Page 48

‘Oh, yeah, absolutely,’ I reply. ‘See you later.’

I head into my room and close the door behind me.

Shiiiiit.

It’s still early, so I peel off my dress and grab a T-shirt, thinking I’ll get into bed for a bit, but I’m no sooner out of my dress and blindly wiping away at my make-up with a facewipe when I hear a knock on my door.

I rush to answer, hoping it’s Adam, hoping that he’s here for an explanation because I can explain, but it’s Si.

‘Oh, good morning,’ I say brightly, trying to style it out. ‘Sleep well?’

‘Well, this is sort of awkward but… did we sleep together?’ he asks me.

‘Did we… what?’ I say, blinking at him with faux innocence.

‘Did we sleep together?’ Si asks again. ‘It’s just… I’m covered in something…’

I notice Adam, over Si’s shoulder, walking from the bathroom to his bedroom and I really, really hope he didn’t hear that.

‘Covered in something?’ I reply. ‘Like what?’

Si steps into the light of my room, showing me his bare torso, and he is covered in strange brown marks.

‘Oh my God, what is that?’ I ask him.

‘I don’t know,’ he replies. ‘But…’

He points at my arm which has the same brown marks and…

‘Oh my God,’ I blurt. ‘You have nothing to worry about, it’s just fake tan. Mel covered me in it, and we didn’t think it had worked. I guess we fell asleep last night and I must have got it on you while we were sleeping. I’m so sorry, I’ll ask her what we need to remove it.’

Si just laughs.

‘Fake tan I can handle,’ he reassures me. ‘Don’t worry about it. I know we’d both had a bit to drink. I did wonder if it had transferred… some other way.’

‘Oh, no,’ I quickly insist.

‘Well, that’s good,’ he replies. ‘I know you said that you didn’t want to rush into anything but, when you do…’

I smile. He seems so sweet and kind of vulnerable right now. I don’t want to get his hopes up or let him down, so the only thing left to do is joke.

‘There are girls out there who won’t leave you with bad temporary tattoos,’ I tell him with a chuckle. ‘I’m mortified, I really am.’

‘None as special as you though,’ he tells me. ‘Anyway, see you at breakfast. I’m cooking.’

‘Great,’ I reply. ‘Can’t wait.’

Finally alone, I take off my T-shirt and examine my body in the mirror. Wow, what a mess. I really need to stop letting Mel do these things to me.

26

Today I begin my quest to find local bands to play the Blossom FM Bonfire Night festival (although technically my first day in the office is tomorrow), and seeing as though I’m supposed to be sourcing cool musicians, I thought it might be a good idea to look the part.

After going heavy on the black eyeliner and the red lipstick, I step back to try and take in my outfit in the small bathroom mirror – you can tell only men live in this house. With my black lace top, my black skinny jeans and my leather jacket to keep the chilly weather at bay, I look every inch the rock chick I had in mind, and of course, I’m wearing a pair of bright red killer heels to go with it. It’s nice to have something to dress up for – other than the pub – and to feel like there is something riding on that first impression.

As I stroll downstairs for breakfast I see that Si and Adam are already tucking in at the table.

‘Is it Halloween already?’ Si asks in astonishment. ‘What are you wearing?’