“It is a lovely dress,” said Poppy, “but it's a little over the price range I had in mind.”
“Let me buy it,” said Edie. “It can be my wedding present to you.”
Poppy looked at Caro, who shrugged in return, finishing off the remains of her drink. “I couldn't let you buy it, Edie, it's way too expensive.”
“Nonsense, you want everyone to admire you on the big day. And think of all the little girls who would want to be you in that dress, marrying the talented, gorgeous rock star.”
For a moment, Edie wondered who she was trying to convince, Poppy or herself - not that she thought for one moment that Alik would consider proposing to her.
“If you're sure...?” Poppy took one last look at herself in the mirror.
Edie nodded. “It will be my pleasure.” She nodded towards the assistant, pulling out her purse and waving a platinum credit card in her direction. “Please make the necessary arrangements to have this shipped to North Ridge, I'll take care of everything.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
In the days leading up to Poppy's hen weekend, Caro received a string of emails and texts from some of the hens crying off with various reasons why they couldn't come. There should have been ten of them altogether but when it came time to meet to go down to Brighton late on the Friday afternoon, there were only six: Edie, Olivia, Caro, Poppy, and two of Poppy's friends from London; Lara and Chrissy.
The plan was to check in to their hotel and then head to English's, the oldest seafood restaurant in Brighton, for dinner, saving themselves for a big session on Saturday. To get them into the swing of things, and compensate for the fact that it was actually quite an awkward group, Caro had bought a few of bottles of champagne for them to drink on the train.
“I can't believe some of the excuses that your friends gave me,” said Caro as she poured herself another glass. “Who can't get a babysitter when they've known for weeks what the dates were?”
Poppy sighed. “I know, I'm disappointed too. But at least this pair stuck with me.” She waved her plastic flute in the direction of Lara and Chrissy.
Lara grinned. “As if we'd let you down, babe. Not every day you get to hang out with a celeb.” She gave a nod in Edie's direction. “I reckon we'll be getting VIP treatment the whole weekend.”
Caro had taken to Lara immediately in the exchange of emails they'd had in the build up to this weekend. Lara had given her some entertaining snippets of gossip about Poppy's pre-Nate dating days. After the previous week's Newcomen Farm adventures, she was glad there were some other people around.
* * *
Edie and Olivia were talking about The Magpie when their conversation was interrupted by Edie's phone. She briefly glanced at the screen before killing the call with a swipe of her recently-manicured nail. When it rang again, she repeated the move.
When it rang for the third time, Caro chipped in impatiently. “Just answer it, Edie, or put it on silent or something. I'm sure if Alik is that desperate to speak to you he'll leave a message.”
“Sorry, I didn't realise that it offended you that much.” Edie switched it to silent. She didn’t want to divulge that Alik wasn't the caller, but Billy. And she couldn't really speak to him in public in front of the others. Staring at the phone, she watched as he called a few more times before giving up. Debating whether or not to go to the vestibule between carriages to call him back, Edie decided it would be easier - and less likely to arouse suspicion - if she just texted him back with a quick message. She fired off a ‘Can't talk, I'm with the girls x’ missive and hoped that it would pacify him. She reached for the champagne bottle and wondered how long they had before they arrived in Brighton.
* * *
Caro had booked them into a quirky boutique hotel. Each room had a different theme and was beautifully-decorated to reflect the characteristics of that idea. Caro and Poppy's suite was boudoir-inspired, with totally frivolous decor, including framed frilly knickers adorning the walls and plenty of faux fur and vintage furniture. Olivia and Edie's room was 50's in style, dedicated to Bettie Page, with lots of leopard print and curved, elegant furniture, huge floor to ceiling windows and a balcony overlooking the square in front of the hotel. Lara and Chrissy's room celebrated all things Dolly Parton and Americana kitsch with plenty of gingham, plaid, and even a white picket fence painted on one of the walls.
They quickly unpacked and freshened up, before heading out to English's, nestled in the heart of the Lanes. They enjoyed a light-hearted, boozy meal, sampling some of the best food on the menu: Crab bisque, tiny parcels of lobster tortellini, massive tiger prawns, sea bream, and fish pie finished off with Calvados pannacotta and a bitter chocolate and mint terrine.
It had been Poppy's idea to go back to the hotel and play drinking games, rather than argue about which of the many bars and clubs that were in town to go to. Caro and Poppy wanted a rock club, Edie preferred pop or dance, and the others were trying to keep the peace.
“At least this way, we can all put our iPods on and all get a bit of what we want,” said Poppy, as she opened another bottle of champagne.
* * *
Edie was chatting to Lara and Chrissy. She found them slightly crass, to say the least, particularly with some of the comments they had made about Poppy over dinner, but the bride-to-be didn't seem to have taken offence. And she suspected that she ought to at least make an effort as Poppy had been kind enough to invite her. She wondered if she would have been there if she hadn't just forked out for the wedding dress. Still, it wasn't worth worrying about now.
“Remind me what it is you do?” asked Edie.
“We work at Claire's Accessories,” said Chrissy, taking a large sip of her wine. “That's how we met Poppy.”
“Oh, right,” said Edie. “Which store did you work in?”
Lara gave a loud laugh. “We're not shop assistants, Edie. I'm a designer and Chrissy's a buyer. She had the best-selling jewellery product last year that wasn't Disney-inspired.”
Edie sat up a bit straighter. She hadn't realised that these two were quite so influential. Neither of them came across as she would have expected from people in the same industry as her. But she hadn't realised that Poppy had anything to do with fashion either. “I imagine that you've heard of The Magpie then?” she asked. “It was featured in Aspire recently.”
Lara shook her head.
Chrissy nodded. “Yes, I've worked with a couple of suppliers recently that mentioned your shop. Seems like you've got some good success there.”
Edie basked in the compliments as the three of them started discussing fashion trends until Poppy told them it was time to shut up and focus on her.
* * *
Caro set out six shot glasses and opened a bottle of tequila, pouring everyone a shot.
“Okay,” she said. “It's time for that old favourite, Never Have I Ever.” She paused as the others groaned. “I've prepared some questions, you pick one out and if you've done that thing, you need to sink your drink. Obviously you have to tell us what the question is.”
“But do we have to divulge the situation?” asked Chrissy.
“Not unless you want to. Right then, lovely bride to be, you get to go first.”
Caro shook the makeshift bowl - she'd actually emptied the ice down the sink and used the ice bucket, giving it a cursory wipe with a towel so the questions wouldn’t get wet - and waved it in front of Poppy, who delved in.
Hooting with laughter, she took a shot. “Never have I ever flashed someone!”
Lara and Chrissy dissolved into giggles. Caro moved on to Olivia, who opened up her question and simply shook her head.
“Never have I ever ended up naked and can't remember why,” she said. “I just don't do that sort of thing! I always know when I've had enough to drink.”
“Are you sure about that?” Caro stared at her. “I seem to remember one night at The Roca Bar... Oh, no, wait, I know exactly what you were up to that night and you definitely knew what you were
doing.”
Next it was Lara and Chrissy's turn, both of them downed shots, sharing a little more than was necessary. The rest of them howled with laughter at the stories. Clearly working in fashion ensured that there were plenty of stories to tell. Caro came to Edie.
“Your turn.”
Edie took her time in swirling the questions around before picking one. She read the question silently, before downing the tequila in her glass. “Never have I ever been told what to do during sex,” she said quietly, avoiding everyone's gaze.
“Alik doesn't strike me as the dominant type,” said Caro.
“What would you know about Alik?” said Edie. “Although you two are always off whispering together about something.” She refilled her shot glass before Caro had chance to do so. “And isn't it your turn now anyway?” Edie grabbed the bucket and thrust it at her. “Go on.”
Shaking her head, Caro took one of the cards and read it. Draining her glass, she looked Edie directly in the eye. “Never have I ever slept with someone within an hour of meeting them. And God, he was good.”
* * *
Edie decided that she wasn't going to stay up for much longer after Caro's question. She persuaded Olivia that it was late and the two of them should head off to their room as it would be a long day tomorrow. Olivia appeared grateful and the two of them disappeared.
Some time later, Edie lay in the dark, trying to get off to sleep. She had never shared a room with Olivia before and she was conscious of her movements, not wanting to disturb her roommate. As the sounds of the town settling down for the night filtered through the window, Edie's phone vibrated with a text message. Turning her back on Olivia, she held the device slightly under the covers so she could reply. The exchange of messages went on for a good five minutes before Olivia interjected.
“I didn't realise you and Alik were so needy,” she said, sighing.
“It's not Alik,” said Edie, without thinking.
Olivia propped herself up on one elbow. “Then who on Earth are you texting so eagerly at this time of night?”
Edie had been drinking since they had left North Ridge and was, perhaps, not thinking totally clearly. She admitted to Caro's best friend that she was in the middle of sexting her boyfriend's band mate.
“What?” Olivia sat bolt upright and flicked on the bedside lamp, flooding the room with light. “How did that happen?”
Edie covered her eyes to hide from the glare. Turning onto her back, she stared up at the ceiling and regaled Olivia with the events of the Wilde Park Festival and what had happened when they had gone to Newcomen Farm. And how they had met up on a few occasions since, although it was getting difficult not to arouse suspicion.
“What are you going to do about it?” Olivia asked.
That was something Edie hadn't really thought about. She was enjoying the danger and the passion of her affair with Billy. Not to mention the totally hot, kinky, sex. She wasn't prepared to give it up. At least not yet. But at the same time, she also didn't want to break things off with Alik. There was a devilish streak in her that didn't want to do that and give Alik the opportunity to start a relationship with Caro.
“I don't know.” Edie sat up suddenly and looked at Olivia. “You can't tell anyone about this. Especially not Caro.”
* * *
After a leisurely start the following day, they all made their way to the Queens Cabaret Bar for their burlesque workshop. Edie was already on edge, wondering whether or not she could trust Olivia with what she'd told her about Billy. Olivia had been pretty quiet for most of the morning, and Edie had made sure that she was never on her own with either Caro or Poppy.
They were met at the bar by Pearl Delonge, who introduced herself as an international performer. She was dressed in an exquisite jewelled corset that wouldn't have looked out of place on Dita Von Teese, and ridiculously high sparkling heels. Her black hair was smoothed into perfect shape, and she had well-defined eyebrows and bright red lipstick. She looked like the whole package. Pearl instructed them to get changed and pointed to the stage, where she would meet them in a few minutes.
When they returned, Pearl was already playing some music that would complement the moves they were going to be learning.
“I'll start off with something relatively simple,” said Pearl. “Now watch me.”
The six of them, dressed more for yoga or pilates than burlesque, looked on as Pearl started to bump and grind along to the music. It was inherently sexy, without being too slutty. Despite their initial reluctance, it wasn't long before they were all giggling and moving like Pearl, waving large feathered fans around. Poppy and Caro were really getting into it, dancing back to back, playing up to each other, and pretending to kiss. Edie found it rather distasteful.
“You two are naturals!” Pearl said. “I should get you onstage with me tonight.”
“Erm, I don't think so, but thanks. Neither of us is exactly the performing kind,” said Poppy. “It’s our other halves who like the limelight.”
Edie immediately picked up on Poppy's comment. “What do you mean ‘other halves?’ Jonny isn't in a band.”
“I know that but wherever there's a free ticket or a live gig, he's there. He's always first on the scene for new stuff,” said Poppy.
“Not exactly the same as being the lead singer in an up and coming rock band though, is it? I mean, when did Jonny get the cover of Roccia magazine?” asked Edie, pretending to examine her nails.
“When did this become your-boyfriend's-got-a-bigger-dick-than-my-boyfriend?” challenged Caro, sipping from a bottle of water.
Edie knew they were getting close to dangerous ground and needed to do something to change the subject. “Pearl, how about you show us the shimmy move again?”
After the awkwardness of the lesson, they were grateful to escape to the showers and then head into the main bar and restaurant for the evening. They had a semi-circular booth in the centre of the room that faced the stage, decorated in deep blue velvet. An elaborate candelabra was the table centrepiece, strategically placed so they were all able to see the stage. Dinner was a fairly sombre affair, with not much conversation. They drank several bottles of champagne during the course of the meal until it came time for Pearl's show. They watched in awe as she went through her paces, recognising some of the moves she had taught them earlier.
“We could definitely do that,” said Poppy, drunkenly waving her glass around. “We could form a new dance troupe.”
Edie shuddered. She couldn't think of anything worse.
“Surely we should be playing some kind of truth or dare game, like we did last night,” said Chrissy. “We are on a hen night after all.”
“We could always play 'which member of Blood Stone Riot do you fancy the most.'” said Poppy. “I'll start: Nate, obviously! And Edie would obviously go for Alik.”
Edie shifted nervously in her chair, avoiding Olivia's eyes.
Taking a sip of her drink, Edie nodded in agreement with Poppy. “Of course, Alik is definitely the one.” Her eyes narrowed as she turned to Caro. “And what about you, Caro? Which member of Blood Stone Riot would you say was the most attractive?”
“Nate,” replied Caro, without hesitation.
Poppy interjected. “Edie, let's just go back on your answer there. I thought you and Billy seemed quite close when we were in the studio...?”
Edie looked desperately at Olivia.
“If the marathon texting session last night was anything to go by, then I doubt anyone else but Alik would be lucky to get a look in,” Olivia said, quickly. “Honestly, it took me ages to get to sleep because of all the beeping and vibrating.”
“Are you sure that was just the texting?” said Lara, laughing. “Don't think we didn't notice you slipping off into that little erotic boutique place last night before we came back, Edie. Maybe you got Alik a little gift while you were there.”
Edie was silent. Billy had given her an instruction for their next meeting and she was merely obeying his r
equest. Thank God they hadn't insisted on going with her. The sooner this weekend was over the better.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The text had been pretty direct. No niceties, no kisses, just a simple instruction.
Edie shivered in anticipation as the taxi delivered her to the outskirts of North Ridge, to a simple, no-frills hotel.
“That'll be a tenner, love,” the taxi driver said.
She pushed a note at him and jumped out, her small bag bouncing against her hip as she tightened the belt of her stylish trench coat. She entered the hotel and smiled politely at the receptionist, pretending she knew exactly where she was going. Glancing to her right, she saw the tiny bar, which was empty. Except for one man sitting on a stool at the end, nursing a pint of beer. She walked confidently over to him, as best she could on dangerously-high black patent heels, and stood directly beside him.
“You're late,” he said.
The smile disappeared from her face. “I'm sorry, there was traffic and it took ages.”
Billy smirked.
“You obeyed the message so far then,” he said. “Let's see if you did exactly what I told you.”
He turned her to face him, pulling her into the space between his legs and hooking one around her calf, shielding her from anyone else who might be able to see. Slipping a hand beneath her coat, he ran his fingers from her knee, up to her thigh, tracing the lace tops of her stockings and between her legs, cupping her naked pussy in his hand. She quivered, her legs threatening to give way. She wasn’t used to being touched in such a way where someone might see her. Abruptly, Billy removed his hand and moved to the lapels of her coat, tugging down the material until her bare nipple peeped from underneath. She went to cover herself, but he slapped her hand away, and did it himself.
“Good girl,” he said. “Now follow me.”
He stood up and put an arm around her waist, and led her towards the lift. As soon as they were in the lift, he told her to take off the coat. Edie glanced around nervously at the mirrored interior, checking to see how many floors there were. Would anyone see her?
Cocktails, Rock Tales & Betrayals Page 16
