Page 14 of Love Me Till Wednesday

‘The clue’s on your right leg.’

She looked down and noticed a streak of vomit soaking into the denim on her thigh. ‘Eugh. That’s disgusting. I’m really sorry.’

‘It’s not your fault. You’re still looking a bit peaky. I don’t think we should risk walking back to your hotel. You can come back to mine if you want. It’s only five minutes’ walk away. I promise I won’t try anything on.’

Back in the cinema, she’d been hoping he would try something on. Now, she was just plain embarrassed, but there didn’t seem to be a viable alternative.

‘You’re right. We’ll go to yours. I’m so sorry.’

‘It’s ok.’ He put his arm around her again. ‘We’ll take it steady.’

10

Lisa opened her eyes. Where the hell was she? Daylight streamed through a pair of thin curtains that didn’t quite fit the bay window that dominated the room. There was an old damp stain on the ceiling above her, and the cheap wood chip paper was starting to peel away from the wall by the windowsill. A far cry from the luxury hotels she’d been stopping in ever since the Sapphire Stars had gone to number one.

She could hear shallow breathing next to her. A mop of blonde hair was sticking out of the top of the bright blue duvet that was covering them both. Nick.

She lay there, momentarily horrified by the fact that she'd obviously spent the night with him. She peeked under the duvet. Nick was in a t-shirt and boxer shorts. She was missing her jeans but otherwise dressed in the same clothes she remembered changing into after last night’s award ceremony. At least she wasn’t naked.

Her head was throbbing, but that didn’t stop her mind from replaying the most cringeworthy moments from last night. It was as if they were being fast-forwarded like a compilation from a TV blooper reel: tripping over on national television, discovering Pete in flagrate delicto with that awful journalist, Dougie’s unwanted attentions and finally, theultimate humiliation of throwing up in the gutter outside the cinema. She tried to recall what had happened after that, but the blooper reel carried on playing in a potentially endless loop of embarrassment.

Concentrate, Lisa!She remembered walking with Nick to this house, and him offering to wash the leg of her jeans for her. She’d been embarrassed to let him, but she’d not felt up to arguing or washing them herself. He’d offered her his tracksuit bottoms to wear, but she said she’d be fine. He put her to bed in his room. She vaguely remembered commenting that he made an excellent nurse, but he downplayed it by saying he’d had to do something similar for his little sister when he’d been babysitting. He was planning to sleep on the floor, but she’d insisted he was fine in the bed.

And now here she was, wide awake next to him. She checked her watch. 5.30 am.

Please, god, don’t let him go to the tabloids with this. They’d have a field day.

Her jeans were drying over a clothes horse in the corner of the room. She carefully got out of bed and walked over to them. The right leg was still damp but not soaking wet. It would dry on her. It wasn’t as if it was the depths of winter.

She carried them out onto the landing to get dressed there. Should she say goodbye? No. He was fast asleep, and to be completely honest, she was too embarrassed to face him. She tiptoed down the stairs and let herself out of the front door.

Which way now? There was no one around to ask, but she vaguely remembered they’d walked past the phone box at the far end of the street. She looked at where the sun was in the sky. Yes, that made sense. She’d be heading roughly southeast, which would take her back to the hotel. That girl guide training had finally come in useful.

The walk would do her good and give her a chance to think about her situation.

She thought back to that first kiss with Nick in the cinema. It had set Lisa alight like no kiss she'd experienced before.Stop thinking about that! You need to concentrate on how to deal with the Dougie situation and how to finish with Pete without breaking up the band.

Lisa could do with Mel’s advice to make sense of it all. But first, she’d have to pack her things at the hotel, head back to Pete’s, then start moving back into the flat she officially shared with Mel.

As for Dougie, the band were due back in the studio this afternoon. She'd raise his behaviour with the rest of them then. They were unlikely to want to ditch him – he'd got them where they were today - so she'd have to play it carefully, but at least she'd got 24 hours to think about how to get evidence to confirm her suspicions.

Lisa arrived outside the hotel. She said hello to the doorman and headed inside. With a bit of luck, her hotel suite would be empty again, but when she let herself in, she could hear Pete gently snoring. At least he was alone this time.

Pete stirred when she pulled back the curtains. He looked seriously hungover as he sat up. ‘Where the hell have you been? I’ve been worried sick.’

‘I spent the night with a waiter. And you?’

Pete looked stunned. ‘I don’t believe you.’

Lisa headed towards the bathroom. ‘It’s true, but we didn’t have sex. Not that it matters now.’

‘Is that it then? We’re over?’ he called after her.

‘Of course we are. I can’t give you what you want, can I?’ she said. ‘Can we go back to being friends again? We were good at that.’

‘I guess so.’ Pete looked bemused.

Part of her wanted him to argue, to declare his undying love for her, but it was just her ego talking.

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