This Man Part 21

'Wow!' she blurts. 'Someone's out to impress tonight.' She jumps down from the worktop, slipping her feet into her gold heels. 'Short enough?'

I arch an eyebrow at her, running my eyes down her dress. 'Pot...'

She laughs her carefree laugh that never fails to bring a smile to my own face. 'Here.' She hands me a gla.s.s of wine. I take it gratefully, pretty much necking it. It's very welcome. 'The taxi's here.'

I dump my empty on the side and follow Kate out to the taxi. I'm looking forward to my recovery night, but ignoring the fact that my recovery night is to recover from a few steamy encounters with a steamy male, and not to recover from the breakdown of my four year relationship with Matt. It's ironic. I never felt the need to go out and get steaming drunk after my break up with Matt.

We walk into Baroque, spotting Tom and Victoria at the bar immediately.

'What the h.e.l.l?' Tom exclaims, running his eyes up and down my black clad body on a grin. 'Ava, you look lethal!'

'Really good, Ava.' Victoria adds.

It's just a dress. 'Thanks,' I shrug, pulling the hem down.

'What are you having?' Kate asks.

Well, I've already had a gla.s.s of wine, so I guess I should stick. I did say I was going to have a good drink. 'Rose, but make sure it's Zinfandel, please.'

Kate orders the drinks, and we make our way to a tall table near the DJ. Tom's wearing his new coral shirt and too tight jeans a he may as well have gay tattooed on his forehead, and Victoria looks as pretty as always. Everyone's really made an effort tonight, me included. Why is that?

As the wine flows down, my troubled thoughts flow away. We're laughing and chatting, and I'm beginning to feel normal again. I feel foot loose and fancy free. I like it. My Mum has always said "Alcohol makes for loose lips and loose lips sink ships". This, I have just discovered, is most certainly true because I'm totally lit up, and I've filled everyone in on recent events. Considering I wanted to forget about it, I'm doing a b.l.o.o.d.y good job of hanging on to the memories.

Tom is thrilled about all of the rebound s.e.x I've had. 'So, he just stalked off and you haven't seen him since?' he asks critically.

Victoria pipes up. 'That's really un-cool.'

Kate rolls her eyes, looking at the pair like they're a sandwich short of a picnic. 'Isn't it obvious?' she huffs. Tom and Victoria look at each other, then to me. I shrug. Is what obvious? Kate shakes her head. 'You lot are dense. It's simple...he wants her. No man behaves like that over a quick screw. I've told you this, Ava.'

'Why would he disappear then?' Victoria leans in, truly captivated by Kate's explanation for Jesse's behaviour.

'I don't know! I'm just saying. I've witnessed the chemistry. It's way off the scales.' Kate flops back on her tall chair in complete exasperation.

I laugh. I'm not sure if it's too much wine, but that's just...funny. 'It doesn't matter. He was a rebound f.u.c.k and that's it.' My explanation doesn't seem to satisfy because they all carry on studying me with doubtful looks on their faces. I don't even think I'm satisfied with my explanation, but it's been four days and I've resisted the overwhelming temptation to call him. Besides, he hasn't called me or made any further appointments, so that pretty much says it all. I'm moving on. I'm just ma.s.sively p.i.s.sed off with myself for relenting to his persistence, putting him in the position to drop me a and he has.

'Oh, can we change the subject, please?' I snap. 'I'm out to enjoy myself, not to a.n.a.lyse the details of my rebound f.u.c.k.'

Tom stirs his pina colada. 'You know, everything happens for a reason.'

'Oh, don't start with all that airy fairy c.r.a.p!' Kate chides him.

'It does. I'm a firm believer in it. Your rebound f.u.c.k is a stepping stone to the love of your life.' He winks at me.

'And Matt was a four year stepping stone.' Kate points out.

'To stepping stones,' Tom sings.

Kate joins the toast. 'And shots!'

I finish my wine and raise my gla.s.s in agreement.

'Yes, shots!' Tom shouts, dancing off to the bar.

We sway down the road to our next destination, The Blue Bar. We make it past the doormen, although one does eye Tom's shirt suspiciously. Tom and Victoria charge for the dance floor when they hear Flo Rida and Sia singing about Wild Ones, leaving Kate and I to get the drinks.

I order a round and take Tom and Victoria's over, putting them on a ledge nearby under their instruction. The dancing is that serious; they could be some time. When I join Kate back at the bar, she's talking to a man. She doesn't know him. I can tell because she's notched up her flirting by a few gears.

As I approach, she raises her voice over the music. 'Ava, this is Greg.'

I smile, putting my hand out politely. He looks normal enough. 'Hi, nice to meet you,'

'Yeah, and you. This is my mate, Alex.' He signals to a cute, dark haired guy next to him.

'Hi,' I shout.

He smiles confidently. 'You wanna drink?'

'No, thanks, I've just got one.' Rule number one: Never accept drinks from strangers. Dan's drilled it into me since I started going out.

'Nah problem,' He shrugs.

Kate and Greg move away from us, leaving me and Alex to make conversation. I didn't really want this. I came out to be rid of men in general. Now I've been lumbered with one.

'What do ya do?' Alex asks me.

'Interior design, you?'

'Estate agent,'

I inwardly groan. I have an aversion to estate agents a c.o.c.ky, over confident, gold plated salesmen. Alex is all of these, with the added bonus of a dodgy c.o.c.kney accent.

'Nice.' I say, because he's just lost all of my interest, not that there was any in the first place.

'Yeah, got myself a few grand bonus taday. Give me a s.h.i.t pit and I'll sell it, nah problem. I'm living it large in Landon and laving it.' Oh G.o.d, slime ball! 'Ya fancy going out samtime?'

NO! 'Thanks, but I'm in a relationship.' It's a good job c.o.c.kney doesn't know me and my bad habit. I'm twiddling my hair frantically.

'Ya sure?' he asks, inching closer and stroking my arm.

I pull away, planning my escape. 'Positive.' I smile sweetly, looking around for Kate.

Within the s.p.a.ce of time it takes me to raise my gla.s.s to my lips, c.o.c.kney quickly disappears from my line of vision. It takes me a few seconds to piece together the events that are unfolding before my eyes, but when I do, I'm appalled.

Jesse has c.o.c.kney in a firm grip around his neck and pinned up against a pillar.

Chapter 18.

'Keep your f.u.c.king hands to yourself.' Jesse snarls at a poor, startled c.o.c.kney. He doesn't know what's. .h.i.t him. I feel bad; he was only trying his luck. I would have dealt with it. Where did he come from? This is all I need on my night out, supposedly free from arrogant men. Or not so, it would appear. He's left me for four days wondering what happened, and now he's turned up, out of the blue, raging like a wild bull. Has he even calmed down from Tuesday?

'I'm sorry mate. I didn't mean any offence. Your girlfriend and I were just chatting about s.h.i.t, ya know.' c.o.c.kney explains, completely panicked.

Girlfriend? Oh! I want to advise poor c.o.c.kney that I'm not even the girlfriend of the maniac pinning him up by his throat, but judging by Jesse's obvious mood, I'll decline at the risk of p.i.s.sing him off further.

'Jesse, let go of him, he wasn't doing anything.'

c.o.c.kney looks at me gratefully. He knows I'm stretching the truth. A few more seconds, and I'm pretty sure I would have been throwing a drink over him. I gently stroke Jesse's arm in an attempt to calm him down, ignoring his warm firmness. He looks like he could explode with anger. I'm p.i.s.sed. How dare he turn up and trample all over my recovery night.

'What's going on?' Kate arrives next to me.

'Nothing,' I snap. 'Jesse, let him go.'

He doesn't appear to be listening. What am I supposed to do with this? I don't want to see him. I'm feeling derailed already, and he hasn't even looked at me yet. I can hardly walk away and leave poor c.o.c.kney to bear the brunt of Jesse's unjustified rage. Where the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l has he been for four days?

I'm beyond relieved when Sam turns up on the scene. 'Sam, please sort your t.w.a.t of a friend out,' I turn towards Kate. 'Come on.'

Kate's eyes light up like The Blackpool Illuminations at Sam's unexpected arrival. I hear Sam calmly coaxing Jesse from c.o.c.kneys throat as I drag Kate away, heading for the dance floor.

'What was all that about?' she asks.

'Don't. What happened to Greg?'

'He was a total d.i.c.k. Come on, let's dance.'

Tom and Victoria welcome us with waving arms as we join them on the dance floor. I've been thrown off guard by Jesse turning up. Is this a coincidence, or did he know I would be here? How could he know? I was having a great night, not having thought about him for at least an hour. That's a record for the last four days. d.a.m.n it!

I push Jesse out of my mind and soon let The Source & Candi Staton take me to a better place. I love this track.

After half an hour and a string of some great tracks, I haven't seen or heard from Jesse. Sam must have ejected him, or maybe the doormen did. Either way, I'm free to resume the great night it had been up until Jesse crashed in. I signal to Kate that I'm going to the toilet, smiling when she acknowledges with a shimmy and a laugh.

As I exit the cubicle, I fish my nude lipstick out of my bag to re-apply, and check my phone to find ten missed calls from Jesse. What? Oh, he's angry all right. But what on earth has he got to be mad about? Any pangs of Jesse withdrawal have been extinguished by his unreasonable behaviour. Who does he think he is? I don't dwell on it, though. I clear the missed calls, making my way back to the dance floor, only to find the others making their way to the bar.

'Drink!' Tom clenches his throat in an exaggerated signal of thirst.

It's Victoria's round. As I wait for her to get served, a wave of unease washes over me. He's still here. I know it.

She hands me my drink, her mouth gaping open. 'Oh...my...G.o.d!'

I take my wine. 'What?'

'That guy, the one in Starbucks I was telling you about,' she explains, nodding over my shoulder. 'There he is. I told you he was yummy.'

I turn in the direction of Victoria's stare and find her looking at Sam. But that's not what catches my attention. Every fine air on the back of my neck p.r.i.c.kles when I see Jesse leaning against the very pillar he had poor c.o.c.kney pinned up against, not an hour ago. His severe stare is piercing me, while Sam and the other guy from The Manor, Drew, are busy chatting and drinking. Jesse's not engaging in the conversation, though. No, he's stood there looking as angry as he did earlier, drilling holes right into me. Victoria's information suddenly filters into my brain.

I turn back to her. 'What happened?'

She looks vague as she hands drinks to Kate and Tom. They accept, swiftly returning to the floor. 'What happened where?' she asks on a frown.

I roll my eyes. She's so dim sometimes. 'Starbucks, what happened?'

'Oh.' She's back in the game. 'She just walked in, started screaming and shouting, and lobbed a coffee over the poor bloke.'

'What did she say?'

'Oh, I can't remember. She called him a selfish, cheating something or other.' she flips casually. Sam has a girlfriend? I'll have to warn Kate, she seems to like him. 'Hey, he's with the guy who hoofed you out of the office.'

'Yeah, listen, keep that to yourself, okay?'

She frowns at me. 'What?'

'I mean the flying coffee. And while we're at it, not a word to Patrick about the hoofing either.'

She shrugs. 'Whatever. Oh, I love this song. Ava, come on.'

I watch as Victoria dances her way back through the crowd, but I can't move. I can feel his eyes burning into my back. I know I should just walk away, but the magnet affect he has on me sets me turning towards him instead. He has his phone in his hand, and he waves it in the air in a kind of look gesture. I don't know why I do, but I do. I get my phone from my bag, and not so much to my surprise, Jesse's name is illuminating my screen. I glance back up, seeing him put his phone to his ear. He wants me to answer it.

The loud music around me fades out into a dull base, pulsing in my ears, and the hum of laughing and chatting diminishes into a low mumble of sound around me. I'm being swallowed up by his eyes. I'm completely immobilised. My senses are a.s.saulted by the presence of Jesse Ward, the sight of him triggering all the memories of his voice, his smell, his touch. The unforgiving power he holds over me is playing the Devil's advocate with my intelligence, and my heart is hammering a wild, uneven beat in my ears.

I watch as he lowers his phone from his ear, shaking his head. He starts towards me. I see Sam look in my direction as Jesse leaves their group, Drew flipping his eyes up too. They both look uneasy at Jesse's obvious target.

I momentarily recapture my senses when Sam grabs Jesse's arm to pull him back, but gets shoved out of the way. The music and activity crashes back into my brain. I plead with my legs to listen to the sensible side of my brain and take me away from here before my stupid side allows me to fall victim to his physical magnetism again. I abandon my drink on the bar and kick my legs into action, bolting through the crowd, knocking people out of the way, as my retreat becomes fraught with the need to make it to the safety of the toilets. No contact and no derailment. Hazardous doesn't quite cover it. He's proved tonight exactly why I need to avoid him like the plague.

I throw the cubicle door shut, fighting to secure the latch as he pushes against the other side, hindering my attempts to keep him away. My adrenalin is pumping. For the briefest of moments, I think I've managed to block his access because the resistance on the other side eases, but not enough to for me to get the lock engaged.

'Ava, I'm coming in or you're coming out. I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't stop fighting me, I'll break the f.u.c.king door down.' His breathing is heavy.

Resting my back against the door, I try to get some air into my lungs. I look up around me. I'm cornered. You would think I would be safe in the ladies. I can't look at him, I'll cave if he gets is hands on me. I need not to be in this f.u.c.king position! How did I get myself in the situation? I jump when the bang of a fist on the door resonates through me.

'G.o.d d.a.m.n it, Ava!' Bang! 'Ava, please.'

I repeatedly jolt forward under the thumps of Jesse's fist. I'm screwed. 'Go away, please!' I shout.

His fist collides with the door again. 'No, f.u.c.k. Ava!'

I just have to leave. He won't restrain me in such a public place. I need to walk away. Block it out...block him out. There's silence. I hold my breath. Has he gone? I stand quietly for a few minutes, my eyes darting around the small cubicle, constantly looking up to check he's not coming over the top. He's gone. I stupidly relax against the door.

Within in two seconds flat, I'm thrust forward and he's in. When I turn around, there's less than a foot between us, and the first thing I notice is his rapid breathing, his black shirt lifting with the rise and fall of his chest. I stare at his jeans. If I look up at his handsome face, I'm at an instant disadvantage.

'Ava, look at me.' he demands harshly. I clap my hands over my ears, lowering myself to the toilet seat. I need to block it all out. 'Ava, why are you doing this?' he asks.

Oh, how long have I got to sit here and block it all out? I start humming in my head as I stare down at the floor. I feel his hands clap around my wrists, pulling my hands away from my ears. His touch heats my skin. Why does he think I'm doing this?

'I don't want to do this in the toilets of a bar, Ava.'