Chapter 12

Chapter 13

“Aly, c’mon, shots all around,” someone called from the bar. Aly, after having had two beers already was out on the dance floor, grooving, as she called it.

“Right,” she minced over to them, looking particularly tall as she was wearing strappy high heels. “What’re we having?”

“Actually we’re playing truth or dare, over vodka shots. Makes it more fun when you’re tongue’s slightly looser.”

“Oh right. Sure, who’s playing?”

“Me, Will, Jamie, Liz and Cee,” replied David, collecting shots from the bar and carrying them over to a table. “Who wants to go first?”

“Oh, I’ll go first,” said Liz casually, raising a hand.

“Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” she replied, her eyes glinting dangerously.

“Oh crap, haven’t thought of a decent one yet. Okay, I dare you to go sing karaoke on stage.” She shrugged nonchalantly and replied that it was his ears he was killing, and made her way through the crowds.

The group of them watched closely as she beckoned to the DJ and whispered something in his ear.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he announced, “we’re putting on the karaoke!” there was much applause and a few groans scattered here or there. Most people were happy. It was a very amusing sport, karaoke, particularly when one had had too much to drink.

“What do you want to sing?” he asked Liz, who replied instantly.

“Dancing in the moonlight.”

“Okay, we have dancing in the moonlight, by Liz. Anyone want to volunteer to sing duet? You over there,” he gave a man a hand up onto the stage. The man grinned at Liz and said something to her, but none of them could hear or lip read, unfortunately.

The performance was pretty terrible; Liz could really belt it, but not in key very much. But everyone had a good laugh.

“Nicely done, Liz,” Sam complimented her when she sat down.

“Hi, I’m Luke,” said the man she had sung with, waving at everyone. “Sorry for the injury done to your ears!”

“Aw you guys were great,” said Aly before snorting somewhat and giggling. “Okay, not great, but hey, it was a brave thing to do.”

“Aye, it was. Thank you.” Luke took a mock bow before looking curiously at all of them.

“Oh right,” said David with a start. “I’m David – this here is Sam, Will, Aly, Jamie, Cee and Liz as you know.”

“Nice to meet y’all. Well, I’m headed over that way, give me a shout when you hit the dance floor,” he winked at Liz who blushed and muttered something about him being drunk.

“Right, who’s next?” asked Aly loudly, clapping her hands.

“Since you’re so eager, you can go next,” offered David looking extremely mischevious. It was time to have some fun with the not-so-couple, who just couldn’t admit their feelings for each other.

“Okay…dare.”

“Obviously,” murmured Will.

“Aly,” said Sam, looking her straight in the eye, “I dare you to go up to that man over there –“ he pointed to a sandy haired, rather attractive man probably in his late twenties, “and grind with him.”

“What kind of a dare is that?” she asked, “he’s not even ugly!”

”Are you complaining?” Liz raised an eyebrow at her, and she shot out of her seat.

“No no, I’ll do it.” She strode imperiously over to the man who had been pointed out, and tapped him on the shoulder. Will watched jealously as she flicked her hair, smiled coyly and flirted with him all the while, dancing closer and closer to him. The sandy haired man grinned and looked like he was enjoying it.

“Will, you okay there?” asked Cee, knowing very well what was wrong.

“Fine,” he ground out from between his teeth, not taking his eyes off Aly.

“You’re jealous,” she pointed out in a matter of fact tone.

“Sam, why would you dare her to do that, you know I like her,” he turned around to Sam.

“Oho, he finally admits it!” there was much cheering and clapping while Will covered his face with his hands.

“What’s going on?” Aly had finished her dare and came up behind them, leaning on the table.

“Oh, nothing much,” Will replied instantly.

“Well I say we all have to have a round of shots,” said Jamie trying to clear the air. The friends all counted to three and downed them in one, except for Will, who surreptitiously drank half and the tipped the rest over his shoulder; he didn’t want to get too drunk that night, someone had to take care of Aly, when she was practically passing out from the alcohol.

Later, after truth and dare had finished –⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪⨪, “okay, stupid question. You just look like you have a lot on your mind.” At a glance from her, he corrected himself again, “Ih sitting at the bar together.

“Can I get a smoke on the water? With no olive.”

“No, with an olive,” argued Will plaintively. “What?” he asked Aly who was looking at him incredulously, “I like olives.”

“Okay, just a smoke on the water, with an olive then.” A couple of minutes later, it arrived. The barmaid plopped it in front of her with a ‘I hope you enjoy your drink’ and a wink. She sipped thoughtfully at it, feeling Will’s gaze on her.

“What, you want it?” she teased him, holding the olive with delicate fingers.

“Yes…please,”

“Hmm, maybe I’ll just eat it myself…I quite feel like an olive now,” she said, eyes twinkling and bringing it closer to her mouth. Will lunged forward and tried to snatch it out of her hand. “Calm down. Now sit still,” she ordered. He sat back onto his stool perfectly still like a schoolboy getting a haircut. Which meant that he did fidget, a lot.

Slowly, Aly brought the olive towards his mouth, teasing him a little with it. Eventually, he leant forward, grabbed her hand and put the olive, and the tips of her fingers into his mouth.

“Hey, no fair,” she began but was cut off when he kissed the tips of her fingers before letting her hand drop back by her side. She held his eyes with hers for a moment, and then he dropped his head.

“Sorry, I’ve had a bit much to drink and-“

“It’s okay,” she replied softly, “so have I.”

“So then this,” he stood up and stepped closer to her, “this shouldn’t be a problem then?” She lowered here eyelids, so that, in the dim light she looked seductive.

Will took her hands and pulled her to her feet.

“No problem at all,” she murmured, finally daring to look up into her best friend’s face as it neared her own. For a moment, Will’s mouth hovered inches from her own, trying to decide if this was the right thing to do. Most likely, they would regret it in the morning. He groaned slightly, trying to make his conscience shut up. Who cared? He had longed to kiss her for months, and now he was so close he was having second thoughts.

“What’s the matter?” she asked in a low voice. That’s it, thought Will, and brought his lips crashing down on hers. Dimly, in the background, she heard cheering, but most of her brain cells were focussed in that moment on the contact she was having with Will.

David turned to Liz and whispered, “I told you it was only a matter of time.”

Will heard this, and smiled against Aly’s mouth. He opened his eyes to look at her face; hers were closed, her eyelashes brushing softly against skin and a divine look on her face. Trembling, but still not breaking the kiss they shared, Will ran his hands up and down her back, feeling her body shiver at the touch.

She tasted so sweet, and he felt like he never wanted to let go, but eventually, as all kisses do, it came to an end. He leaned back ever so slightly, arms still clasped around her body loosely, and smiled at her when she opened her eyes.

He traced the freckles that ran across her cheeks and nose and she giggled quietly before pulling him back for another kiss.

“Well well, if it isn’t my girlfriend and her little fuck buddy,” came a sneering voice. Aly whirled around to find Emilio looking straight down at her. His eyes were slightly glazed and he had obviously had too much to drink.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she spat. The atmosphere became much more tense all of a sudden.

“It’s a free country baby,” he said, spreading his arms wide, “I could ask you the same question.”

“Get out of my face.”

“Bite me,” he snarled, moving closer. Aly had stood up by now, and David, Jamie, Cee and Liz were watching with bated breath for what he would do next; they had stopped dancing and frozen where each was standing.

She pushed him away from her and stood her ground defiantly.

“Just leave me alone, Emi,” she said in a slightly softer voice. “Please…” The gentle pleading was obvious, even to a drunken man, and he stood up straighter.

“Aly, you make me so mad sometimes,” she was shaking her head, “I miss you baby.”

“No you don’t. No you don’t!” she said louder this time and more firmly.

“Come on beautiful, we were so great,” he moved closer, his voice mesmerizing her. She forgot all about what was around her for just a moment. “I’ll move back in, we’ll start again. He can move out – you don’t need him.” That triggered her, and she opened her eyes to find Emilio’s lips moving closer to her own. She turned her face so he kissed her cheek instead.

“I’m sorry, but we’re over. I miss you sometimes too, Emi, but I’ve moved on – you need to as well,” she pointed out. He rolled his eyes, suddenly seeming a lot more sober.

”You’re half in love with him,” he accused her, quietly though, so that nobody else could hear. Once David and the others had assessed that she was in no danger physically, they had retreated to the bar, although Will kept turning his head to make sure she was alright.

“So what if I am?” she responded, surprising him. “It’s none of your business now. It’s my life, and I can spend it with whoever I choose.” Looking shell shocked, Emilio just watched her turn away and walk out of the club door. He shook his head and put a hand to his temple.

As soon as Aly got outside, she took her shoes off and began walking blindly in the opposite direction. She ignored the calls of her name, and picked up pace.

But Will, for that was who it was, ran to catch up with her and caught her shoulder and spun her round.

”Aly, what are you doing?”

“Leaving,” she replied simply. “I don’t want to be around him.” In the darkness, Will could see that her eyes were glittering with tears and her lips were quivering with the effort of holding her sobs in.

“Sweetheart…it’s over now. Do you want me to take you home?” She hesitated. “Too many memories there?”

“Yeah…can we just walk for a bit?”

“Sure.” He slung an arm around her shoulder, his mind still lingering on the kiss they had shared. Probably now wasn’t the best time to relive the events though, he noted, looking down at her face. She was crying silently, trying to make sure Will didn’t notice.

“Can we go to the park?” she asked in a hushed voice.

“Of course we can, whatever you want,” he replied slightly absent minded.

Aly’s mind was bubbling with thoughts. She missed Emilio still. Even though it had been a while, seeing him had been like a sting in her heart. But she liked Will, a lot. But was it really the best thing to hook up with him, particularly when they were going on holiday together?

He was her best friend. And best friends getting together could never be good.

What if they split up?

What would she do without his support?

What if…

“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” She looked up at him balefully, and he chuckled somewhat, “okay, stupid question. You just look like you have a lot on your mind.” At a glance from her, he corrected himself again, “I mean, obviously you have a lot on your mind, I just – never mind!”

“I won’t, don’t worry,” she murmured sarcastically, stopping in front of a large tree with fairly low branches. “Want to climb it?”

“Um, okay,” he replied doubtfully looking up into the thick branches.

“Give me a leg up.” He formed his hands into a step for her to climb onto, and once she was safely up, he lifted himself up with his own arms until he was sitting next to her on the branch. “Impressive upper body strength,” she commented slyly.

“It comes with the job,” he replied swiftly shooting her a glance. “So you want to talk about anything?”

“Not really.” They sat in silence. Not an awkward one, each was immersed in their thoughts; Aly, with how pleasant it was to be sitting up there in the tree with Will, looking at the pin pricks of lights that spread all over the city, and Will’s thoughts still lingered on the feeling of the kiss they had shared earlier.

It was with regret that Aly jumped down from the branch, brushed her pants off and announced she thought it was time to go home; falling asleep in a tree probably wouldn’t be the best thing to do.

“I’ll come too,” offered Will gallantly.

“It’s okay, you can stay if you want. Or go back to the club.”

“No, I’d feel bad if I didn’t walk you home. Plus, I’m getting kind of tired.” He casually linked arms with her, in the process bumping her hip with his. She bumped back. “Hey!”

“You started it,” she joked.

“And finished,” he said pedantically, bumping her again and then running away from her.

“Coward,” she shook her head, that amused twinkle back in her eyes again. “You know I’d beat you in a fight, that’s why you’re running away.” He decided to humour her for a bit.

“Of course you would Aly. I wouldn’t dare even challenge you; I know I’d end up black and blue.” He earned himself a smack upside the head for the sarcastic tone which he used. “See? I would!” he continued, rubbing his head and pouting.

“Shut up,” she grumbled and they continued in silence, reaching home and each going to their separate rooms almost immediately – after having bid goodnight first of course.