Three Way (16 page)

‘She might. You’ve got a cool story to go with it. Girls like guys who get into trouble.’

‘Nazi trouble?’

‘Were they really Nazis?’

‘Far right. Debatable.’ I pour the chips and chicken nuggets onto a baking tray and pop it in the oven. ‘At least you and Parker seem to be getting on better.’

‘Yeah, we had a little chat. He asked me about Gary. It was…surprisingly nice. I’ve sort of missed him.’

‘Good, I’m glad. How was the rest of your day? How’s Norm?’ She shoots me an evil stare.

‘Norman,’ she says.

‘Right, Norman.’

‘He’s good, we might be going away this weekend. He wants to take me to Cromer in Norfolk.’

‘Sounds nice.’

‘Yeah. I know he’s older but he’s kinda…cool.’

‘As long as you’re happy. So, no more shagging, right?’

‘Well, it’s not that serious,’ she says. I frown.

‘Ash-’

‘What? We’re just going away, I’m not marrying the guy. If I still want to fool around then I can.’

‘Sounds dodgy to me. Not sure Lauren would be too happy about me ‘fooling around’ with you.’

‘Well, what she doesn’t know...’

‘Uh huh.’

‘Speaking of which, those chips will take half an hour,’ she says, smiling.

‘You are bad,’ I say, chuckling. She moves towards me, putting her arm around my waist. I hear Parker heading towards us from the living room. I move Ashley’s hand away from me and quickly turn towards the sink. Parker walks in, puts his plate down and heads out. I glance at Ashley who smiles, I shake my head.

‘You started it,’ she whispers, smiling.

Saturday. When I exit Canada Water tube station, I’m hit by a blinding sun and a balmy seventy-two degrees. I’m wearing a white Calvin Klein slim-fit shirt and stonewashed navy-blue jeans, although now I’m out in the sun, I wish I’d worn shorts. I’ve also got a plastic bag with a six-pack of Fosters. I get out my iPhone and look up the address. James Kennedy lives about five minutes east of here, I start walking. The sun is hot on my neck and I arrive in a partial sweat. The building is a modern apartment block close to the river. I find the intercom on the door and buzz the top floor. A male voice answers.

‘Hello?’

‘Uh hi, is that James Kennedy’s place?’

‘Yeah, you here for the barbeque?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Top floor.’ The buzzer sounds and I open the door. The first thing I look for is a lift which either doesn’t exist or is hidden so well I can’t find it. I begin the ascent up the stairs. When I get to the top, I’m panting. I knock on the door. I hear someone coming, the door opens to reveal James Kennedy wearing a white shirt open three buttons down. He’s on his mobile.

‘...thank you babe. I, uh...’ he looks at me and frowns. ‘Hang on a second. Uh, hi?’ he says, frowning.

‘Hi. Um, Lauren invited me?’ I say. The look on his face tells me everything I need to know. It would appear that although Lauren invited me, she had apparently failed to tell James this small but important fact.

‘Oh. Right,’ he says, glancing down at my attire.

‘I bought beers,’ I say, holding them up, eager to please.

‘Well, come in. What happened to uh..?’ he asks, referring to my face.

‘Long story,’ I reply. He shrugs, takes the bag with my Fosters and walks ahead of me into the kitchen. Maverick Sabre’s soulful voice wafts from the stereo system in living room which, by the way, is enormous. He also has an outside area where everyone is hanging out.

‘You want a cold drink?’ I hear James ask.

‘Uh sure, if you don’t mind,’ I reply. He appears a few seconds later, phone still clamped to his ear and gives me a cold bottle of Peroni. ‘Why would I mind?’ he asks. ‘Sorry darling, yeah so you were saying about the HSBC thing?’ I watch him walk back towards his guests, leaving me stranded. Man, that guy is a cock. ‘Why would I mind?’ his sarcastic words replay in my head. What a shitty little...calm Ollie.

I follow in James’ wake, taking note of the huge plasma screen to my left as I head towards the outside living space which is like a balcony on steroids. It’s huge and can seemingly accommodate many, many people. Jesus Christ, this place is incredible. Everything is ultra-modern and shiny. Sort of like its owner, I guess.

I spot Mark and a couple of other people I recognise from pub. Jeez, they all look like they know one another, this is going to be awkward. Why didn’t Lauren tell him I was coming? I knew this was a mistake. I can’t see her. Shit, do I go out there and start mingling? I stop, indecision getting the better of me. Suddenly, I feel two hands move across my eyes, cutting my vision. I immediately feel a stab of pain in my cheek.

‘Guess who?’ Lauren says behind me.

‘Ow,’ I say. She immediately withdraws her hands and looks at me.

‘Oh my God. What happened?’ she asks. I turn to face her. Wow is the only word that comes to mind. Her hair is down but brushed straight, salon-style. She wears a white, flowing summer dress with little flowers dotted around it. In short…she looks staggering.

‘I…I got sent to a far right march and got a little pushed around.’

‘Jesus,’ she replies, going to touch my cheek. I flinch at the prospect of her touch. She withdraws her hand.

‘I know. I look terrible but I’m told it will heal. One day.’

‘No I’m...just glad you’re okay. Someone punched you?’

‘Yeah, something like that. It’s fine. Happens sometimes.’

‘Maybe you should take a security guard or something next time.’

‘Yeah, it wasn’t supposed to be that sort of march. Anyway, how are you?’

‘Good. It’s good to see you,’ she replies, staring at me with a big smile on her face.

‘You too. James, didn’t seem to know I was coming.’

‘He did, I told him last week.’

‘Oh. Okay.’

‘I see you’ve already got your drink sorted,’ she says, looking at my Peroni.

‘Uh yeah, you want it?’

‘Just got one,’ she says holding up her bottle. I nod, nervous, not sure why. I suddenly have nothing to say. Small talk, quick.

‘This is an amazing place,’ I say.

‘Yeah, James earns way too much. As his boss, I will be looking into that,’ she replies. I smile. Man, she does look stunning in that dress. First time I’ve seen her out of a suit. Smokin’ and I don’t mean the barbeque either. ‘I like your shirt, Calvin Klein?’ Her comment causes me to pause in my current gulp of beer. ‘It’s written on the back.’ I swallow.

‘Ah yes. You look...wow, really nice,’ I say. I know I’m crap but I’m nervous. I already told you I don’t know why.

‘Thanks. You okay?’

‘Yeah, oh definitely,’ I reply. She smiles.

‘It’s really good to see you. I’ve...sort of missed you this week.’

‘Yeah, sort of missed me?’ I ask, unsure how anyone could miss me. ‘I guess I sort of missed you too,’ I reply. I promise our dialogue will get better, just stay with me.

‘You don’t have to say that.’

‘No, I really did.’ I swallow and take another sip of beer.

‘You want to meet some people?’

‘Sure.’ She takes my hand and leads me over to the outside area. The view is astonishing. Canary Wharf is directly ahead of us with the river running past the apartment building. To the left is the Shard, the buildings of the City and St Paul’s Cathedral. To the right, more Docklands buildings and East London. The Superbalcony, as I shall now refer to it, extends up to another level where James and Mark are cooking on a large expensive-looking barbeque. Other people sit at a big round table under an enormous umbrella. Two girls sit on the step up, talking with glasses of Champagne in their hands. The smell of meat and smoke fills the air.

‘Hey Lauren, you going to help James with the barbeque?’ asks Mark, stepping down and over to us.

‘No, that’s what guys do at these things, isn’t it?’ she replies. ‘You remember Ollie?’

‘Yeah, hey man, good to see you,’ Mark replies, shaking my hand. If he notices my bruise he says nothing. ‘Fuck, I’m sweating like a dog.’ He wipes his forehead with his arm. ‘You guys okay for beers?’ I nod.

‘Yeah, thanks,’ I say. Lauren nods.

‘Cool, escuse moi.’ He moves past us, and into the flat.

‘Hi there,’ says a woman’s voice behind me. I turn to see a pretty brunette. She’s slim, wears a tight-fitting red dress and holds a glass of half-drunk Champagne. ‘And who do we have here?’

‘Sarah, this is Ollie,’ Lauren says. ‘Sarah’s with James.’ I nod and shake her hand. ‘Nice to meet you,’ I say.

‘You too. So you’re the famous Ollie,’ Sarah says.

‘Uh oh, sounds like I’ve been discussed,’ I say.

‘In explicit detail,’ Lauren says. Sarah laughs. She has an infectious laugh which makes you smile the moment you hear it.

‘Don’t worry, I know nothing,’ says Sarah. ‘You’re the one that works for TBN?’

‘For my sins, I’m afraid it’s true,’ I reply.

‘I think that’s really interesting. So have you been in a warzone recently or something?’

‘No, some protestors took issue with his haircut,’ Lauren says.

‘What?’ Sarah says. I nudge Lauren playfully.

‘No, I was out on a far right demonstration and it broke into a few scuffles, that’s all.’

‘He’s very brave,’ Lauren says, putting her arm through mine. Sarah smiles.

‘You have a dangerous job,’ Sarah says.

‘Nah, just sometimes...so, what do you do?’ I ask her. She takes a sip of Champagne.

‘I’m a counsellor, well just starting out. But I had my first client last week.’

‘Really? A counsellor.’

‘Yeah, I’ve been studying like forever but I finally got my degree so-’ she looks up to James, distracted by the barbeque fire that appears to be getting out of control.

‘Holy shit!’ I hear James shout. ‘Mark! Water now!’

‘James, what are you doing?’ Sarah says. ‘Excuse me, sorry.’ She leaves to attend James’ unfolding barbeque disaster.

‘No worries,’ I say. I turn to Lauren. ‘You look amazing, did I say that already?’ She smiles, staring at me. We say nothing for a moment, just looking at each other. ‘What?’ I ask. She shakes her head, her eyes not leaving mine.

‘You look very smart in that shirt and the bruise makes you look dangerous,’ she says.

‘Yeah, dangerously ill-prepared for a fight.’

Barbeque disaster is averted when Mark runs out and moves some of the meat James was cooking to a cooler side of the grill. James, it appears, thought that adding more lighting fluid was the answer to non-cooking food. A fire brigade situation is avoided by Mark’s quick thinking thus saving the flat and all the wealthy people. Yay.

I’m introduced to another couple from United Bank, Karen and her fiancée Billy who seem very nice. Everyone settles in for a relaxing evening. Lauren helps Sarah with the drinks leaving me to talk to a guy called Darren who, if I’m honest is really dull but luckily it isn’t long before Lauren finds me again. We find a spot away from the others and sit down, looking out at the remarkable view. I have a chicken leg in one hand and, I think, my third Peroni in the other.

‘So,’ I say.

‘So,’ she replies.

‘You ever...been in love?’ I ask. Her smile dies and she becomes reflective.

‘Yeah. Many times. Maybe that’s my problem, I think I fall in love too easily. Normally ends up in a car crash.’

‘Yeah? Been hurt?’ I ask. She looks at me then back to Canary Wharf ahead of us.

‘Of course. Who hasn’t? But that’s life, isn’t it?’

‘I guess.’

‘You?’ she asks. I nod slowly. ‘Recently?’ I look at her, my eyes giving me away. She sighs. Suddenly, a simple conversation has taken on a new darker edge. ‘Who was she?’

‘Nah. Look this is supposed to be a fun thing, right?’

‘Are we heading into rocky shores before we’ve barely set sail?’ she asks. I look at her, the sudden poetry in her words surprising me.

‘No. We’re good. We’re better than good,’ I say, as convincingly as I can.