Read Online Wasted by Nicola Morgan - Free Book Online Page A

woman made her replace it. And
that
story made her a laughing stock too.”
    â€œAnd all Jack’s fault, you see?” says Chris.
    â€œAnd she’s still pissed off about it now?” asks Jess.
    â€œAh, well, that’s not quite all,” says Ella.
    â€œShe accused me of trying to assault her, as in sexually.”
    â€œThe cow.”
    â€œStupid too – no one believed her. She’s an idiot – I had witnesses who’d been with me all night and everyone knew how pissed she was.”
    â€œSo, major humiliation for Kelly Jones.” Jess can’t help feeling quite satisfied.
    â€œExactly.”
    â€œI can see why she hates you.”
    â€œAnd I rather suspect that you are now included in her circle of hate. Anyway, can we please not think about her? She’s not worth it.”
    Tommy has come back with the drinks. Jess takes her orange juice, but she also pours herself something from the pitcher that appears. Her mouth is feeling pleasantly tingly and her feet heavy, but she is perfectly well in control of everything she wants to be in control of. Jack leans towards her to say something but she cannot hear over the rising noise of voices. His mouth is close to her skin and she can feel his breath, see the lines on his lips. When he touches her hair to push it behind her ear, her heart tumbles. A cliché, but true, she discovers. Skin-tingling and all the rest.
    This and other moments like it take them all through the next hour and it is time to move on, to go to the club, where music, more drinks and dancing are supposed to occupy the rest of the night.
    Before they leave, Jess and Ella go to the toilets. It is very possible that Kelly might be there or might see them, but she isn’t and therefore doesn’t, and they have more or less forgotten about her. Which is pleasant but unwise.
    â€œSo, how much do you like Jack, then?” asks Ella. Jess grins as she says she likes him a lot. “It’s obvious he likes you,” says Ella. “I’m really pleased. He needs someone like you. He’s great and everything but he can be intense and that thing with the coin… Well, he takes risks. You know? Sometimes it’s as though he doesn’t care what happens. It’s like tempting fate, challenging it to come and get him.”
    â€œI know what you mean,” says Jess. “He told me about the game thing. It seems kind of weird, but interesting. Kind of deep.”
    â€œYeah, I suppose. You know about his mother, don’t you?”
    â€œI know his mother’s dead but no details.”
    â€œWell, ask him. It’s not a secret and he’s quite open about it but he should tell you, not me. He told me once he’d had so much bad luck early on that he’d used it all up. He calls himself Lucky Jack, spins that coin as though he thinks he actually controls it. I don’t know, but I just don’t think it’s right. So, look after him, will you? He can be a cocky bastard but we all love him.”
    Jess thinks about this briefly, as they walk back to the others. Jack is talking to Tommy and Chris, near the door, waiting for the girls. But all Jess can really think about is the feeling when he looks at her. If he has a hidden vulnerability then that is absolutely fine with her. Makes him all the more likeable, if that was possible. And it’s not as though he’s screwed up or needy, either of which would be a definite dampener. Jess has enough of that at home. She wants a survivor, someone who will run with her headlong into the future.
    Ten minutes later they are queuing to get into the club. Kelly and her friends are nowhere to be seen, not that Jess and Jack are thinking about them much. Tommy is not with them – he’s gone to meet some other friends. Jess is the only one who is not eighteen and she has the usual tension as she stares the bouncer in the eye and answers his questions about her