by Jacky Gray
As he took his bow, the applause began with many people shouting and whistling. The curtain dropped, then rose on the full cast as they bowed to cheers and shouts of “bravo.” Several of the minor characters stepped forward for their round of applause, but the loudest cheers by far were reserved for the leading couples.
As the curtain finally came down, Liv plonked back on her chair, stunned into silence by the sheer emotion of it all. She would have appreciated a few minutes to let it all sink in, but the people in the middle of the row were in a real hurry to stand in the crush of people in the aisle.
Terry showed his experience. “Let them squeeze past; we’re in no hurry because it finished early. If we go down to Ray there’s a shortcut for wheelchairs.”
Jude remained standing after the people had exited, stretching out her muscles; she never liked sitting for too long.
“How’s the bum, Jude?” Luke gave it a little rub which made her blush.
“Fine thanks, how’s yours?”
“You’ve got more padding than I have. Mine’s real sore if you fancy kissing it better.”
“Am I hearing things? Did Luke really just ask you to kiss his ass?” Liv couldn’t resist claiming the line which begged to be said in her favourite Brooklyn accent.
“Nah, that’s what you say when you don’t like someone. I think it’s some form of perverted sexual practice.” This was daring for Terry.
“Who’re you calling a pervert?” Luke glared at him. “Are you looking for another roll in the mud?”
Terry grinned. “See what I mean? More weird sexual customs. And you had the nerve to call me a pervert.”
“Shut up you two, people are staring at us.” Poor Jude got even more embarrassed as Luke made a lunge for Terry.
Liv stood in front as though to protect him.
Terry grabbed her round the waist, pretending to cringe. “Save me Liv, the big bad bully boy’s gonna get me.”
She giggled and Luke smirked. “I see, it was just an excuse to cuddle Liv.”
“I don’t need an excuse, do I, pussycat?” Terry pulled her closer to nuzzle her neck.
“Me-ow.” Liv positively purred.
“Come on guys, we can get down to Ray now.” Kat urged them to get moving, probably because Liam looked a tad restless.
Liv saw Ray staring at their antics with a black expression. He caught her eye and immediately took Mel’s hand, pulling her toward him in his trademark move, with the inevitable tickling as she fell into his lap. Mel squealed her enjoyment, ignoring the disapproving frowns of the nearby adults as her gaze scanned the room, making sure Liv had witnessed the spectacle. What a mess!
They got back to Colin’s house at ten to eleven to find Ray’s mum waiting in her car. Terry knocked on the window. “Hi, Mrs Donelly. Hope you haven’t been waiting long.”
“Don’t worry, I know I was a little early. I’ve been happily listening to a radio play. If you don’t mind, I’d like to listen to the end; it’s only got ten minutes to go.”
“Sure Mum.” Ray held out his hand to Terry in a strangely formal gesture. “Thank you for arranging this, say thanks to Colin for us as well. You’re stopping here tonight, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m coming back on Friday. See you all at the rehearsal on Saturday.”
There was a general round of affirmatives and everyone got into cars. Liv thought about going back with Liam and Kat, but Jude nabbed the spare seat next to Luke. It would be a bit of a crush in the back, but neither complained.
Terry kissed Liv on the cheek, but obviously wanted more. So did she. They remained close and she wished the audience would go away, feeling pressured as Mrs Donelly had the engine running and was obviously keen to go. She stretched up, but as her lips met Terry’s, Ray shouted over.
“Come on, Matthews. Put her down, we’re waiting.”
Mrs Donelly turned round as Liv got in. “Quick head count. We seem to be one short.”
Liv smiled as she recognised one of her dad’s phrases. Maybe it was in the parenting handbook. “Jude’s gone with Liam and Kat.”
As the car moved off, Mel adopted a particularly snarky tone, even for her. “You mean she’s gone with Luke. They couldn’t keep their hands off each other in the theatre; even I could see from where I was.”
The credits for the play ended, so Mrs Donelly turned the radio down. Liv asked how her cousin was.
“Fine, thank you. It’s so nice to catch up; must be nearly three years since I saw her. I’ve promised to bring Amy up next time, so I’ll be back here soon.”
She switched to a music station on the radio but it all sounded pretty naff. “Ray, can you find a CD the girls will enjoy and put it on, please?”
“What, you mean the Eagles or one of Dad’s operas?”
“Watch it, you. No, there’s a couple of compilations in there: a love album and something else.”
“Now 36? That’s ancient, Mum.”
Liv couldn’t believe the way he spoke to his mum and tried to support her. “The love album sounds fine to me.”
Mel’s tone dripped with syrup. “That’s because you’re in love.”
“Who’s the lucky boy, Liv?”
She figured Ray’s mum was only asking out of politeness. She wanted to scream “Your son” out loud, but she didn’t get the chance to reply as Ray and Mel simultaneously said, “Terry.”
“The lad who organised it all? He seems very nice.”
Very nice. Yep, it pretty much summed him up. Except very nice didn’t suit her; she needed someone mad and wild, with a hint of danger about him. Visions of Ray and Jimmy Proud tumbled around her brain. She stifled a sigh. With the best will in the world, Terry could never be any of those things.
23 After All These Years
Jude sat next to Luke in the back of the tiny car, trying hard not to focus on the two-inch gap between his thigh and hers, as Liam drove them home.
All the way to Stratford, sitting at least six inches away from Liv, she’d imagined how different the journey would be if she’d shared it with Luke. Instead of listening to Mel trying to make Liv look bad in front of Ray every opportunity she got, Jude envisioned the kind of craic Luke was having, according to his texts. He and Liam kept it up throughout dinner as they bonded over their mutual love of plain food and plenty of it. Each lad tried to outdo the other with the worst possible Bad-Dad jokes. She and Kat enjoyed their meal even more with this constant entertainment.
From the little Terry had said, the dining experience downstairs sounded awkward and tense. She loved Liv to bits, but something happened to her when she got around Mel, and none of it put either of them in a good light. Funny how Jude had always thought them a match made in heaven with their sharp tongues and sassy comments. After a breather from Mel’s particular brand of acid, she could tell Liv wasn’t really Queen B material at all. She just snarked to hide her natural self: a bright, shy girl with massive insecurities about her weight and the whole geek-with-glasses self-image.
In the front of the car, Kat concentrated on helping Liam navigate his way out of the complicated one-way system. An Irish rock band played softly, but when they cleared Stratford, he turned the CD up to a volume which made conversation difficult between the front and back of the car.
Jude suspected it was a deliberate attempt to give them some privacy, but Luke didn’t pick up on the hint, happy to listen in silence. She flicked a glance his way, but the cheeky chap who’d teased and tormented in the restaurant and theatre had been replaced by someone who didn’t seem to know she existed. Could he be embarrassed about her presence in the car?
He’d texted constantly on the way there, so she’d hoped for a little repartee on the way back. Then she thought about his messages; most of them relayed the banter from Liam’s car, but one or two of his remarks had been quite saucy, getting her a little warm. A brainwave later, she pulled out her phone.
Did you enjoy the play?
He jumped slightly as the te
xt-alert sounded on his mobile, but didn’t make a move.
Why would he pretend he hadn’t heard it? The only logical explanation would be if he thought it came from Diana. As if. She nudged his arm and pointed at his pocket.
His frown lasted half a beat before he twigged. Sliding her a “WTF?” glance, he activated the screen and tapped a few keys.
Her mobile pinged. WTF?
Grinning, she set her thumbs flying. You’re not talking. Thought I’d try txting.
This is daft.
So talk to me. She gave him an actual smiley face.
But it’s good fun. I can say things I wouldn’t want those two to hear.
Like what?
How gorgeous you look and how much I want to kiss you.
Me too.
I look gorgeous???He winked at her.
Utterly edible ;)
He smothered a laugh and the intensity in his gaze warmed every inch of her skin. Then his low battery warning beeped and he switched the phone off.
“Sorry, but if I let it go all the way down, it takes forever to charge back up.” His low voice sent tingles dancing over her skin, taunting her to shiver in response. “Reckon it needs a new battery.”
She typed in a message and showed it to him. So will you talk to me now?
“What do you want me to say? Oh, your question. Yeah, I thought the play was awesome. It really helped me to get the overall sense of the story.”
Trying to cobble together a sentence which didn’t include the words ‘kiss’ and ‘now’ proved challenging, but the lizard in her brain came up with something vaguely intelligent. “Me too. I never understood the whole reason for Feste before. He’s like a narrator.”
“And a sort of social commentator. Kat reckons there’s a film of it. I reckon that will help much more than all the study guides.”
“Even better if we look at some past papers and read the questions before we watch it, then we’d know what to look out for.”
“Blimey, Jude. Are you turning into Liv? That’s genius! Let’s call it a date. We could invite the others over and get popcorn …”
“Not exactly my idea of a date, but if that’s the best you can offer ...”
His eyebrows met in the space above his nose. “You have no idea. Our first proper date will be one you’ll remember for the rest of your life.”
“I’ll hold you to that. There better be roses, and candles.”
“Mmm. I like the idea of you holding me.” His voice filled with gravel chips and somehow his thigh closed the gap and got busy transferring megajoules of heat to hers.
She swallowed, and her words caught in her throat. “Sou … sounds good to me.”
His mouth had snuck so close to her ear she could feel his breath. “Trust me; I’ve been planning this since year seven.”
Her mind flashed an image of shouting at him as she reached third base on the rounders pitch, after not hearing his instruction to stay put. He’d been annoyed, calling her deaf and stupid. They’d shouted some pretty mean things at each other, but he apologised shortly afterward. Then years were lost because she didn’t want to tread on Kat’s toes, boyfriend-wise. If only she’d asked.
Jude had suppressed her feelings for so long, she had some serious catching up to do, starting with snuggling up to him right now. His thoughts were obviously on the same lines as he put his arm round her and pulled her close.
24 Wine and Roses
Luke glanced around the room, checking the result of his efforts; it all looked good to go. Why the heck had he made such outrageous claims in the car? How could he possibly live up to “a date you’ll remember for the rest of your life?” Plank. Well, it was too late to worry now; with her less than ten minutes away, he could do nothing more. The doorbell rang and he grinned. Trust her not to bother with being fashionably late.
He opened the door and froze as cells he never knew possessed hackles all stood to attention. “What the … heck are you doing here?” Even though she deserved the vilest of swear words, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
“We need to talk. You at least owe me that.” Her breath hitched, and he forced himself to look at her face. Diana’s swollen eyes suggested recent tears.
“I don’t owe you anything. And I have nothing to say to you. Please go.”
“I know you’re expecting Jude, and I really don’t want to ruin your big date night, but I can’t see any other way out of this mess. If you don’t help me …” Another hitch, and real tears blurred her eyes.
He almost fell for it, but a couple of weeks spent in close proximity to the manipulative snake had taught him her arsenal was always fully loaded and no depths were too low for her to stoop. “Forget it, Diana. Your crocodile tears have no power over me.” Although he’d deliberately hardened his voice, inside he was grinning as he modified a line from Kat’s favourite movie, The Labyrinth.
She tried what she must have imagined were puppy-dog eyes, but the clock in his brain was getting really alarmed: Jude would be here any minute. Hopefully she would be fashionably late. He adopted the stance and implacable tone the police sergeant had used. “I’d like you to go. Now.”
Her bottom lip actually quivered. “I think an apology is in order.”
“Apology accepted. See you at school.” He stepped back to close the door.
She pushed her foot by the door jamb, all pretence lost as she reverted to type and hissed at him. “You should be apologising to me.”
Luke met her glare with an expression devoid of emotion. No one would ever beat him in a stare-down; he’d had hours of practice.
The point at which she gave up was telegraphed by a deep breath as she straightened and transformed into her “heiress” persona. “You seem to forget that Father is a governor, and he can …”
“Your father can do his worst. He has no power over me, either.” Luke was proud of his self-control as he maintained absolute-zero cool. “Move the foot, or it will get the trespass treatment.”
Approaching footsteps had him looking over Diana’s shoulder, but she tracked his head movements to block his view until he focussed on her.
“I wanted to avoid doing this, but you leave me no choice.” She launched herself at him.
He was a step ahead of her, figuring she was hoping to present Jude with an image of the pair of them in a passionate kiss. No imagination. He sidestepped, using one of Paul’s self-defence moves to force her into the kind of arm lock which rendered her harmless and impotent. He marched her down the path as Jude reached the gate.
“Sorry about this, babe. Just taking out the trash. I’m afraid she’s watched too many movies where the nasty piece of work tries to split the hero and his girl with a fake kiss.”
Jude got it straight away. “That old cliché. You picked on the wrong guy, Diana. Luke’s a veteran of old movies.” She winked at him. “Need a hand?”
“Nah. This is the bit where she runs off making empty threats.”
“Isn’t there a clenched fist involved?”
“Or two.” Luke grinned at Jude, taking in the care and effort spent in her make-over from sporty tomboy into sex-bomb. Storing a mental image for later, he released Diana, drilling his stare directly into her eyes. “This is the third time I’m asking you to go. Next time, I call the police.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me.”
She actually stamped her foot. “Damn you, Luke Harper. You lost me my horse.”
“I think you’ll find that was due to your behaviour.” Luke turned to smile at Jude, but her eyes narrowed as she addressed the other girl.
“What do you mean, lost your horse?”
Diana glared at her. “What do you care? You won. You and your silly little friends had a great laugh at my expense. I lost the respect of the only boy I could ever care about, and now Father’s selling my horse. I hate you, all of you.” She shoved past, but Jude grabbed her arm.
“Look, you got what you deserved for what
you did.” Jude released the arm as Diana squirmed and pulled away, her eyes seething with daggers.
Jude ignored them, sympathy softening her tone. “But I think losing your horse is a step too far.”
Diana’s lip quivered again and Luke decided enough was enough. “I’m prepared to give you a hearing, but not today.” His gaze sought Jude’s understanding. “Right now I have more important things to do. We’ll see you at school.”
“But that will be too late.”
“Tomorrow, then. I’ll call you.”
“You can’t. Fearsome still has my mobile.”
“You call me. On your landline.” Turning his back on her, he took Jude’s arm and led her inside.
~*~
Jude sniffed the air, savouring the melange of herbs, melted cheese and something she couldn’t name.
“Will you wait here a sec?” He disappeared into the kitchen and the aroma intensified, making her mouth water. Patience had never been one of her virtues, and she was on the verge of knocking on the door when it opened.
“Sorry about that. I’m afraid her visit has bug … mucked up the timing on things slightly. Close your eyes.”
“Really? Do I have to?”
“Yep. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.”
The part of her that hated surprises lost out to the much bigger part which wanted to play along, desperate not to disappoint him with her reaction. She closed her eyes and heard him open the door next to the kitchen.
Luke obviously didn’t trust her to keep them shut as his hands became a living blindfold. He nudged her through the doorway and, when he released her with a command to open up, she obeyed without hesitation.
The sight meeting her eyes was straight from the most clichéd of seduction scenes with a white tablecloth scattered in rose petals, and a fabulous centrepiece of candles and pink roses. Crystal glasses sparkled in the dim light and a romantic Spanish guitar added a Mediterranean feel. He helped her into her seat, then returned with a bottle wrapped in a white cloth.
