13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough Page A

into his mouth, the warm, wet sensation making her rush all over again. Drugs were awesome. Maybe they were bad but they were pretty fucking awesome, too.
    ‘Slow down, you nympho,’ he said, laughing and pushing her off him. ‘Let’s get away from here first.’
    Becca slumped back against her seat, grinning, then took the half-smoked joint from the ashtray between them and lit it.
    ‘Good party?’
    ‘It was pretty cool.’ The weed and mandy made for a good combination. Street lights swirled in the darkness, tracing across her vision as the car moved away.
    Aiden glanced at her. ‘You and Natasha looked pretty cosy.’
    She shrugged. What was it to him? She frowned, distracted for a moment from the pleasantness of the thrills in her body and the streaking lights outside.
    ‘You never said you’d seen Natasha.’
    ‘She and her mum came to Jamie’s house. I didn’t see them, really – took them some drinks and then fucked off back to the studio.’
    Becca stared out at the night. Even with the mellow love drug in her system she felt a pang of jealousy. He liked Natasha first. She’d come after. She was second prize.
    Aiden reached over and poked her playfully in the side, making her cough out a lungful of scented smoke. ‘Don’t go getting weird on me over this. I have no interest in shallow little Natasha.’
    ‘She’s not so bad,’ Becca said.
    ‘Give her time to get back to normal.’ He took the stub of the joint from her and finished it, throwing the roach out into the night. ‘Then you’ll change your mind.’
    ‘I think it’s Hayley and Jenny,’ she said. ‘I think they’ve changed her.’
    ‘Or she changed them.’
    Becca said nothing. She didn’t really want to defend Tasha too much in case Aiden suddenly fell in love with her all over again. She almost laughed at her own exaggeration. He’d never been in love with Tasha – he’d hardly known her, just asked her out once a long time ago. Get some perspective, Crisp , she told herself. And calm the fuck down. But Natasha was hot, there was no doubt about it. And perhaps Aiden sometimes thought of that hotness when he was sliding between Becca’s legs.
    ‘Maybe,’ she said, twisting sideways so she could look at him and pulling her knees up under her chin as best she could within the constraints of her seat belt. She didn’t want to think about Natasha. They were being friendly again. She mustn’t let her own paranoia fuck that up. ‘Who cares, anyway.’
    ‘Exactly.’
    ‘You are so beautiful,’ she said, the words surging up from her heart and out through her mouth. ‘You really really are. I mean, so handsome. Like a painting.’ She giggled at herself and Aiden joined in.
    ‘I love you so much,’ she said. ‘I really do. You’re amazing.’
    He studied her for a second and then she saw the realisation dawn on him. ‘Your eyes are fucked,’ he said. ‘What are you on?’
    ‘Nothing really. Just a bit of Mandy.’
    ‘Who gave you that?’
    ‘Jenny had some. I didn’t buy it – Tasha offered me a bomb. Rude not to take it.’ She suddenly felt slightly defensive, like she was in a conversation with her parents.
    ‘Got any left?’ he asked, eventually.
    She shook her head. ‘It wasn’t mine.’ He was so handsome and he was hers. She wanted to suffocate in him. ‘Is your mum out tonight?’ she asked.
    ‘I don’t know. Maybe. She didn’t tell me her plans. Why?’
    She stretched like a cat, her legs falling open slightly and her top riding up against her bare stomach. ‘I want to make some noise,’ she purred. She felt sexy. She felt alive. She saw the dip in his throat as Aiden swallowed hard. It made her feel powerful. He wanted her . Not Tasha. Only her. Her hand reached over to his thigh and, watching him, her fingers traced and teased until they brushed over the crotch of his jeans. He pressed her hand down onto the hardness there.
    They didn’t make it to his flat. Instead, they pulled into the car