Never Again - 6

Chapter 6 - going home

Erin tried to look indignant, but despite the content of the comment, it was meant as a compliment she knew that, and the fact that she was different gave her a real buzz, “Mr Reilly, it isn’t good manners to laugh AT someone and then admit it! I knew you were an idiot, but I didn’t take you for rude!”

Jack grinned, “You know EXACTLY what I mean!”

Despite the frequency of seeing his face over the last few years, she couldn’t remember ever hearing his voice until the previous weekend. It was deep, calming with a still discernible Irish twang. Yes she knew what he meant damn him.

                “So you’re new to Manchester?”

She nodded, “been here two weeks, hope it’s not this ‘exciting’ every week!”

He grimaced, aware that he was a huge part of that excitement, “how is the darts player?”

                “Barney’s ok, he’s at my mother’s, he has to be sedated to keep him calm, stop him running around whilst his leg heals. I couldn’t care for him here, not when I’m at work. So he’s having a holiday in the country!”

He felt like such a bastard, “You must miss him! I’m really sorry for what happened, I was angry that evening, maybe distracted, I SHOULD’ve seen him, and I’m really sorry.”

She sighed, “he’s coping, I should have maybe had him on a lead, he’s so well behaved that I get quite blasé about it all.” He saw her take a deep breath, “I shouldn’t have been so hard on you, and maybe I owe you a small apology too.”

He stepped back dramatically, placing a hand to his head in feign shock, “can I have that in writing?”

She swatted at him, “I’ll take it straight back?”

Laughing he returned to lounge against the bar again, “I’m glad we bumped into each other, if nothing else I wanted to apologise properly. You were so angry that night, rightly so, but I wanted the chance to explain.”

At that moment, a voice burst their bubble. “Reilly you dark fucking horse!”

Then a rather drunk Josh thrust himself between them, “Beautiful Erin, don’t tell me you fell for his bullshit? I’m so much better than him!”

Jack’s face contorted into a smile and he patted the younger man on the back, as he was about to speak Erin beat him to it.

                “Josh, how nice to see you! Do you know this man? He likes my friend, so we came up for free champagne,” leaning close she gave a theatrical whisper, “don’t tell him I’m gay or he’ll stop the supply!”

Jack was now trying his damndest to appear innocent and calm, but he was failing. As Josh disappeared back to his friends to tell them all about Jack being cuckolded, Jack turned to her with a smile, “so you like denting my reputation?”

Erin sipped her champagne before looking up at him, “I think you do that well enough by yourself!”

Though he feigned pain and hurt, the comment did hurt, he hated the thought of her disapproving of him, but as he also knew that his past was shameful by most people’s standards, and he regretted that now as she looked at him with a smile.

Erin was floundering, she’d offended him, well he looked offended anyway, and that surprised her for all the banter they’d shared. Then there was this bloody room where she felt like a sacrificial lamb, all these so called ‘VIPs’ preying on the unsuspecting public below. It was all a bit weird. Then he smiled and she forgot her worries, she could quite happily sit and absorb his smile.

                “So you’re liking it here?”

She moved her eyes from his mouth, those lovely lips, to his eyes, “this club?”

Laughing, he couldn’t resist reaching for her hand, “I meant Manchester, but the club too!”

Erin felt the blush sweep up from her chest, and then there was his hand on hers, all a little overwhelming. Snatching her hand away, she reached for her drink and smiled nervously.  “I do like it here, it’s different to London, and I’ve been in the Cotswolds with my folks recently, so it’s a million miles from there. I was getting to see a bit of it with Barney,” she smiled at his guilty grimace, “it’s fine. But I was really glad that Chelle visited this weekend.”

They both glanced across to her friend who was laughing as she danced with a young man. When she looked up at Jack, he was a little sceptical of her intentions.

Erin sighed. “Michelle has been trying for a baby with her husband Dave for two years, she’s so stressed, and it’s all she thinks about. The more she worries the harder it seems to be, this is the first time in ages I’ve seen the old Michelle. It’s nice seeing her so relaxed.”

Jack had no idea how that felt, to want something so badly, he could only imagine, but it did make him look at the bubbly woman in a different light. “That’s good; hopefully she can calm the lads down too!”

                “She’s hardly the calming down type!”

He laughed, no she definitely wasn’t but she was good, and genuine, and cute. Good for his friends. At that moment she bounded over to them, stopping abruptly to pick up her champagne glass.

                “Wow! They’re a feisty bunch Jack!”

Jack laughed, behind her the five boys were panting and laughing, they could barely keep up with her wild ways.

                “One of them offered to ‘bump and grind’ with me! I haven’t heard that term since R Kelly went out of the charts. Is this young speak?”

Shaking his head, Jack merely filled her glass, then watched as Erin joined her friend on the small dance floor.

Jack couldn’t remember enjoying himself so much, Erin was stunning, if he’d ever doubted that he couldn’t anymore, she was also great company. She wasn’t interested in impressing him; in fact she seemed to get off on winding him up. That was a tonic, and he loved the zing between them.  Watching her dance crazily with her friend, he smiled; there was no pomp, no procession and definitely no pretence. She wanted to dance madly, so she did, uncaring that she might look silly. The other women in the room, other than Michelle were all posing, draped specifically to display their best assets, focussed on themselves and how to get what they wanted, and for once his young teammates were unconcerned with them. Erin and Michelle were definitely the centre of attention.

Erin was yawning when he sidled up to her much later, “too late for you?”

She nodded, “I don’t do clubbing, but this has been a great evening. Thanks for looking out for us, it’s hell downstairs we’d not have lasted another half an hour down there!”

Jack looked down at her flushed face, her hair swept around her as though she’d walked in from gale force wind, and her glittering eyes.  “I’ll see you both home.” She made to protest, but he was insistent, “it’s late, it’s still a strange city. If you don’t want me to know where you live, I’ll drop you both a block away!”

She looked at him wryly; she’d swear he was reading her mind. Laughing, he took her hand, ignoring the heat that gesture caused, then waved to Michelle who looked like she was never going to stop dancing.

               

                “Come on wildgirl, I’m seeing you home.”

There was a collective groan from the people gathered as she made her goodbyes, then trotted after them out of the club.

Michelle had a coat, but Erin didn’t, and when he spotted her shivering, he slid his arms out of his own, and wrapped it around her shoulders. She glanced up at him gratefully, and didn’t object to his hand that seemed to settle at the base of her spine in a slightly possessive way.  I must be drunk, Erin told herself, but didn’t fight it.

Sat in the back of a cab, they soon warmed up, Michelle was almost asleep her head resting against the door, Erin relaxed into the seat and could feel Jack’s arm resting along the back of the seat behind her. And it was nice. Obviously she was taking a breather from hating men, and for tonight at least she relaxed.

When they got a few minutes away from her home she told the taxi to stop. If Jack wanted to find her, he would, but she wasn’t about to make it too easy for him.

                “You live here?” he asked climbing out of the car, then helping her out.

                “Near!” She smiled when his eyes widened.

Reaching for her hands, he pulled her close to him, “are you playing hard to get Miss Thomas?”

                “Au contraire Reilly, as you warned me earlier, I’m alone in a strange city, it would do me no good to broadcast where I live!”

As he stepped towards her she backed away from him, but her retreat was blocked by the parked car and she was stuck. His eyes studied her, devoured her, his lips parted suggestively. She held her breath as he lowered his head, and his lips hovered a breath away from her ear, “I won’t be a stranger for much longer...I swear!”

Then he stepped back, whipped around the car and was helping a sleepy Michelle out of the car before Erin had even started to breathe again. He was better than good. Her whole body was on edge, the hairs still prickled on the back of her neck, her heart was pounding, and the swirling in the pelvis was making her doubt the strength of her legs. Jack Reilly really was the master of seduction, she was just relieved that Michelle was there as a chaperone.

Looking across the car, she realised Jack was watching her, humour in his eyes at her dishevelled state. Shaking herself she marched around the car, took Michelle’s arm, looking up at Jack, his lazy smile, she saw red. Leaning close to him herself, copying his earlier move, her lips connected with his ear, a lazy, gentle contact, as she spoke quietly.

               

                “You have to do better than that Mr Reilly.”

She heard him moan, a quiet sound, but it pleased her. Then without glancing back, they walked away.

                “Wow was that the hottest ride home, or what?” Michelle smiled.

Erin glared at her, “were you pretending to be asleep?”

She nodded, “I didn’t want to put you two off!”

It wasn’t until she was unlocking the door to her house that she realised she still had his jacket on. Damn, she cursed herself, he’d done this on purpose, he’d have to see her again, if only to get that back.

Erin opened one eye and took in the disarray of the lounge. They’d got ready to go out the previous evening in here and so the room was filled with piles of discarded clothes, various hair accoutrements and makeup. She pulled the duvet back over her head with a groan, but was not going to get back to sleep. Her bedroom was dark, but as the lounge was always dim being in the basement, she purposely had the lightest drapes. So now at...she glanced at the clock...ten past eight, she was trying to sleep in the brightest light this room had seen since she’d moved in.

Climbing to her feet, she filled the coffee pot, slipped jeans over her pjs and her thick winter coat, then jogged to the local shop, returning with fresh croissants and Sunday papers. The smell of the coffee welcomed her, and though it was a fresh morning, she opened the patio doors to her small courtyard back garden and turned on the radio. She was sipping coffee and reading the sports section of her favourite broad sheet when her friend emerged looking worse than worse for wear!

                “Coffee?” she asked standing from her chair set in the open doorway to the garden.

Michelle groaned, “well that make my head stop hurting and the room spinning?” She slumped opposite Erin’s chair and groaned, “we’re in our thirties Erin, we shouldn’t be getting as rough as this!”

Erin laughed, handing her two paracetamols and a mug of coffee, “we always promised to grow old disgracefully! That was part of that plan! And it was fun!”

Michelle opened one eye and tried to smile, “it was fun, those lads were crazy...but you were getting all a bit loved up in the cab Ms Thomas. Jack Reilly is HOT!”

Erin laughed, “he’s more fun than I imagined, but nothing more than that is going to happen.” Michelle’s eyebrow raised and Erin added, “I mean it Chelle, it’s too much, too soon. I don’t want anyone else, and especially anyone like him!”

As she sat down, her mind did flash to Jack. He was everything she feared in a man, powerful, good looking, charming, popular, and a womaniser. He was dangerous, and she’d been sold down the river by her husband who had the same traits, never again.   But then she almost laughed out loud, comparing Max and Jack was like comparing an acorn with an oak tree. Jack was naturally charming, and more successful than Max could ever dream of being, and so much more beautiful. No if Max had been dangerous, then Jack Reilly was lethal, and a definite no go.