‘It’ll go quick,’ Rob said. ‘Should we hide it?’
He looked so earnest that Piper started to laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. After a couple of seconds, Rob started too. He’d taken his jacket off earlier, hanging it over the back of his chair, and at some point since he’d also undone his cuffs and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. His forearms were golden brown and brushed with dark hair. Piper couldn’t stop looking at them.
‘Shit, no. We can’t hide it.’ He glanced around. ‘What can we do?’
Piper picked up another piece and bit the end off, groaning again at the deliciousness. ‘I cannot believe I’ve never had this before.’
A cheer went up from everyone on the dance floor and Piper spotted Rob’s resultant grin before she realised what the song was: ‘Mr Brightside’. Of course it was.
Rob wrapped his hand around her wrist and pulled her out into the middle of the crowd. Everyone seemed to be losing their minds, jumping up and down with their arms around each other. Rob wrapped one arm around her waist and swung her around. She dipped her head back and looked up at the lights on the ceiling. They were soft and out of focus, leaping around and blurring. She was so drunk.
Rob grabbed her hand, his other hand on her waist and the two of them rocked from side to side, both singing. Rob was a surprisingly good dancer, she thought. Or maybe it was just that everyone was drunk and terrible.
Along with everyone else, Rob was yelling the lyrics and Piper stared at his mouth as he sang that it was only a kiss. She wondered what it would be like to kiss him. She’d always wondered. She’d wondered for years. Maybe she should just do it. Except she shouldn’t because her friends were here. Teachers were here. Plus she was drunk. And she’d just eaten a bunch of crackling. She laughed instead. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t wanted to come. It had been the best night she’d had for ages.
Chapter Sixteen
‘Oh sweet Jesus, my head,’ Piper groaned. Or tried to. Her voice didn’t quite manage to escape her throat.
‘I made you a tea,’ Rob said gently.
Piper yelped. Rob. What the fuck?
‘Oh god,’ she murmured. ‘What the fuck?’
‘There’s a bucket next to the bed if you… you know.’
Piper curled on her side, pressing her face into the pillow. Her head was throbbing , her stomach churning, but worse than that was the shame. What had she done last night? Flashes of memory were trying to push their way to the front of her mind, but she wasn’t ready for that yet. Maybe she never would be. Could you book yourself in for a lobotomy? Had no one made Eternal Sunshine-style memory wiping real yet? They should get on that.
‘Can I get you anything?’ Rob said.
He sounded near, but Piper didn’t think he was actually in the bed with her. She slid her foot across the sheet. No, she was definitely the only one in the bed.
‘I can do a fry-up?’ Rob said.
Piper wanted to pull the duvet up over her head and wait for death. Instead she forced one eye open and focussed it on the mug of tea on the bedside table.
‘I think just tea is good for now. Thanks.’
‘Okay,’ Rob said. ‘I’m going to go down to Morrisons and get bacon and eggs anyway. In case you change your mind. And sausage? Do you like black pudding?’
Piper’s stomach roiled.
‘I’ll just get the stuff and you can see what you feel like later. Okay?’
‘Great,’ Piper murmured. ‘Thank you.’
* * *
Once Rob had gone, not just out of the room, but out of the flat – Piper waited to hear the front door click closed – she dragged herself slowly to sitting and blinked both eyes open. Rob’s bedroom. In Rob’s flat. Grown-up Rob. She’d been in Rob’s bedroom a couple of times when they were teens. It had been a typical teen boy’s bedroom: smelled like socks, clothes on the floor, posters on the walls, mugs and dishes and abandoned towels everywhere. He had a TV and some game console – she couldn’t remember what – and she’d been envious because she wasn’t allowed technology in her room. She’d been fascinated by it all: the bed Rob slept in, where he took his clothes off and put his clothes on. Where he no doubt watched porn and wanked. She hadn’t been able to think about that for too long, the butterflies in her belly overwhelming her.
Grown-up Rob’s room – she really had to stop thinking of him as ‘grown-up Rob’ –was tidy, apart from a pile of trainers and shoes under the window. The walls were grey and plain apart from a framed poster above the bed. Piper was too hungover to tip her head back enough to see what it was. There was a pile of books on the other bedside table, next to a pint glass of water and a set of earbuds. And her dress – her silver sequinned kimono dress – was draped over a chair in the corner, her bag and shoes on the floor underneath. Had Rob undressed her? She was wearing her underwear, thank god, but… surely Rob hadn’t undressed her? She cringed, lying back down again and pressing both hands to her face. Why? Why had she got so drunk? She’d promised herself she wouldn’t. She was meant to be coming home and showing everyone that she’d been right to leave, that she had a whole different life now. Instead she’d immediately become a drunken mess. Matt would piss himself when she told him.
Piper forced herself to drink half the mug of tea before carefully clambering out of bed and padding across the room to the chair. She opened her bag to get her phone and yelped at the sight and the smell. Why was her bag full of pork scratchings?
Back on the bed, she texted Matt: Got hammered. Woke up in Rob’s bed. Kill me.
The phone rang almost immediately and Piper jumped, before clutching her head with her free hand.
‘Ow,’ she said when she answered.
‘Get it girl,’ Matt said. She could hear him laughing. She hated him.
‘I hate you.’
‘So. How was it?’
‘We didn’t have sex.’
‘Blowie? Handie? Did he just focus on your neeeeeds?’
‘Nothing? I don’t think? I think we might’ve kissed, but also that could’ve been a dream.’
‘Where is he now? Are you still at his place?’
Piper rubbed the back of her neck. It felt crunchy. Like crackling.
‘He’s gone to get bacon and eggs. He’s going to make breakfast.’
‘I feel like you definitely must’ve shagged him. Unless he thinks the fry-up’ll make you put out.’
‘I definitely didn’t shag him. It’s been a while. I’d know.’
‘That’s good anyway. That he didn’t take advantage of you in your delicate condition.’
‘That’s pregnancy. And I think it’s pretty basic not to shag someone when they’re drunk.’
‘Oh fucking hell, Pipes, not too hungover for a feminist lecture, eh? I know. I was joking. Are you okay?’
‘I feel like I’m dying. And I’m kind of cool with it.’
He laughed. ‘The fry-up’ll help, I promise.’
‘I’ll have to talk to him. What if I said stuff last night?’
‘What kind of stuff? Like about his arms and his jaw and his full bottom lip and deep blue eyes?’
Piper groaned. ‘Oh what the fuck?’
‘You texted me,’ Matt said. He was so smug. ‘You tried to send me a photo of him, but it was blurry as fuck. So you described him instead. He sounds hot. Almost gave me the horn, never mind you.’
‘Oh god.’ She drank the rest of her tea. It helped. A little.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Matt said. ‘I’ve been around you drunk loads of times. You talk a fuck of a lot, but you never do anything properly embarrassing. Not like Jodie.’
Jodie was prone to taking her clothes off when drunk. All of them. And once, they’d all left a club – one of the few times Piper had gone out with Matt and his friends – and Jodie had disappeared down an alley for a wee, then fallen over backwards with her knickers round her ankles, and just lay there, howling with laughter, until the rest of them had gone to find her. Sh
e wasn’t even embarrassed the next day. In fact, she kept recreating it to make the rest of them laugh.
‘You probably told him you’d missed him at the very worst,’ Matt said. ‘That’s all. I promise.’
‘I don’t know,’ Piper said. ‘What if I, like…’
‘Told him you want to climb him like a tree?’
‘Oh god.’
‘He might be into it.’
‘He won’t be. He never was.’
‘You don’t know that. How far away is the supermarket?’
‘What supermarket?’
‘The one he’s gone to to get breakfast things. Which, by the way, isn’t something men do for women they don’t like.’
‘He’s just nice. He was always nice.’
‘You’re such an idiot. How far is it?’
‘Ten minutes maybe?’
‘So get your arse out of bed and make yourself presentable for when he gets back. You’ve probably got make-up all over your face and hair like a bonfire.’
‘Fuck,’ Piper said. ‘I’ll ring you later.’
‘Send me another photo of him. See if you can get a shirtless one.’
‘Thank you,’ Piper said, swinging her legs out of bed and taking a moment to allow her stomach to settle.
‘No probs. Love you.’
‘Love you too.’
Piper took a few deep breaths before standing and shuffling over to the bedroom door. But when she opened it, she was relieved to find it was actually an en-suite bathroom. Bright and clean and smelling like lemons. Perfect.
Chapter Seventeen
‘You’re up!’ Rob said, coming through the door with a Morrisons carrier bag in each hand. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Bit… rough,’ Piper said.
She’d shrieked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. As Matt had predicted, her make-up had been smeared black around her eyes, her hair flat on one side and standing straight up on the other. But she’d stood under a hot shower for a while, moaning gently, and felt much better for it. Well, not much. But better. Putting on the previous night’s clothes hadn’t felt great, but it wasn’t as if she had any alternative. And then she’d sat very still on the sofa in Rob’s open plan living room/diner and waited for him to come back.
‘You could’ve gone outside,’ Rob said, crossing the room behind her to the kitchen. ‘It’s a nice day.’
‘Out where?’ Piper asked.
Rob crossed the room and pulled back the hazy white curtains. They slid smoothly open to reveal a wall of windows, overlooking the river, the beach and the fort.
‘Bloody hell.’ Piper pushed herself up to standing with the arm of the sofa. ‘I had no idea.’
Rob grinned at her. ‘You saw it last night. The curtains were open when we came back. You kept saying how gorgeous it was. I slept on the sofa, by the way. In case you were worried.’
‘Ugh, god.’ She crossed the room and stood next to him at the window, squinting against the sun. ‘Sorry. Was I a total dick?’
‘No!’ He quickly squeezed her upper arm before letting go. Piper could still feel the heat of his hand. ‘You were lovely. Funny.’
He pulled a handle and slid one of the doors open. Fresh cold air rushed into the flat.
‘You can sit out there, if you want? While I make breakfast? Or you can stay inside? Up to you.’
‘Um,’ Piper said. ‘Outside, I think?’ The sea air was already making her head feel clearer.
‘I’ll bring you another tea out.’
Piper stepped out onto the balcony and over to the frosted glass panels, leaning her elbows on the top and resting her head in her hands, massaging her temples with the tips of her fingers. She watched seagulls swoop down on the beach and a small dog running and chasing a ball. The cranes over in the docks in Liverpool were still but the wind turbines were spinning slowly.
Why had she got so drunk? She knew why. Because she’d been nervous. Of seeing Rob. Of seeing her former friends. Mel. Dawn. Claire. All of them. Because she hated coming back. Didn’t want to be reminded of who she used to be. Hadn’t wanted to answer questions about her parents. She winced as she remembered wiping tears from her face, someone – Mel maybe? – saying, ‘She’s upset. Get her another drink, Rob.’ She’d cried. How embarrassing. They probably all thought she was an absolute wreck.
She rolled her shoulders back. It was fine. She didn’t have to see them again after this weekend. She was going back to London. To her flat and her job and her friends. To the life she’d fantasised about when she’d lived here. To the life she’d never really believed she’d get to have. That she was sure her friends didn’t believe she’d get to have. To the life she wouldn’t have if her parents hadn’t died.
‘You don’t have sugar, right?’ Rob said, bringing another tea through. ‘I don’t, so I didn’t even think until after I left earlier.’
‘No,’ Piper said, turning and smiling at him, as he put the mug of tea down on the table. ‘Just milk, no sugar.’
‘Didn’t think so. How’s the head?’
‘Getting better. I’ve just the shame to deal with now.’
‘Oh fuck that noise,’ Rob said. ‘Everyone gets pissed. And I told you, you were fine.’
‘Was I singing Elbow?’ She’d had ‘One Day Like This’ stuck in her head since she’d woken up.
He laughed. ‘We all were. It was great. I’d better get back to the breakfast.’
He went back inside. Piper could smell the bacon and her stomach gave a pitiful grumble, like it was willing to attempt food, but it wasn’t making any promises. She sat down on one of the comfy chairs and closed her eyes, turning her face up to the sun. Another memory appeared: she was bent double laughing on the dancefloor. She couldn’t think who she’d been dancing with – everything was a blur and flashing lights. And then… had she been talking to one of her teachers? Mr Rogers? He’d been one of her favourite teachers actually. Had he really been there? Or was that bit a dream?
Rob called out that breakfast was ready and Piper went inside, taking her tea with her.
‘Was Mr Rogers there last night?’ she asked. She spotted the food on the table. ‘This looks amazing, Rob, god.’
‘Sit down,’ Rob said. ‘You’re fine. And yeah, he was there. You were very excited to see him.’
‘Oh god. I didn’t try to kiss him or anything, did I?’ She sat down, thinking I didn’t try to kiss you?
Rob snorted. ‘Not that I saw, no. I think you were just telling him he was your favourite. I remember you talking about weeing on leather? And bread for plates? Something like that.’
Piper shook her head. ‘Literally all I remember from history. And he taught me that.’
‘I remember crop rotation,’ Rob said. ‘Feel like that’s all we learned for years. I don’t think any crops need that much rotation.’
Piper cut into one of the two sausages on her plate and tentatively raised it to her mouth. ‘Now if this makes me sick it’s because of my own choices and not a comment on your cooking, okay?’
Rob smiled. ‘Noted.’
As soon as Piper swallowed the first bite of sausage she felt better. ‘God, Rob. Thank you for doing this. I really appreciate it.’
‘No worries. You were pretty insistent that you couldn’t go back to your aunt’s last night.’
‘Shit!’ Piper said, dropping her fork – it clanged against the edge of her plate. ‘Did I phone her? She’ll be worried sick.’
She started shoving her chair back, but stopped when Rob held a hand up and said, ‘No, you’re fine. You definitely rang her. I heard you.’
‘Shit,’ Piper said. ‘Thank you. God, I can’t believe it took me this long to even think about her.’
‘Makes sense,’ Rob said, shrugging. ‘You don’t usually have to.’
‘I guess,’ Piper said. ‘Bloody hell.’
‘You said she’d kick off if you went back drunk.’
Piper smiled. ‘She wouldn’t kick off. But s
he’d make little comments about it for the rest of my life. I was drunk once at her house years ago. I was fifteen or something? I was probably with you actually! In Central Park?’
‘Oh god, yeah. Was it cider? Jess brought loads of…’
‘Strongbow,’ they both said at the same time.
‘My parents were away,’ Piper said. ‘So I was staying with Aunty Connie. But we all went to the park and then I went back to hers thinking there was no way she’d know. Course she knew right away.’
‘We got picked up by the police,’ Rob said.
‘Oh shit! I’d forgotten that!’
‘I was asleep. Literally woke up with a policeman leaning over me. I was grounded for weeks.’
Piper laughed. ‘I remember you messaging me about it. I wanted to come and sneak in your window like on Dawson’s Creek or something.’
Rob swallowed some bacon and said, ‘It always pissed me off that there wasn’t a tree outside my window. I was desperate to escape.’
‘Remember when you rescued me from that tree?’ Piper said.
She hadn’t actually meant to say it because it wasn’t one of her most impressive memories. A bunch of them had been hanging round in the park and daring each other to climb trees. Amanda had been really good at it – she’d clambered up the trunk and then appeared at the very top, head poking through the leaves, waving at the rest of them. She was fearless. Piper could comfortably climb one – with an enormous trunk and wide branches, split to practically make seats, but there was another that everyone clambered up, leaving Piper on the ground. Jess had been taking the piss out of her, she remembered, which was what had eventually convinced her to join the rest of them. She’d shuffled along the branch and it was only when she was quite far out that she realised she’d have to jump down. And she’d frozen. She hadn’t been able to move at all, not even shuffle back to the main part of the tree. She’d just sat there, gripping the branch with her nails digging in, mentally picturing herself falling off backwards and cracking her head on the ground. It hadn’t even been that high. She’d just panicked.
The Invitation_The perfect laugh-out-loud romantic comedy Page 9
