tough night.' Then she blew him a kiss. 'I'll call
you.'
Nathan looked sceptical and said, 'Well if you don't,
I know where you live, and when I next come round let
me make the fire. Motherfucker! This flat is cold!' Then
he left.
Valentine waited a few minutes until she heard the
downstairs door click shut, then spoke. 'Lauren, he seemed
really nice – why didn't you want him to stay?'
'How long have you got? He's a model, so he'll be
vain, self-centred and boring. I can't be arsed.'
'He didn't come across like that.'
'No, he just came all over me!' Lauren laughed loudly
at her own joke.
'You're evil! You're going to end up a bitter and twisted
old woman, living on her own, with just her memories
and cats for company,' Valentine teased her.
'And the wine, don't forget the wine; I could bear
anything so long as I had the wine! And you have to scrap
the cats, because I'm allergic. Can't I have a horse instead?
A lovely palamino?'
'In your tiny bedsit, lit by the single-barred electric fire,
which you can't afford to have on, with the flocked wallpaper
and garishly patterned carpet? I don't think so,
sunshine. You can have a poodle.'
' No!' Lauren exclaimed dramatically, then snapped out
it. 'Forget it, I'm only twenty-fucking-seven; I've got years
of this ahead of me.' She stretched her slim arms over
her head and yawned adding, 'Actually, Nathan was very
good. I might have to see him again. In fact I might even
ask him to Tamara's – he's so good-looking she's bound
to be jealous. And his teeth were sublime. Gods among
teeth.'
'I can't believe you can base a relationship on the state
of someone's teeth!'
'Obviously he's got a massive cock as well,' Lauren
retorted, then cackled with laughter. 'So you'd better take
someone – you don't want Tamara thinking you're a saddo
single on top of being a struggling actress – what about
that Jack? I really want to meet him.'
Now it was Valentine's turn to try and look nonchalant.
'I expect he'll be out with Julia husky Turner, or another
of his lovely ladies. He is catnip to the female population,
I swear, especially the older ones.'
'Well, text him now and ask him,' Lauren demanded.
Valentine stubbornly shook her head, not wanting to
admit that Lauren's idea was a good one. The truth was
she would be mortified if he said no. 'Anyway, I'm going
to Tesco. Do you want anything?' Valentine asked,
keen to deflect Lauren.
'Just tobacco and I fancy some chocolate eclairs.'
Valentine tutted, thinking of her own virtuous planned
purchases of spinach, carrots, cucumber and houmous.
'You so deserve to be fat,' were her parting words.
On her way out she checked if Lily and Frank needed
anything but Lily informed her, a little smugly, Valentine
thought, that she'd just done an online shop. 'Honestly
Valentine, you should do it; it's so much easier! Gives you
time to concentrate on other things.'
Valentine couldn't help noticing that as she said it
Lily gave Frank a flirtatious little smile, and Frank
winked back. Surely she didn't mean that they'd been
up to anything this afternoon? Valentine wondered as
she walked round Tesco Metro on Portabello Road. She
adored Frank and Lily, but really didn't want to think of
them at it at their ages. Then again , she thought as
she sifted through the cucumbers in the fruit and veg
section, good on them .
'What the fuck did you do that for?' she said aghast, when
Lauren revealed that in her absence she had texted Jack
from Valentine's phone to invite him to the party and he
had replied that he would love to come.
Lauren rolled her eyes. 'Keep your knickers on; you're
only inviting him to a party, that's all.'
And the thought popped into Valentine's head that
maybe she didn't want that to be all.
'Anyway, just think of the expression on NTM's face
when she sees him – if he really is as gorgeous as you
say, she'll be so jealous. You know how much she hates
it if anyone has anything or anyone prettier than she
does.'
'You're right,'
you.'
Nathan looked sceptical and said, 'Well if you don't,
I know where you live, and when I next come round let
me make the fire. Motherfucker! This flat is cold!' Then
he left.
Valentine waited a few minutes until she heard the
downstairs door click shut, then spoke. 'Lauren, he seemed
really nice – why didn't you want him to stay?'
'How long have you got? He's a model, so he'll be
vain, self-centred and boring. I can't be arsed.'
'He didn't come across like that.'
'No, he just came all over me!' Lauren laughed loudly
at her own joke.
'You're evil! You're going to end up a bitter and twisted
old woman, living on her own, with just her memories
and cats for company,' Valentine teased her.
'And the wine, don't forget the wine; I could bear
anything so long as I had the wine! And you have to scrap
the cats, because I'm allergic. Can't I have a horse instead?
A lovely palamino?'
'In your tiny bedsit, lit by the single-barred electric fire,
which you can't afford to have on, with the flocked wallpaper
and garishly patterned carpet? I don't think so,
sunshine. You can have a poodle.'
' No!' Lauren exclaimed dramatically, then snapped out
it. 'Forget it, I'm only twenty-fucking-seven; I've got years
of this ahead of me.' She stretched her slim arms over
her head and yawned adding, 'Actually, Nathan was very
good. I might have to see him again. In fact I might even
ask him to Tamara's – he's so good-looking she's bound
to be jealous. And his teeth were sublime. Gods among
teeth.'
'I can't believe you can base a relationship on the state
of someone's teeth!'
'Obviously he's got a massive cock as well,' Lauren
retorted, then cackled with laughter. 'So you'd better take
someone – you don't want Tamara thinking you're a saddo
single on top of being a struggling actress – what about
that Jack? I really want to meet him.'
Now it was Valentine's turn to try and look nonchalant.
'I expect he'll be out with Julia husky Turner, or another
of his lovely ladies. He is catnip to the female population,
I swear, especially the older ones.'
'Well, text him now and ask him,' Lauren demanded.
Valentine stubbornly shook her head, not wanting to
admit that Lauren's idea was a good one. The truth was
she would be mortified if he said no. 'Anyway, I'm going
to Tesco. Do you want anything?' Valentine asked,
keen to deflect Lauren.
'Just tobacco and I fancy some chocolate eclairs.'
Valentine tutted, thinking of her own virtuous planned
purchases of spinach, carrots, cucumber and houmous.
'You so deserve to be fat,' were her parting words.
On her way out she checked if Lily and Frank needed
anything but Lily informed her, a little smugly, Valentine
thought, that she'd just done an online shop. 'Honestly
Valentine, you should do it; it's so much easier! Gives you
time to concentrate on other things.'
Valentine couldn't help noticing that as she said it
Lily gave Frank a flirtatious little smile, and Frank
winked back. Surely she didn't mean that they'd been
up to anything this afternoon? Valentine wondered as
she walked round Tesco Metro on Portabello Road. She
adored Frank and Lily, but really didn't want to think of
them at it at their ages. Then again , she thought as
she sifted through the cucumbers in the fruit and veg
section, good on them .
'What the fuck did you do that for?' she said aghast, when
Lauren revealed that in her absence she had texted Jack
from Valentine's phone to invite him to the party and he
had replied that he would love to come.
Lauren rolled her eyes. 'Keep your knickers on; you're
only inviting him to a party, that's all.'
And the thought popped into Valentine's head that
maybe she didn't want that to be all.
'Anyway, just think of the expression on NTM's face
when she sees him – if he really is as gorgeous as you
say, she'll be so jealous. You know how much she hates
it if anyone has anything or anyone prettier than she
does.'
'You're right,'
Similar Books
