Our Stop - Laura Jane Williams Page 0,71
as he’d relayed it all as they’d eaten toast and jam in the kitchen together that morning.
‘Bollocks to her, mate,’ was how he’d summarized it. ‘Come out with me tonight. You could get any of the girls from the RAINFOREST party on their knees for you, and they’ll all be there. Becky said so.’ Becky was the girl Lorenzo had brought home after the work event the other week.
In lieu of any sort of emotional intelligence, Lorenzo got weirdly sexual, but Daniel knew he meant well. It was just, well … Lorenzo’s version of ‘meaning well’ was exhausting.
The barman put down another pint in front of Lorenzo, and he picked it up, emptying half of it in two huge gulps.
‘It’s Saturday night! Come on! We’re young, we’re single, we’re a pair of good-looking dudes. What’s wrong with letting our hair down?’
Daniel raised his eyebrows at him, and regretted ever being dragged out in the first place. He’d had a rush of understanding that he couldn’t just stay in front of the TV all Saturday night, and that a few drinks with Lorenzo wouldn’t be the end of the world, but now he was out and the bar was busy and Lorenzo was being particularly loud and louty, he regretted it. He wasn’t in the mood to manage Lorenzo’s outgoingness.
‘For fuck’s sake,’ Lorenzo continued, noting Daniel’s sour expression. ‘Just … at least pretend to have a good time? Becky wanted to go out with her mates, and I wanted to see Becky – I mean, she’s super fit, so duh – and I can’t be some weird guy in a group of girls waiting for them to stop talking so he can get his dick sucked, so … this is you doing me a favour. Although how my invitation for peeling you away from the sofa is somehow you helping me out I’ll never know. Anyway,’ he paused as he finished off his pint in another two long gulps, ‘I said eight and it’s eight, so let’s go.’
The guys walked quickly under the arches of Hoxton station and rounded the corner to see four women standing in a tight circle, all on their phones. Daniel recognized the woman who’d tried to kiss him, as well as Becky, whose face lit up at Lorenzo’s. Daniel thought the other two women must have been at the party too, but he didn’t recognize them. They kind of all looked the same, with honey-coloured hair just below their shoulders, all of them in high-waisted jeans and leather sandals, with lots of gold jewellery layered around their necks and wrists.
‘Ladies,’ said Lorenzo, shouting as they approached. ‘What a sight for sore eyes!’
Becky said something Daniel couldn’t hear to the group as they all looked up, making everyone giggle. He felt self-conscious, but he didn’t know why. The girl who had hit on him at the party made eye contact and smiled sweetly.
‘We meet again,’ she said, as the two men made their way around the group, kissing the cheeks of each woman.
‘We do,’ said Daniel. ‘You look nice. I like your –’ he struggled to identify something that stood out from the rest of the group ‘– nail varnish.’
The girl laughed. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘I just got a manicure this morning. Self-care Saturday and all that.’
Daniel smiled and nodded politely, not knowing what self-care Saturday was, but not feeling invested enough in polite conversation to follow up. At least he was out, breathing fresh air and wearing cologne. He’d moped enough last night, ordering in truffle Mac ’n’ Cheese from halfway across London, and throwing in a cheesecake to boot. When he’d woken up this morning he’d put a wash on and changed his sheets, gone for a run, had breakfast with Lorenzo and then headed out to the Wellcome Collection for a bit of culture. It was a slow, quiet day, but void of much human interaction, and so here he was, engaging with people.
‘Shall we go then?’ Lorenzo asked the group, rounding everyone up. ‘I saved us a table at Lilo and Brookes. No big deal, but yeah, I know a guy.’
Daniel turned to the nameless girl beside him.
‘What have you been up to today?’ he said, forcing himself to be friendly and sociable, and struggling to listen to her answer.
At the bar, the group assembled and in a fit of generosity Daniel said, ‘Right then – what’s everyone having? First round is on me.’
He handed over his credit card to pay, having