by Holly Bourne
Amanda looked from me to Lizzie and back again. “What’s going on, guys?”
“Nothing,” Lizzie and I said at the same time.
“Bollocks,” Ruth said. “Poppy. What are you doing tonight that’s more important than helping me showcase my new hairdo?”
I groaned and put my head on the table. I couldn’t think of one legitimate excuse.
“Lizzie, I hate you,” I said, face still down on the table.
“What exactly is going on?” Ruth said, no doubt annoyed the attention had drifted from her new hair.
I waved my hand in surrender. “You tell her.”
I could actually hear the smile in Lizzie’s voice. “Poppy and Noah are seeing each other,” she announced delightedly. I lifted my head cautiously to gauge the reaction. Lizzie looked relieved, like the secret had been choking her and she’d finally dislodged it from her windpipe. Amanda looked confused. Ruth’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re kidding me,” she said.
I shook my head.
“You and Noah?”
I nodded my head.
“Really?”
Another nod.
The card game was forgotten.
“Since when?”
Lizzie answered the question for me. “Since for ever,” she said. “Poppy’s the one he dumped Portia for.”
Great. Thanks for that reminder.
There was a stunned silence while everyone took in the bombshell. Ruth looked as if her centre of gravity had been removed. Amanda was still confused. And Lizzie just looked damned relieved to have let the secret out.
Amanda tentatively broke the quiet.
“Well, that’s great, Popps,” she said, clutching Johnno’s hand, who obviously wasn’t delighted to be in the middle of such a girlie conversation. “I didn’t know you liked him, but, well, that’s cool. I mean you never like anyone, so I’m just surprised really.”
“Yeah, Poppy,” Ruth said. “What happened to ‘no man in Middletown is good enough for me’?”
I hated being the centre of attention. “I guess I changed my mind.”
“I think it’s sweet,” Lizzie said. “You should’ve seen them together this morning. Poppy could hardly stand upright. She’s well smitten.”
“I am NOT smitten.”
“Yes you are.”
“No I’m not.”
“Are.”
“Not.”
Ruth interrupted. “Hang on. What was going on this morning? When did you see Noah?”
Lizzie answered for me again. “He was waiting outside college for her. It was so cute. And he’s arranged to see her tonight, which is why she can’t join us for the hair-celebration pub visit.”
Ruth’s eyes narrowed further so they were more slit than eyeball. “Hang on,” she said. “You’re not going to miss going out with your friends to see some pointless boy instead, are you?”
I gulped. “Er.”
“Because you always go on about how friends should come first…”
If I was a braver person, I would’ve pointed out all the instances in which Ruth called us to cancel last-minute – usually with the sloppy sounds of Will kissing her neck in the background.
I struggled to form an argument. “Well, I did make plans with him first.”
“So?”
Then her stupid little face lit up. “I know. Invite him along. It would be great to meet your new boyfriend properly.”
I curled my arms around my legs and went foetal, hoping this whole conversation would disappear into linguistic oblivion. “Umm.”
“It would be nice to meet him properly,” Amanda said. The bloody traitor.
“Er.”
“That’s great,” Ruth said, ignoring my obvious discomfort. “Meet you at the Lock and Key at six then?”
I nodded, hating her.
The rest of the day whizzed past in a hating-Ruth blur. I seethed through Psychology, and barely spoke to Frank in English. The problem was that if I’d believed Ruth genuinely wanted to get to know Noah better – without some kind of twisted ulterior motive – I would have been fine. But her reaction to the big revelation had just been, well, nasty really. I reran that first fateful Band Night in my head. I remembered her throwing herself at him, them holding hands, the look on her face as she introduced him. I had never been an “issue” before for Ruth. Our friendship, if you could call it that, had never had to endure us fancying the same guys. Mainly that was because, pre-Noah, there hadn’t been one Y-chromosomed culprit in a fifty-mile vicinity that had interested me. But, also, on the odd occasion I had found a man attractive, I’d never bothered to do anything about it. Why? Well, because Ruth was always there first. And my sarcastic-witty-banter flirting could never be a match for her cleavage-thrusting, sleep-with-a-guy-on-a-first-date sex appeal.
After the last bell I made my way home, feeling terrible. I’d been so looking forward to spending another evening with Noah. And now, at the risk of sounding like a huge saddo, I didn’t want to share him.
The late batch of sunshine was still burning strong as I let myself in. Mum and Dad were still at work and were almost never home before seven. That was good. It meant no risk of Noah bumping into them and having to answer awkward-parent questions. My air-dried hair lay lank around my shoulders, so I spruced it up with some hairspray and put on a bit of make-up. I then wrestled with my inner-confidence over whether to wear the yellow sundress I owned. It was pretty short and showed off my legs. I would freeze to death the moment the sun set, but thought sod it. If I was going to face a raving Ruth, I should look marvellous while doing so. I was just applying some red lip stain when my doorbell rang. My heart started thudding and I went from nought-to-nervous instantly. I grabbed my bag off the banister and went to let Noah in.
He was leaning against the wall when I opened the door, all James Dean-like. And he’d changed into a gorgeous charcoal-grey shirt.
Noah let out a low wolf-whistle. “Well, look at you,” he said. “You look stunning.”
I blushed in reply, heart still pounding. I stepped out and locked the door. As I was doing so, I felt Noah’s hands snake around my waist from behind. I shuddered with pleasure as he pulled my hair back and gently kissed my neck.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, his breath hot on my skin.
Another kiss. I almost melted.
“I can’t believe I have you to myself all evening.”
I turned into his embrace for a long, lingering kiss. Afterwards, my legs like jelly, I stepped back.
“Yeah, about that,” I said. “There’s been a change of plan.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve been coerced into taking you to the Lock and Key for the evening. Ruth’s orders.”
Noah’s face dropped. “You’re kidding.”
“I wish.”
“Can’t you get out of it?”
I shook my head. “Nope. She’s rather forceful, as you know. They all want to ‘meet you properly’.” I made the speech marks with my fingers.
Noah looked a tad pissed off and I cursed Ruth for the millionth time that day.
“So does this mean…?”
I nodded. “Yep. My friends know about us. Lizzie, well, she tried…” I broke off lamely.
“That girl needs to be gagged.”
“She tried really hard. I think that’s the longest she’s kept any kind of secret.”
In an attempt to pull Noah out of his bad mood, I tried winding my arm around his waist in what I hoped was a seductive manner. He responded, and pulled me into him, but wouldn’t look at me.
I attempted to break the pregnant silence that had descended. “Anyway…” I said. “I suppose it’s good we’re going out. I really don’t want to be one of those girls who spends all their time with just their boyfriend.”
“Poppy. It’s only our third ‘date’. I think we’re allowed to spend time just us two on our third date.”
I hung my head. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
More silence.
Then I felt his hand grab mine. He twisted my arm and, within a second, I was pulled up against his body. I blinked, wondering how he’d managed it so quickly.
“Anyway,” he said, his eyes staring into mine, “if I have to share you all evening, I want to make the most of the time I do have alone with you.”
And then he kissed me like I’d never been kissed before. He held my face as his mouth explored mine. I closed my eyes and focused on the sensation, as his other hand entwined with my hair. I heard myself gasp but it seemed from far away. My involuntary exclamation seemed to make Noah even more determined. He nibbled my lip gently, then breathed out heavily, and finally his tongue strayed into my mouth. I let out another moan and kissed him back, my fingernails digging into his back. Still kissing me, Noah picked me up and pushed my full weight against the door. If anyone walked past we would probably be arrested, but I didn’t care. My brain had gone someplace else. Somewhere where there was only pleasure, only Noah. My hands were now greedily clutching at the back of his neck, pulling his mouth as close to mine as I could. His taste was intoxicating.
And then we were interrupted by a huge rumble of thunder that shook the glass in the door.
I pulled my face away and looked up at the sky. “What the hell was that?”
Noah looked up as well. “Looks like a storm.”
The summery sky had all but disappeared in the time that Noah and I had been kissing. Only the smallest patch of blue remained. The rest of the sky was dominated by grey, ominous-looking clouds. The air fizzled with electricity and it had that weird iron-y smell you get just before a really huge downpour. Despite the sun being almost completely blocked, it still felt humid and sticky.
“That’s weird,” I said, extracting myself from Noah’s grasp reluctantly. “I didn’t hear there would be a storm today.”
“It’s probably been caused by all this hot weather.”
“I suppose.”
“As long as the rain holds off long enough for us to get to the pub.” He took my hand, casually, like nothing had just happened.
“So you don’t mind?” I asked. “You know, going?”
He shook his head and his dark hair flopped into his eyes. “Nah. It’s fine. But promise we don’t have to stay the whole night?”
I squeezed his hand. “I promise.”
When we arrived we found everyone already there.
They were stubbornly sitting in the beer garden even though it was obviously going to piss it down. Ruth and her fiery hairstyle were squished next to Will. He was pawing at her eagerly, trying to pull her into him, but she seemed disinterested. She was facing the pub door, her eyes thin, as if she’d been waiting for our arrival. Amanda and Johnno were nestled comfortably together, talking quietly. This left all Johnno’s mates with the task of impressing Lizzie, who didn’t look particularly impressed. Johnno’s friends were what we called Football Lads. Big on sport, not so big on anything, erm, academically challenging. Not her type at all.
The garden was relatively empty. Most people had probably clocked the sky and moved indoors. We walked outside, each holding a beer.
“Do you remember when we were both here last?” Noah asked, a smile playing on his face.
I thought of that hot sunny day, not so long ago, and shuddered at the memory.
“I was such a bitch.” I shook my head.
“You weren’t. Well, you were. But I kind of deserved it.” Noah swept some hair away from my face. “I’m still embarrassed, you know? When I run through that speech I made about how there was obviously ‘something happening between us’. You don’t know how much I’ve tortured myself. I thought, at the time, it sounded really dramatic and cool. But looking back…” It was his turn to shudder. “…Well, it was just dead embarrassing.”
I laughed. “We were both stupid. Let’s just forget about it and condemn the memories to the cringe cupboards of our brains.” I caught Ruth’s eye and waved. She gave me a half smile. “Come on then. Let’s get this over with.”
We said hi to everyone and they chorused it back. Lizzie and Amanda got up to say hello to Noah properly.
“He’s so FIT,” Amanda whispered in my ear as she gave me a hug.
I waved to Johnno’s mates, who I knew vaguely from college, and nodded to Will.
“Alright, mate?” Noah said to him. “You still on for rehearsal tomorrow?”
“Yeah, sure, of course,” Will replied, not paying much attention. He was squeezing some body-part of Ruth’s under the table, but I couldn’t make out which one. Her face didn’t give anything away.
“Hi, Noah,” she said, ignoring me. “Come sit by me. I’ve not seen you in ages.”
So it was going to be like that then, was it?
“Alright, trouble?” Noah took the seat she’d saved. “Your hair is different.”
“I got it done yesterday.” She actually batted her lashes. “Do you like it?”
“Yeah sure, s’alright.”
I slid in next to Noah, seething. I didn’t feel I had the mental strength needed to get through the next hour or so, especially if Ruth was switched onto I-have-to-prove-he-fancies-me mode. I sipped my beer.
“Only alright?” Her voice was all high-pitched, and she playfully slapped Noah on the arm. “Come on. You can do better than that.”
I stared into the depths of my bottle and pretended I wasn’t there.
“Okay,” Noah said. “It’s lovely. Very good haircut. Well done.”
“That’s better.”
“I love it. I told you that, didn’t I, Ruth?” Will was eager to get involved. “Told you it made you look even more gorgeous, didn’t I?”
Ruth ignored him and leaned in further towards Noah. “So you’re a one-woman man now, are you?” She looked up at him from beneath her false eyelashes.
Noah took my hand and held it tight. I was so grateful for the reassurance that I could’ve licked him.
“I am indeed.”
“That’s a shame.”
I gave Lizzie a look over the table. She, like everyone else, was witnessing this bizarre and entirely inappropriate flirtation. Lizzie raised her eyebrows in an I don’t understand either way.
I mouthed the word “Help” across to her and she nodded.
“It really is such a shame,” Ruth continued. “I heard you had quite the reputation…”
“RIGHT,” Lizzie interrupted, in a scarily loud voice. “I’m bored. Let’s play a game.”
The attention shifted to her.
I mouthed to her again: “Thank you.”
She winked.
“What kind of game?” one of Johnno’s friends asked.
“Yeah, what kind of game?”
“Umm…er…” Lizzie stumbled. She’d obviously only got as far as “game” in her distraction-planning.
“I know,” said Ruth, never missing a beat. “Let’s play Never Ever Have I.”
A groan escaped my mouth and I tried to turn it into a cough. Never Ever Have I was basically a drinking game where sexually experienced girls could further promote themselves while downing shots and coyly admitting to having al-fresco sex. While people like me, who’d only seen one penis and that was in a Year Nine sex education video, stayed utterly sober and felt awful about themselves.
“Eww, no,” Noah said, thankfully. “Anyone have a pack of cards on them? We could play Ring of Fire?”
Amanda, being Amanda, produced a pack of cards from her bag.
“You’re so organized,” Johnno told her, his eyes full of adoration.
“I…I…I just keep them on me.” She handed the cards over to Noah, who shuffled the pack. He put an empty beer glass in the middle of the table and arranged the cards in a circle, face down, around it.
“How do you play?” I asked.
“Be patient. I’ll explain everything.”
Ring of Fire was apparently a game you played to get righteously drunk. Noah assign
ed a “rule” to every card. If you broke a rule, you had to drink. And you kept picking up cards until the pack ran out. It was the perfect distraction from Ruth’s psychotic behaviour. The rain clouds were still suspended above us, but didn’t let loose. We remained outside in the clammy air, having a brilliant time.
I wasn’t usually a binge drinker but I was so wound up I found myself on my fourth bottle of beer pretty quickly. In fact, most of us were getting through them fast. Amanda was very pink in the face and kept dropping her head to Johnno’s shoulder before shooting upright in shock. Will was getting even letchier with Ruth, which wasn’t being appreciated. She was drinking white wine and wasn’t as tipsy as everyone else. She sat scowling, watching all of us having fun, and sneering a little. Lizzie had made a rule where everyone had to make an animal noise after they said anything. If you forgot, you had to drink. Crazy but hilarious. Everyone was mooing and baaing and our table was getting many disapproving looks from the few other customers in the garden who just wanted a nice quiet drink.
Noah seemed to be feeling the alcohol as well. He was getting progressively more affectionate. This normally would’ve bothered me, as we were very much in public. But four beers, it appeared, was enough to make me an exhibitionist. We weren’t being disgusting. He just had his hand on my leg. Okay, it might’ve been moving higher up said leg, but was never allowed above mid-thigh. I wasn’t Ruth, after all. My whole body tingled at his touch and the clouds got darker and more foreboding above us.
Another round later and I was undeniably drunk. I could feel my head swimming and was yelling “INK INK, THAT’S THE NOISE A SQUID MAKES”, while laughing hysterically at myself. I would be embarrassed later, no doubt, but at that moment, I didn’t care. Life was brilliant, perfect, and very, very funny – although maybe only I understood the joke. I’d just plonked my beer bottle onto thin air and it had smashed on the floor, when Noah decided it was time to take me home.
He stood up. “Come on, clumsy,” he said, taking my hand. “I think it’s best you come with me.”
“It’s fiiiiiiine,” I slurred. “I’ll pick it up.”
I swung down from the table towards the mass of broken green glass and tried to pick some up. Just as I was about to collect a particularly jagged piece, I found myself being hoisted upwards by Noah.
