She reached for the industrial catering ladle lying in a sticky pool on the paper tablecloth and dipped it into the punch.
‘Give it a good stir, Loveday,’ hiccuped Mickey, putting his arm round her fleshy waist and giving it a squeeze. ‘All the good stuff is at the bottom.’ She looked at him suspiciously. ‘’Ave you been drinking?’
‘No.’
She turned to Jesse. ‘Has he?’
Jesse attempted to focus his eyes on Loveday. ‘No.’
Loveday shook Mickey’s arm off her and leant forward to sniff his breath. ‘I can smell alcohol.’
Mickey was affronted. ‘You can’t smell vodka, ’tis a well-known fact.’
She opened her eyes in disbelief. ‘Yes you can, and where the bleddy hell did you get vodka?’
Jesse owned up. ‘Grant got us two litre bottles to celebrate. He’s home for the weekend.’
‘Your Grant is trouble – and now he’s going to get you into trouble.’ She stood with her hands on her hips, frowning at both boys. ‘Where is he now?’
Greer, who’d been listening to all of this, looked around the garden and pointed to Grant, who was dancing with a couple of girls. He was in a skintight T-shirt which enhanced his muscular shoulders and tattooed pecs. The girls looked very pleased with themselves for having netted the handsomest man at the party. DJ Ricky was not looking happy – it looked as if he’d be going home alone … again. ‘He’s over there,’ Greer said.
Jesse was unimpressed. ‘Janine and Heather? Is that the best he can do? Anyone can pull them.’
Grant was now bumping and grinding his hips, bum and crotch towards the girls as ‘Le Freak’ by Chic was blaring out over the speakers. The girls willingly followed his moves.
Loveday leaned towards Jesse’s ear and – above the noise – managed to ask him to dance with her.
‘No thanks,’ he answered, pouring himself another glass of punch. ‘Not in the mood.’
‘What are you in the mood for?’ she asked, putting her hand on his chest. She was wearing a low-cut baby- pink vest and the skimpiest of denim skirts. Her hair was tied in a side ponytail with a pink scrunchie, and her lips were parted seductively as she gazed up at Jesse.
He felt the warmth of her skin through his shirt and wanted more than anything to drop his mouth to hers and kiss her deeply. They were so close, with barely a hair’s breadth between them; all he’d have to do would be to lean in … but all at once Jesse became aware of Mickey standing right next to them. He took a step back, knocking the table as he did so. Loveday let her hand drop back by her side.
‘I’ll dance with you, Loveday,’ grinned Mickey. He grabbed her elbow, guiding her erratically onto the dance floor as she looked disappointedly over her shoulder at Jesse.
He and Greer were left to watch as Mickey and Loveday were swallowed by the crowd.
‘Want another drink, Greer?’ asked Jesse.
Greer drank very little, but the last glass of punch had left her feeling a little woolly around the edges, and she was enjoying the sensation. ‘Yes, please.’ She handed her empty glass to him. Carefully he dipped the ladle into the bowl and filled their glasses to the brim.
‘Cheers, Big Ears,’ Greer surprised herself by saying; the punch was definitely kicking in.
‘Cheers, Greers,’ he replied solemnly.
They clinked and drank.
‘Why aren’t you dancing?’ he asked.
‘No one’s asked me. Except Loveday, and she doesn’t count.’
‘Loveday’s a good girl,’ Jesse said quietly.
‘Mickey thinks so.’
Jesse pulled his mouth down at the corners. ‘Yeah.’
‘They’re well suited, don’t you think?’
‘I s’pose.’
Greer, powered by the warmth of vodka, elucidated. ‘I mean they’re two of a kind. Loveday has no ambition to leave Trevay. Mickey’s future is mapped out for him on the boats. Whereas you and I …’ She took a step closer to him. ‘We’re lucky. We come from families who have made something of themselves.’
Jesse was now feeling very drunk but also – and this surprised him – he suddenly felt attracted to Greer. She wasn’t sexy and exuberant like Loveday, but her shiny, blunt-cut bob and neat, even teeth were fascinating him. He wasn’t sure what she was saying exactly, but whatever it was, she was saying it very sweetly.
‘You’re all right really, aren’t you, Greer?’ he managed. ‘I don’t think you’re a snob. Like some of them say. You’re just a bit different. That’s all. Want a top-up?’
Greer frowned slightly. ‘Yes, please, and I’m not a snob. Who said that?’
‘Janine and Heather.’
Greer drank some more punch and enjoyed its zing as it ran down her throat and hit her stomach. ‘They are a pair of bitches.’ She put her glass down. ‘I’m going to sort them out.’ She took a step forward but her knees sank a little. Jesse caught her. ‘No you don’t.’ He pulled her closer to him. ‘You’re staying with me.’ Her slender frame felt surprisingly good – firm, but there was a softness there too, not soft like Loveday, but … He felt a shot of desire stir in his groin.
She relaxed into his arms and raised her face to his. She giggled. ‘You’ve got strong arms, Jesse Behenna.’
He demonstrated his strength by pulling her closer to him. ‘You’d better believe it.’
She snuggled into his arms. She could feel his warm breath on her hair as he rested his cheek on the top of her head. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to melt into him, to feel the heat of his body against hers. Greer felt a heady thrill at being in Jesse’s arms. This was it. This was their moment.
The pounding beat of Jackie Wilson giving his all to ‘Reet Petite’ broke through the moment as Greer heard a familiar voice.
‘Scuse us, you two,’ said her father. ‘Your mum and I are going to show you young ’uns some real dancing.’ Her parents pushed past them and cleared a space on the dance floor before going into an incredible jive routine.
Bryn spun Elizabeth under his arm and towards him, then spun her out and away from him. They were good. They rocked back on their heels at arms’ length and pinged back together with their arms round each other. Pushing Elizabeth a little away from him, Bryn caught her by the waist and bounced her high above his head then swept her down and between his legs. Elizabeth had enjoyed two large gin and tonics and was unembarrassed as her skirt slid up her thighs to reveal comfy mum knickers.
Greer was mortified. The spell was broken and she extricated herself from the bliss of Jesse’s embrace to take in the full horrific embarrassment of her parents. Couldn’t they see how ridiculous they looked? How could they do this to her? In front of all her friends. On tonight of all nights. She turned and ran to the Ladies where the combination of alcohol, her yearning for Jesse and the grimness of her parents’ behaviour made her vomit violently.
After a while, she felt a bit better. She closed the loo lid and flushed, then sat down on the seat and dabbed at her perspiring face with a wad of loo paper. She had never had so much to drink. She stayed put, with her head in her hands, praying that the room would just slow down for a moment.
A timid knock on the cubicle door made her jolt.
‘Is anyone in there?’ It was Loveday’s mother.
Greer got to her feet and flushed the loo again to make it look as if she hadn’t been sitting there trying to sober up. She opened the door and Mrs Carter smiled