Page 107 of The Christmas Invitation
‘I know that now, but it was only when Al raged at me like a madman later that day that I realized the truth – and what you both thought of me!’
‘He shouldn’t have taken it on himself to say anything at all, and I told him so. But he’s been a good friend throughout everything.’ He paused. ‘So, I remember being in the wine bar with you … but not how I ended up in your digs.’
‘You’d carried on drinking, but since you were talking perfectly well, I didn’t realize how drunk you were until we left. When we got outside it was bucketing down with rain and the cold air just hit you for six: I had trouble keeping you upright. We were the last out of the wine bar and they locked the door behind us, or I’d have rung for a taxi to take you home.’
He was looking intently at me now, though I couldn’t see his expression clearly enough to read.
‘I lived only round the corner, so I thought the best thing to do was take you there, pour black coffee down you and call a cab.’
‘Very practical,’ he said drily. ‘What went wrong?’
‘I managed to get you there, though it was a bit of a struggle, and we both got very wet. I hung your coat up to drip and you headed for the bathroom, while I went to put the kettle on.’
‘I don’t remember any of that,’ he said blankly. ‘The first thing I remember about your flat is … being in bed with you.’
‘You werenotin bed with me,’ I said forcefully. ‘I’d gotintobed because I was freezing – that was the coldest, dampest flat ever – but you were lying on top of it, under a duvet.’
‘But I remember—’
‘You’re supposed to be lettingmetell you what happened,’ I interrupted. ‘When we’d got back to the flat and I’d put the kettle on, there was no sign of you – and I found you crashed out on my bed. It was next to the bathroom, so I expect you just stumbled in there and passed out.’
This time he said nothing, so I carried on. ‘I did try to wake you up, but I couldn’t, so after a while I thought I’d better let you sleep it off. I took your boots off and covered you with a spare duvet. Then, since I was damp and freezing, I got ready for bed and got in. I left the bedside light on in case you woke up and didn’t know where you were.’
‘Yes …’ he said slowly. ‘There was a light, because I remember seeing you in bed next to me – and kissing you.’
‘You did briefly surface and kiss me, just after I got in bed, but I don’t think you really knew what you were doing and you passed out again almost straight away.’
He was frowning heavily now, brows knitted. ‘You’re trying to tell me weweren’tactually in bed together? That we didn’t—’
‘I’m not trying to tell you – this is the truth! Apart from one brief kiss, we didn’t do anything other than sleep, so whatever else you remember, it only happened in your head.’
‘But how do I know that’s really what happened and you’re not just saying it to make me feel better?’
‘Because I’ve never had a one-night stand in my life. I’m not that kind of person,’ I snarled. ‘Look, that evening I was heartbroken because I’d just split with Rollo, so what makes you think I’d have jumped straight into bed with you?’
‘But … I knew you had a crush on me, because Al used to joke about how pink you went whenever we spoke.’
‘I’m glad I provided you both with some amusement,’ I said coldly. ‘And yes, I did have a crush on you – in my first term! Once I’d met Lisa, it just wore off, because she was so sweet and lovely, and you were perfect together.’
‘She was one in a million and I didn’t deserve her,’ he said, still frowning as if trying to put the pieces of the past together again. ‘When I told Al what I remembered, he said you’d always had a thing about me and had seized the opportunity when I was drunk to—’
‘Drag you to my lair and have my wicked way with you?’ I finished for him sarcastically. ‘Al is mad!’ I added with conviction.
I decided to tell him my clincher: ‘What you don’t know, Lex, is that I have a witness to back my story up. There was someone else in the flat that night.’
There was a silence. Then he said, ‘But I don’t remember anyone else.’
‘No, but then, you only seem to have a selection of small and distorted memories of what happened, don’t you? But Flisswasthere.’
‘Fliss? You mean, Fliss from college?’
‘That’s the one. She was in the flat that night, because she had flu.’
‘You’re trying to tell me she was there the whole time?’ He sounded disbelieving. ‘But I suppose even if that’s true, she must have been in her room, if she was ill.’
‘She was over the worst by then, just wobbly. She came out to see what was happening when we arrived and then after I found you out cold on my bed, we discussed what to do. In the end, we thought you’d be OK and just sleep it off, so she fetched a spare duvet and we covered you up. Fliss and I had some cocoa, then I got into my bed and she went back to hers. But it was only a short time later that she came back in with your phone in her hand. It had been ringing on and off in your coat pocket for ages and she’d heard it because she slept next to the living room.’
He was still silent, so I carried on. ‘When she came into the bedroom, I was asleep in bed, and you were still out for the count under the duvet, just as she’d left you. She gave the phone to me and when I answered it, it was Al, looking for you.’
