleagues has he turned down?’
Vik gave her a funny look. ‘He just said once about students and colleagues being out of bounds.’
That was interesting to know. She hadn’t given it much thought before, but he had never had a one-night stand with someone who worked on the same floor. People in labs in other areas, yes, but never anyone he worked with or saw every day. That ought to be reassuring. So why did she feel disappointed?
‘He never tried to pull you, did he?’ said Vik.
Beth was about to deny it when she thought about the night before and how close she’d come to kissing him. What would he have done? He probably would have kissed her back. This was Hibs after all – he was a walking one-night stand.
Other than that, he’d never come close to hitting on her. She’d been going out with Gordon from pretty much day one of her starting her PhD. Maybe if things had been different …
‘Beth?’ Vik was still waiting for an answer.
‘No,’ she said to Vik. ‘Never. We’re just work mates.’
She was being silly. She and Hibs were good friends. She was probably closer to him than any other woman. You couldn’t spend so many hours of each day together without building up some sort of special relationship.
Her phone beeped as another message came through. It was from Anna saying she’d pop by the Queen’s Head after her late lecture.
‘Hibs didn’t say anything about housemates of colleagues, did he?’
By the time Beth got there, the karate club had been drinking for quite a while. The pub was noisy and busy and they were all crammed into one of the alcoves, crowded round the table in the middle. Hibs waved to her. His eyes were shining and he had the biggest smile on his face. He moved up to make space next to him on the seat.
‘Congratulations,’ she said, giving him a friendly poke on the shoulder. ‘Well done, you lot.’ She looked around at the rest of the gang. She knew a few of the older ones from going to karate club socials before. The fresh-faced kids must be new this year.
‘I’ve got you a drink already.’ Hibs slid a glass of Coke across to her. ‘I bought it a while ago so it’s gone a bit flat.’ He pulled a face. ‘I didn’t know you were going to be this late.’
‘It’s only eight.’
‘Really?’ He made a show of checking his watch.
‘You don’t wear a watch,’ she reminded him, laughing.
‘Oh yeah.’ He took her wrist and checked hers instead. ‘Huh. I thought it was later than that.’
His fingers were warm on her wrist and suddenly Beth was very aware of her own pulse. She was sure that Hibs had checked her watch, holding her wrist in exactly the same way, before. She hadn’t minded then so why did it feel so strange now? Was it simply that being single had made her somehow more aware of men in general? She looked up to find him watching her, frowning slightly. She glanced down at her wrist, which was still in his hand. He let go immediately.
‘So, tell us details,’ said Vik, as he squeezed in on the other side of Beth.
Beth picked up her drink and moved up next to Hibs, uncomfortably aware of how close he was.
Anna arrived in the middle of an anecdote about why martial artists shouldn’t wear glasses. Beth looked up to see that Anna was wearing a tiny strappy top and more make-up than usual. Great – she was on the pull. People squished up to make room for her and Beth ended up thigh to thigh with Hibs.
He looked at her and smiled. ‘Okay?’
She nodded. She was so close to him she could feel the muscles in his arm move when he lifted his drink to his mouth. If she looked up now, she would be looking straight into his eyes.
‘Are you sure? You’ve been quiet all night.’
She looked up. He was even closer than she’d thought. He had beautiful eyes. How had she not realised before? Dammit. Why was she even noticing now?
He held her gaze for a second and Beth thought that if just one of them moved their heads, they could end up kissing. Hibs’s eyebrow twitched as though the same thought had just occurred to him. He drew a breath and looked away.
Anna shouted her congratulations across the room. Hibs grinned back and asked her if she knew everyone. When she shook her head, he started making introductions.
Beth looked at her drink. This was mad. He was her friend. They’d been friends for years. Now she was all flustered just from sitting next to him. What was wrong with her?
Perhaps she was missing Gordon more than she’d realised. Was this what sexual frustration felt like? She sneaked a quick glance at Hibs, who was busy chatting to the guy sitting next to him. Thank goodness he hadn’t noticed the effect he was having on her.
Beth couldn’t concentrate. Anna was talking to her about the calendar, but it was taking all her focus not to jump whenever Hibs moved. Luckily, it was loud in the pub and Anna didn’t seem to mind repeating herself.
‘I think I’ve found Dr December.’ Anna slid a photo across to her and Beth leaned forward to look. She was so wedged in, the movement caused her to be pushed further than she’d intended.
The man in the photo was nice enough and Beth nodded to Anna. ‘We’ll interview him in the next couple of days. Then we’ll have the full set to take to the WIS meeting next week.’
Beth leaned back into her space and found herself leaning against Hibs’s arm. While she was talking to Anna, he had encroached onto her space. She froze. Should she move forward again, and have to spend the rest of the evening doing that? Or should she go with the flow and risk things being a little too cosy? The thought of cosy was attractive. But then …
Hibs turned to look at her. She thought he was going to apologise and remove his arm. Instead he raised an eyebrow and said, ‘Comfortable?’
His gaze met hers and something deep inside her glowed in response. She was suddenly acutely aware of her own breathing slowing down. Something had changed. She knew for absolute certain that she was going to let him leave his arm exactly where it was. She was going to spend the evening feeling the warmth from his lean body. Sitting too close for friendship. She had no intention of being another notch on his bedpost, but it was nice to have someone flirt with her. At the end of the night, she was sure this brief flirtation would end and things would go back to the way they had been. Until then, she may as well enjoy it. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Very.’
Hibs smiled and little creases appeared by his eyes. She’d noticed them before, but now she realised they made his eyes more gentle.
‘Excellent,’ he said.
Beth grinned back.
Someone said something and Hibs’s attention was taken away from her. It was as though a lighthouse beam had swept past and plunged her back into darkness. Behind her back, Hibs’s thumb slowly drew circles on her back. She looked across at him and he gave her a glance full of humour before he turned back to his conversation. Hibs was playing with her. So this was how he pulled in all those girls. He made them feel like they were special. The only ones in on a private joke between them. Beth smiled and turned to talk to Vik. She’d never been party to his secret before – she realised she liked it. His thumb traced another lazy circle on her back. Oh yes. She definitely liked it.
Hibs drew another circle on Beth’s spine
. He couldn’t look at her now. If he did, his resolve might break and he would have to kiss her right there in front of everyone and Beth wouldn’t thank him for that. He could tell she thought his flirting with her was just a joke.
The kid next to him was still talking about the tournament and Hibs nodded on autopilot, not really listening. Dear god, how had it come to this? He was touching up his friend. How sad was that?
She laughed at something Vik said and her head touched his shoulder. Well, she wasn’t objecting. Maybe he was reading this situation all wrong. Maybe she was interested. Certainly, she’d stopped going on about Gordon. Maybe she was finally ready for someone else. He stole a glance at her. Maybe. He could ask her out. His heart rate increased. He frowned, nervous. Nervous about asking a girl out? That hadn’t happen in years. Come to think of it, he hadn’t asked a girl out in years. They usually just came to him. His gaze flicked across to Anna, who had been looking at him all evening. Just like that.
Beth’s lab timer, which had been set on the table amongst the glasses, went off. She jumped. ‘I’d better go,’ she said, giving Hibs an apologetic glance. People started to move to let her out. Bugger. That bloody timer had ruined the atmosphere. It had all been going so well up to then. He had to regain that feeling of intimacy somehow. If he let her disappear now, he might never get another chance like that.
‘Will you be okay going back by yourself? Do you want me to walk with you?’ Hibs said. He needed to talk to her. He couldn’t treat her like any other girl. This was Beth.
‘It’s okay, I’ve got my b—’ Beth started to say, but she stopped. ‘Actually, that would be good. I’m not sure I have bike lights.’
‘Right. Give me a minute to nip to the loo and I’ll be right with you.’
Beth nodded as they both left the table. She seemed a little flushed, Hibs thought. It made her look like she was glowing. ‘I won’t be a minute,’ he said and dashed off.
‘I can’t believe you brought your lab timer to the pub,’ Anna said.
‘It’s my turn to do the night shift.’ Beth pulled on her coat and her bike lights clinked in her pocket. She hoped Hibs didn’t notice them when he walked her to the lab. She could have got back quicker on her bike, but she didn’t want to leave Hibs right now. Not when things were starting to get interesting.
Her back tingled where his thumb had been. It wasn’t a big deal that he’d offered to walk her to the lab. He always did that if she was walking anywhere alone at night. She had thought it was sweet. But what if it led to something more? There was definitely something in the air that night. If he kissed her, would she object? She thought about the creases by his eyes and how solid he’d felt next to her and she had butterflies in her stomach. No. She wouldn’t object. Not at all.
In a corner of her mind, a voice reminded her about Gordon. It was unfair to muddy the waters with her friend when her heart was still bruised. But this sort of flirting meant nothing to Hibs. He would carry on as normal tomorrow. All she had to do was do the same. Besides, she reminded herself sternly, she was over Gordon. It would all be fine
She fidgeted, full of nervous energy. If she didn’t get a move on, she’d be late for her next time point. ‘Tell Hibs I’m heading off. He can catch up with me.’ She started walking across the pub.
‘Beth.’
The voice connected to something in her hind-brain and her heart picked up speed. She caught her breath – she would know that voice anywhere. Gordon. But how?
Someone caught her round the waist and spun her. ‘Babe, I’ve missed you so much.’
Before she could say anything, Gordon kissed her. For the briefest moment she thought to protest, but her body responded to the familiar taste of him. His arms tightened around her, pressing her to him and it all felt so like old times, so right. She had missed him so much. Without pausing to think, she kissed him back.
When he finally drew away, thoughts tumbled in her head. What was he doing here? When had he come back? Why was he kissing her? ‘Gordon. You … I … Why aren’t you in America?’
‘I missed you,’ said Gordon, with one arm still holding her to him. He moved a wisp of hair off her cheek and her skin tingled at his touch.
She wanted to say she’d missed him too. But if he’d missed her that much, how come she hadn’t heard from him in six months. Beth frowned. ‘You didn’t call. Or e-mail.’
He smiled, lifted her hand to his face and kissed it. ‘I thought it might be too painful for you.’
He was wrong, but it was sweet that he’d worried. It didn’t matter. He was back. Her heart lifted. His kiss left her so breathless and giddy, she couldn’t believe she’d ever thought it was wrong to be with him. She made a last effort to get answers out of him. ‘You didn’t send me a birthday card.’
‘I did!’
She raised her eyebrows at him.
‘Didn’t it arrive? I posted it in good time.’
‘No.’
‘Oh, babe, I’m so sorry. Did you think I’d forgotten? How could I forget?’ Gordon looked so concerned that her heart melted. He was still holding her round the waist. She realised suddenly that she was not over him. She was so not over him.
‘Beth, you didn’t seriously believe I’d forget your birthday, did you? Oh, babe.’ He gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
Beth didn’t know what to think. ‘I … We’d split up,’ she said. She suddenly remembered Hibs and flushed deeper. She shouldn’t have led him on like that.
‘Only because it was for the best. We were so far apart, we thought it would be best if we tried to get on with our lives,’ he said, slowly, as though talking to a child. ‘Remember?’
‘We? You decided.’
‘You agreed with me.’ Gordon shook his head, as though saddened by how she’d forgotten that. ‘Listen, let’s not quibble about that now.’
Beth didn’t want to quibble either. She wanted to kiss him and hold him and make up for all the months she’d spent without him. But how long was he back for? Was this one night, before he disappeared again? ‘Are you back for good?’ she asked, wishing ardently that’s he’d given up on the US and decided to come back to her. Where he belonged.
‘I’m back for a few months. Got seconded to a lab here. Cool, huh?’
Hallelujah! A few months wasn’t as good as forever, but it was better than nothing. ‘Can we go somewhere a little quieter?’ Gordon cast a disapproving glance at the table where the rest of the gang were sitting. He leaned closer. ‘Who are these guys anyway? They’re not the usual lo— guys from the lab.’
Beth remembered why she was wearing her coat. ‘I need to get back to the lab. I’ve got to take some photos.’ Oh no – Hibs. He was expecting to walk her back.
‘At this time of night?’
‘It’s a long story. Come on. I don’t want to miss my time point.’ She struggled out of his arms and made for the door. Hibs would understand. He would just move on and find someone else to chat up, like he always did. Harmless flirting. That was all it had been. She would apologise to him later. Maybe buy her way back into his good books with cake. Cake usually worked with Hibs.
‘How did you know I’d be here?’ she asked, over her shoulder.
‘I tried the lab and your place; you weren’t there. Where else would you be?’
Which just went to show how little life she had when Gordon wasn’t around.
As she hurried out she caught sight of Hibs staring at her and Gordon, scowling like fury. She gave him an apologetic smile. He was going to give her a hard time about Gordon. He never did get on with him.
Hibs stared after Beth as she and Gordon disappeared. What the hell had just happened? He had emerged from the loo to see Beth standing in the middle of the pub snogging Gordon the Git.
He felt like he’d been kneed in the stomach. Where ha
d he come from? Things had been going so well with Beth. It looked like there was a real possibility of something happening that evening. For the first time ever she’d noticed him as something other than a friend, and then that fuckwit had somehow materialised to ruin everything. He wanted to run after them and tear him away from her. He wanted to—
‘So, who was that?’ A voice interrupted his furious thoughts.
Hibs returned to surroundings. ‘What?’ He found Anna standing next to him, her hands in her back pockets, breasts thrust out towards him.
‘That guy who just kissed Beth. Let me guess … it was Gordon.’
‘What happened?’ he said. ‘I thought she was going to the lab.’
‘She said she was setting off because you were taking too long and then this bloke walks up to her and kisses her.’ Anna looked thoughtfully at the door. ‘It was quite romantic in a weird sort of way.’
‘He just grabbed her and kissed her? Just like that?’
Anna nodded, grinning at him. ‘I can show you how, if you like.’
Hibs stared at her and suddenly realised how annoyed he must look. His gaze took in his karate students, who were whispering amongst themselves, and Vik, who was watching him carefully. He couldn’t lose his cool in front of them. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Gordon rubs me up the wrong way, that’s all.’
‘I get it.’ Anna put a hand on his arm. ‘I could rub you the other way, if it would help you feel better.’
Hibs tried to focus on her. There was no doubting he was in there. Anna raised her cute eyebrows at him and winked.
‘Anna, I’m sorry. I don’t really need a relationship right now.’
Anna shrugged. ‘Excellent.’ She slid a hand over his shoulder. ‘That makes two of us.’
What the hell. It wasn’t as though he was going to get a better offer. He forced a smile. ‘I need to spend a bit more time with my friends,’ he said. ‘You’re welcome to stay.’
‘I’d love to.’ She slipped her arm through his and went back to the table. When the guys shuffled up to make a space for him, she sat on his lap.
