Page 45 of Kissing Games
He followed her and put a bowl of porridge on the desk along with a can of drink. ‘Well, you’re awake, and a dressing gown means you’re half dressed, so that’s a start.’
She raised her head an inch. ‘What’s that smell?’
‘Porridge. Do you feel hungry or sick?’
‘I don’t know.’ Her head dropped back down. ‘I think I’m dying.’
He laughed, opened the can and poured her a glass.
‘What’s that?’ she mumbled into the duvet.
‘Irn-Bru. Scotland’s second national drink after whisky. Also called “fizzy juice”. It’s the best hangover cure there is.’ He sat on the edge of the bed. ‘Want to give it a go?’
She pushed herself to sit and glowered at him.
‘If that’s a dirty look, I’m afraid it only gets a three out of ten.’
She stuck her tongue out.
‘That’s the spirit. Now, drink this. In five minutes, you’ll be back to calling me a dickhead.’
She took the glass and sipped. Her nose wrinkled. ‘It tastes like candy.’
‘Well, it is almost one hundred per cent sugar. You’ve got just under an hour before your call time. Try and drink it all.’ He stood. ‘I’ll come by the set later to see how you’re doing.’
‘How areyoufeeling?’
He grinned at her. ‘Eleventy trillion out of ten.’
She blushed. ‘Huevón,’ she muttered.
‘Told you so.’ He hesitated, then kissed her on the top of her head before he could stop himself. ‘I’ll see you later.’
Charlie walkeddown the castle corridors feeling lighter than air. She liked him. Valentina Valverde likedhim. It was like discovering there really was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Nothing could beat this high.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and crashed back to earth.
Tabbie: We know you’re not in Angola. When you’re not licking Brad Bauer’s backside, call me.
Familiar feelings of guilt and inadequacy crawled up inside him. Of course his family would find out. Barbara would have rung his mum, using his presence as an excuse for a catch-up. How long did he think the Angola lie would run? He put the phone away. He’d rather be back on the front line than speak to his sister right now.Chickenshit, his conscience berated him.Fuck off, he replied, selecting another box in his mind to cram this subject into.Dickhead, his conscience yelled faintly as he sealed the box and buried it at the back of his subconscious.
He collected Bandit from the workshop and walked the castle from top to bottom, scoping out Vlad simpering over Kirsten in the great hall. That evening the two of them were putting on an ‘earth meal’ for the stars and heads of each department. Of course, the hard work was being done by others, but it was their concept, so they were taking the glory. As the Earl of Kinloch, Rory couldn’t get out of it and had asked Charlie to come along for moral support. Charlie doubted his ability to keep his cool around Vlad, so told Rory he needed to grow a pair, and he’d rather disembowel himself with a spoon than spend an evening pretending to like Vlad, or lentils.
After he’d put Valentina to bed the previous night, he’d crept up to Vlad’s room to try and get in whilst he was asleep and remove whatever drugs were in his man-bag. But Vlad was prepared and had wedged the wardrobe in front of the door. So Charlie had a think about what else he could do to slow him down and took Bandit for a walk to Kinloch’s pharmacy for some laxatives.
That afternoon, he drove to Inverness with Bandit, his eye on a present for Valentina, and returned just after her wrap time, meeting her in the main corridor downstairs. She was wearing her character’s tight, beaded leather dress, her big parka draped over her shoulders. She blushed when she saw him and pulled the coat over her chest.
‘How’d it go?’ he asked. ‘Hangover gone?’
‘Shh, Charlie,’ she whispered. She looked around to check no one was near. ‘I feel a lot better, thank you. And I ate some lunch as well.’
He moved closer, noticing her pupils dilating and her lips parting. ‘That’s the power of Irn-Bru. It’s made with girders,’ he whispered. Her forehead creased and her cheeks flushed. ‘You make bridges out of them. They’re big. And long. And hard.’
She blinked rapidly, then pushed him away. ‘Will you behave?’ she hissed.
He opened his arms. ‘What? I’m talking about Scottish infrastructure. Civil engineering.’ Her eyes narrowed and he started to laugh.
‘You are so immature.’ She pulled her parka tighter around her, breathing heavily.
