word, just sipping occasionally at her drink and stifling the odd yawn.
At hardly any point in our conversation did Sarah even mention Casey—only to tell me she thought that she and Jasmine were awesome together. She didn’t directly address Elise anymore, either, choosing to focus all her attention on me instead. I didn’t mind, if I’m honest, and yes, she was cute if that’s what you’re wondering. Talking to her was no great hardship for me.
I could sense Elise’s growing boredom, but despite me trying to involve her in the conversation, she remained stubbornly silent until, finally, she slammed her drink back in one gulp and wandered away from us towards the dance floor. I watched her go from the corner of my eye, still talking and listening to Sarah, and wished that Elise had made more of an effort to speak to Sarah, too.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Sarah suddenly asked.
“Let me get you one,” I said, catching the barman’s eye and ordering us two more.
We chattered on a little while more, Mark still nowhere to be seen, and Elise lost to me somewhere in the darkness. I enjoyed talking to Sarah, but all the time I was talking to her I was thinking about Elise, wondering where she’d gone to, fretting that she was pissed off with me for ignoring her on our night out.
I needn’t have worried that much, though. About ten minutes after she’d left us, I finally caught sight of her, to the edge of the dance floor, dancing with some guy. She had her arms wrapped round him like she’d known him all her life, and I have to admit my first thought was that she’d probably now appear in all the Sunday papers with a dumb headline like The Lesbian Has Turned or something equally stupid.
Sarah was still talking to me, but I wasn’t listening to her anymore. I was focused on Elise, snaking her body around this random guy, occasionally glancing over to where I was, then winding herself around him even more when she saw I was watching. I turned my attention back to Sarah, trying to keep up with what she was saying to me, but all the while I was aware of Elise and this guy.
Finally, after nearly half an hour, I’d decided I’d had enough. I was tired anyway, and the night hadn’t turned out to be the celebration and relaxation I’d expected. I suddenly longed to be back in my apartment, curled up on my sofa watching TV with the biggest bag of crisps ever invented. I made my excuses to Sarah, politely declining her offer of her phone number and, catching Elise’s eye, motioned to her that I was leaving.
She ignored me, instead draping herself even tighter around the guy she was dancing with and finally disappearing into the gloom of the club.
I stood on the edge of the dance floor a while longer, desperately searching for her, but when she was nowhere to be seen, I finally decided to leave her to it. Leaving the club, I hailed the first cab I saw coming down the street, arriving back at my apartment just after eleven thirty p.m., feeling utterly miserable.
My head was swimming, images of Robbie grinning smarmily at me when he’d told me Elise had asked him out, others of Elise with Robbie, and of Elise with the guy in the club swirling round and round in my head like leaves in the wind. I was furious with Elise on so many levels: because she’d made no effort to speak to Sarah with me, and because she’d left me standing at the bar to go and dance with some arbitrary bloke, when this was supposed to be our night out and it hadn’t seemed to have mattered to her as much as it did me.
Most importantly, though, I was furious with myself for giving in to the gnawing, worrying, churning emotion of utter jealousy that flooded my whole body every time I thought about Elise dancing with that guy. It was a sensation that I hadn’t had for over two years, since Grace, and now Elise was bringing it out in me.
I’d fallen for her, hadn’t I? Hook, line, and sinker.
Chapter Ten
I jumped as the door to
At hardly any point in our conversation did Sarah even mention Casey—only to tell me she thought that she and Jasmine were awesome together. She didn’t directly address Elise anymore, either, choosing to focus all her attention on me instead. I didn’t mind, if I’m honest, and yes, she was cute if that’s what you’re wondering. Talking to her was no great hardship for me.
I could sense Elise’s growing boredom, but despite me trying to involve her in the conversation, she remained stubbornly silent until, finally, she slammed her drink back in one gulp and wandered away from us towards the dance floor. I watched her go from the corner of my eye, still talking and listening to Sarah, and wished that Elise had made more of an effort to speak to Sarah, too.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Sarah suddenly asked.
“Let me get you one,” I said, catching the barman’s eye and ordering us two more.
We chattered on a little while more, Mark still nowhere to be seen, and Elise lost to me somewhere in the darkness. I enjoyed talking to Sarah, but all the time I was talking to her I was thinking about Elise, wondering where she’d gone to, fretting that she was pissed off with me for ignoring her on our night out.
I needn’t have worried that much, though. About ten minutes after she’d left us, I finally caught sight of her, to the edge of the dance floor, dancing with some guy. She had her arms wrapped round him like she’d known him all her life, and I have to admit my first thought was that she’d probably now appear in all the Sunday papers with a dumb headline like The Lesbian Has Turned or something equally stupid.
Sarah was still talking to me, but I wasn’t listening to her anymore. I was focused on Elise, snaking her body around this random guy, occasionally glancing over to where I was, then winding herself around him even more when she saw I was watching. I turned my attention back to Sarah, trying to keep up with what she was saying to me, but all the while I was aware of Elise and this guy.
Finally, after nearly half an hour, I’d decided I’d had enough. I was tired anyway, and the night hadn’t turned out to be the celebration and relaxation I’d expected. I suddenly longed to be back in my apartment, curled up on my sofa watching TV with the biggest bag of crisps ever invented. I made my excuses to Sarah, politely declining her offer of her phone number and, catching Elise’s eye, motioned to her that I was leaving.
She ignored me, instead draping herself even tighter around the guy she was dancing with and finally disappearing into the gloom of the club.
I stood on the edge of the dance floor a while longer, desperately searching for her, but when she was nowhere to be seen, I finally decided to leave her to it. Leaving the club, I hailed the first cab I saw coming down the street, arriving back at my apartment just after eleven thirty p.m., feeling utterly miserable.
My head was swimming, images of Robbie grinning smarmily at me when he’d told me Elise had asked him out, others of Elise with Robbie, and of Elise with the guy in the club swirling round and round in my head like leaves in the wind. I was furious with Elise on so many levels: because she’d made no effort to speak to Sarah with me, and because she’d left me standing at the bar to go and dance with some arbitrary bloke, when this was supposed to be our night out and it hadn’t seemed to have mattered to her as much as it did me.
Most importantly, though, I was furious with myself for giving in to the gnawing, worrying, churning emotion of utter jealousy that flooded my whole body every time I thought about Elise dancing with that guy. It was a sensation that I hadn’t had for over two years, since Grace, and now Elise was bringing it out in me.
I’d fallen for her, hadn’t I? Hook, line, and sinker.
Chapter Ten
I jumped as the door to
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