by Clare Lydon
Tori didn’t know what to say. “Are you sure? We can totally come back tomorrow and pay you for the clothes and cash.”
He waved his hand. “A friend of Jake’s is a friend of mine. Plus, this really is an emergency. I can’t have you walking out of here and struggling to get home.”
“Thank you,” Tori said, a warmth flowing through her. “You’re our knight in shining armour.” There was still kindness and love in the world, in the midst of all the thieving toe-rags.
He smiled. “No problem. Toilets are round the other side of the bar if you want to get changed,” he told them, pointing to his right.
“Perfect,” Holly said. “What’s your name, by the way?”
“Tyler,” said the barman, holding out his hand.
Holly shook it, as did Tori.
“We can’t thank you enough, Tyler.”
“One thing you can do for me in return,” he said.
Tori furrowed her brow. What was he going to ask for? “Name it.”
“Tell Jake I helped you out — then maybe he might reconsider going out with me.”
Tori laughed. “Consider yourself highly recommended.”
CHAPTER TEN
When Holly woke up the next morning, the inside of the tent had somehow sagged in the night. Not just bowed, but truly sagged. Like it had given up, and was conceding to its fate. Holly understood the feeling — it would be easy for her to do exactly the same thing tonight after the weekend they’d had so far. To sag and perhaps stay in her sleeping bag all day, which was the safest option. Especially if Jen was waiting outside.
Still, the tent had been a welcome refuge when they got back, clad in T-shirts, a blanket and an apron like they’d attended a spectacularly odd fancy dress party, Tori’s butt cheeks exposed. They’d been almost joyous to finally reach their home for the weekend — until they’d clocked the three pairs of shoes outside Trudi and Shauna’s tent. However, if Jen was there for breakfast, Holly was determined to deal with it like a grown-up. As in, take a deep breath and head into town for breakfast. She wasn’t going to cause any more drama; even she’d had enough of that. But she certainly wasn’t going to play happy lesbian families with Jen, either.
Holly wriggled her toes and could still feel the grime caked on from walking across the beach and the campsite; she was desperate for a shower. Arriving back last night, they’d fallen asleep without brushing their teeth. Hence this morning, her mouth also felt like the inside of a cat basket, only possibly more furry. On top of all that, she was horrendously dehydrated, too.
She lifted her lower back stiffly off the floor — something was sticking in it, and she had no idea what. An anthill. A snake. A flesh-eating spider. A rock. Any minute now, the flesh-eating bug might break through and kill her.
That thought made her sit up, where she headbutted the sagging tent roof.
It was wet. Overnight, the tent had perspired.
Holly winced, pushing the sweaty fabric away from her: it just fell back once she took her hand away. She gave up and lay back down. The rock/killer insect stuck right back into her. Beside her, Tori had her mouth half open, eyes flickering. Tori might have eaten any number of spiders in the night. Then again, so might she.
“Will you stop moving about so much.”
Holly glanced to her left with a grin. “I thought you were asleep,” she said. “Anyway, I was just checking there wasn’t a snake underneath us.”
Tori rolled over and opened an eye. “Bound to be a snake at a campsite in Brighton. Riddled with them. I hear they pitched the site here for that very reason, to freak out campers.”
Holly gave her a look. “Don’t wind me up this morning. Things are still very delicate after last night.” Holly had forgiven her 95 per cent for the skinny-dipping disaster, but there was still a raw, naked 5 per cent that didn’t need poking.
“You can’t stay mad at me for long,” Tori said, her voice sing-song. “Besides, remember I make up your top three sexual encounters. You can’t walk away from that, can you?” Tori tilted her head, giving Holly her best ‘butter wouldn’t melt’ look.
“Don’t test me,” Holly replied, smiling despite herself. “And on top of that, we’re in a tent. I’ve no idea why I thought this was going to be a relaxing weekend.” She flopped back down beside Tori, who placed a kiss on her cheek.
“Don’t, my brain’s just started piecing it all back together.” Tori paused. “I can’t believe Jen was snogging Trudi and Shauna. And I can’t believe I lost your watch — I love that watch. It symbolises us.”
Holly smiled, rubbing Tori’s knee through the sleeping bag. “I know, but it’s just a thing. It’s not important.”
Tori sighed. “That’s a matter of opinion.” She paused. “Tell me we weren’t really running around Brighton beach naked last night.”
“I could tell you that, but I’d be lying.” Holly cringed as she recalled being naked, then falling over on the beach. Heat flushed her cheeks as if they’d just been microwaved on full blast: she was still 100 per cent mortified.
“You think anyone took a video of it? We could be a viral sensation by now — naked lesbians on Brighton beach.”
“God, I hope not. Imagine if Gordon saw it.” Holly put her hands over her face and shook her head. “He already thinks I’m a lesser being because I’m a woman. He might blow a gasket if he found out I was gay, too.”
“Naked and gay.”
“Thanks for the reminder.”
“Anyway, we’re not thinking about your new boss this weekend, remember?” Tori said. “Nobody will have filmed it, don’t worry.” Tori squeezed her hand to reassure her.
It didn’t really work.
“Anyway, I promise you, today will be way calmer. Skinny-dipping, exes reappearing and getting robbed all in one day. Today we’ll just kick back and have some fun in the sun.” Tori wrinkled her nose and sniffed the air. “Speaking of which, I hope that coffee smell is coming from our lovely friends,” she said. “Stick your head out of the tent and see, will you?”
Fresh air sounded like a plan, so Holly sat up, headbutted the tent again, before crawling to the entrance and unzipping. She was greeted by blinding hot sunshine as she stuck her head out of the gap. And Tori was right — Shauna was outside in flip-flops and shorts, clutching a mug of something. Holly glanced around, but couldn’t see Jen just yet.
“Is that coffee?” Holly asked, moving her sunglasses down over her eyes.
Shauna nodded. “It is — you want some?”
Gratitude flooded Holly. “You’re a saviour,” she said. “I’d love some.” Holly unzipped the rest of their tent and struggled out of it. She was still wearing the bar T-shirt donated by Tyler the night before, with the bar name ‘Brighton Rock!’ emblazoned across her breasts. She stretched her arms high into the air, breathing in the smell of coffee and bacon all around.
Despite herself, waking up in such surroundings and being instantly outside was quite uplifting. Coffee was somehow a more daring, rugged drink in the outdoors, and when she spotted Shauna preparing to cook on an open flame, something stirred inside her. Something primal. Something outdoorsy. Maybe she did have the lesbian gene, after all — it just needed some careful prodding.
Seconds later, Trudi strolled out of her tent. “Morning!” she said through a yawn. “Where did you get to last night? At least nobody fell on your tent, so that’s an improvement.”
Holly winced. “I’m not sure I’d agree.” And she told Trudi their sorry tale.
She listened, open-mouthed. “You were naked on Brighton beach?” Trudi put her head in her hands. “I would have paid good money to see that. Damn, you should have called me!”
“I would have, if my phone hadn’t been stolen.”
“You are having an eventful Pride, aren’t you?” Shauna said. “What’s on the agenda today? Getting arrested?”
Holly laughed again. “I’m going to try my hardest not to. But first on the agenda today is you giving me
a coffee.”
Shauna passed her a mug full of the black stuff.
“She’s a lifesaver, your girlfriend,” Holly told Trudi, already decompressing even before she’d had a sip. Coffee had that effect on her.
“I know,” Trudi said, walking over to kiss the top of Shauna’s head, who was still on her haunches, cafetiere in hand. “She’s a doll, isn’t she?”
“A doll? Since when did you hail from the American Mid West?” Shauna asked, peering up at Trudi.
“Since I started to read all those American lesbian romance novels. Now I just want to be a cowgirl and live in leather chaps.”
“There was a tent for that at Pride yesterday, did you see it?” Holly asked with a grin.
“Yes, it was full of men with beards, though. Severe lack of cowgirls.”
Holly laughed as Shauna poured her a coffee and passed it over. Then she steadied herself, waiting for their tent to ripple again. Eventually, Holly had to ask. “Is anyone else in your tent?”
Trudi shook her head. “Just us. We don’t like people to hang around afterwards, it’s one of our golden rules.”
Holly nodded her head. “And did you bring back that girl you were snogging in the tent when we left?”
Trudi shook her head. “No,” she said, laughing. “We gave her a wide berth later on — I don’t know what she was on, but it was something. She was a mess and making no sense at all an hour later.”
Holly didn’t say anything else — she didn’t want to get into it. That Jen had been a mess wasn’t a surprise to her: Jen had a penchant for drugs back when they were together, and was constantly berating Holly for being such a goody-two-shoes. They never would have worked because of that, among a list of reasons almost as long as Holly’s arm. But she was still glad Jen hadn’t emerged from Trudi and Shauna’s tent this morning. That would have just made her rather queasy.
Tori appeared a few minutes later, dressed in shorts and Brighton Rock T-shirt, squinting at the sun. She ducked back into the tent to get her sunglasses, then reappeared as Trudi handed her a mug of coffee.
“Morning, naturist!” Trudi said.
Tori stuck her tongue out in response.
“Bacon sandwich, m’lady?” Shauna asked.
“Those are some of my favourite words,” Tori replied.
They polished off the food within seconds of its appearance, and then all sat with satisfied looks on their faces.
“Can we use your phone to cancel our cards?” Tori said. Shauna nodded and nipped back into the tent to get it. “And you’re good to lend us some cash today?” Tori asked Trudi.
She nodded. “Of course — I can get out whatever you need. So long as you’re still on for giving out some flyers when we get into the party zone today.”
“More than ready,” Tori replied.
“You know the spiel?” Shauna asked.
Tori drummed her fingers on the arm of her camping chair before replying. “Let me see,” she said. “Babe Magnet is your one-stop shop for meeting friends and getting a shag. Basically, your key to a better life, ya di ya di ya?”
“I’m impressed,” Shauna said, laughing. “Almost word perfect, especially the ya di ya di ya bit.”
“But when we’re done with that, how will we meet you later? We don’t have phones, remember?”
“Good point,” Trudi said. “I’m sure we’ll find you, but if not, meet you outside Neighbourhood Bar. We should be there by around 5pm.”
“Perfect,” Tori said, arms above her head, yawning. “Let’s get this show on the road. First port of call: a hot shower.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It was 8pm when the party really broke into full swing, with the whole of the main party street now one sun-dappled mass of bodies, swaying to the music, woozy with booze and a whole lot of love. When the DJ put on I Am What I Am, the place erupted and the party went up a notch. There was such a spirit of love and unity in the air, Tori was choked up by it.
This was what she came to Pride for, what you didn’t get when you saw pictures of it on someone else’s phone, along with the obligatory shots of drag queens in ten-inch heels. Those were the headlines; the cold, hard facts. But what you simply couldn’t replace or manufacture was the spirit of love, acceptance and tolerance that was coursing through these streets right now, ruffling hair and bringing together every single person.
For this one weekend, it was possible to dream of a world where it really didn’t matter if you were gay, ever.
They were standing in a circle now, drinks in hands, cheeks raised in gleeful grins: Holly, Tori, Shauna and Trudi, along with some of Trudi’s Brighton friends.
“You know what, despite getting our stuff stolen and Jen turning up, I’ve had a fab time with you this weekend. There have been some real stand-out moments.” Tori kissed Holly’s arm as she spoke. In her mind, she was still in the sea with Holly last night, enjoying the moment before it all kicked off.
“It’s not finished yet — we’re partying till they chuck us off this street,” Holly replied.
“I like your bravado. I’m going to need a week to get over this weekend. I’ve hardly slept a wink in that tent, what with getting fallen on and last night’s amateur dramatics.”
“By the way,” Trudi said, leaning in to Tori. “Have you seen this photo that police are circulating of some blokes they reckon have been robbing people this weekend? They look familiar for some reason. It’s a bit grainy, but are they the blokes from the campsite? The ones that fell on your tent? One of them has a red hoodie on and the other has got really blonde hair.”
Tori took hold of Trudi’s iPhone, squinted, then nodded. “It could be, although like you say, it’s a bit difficult to tell. That’s a small picture and it was dark when we met them. If we could smell them through your phone, we’d definitely be able to tell then. Eau de whisky and all that.”
“Let’s have a look,” Holly said, taking the phone from Tori’s hand. Her face dropped. “Holy fuck, I think it is.” She paused. “Should we tell the police?”
Tori frowned. “Now? But I’m in the middle of my Pride celebrations, I don’t want to go to a police station.”
Their conversation was interrupted as a woman stumbled through the crowd and into Holly, a woman who’d clearly been partying far too hard. A woman Tori recognised immediately.
A woman named Jen.
When Jen saw it was Holly, she gave her a woozy smile.
When Tori looked into her face, she could see the tell-tale sign of her saucer-like pupils: Jen was high as a kite.
“Hey!” she said, holding out her arms to Holly, who had to grab her under the arms to stop her falling over. Jen swept her gaze around the group and her grin got even wider. “All my favourite people in one place! Holly and Tori, and you two,” she said, pointing her finger at Trudi and Shauna. Then she turned her attention back to Holly. “Lovely, grumpy Holly. Have you forgiven me yet?” Jen asked, wagging her finger in Holly’s direction. “Holly has to forgive Jen at some point, it was a long time ago.” Jen tried to shrug her backpack up on her shoulder, but it fell down her arm and crashed to the floor. She stared at it. “Oops.”
“What have you been taking?” Holly said. “You’re fucked, Jen. Why don’t you just go home?”
Jen grinned at Holly, not quite able to focus. “Go home? The party’s still going on!” Then she swayed from side to side. “But you know, I do need a wee.” She went to pick up her bag, but missed it. She tried again, but the swipe of her arm was still missing the handle.
Tori stepped in and picked up her bag, giving it to Jen. She thanked her, tried to get it on her shoulder but it fell to the ground again. Tori picked it up and put it at her feet. “Why don’t you go to the toilet and we’ll keep an eye on your bag for you?”
Jen took a moment to process her words, and then nodded at Tori. “That is very nice of you,” she said, before turning and lurching towards the pavement, and hopefully to one of the many pubs lining the street.
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“What did you do that for?” Holly hissed, clearly annoyed.
“What was the option?” Tori said. “If she’d kept trying to get that bag on, she’d have been pissing in the street in a few minutes. At least now she can go, come back and we can pack her off to wherever she’s staying. Because one thing’s for sure — whatever she’s on, she’s had enough of it.”
***
“Get your tits out!” someone nearby shouted; Holly twisted her head to see two female police officers and a beagle walking their way. The beagle’s coat had a white base with brown and black splashes: Holly had always had a soft spot for them.
One of the officers grinned. “Maybe later, sweetheart,” she replied, and the crowd applauded.
Tori nudged Holly. “You think we should tell them about those blokes?”
Holly weighed it up. “We could do. You never know, we might be lauded as the people’s champions.”
However, before Tori or Holly could beckon the police over to them, the two officers were by their side, the dog now sniffing round the bag at Tori’s feet.
She bent down to pet the dog, but it didn’t respond, just sat still.
“Evening, ladies,” one of the officers said. “This your bag?”
Holly’s heart shuddered to a halt. Something wasn’t quite right about this.
Tori shook her head. “Just looking after it for a friend.”
“Is the friend around?” the officer asked.
Holly craned her neck, looking for Jen. Please don’t let this be dodgy. Panic seeped into her. Where the hell was she?
“She shouldn’t be long,” Tori said. “I’m just watching it while she’s away.”
“I see,” said the officer, tugging down her bullet-proof vest. “You mind if we take a quick look?”
Her tone was friendly and she had a smile on her face.
“Be my guest.” Tori’s tone matched the police officer: calm, even.
Holly knew Tori would be churning inside, but she was doing a great job of staying calm. Tori gave Holly a fixed grin as the officer opened the bag, while her partner patted the dog, giving him a treat which he ate noisily.
