Page 80 of Night Call

Maya tutted, leaning across the table to ruffle his hair. “Try and relax, Pem. This isn’t a job interview,” she said, eyeing his clasped hands on the table.

He gave her a small smile. “I know. I’m just tired. It’s been a long day.”

Maya sighed, but then frowned as she hooked two fingers in his hair. Pember went to pull away, but the next thing he knew she was yanking her hand back and ripping the clips out. He yelped, fingers touching his hairline.

She leant back, gripping the clips and a few strands of his hair between her fingers. “Didn’t I tell you to wear it down?” she said, expression hard and voice low.

Pember swallowed, mouth twitching. “I-I… what?”

Sal leant across the table and pinched Maya’s wrist. They shared a look before Maya dropped the clips into an empty glass and turned back to the conversation with Leo.

Pember sat there, staring at her and feeling like the ground was about to swallow him whole. Her eyes flitted to him once, a self-satisfied smirk tipping the corner of her mouth. Sal and Leo continued chatting despite the awkward moment, and Ru said nothing as he looked down at the table. His wide hazel eyes occasionally drifted up to Pember, but when he looked like he was about to speak he glanced away again. Pember gave him a look of sympathetic misery.

Whilst Maya ordered another round of sushi to the table, Pember finished his mojito and slipped his phone out of his pocket. There was a message from Blake, sent over an hour ago.

It read, ‘Having fun? I sure am.’Followed by a photograph of him and Val sitting at the kitchen table with a destroyed Monopoly board between them. Cherry was ripping up the fake money with her beak, whilst George stood on Bailey’s back and reached for the open packet of treats on the side. It was carnage. Beautiful carnage.

Pember nibbled his lip, staring down at the photograph. Blake’s glasses were pushed back through his hair, the dark under-eye circles making a return, but he had a relaxed look of resigned contentment. Warmth swelled in Pember’s belly, and he had a hard time stopping a smile from spreading across his face.

He caught Ru’s eye again, and quickly covered his mouth to whisper, “Do you want to go?”

Ru only blinked and looked away. Eventually, Pember sighed and said, “I’m going to get another drink. Want anything?” He rose from the booth and held out a hand to Ru.

Ru looked at it, looked as though he was about to take it before Sal slapped two tenners across Pember’s palm.

“Cosmo, please. And a vodka martini for Leo.”

Pember gave a tight-lipped smile. “Sure.”

When Ru didn’t follow, Pember squeezed between the tables, taking a detour past the bar and into the upstairs omega toilets. He couldn’t tell if it was the two drinks, or the uneven staircase that was making it difficult to walk, but he eventually made it to the obnoxiously swanky bathroom.

It had pinkish lighting and a zigzag tiled floor that must have been an absolute nightmare for the considerably more inebriated. He padded to the end cubicle and shut the door.

Memories from that night over a year ago slipped into his brain, and he braced a hand against the door to stop his legs from wobbling. He was fine. This wasn’t the same. He wasn’t drunk and he wasn’t being taken advantage of by a sex trafficking piece of shit. He could leave anytime he wanted, which was what he intended to do.

Locking the door, he sank onto the closed toilet seat and pulled out his phone.

‘You look like you need a referee,’he replied to Blake. ‘I guess Monopoly’s off the cards for the foreseeable?’

Three dots immediately popped up on the screen. ‘And Scrabble. Val is an incredibly sore loser.’

He chuckled. ‘How is she?’

‘Not bad, but she’s complaining of stomach pains again.’

‘Oh no! I take it the medication hasn’t helped?’he replied.

‘It did eventually. She’s asleep now. I’m just washing up.’

Pember frowned and glanced at the time. Eleven o’clock. ‘It’s late?’

Blake replied with a shrugging emoji. ‘We played a lot of board games. How’s it going?’

Just then, the main bathroom door opened with a loud creak. There was a groan, followed by the click of high heels on tile and someone shushing.

“I know, baby. I know it hurts.”

Pember froze. It was Maya’s voice.

---