Page 11 of Kiss Me Ever After
She twirled around as she hopped off the bottom step. “You’re right. He doesn’t. I have to remind him now and then.” Amber raked her gaze over my outfit: a peacock blue velvet miniskirt, black blouse with flecks of a similar blue shot through it in a tiny feather pattern, and killer heels. “Might I say the same about you, although there’s no one to admire you except for me.”
I laughed. “Maybe I’ll meet Prince Charming tonight.”
Amber made a face. “We’re going to Vaughans, so I doubt it. Unless your prince drives a souped-up Audi and wears a tracksuit.”
“I guess we’ll find out.”
A car horn tooted from outside.
“That’s our taxi. See you later, Mum, don’t wait up!” Amber called.
“You girls have a good evening,” replied Sonya. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t!”
“That doesn’t exactly narrow it down,” muttered Amber under her breath.
The people carrier waiting outside already had Amber’s work friends in it. The two girls squealed as we got in, as if they hadn’t seen Amber in ages as opposed to only a couple of hours since they’d finished work. We clambered in and then Amber spun around in her seat to introduce us.
“Faye, Harriet, this is my best friend Lennon. She lives next door, well, during the summer anyway.”
The two of them chorused a hello. I vaguely recognised Faye from before but assumed Harriet must have joined Blossom since my last visit.
“Are we going to the Old Dock before we go to the club?” Faye asked. “One of my college friends said she might be there.”
The Old Dock was a pub on the same street as Vaughans. It tended to be the place where pub crawls started. I stifled a smile. Things hadn’t changed much.
“Curtis said they might be there, so I’m not sure I want to go in.” Amber wrinkled her nose. “This is meant to be a girls’ night.”
“We could pop in for half an hour, couldn’t we? Get one drink there?” pleaded Harriet. “Vaughans issoexpensive.”
I nodded in agreement. In the past, I wouldn’t have worried about the cost of drinks, but times were different now. I’d had to budget carefully to ensure I could come out tonight without impacting my savings too drastically. I was more aware than ever of my finances, and knew it sounded dramatic, but the thought of not being able to go back to uni in the autumn was more depressing than missing some nights out now.
“Okay, one drink,” relented Amber. “And if we meet the boys, maybe we can get them to buy a round.” She laughed.
The taxi pulled up outside the pub and we piled out. Amber shoved some money in the driver’s direction, and we headed inside.
The oppressive heat hit me the moment we got through the door. At least I hadn’t brought a jacket. The temperature wasn’t helped by the fact the pub was absolutely rammed. It would take us an age to get to the bar, let alone get served.
“Shall we head straight for the club?” I asked, looking around at the others.
Faye and Harriet made a beeline for a group of lads who—judging by the amount of kissing and hugging going on—they obviously knew.
“We’ll have a drink here first.” Amber pointed at one of the signs. “Look, it’s two-for-one on cocktails. I reckon I can stand you one of those.”
“Let me grab that table,” I said, spotting a couple about to vacate one. “You go to the bar.”
Despite the crowds, Amber wasn’t half as long as I expected her to be.
“Shit, if someone doesn’t take this from me soon, we won’t have any drinks!” she called over, trying to juggle four huge cocktails. I could have given her some tips with my newfound waitressing skills.
“What the actual fuck is this?” I examined the orange-coloured drink floating with various bits of fruit, an umbrella and even a flamingo.
Amber shrugged. “No idea. All I know is that it’s the most alcohol I could get for a tenner.”
I sucked on the straw, guzzling down the syrupy-sweet liquid. “Jesus, is there Jägermeister in there somewhere?” I almost vomited at the thought. Jägermeister wasthatdrink for me.
“Probably. The barman was messing around with a lot of bottles.” Amber took a sip herself, then coughed. “Well, that’s… interesting.” She dove into her tiny handbag and pulled out her phone. “Curtis is here. He’ll find us before we go to the club.”
If Curtis was in the bar, then there was every chance Justin was too.
