It was hard to imagine I hadn’t known Vince two months ago and now, here I was, relaxing against red leather seats in the back of an immaculate Jaguar on my way to Scotland. The leather was cool against my skin. I could barely contain my excitement. I still couldn’t quite believe we were travelling with Gerald, Vince, and a group of their friends to a private country house party. When Vince suggested taking Hazel and me with him to Scotland two days previously, neither of us could believe our luck and had been ecstatic.
To be attending an event such as this one was something I couldn’t have dreamt about when we had been introduced to Vince that night. So much had changed for me since meeting Hazel and Vince. I was living the life I’d imagined. Well, not quite, but I was getting there and seeing glamour and wealth that I could never have imagined before leaving home.
I half listened to Vince chatting to Callum, our driver for the journey, about some phone calls he needed to make. I gazed out of the window as we passed vibrant fields that looked as if an artist had got carried away with the abundant greens and yellows on his palette. There were so few buildings in the Highlands, compared to driving in the lush English countryside and the tiny villages were pretty, with many of their village houses’ windowsills graced with tubs of petunias and bamboo structures supporting colourful sweet peas.
I pushed away a guilty pang at the notion that Alice had been called back to her family’s estate in Hereford for her grandfather’s funeral. It was easy to do; I knew Vince’s glamorous girlfriend wouldn’t give me a second thought if the tables were turned and I’d been the one having to miss out on this trip.
Gerald was travelling with his mistress and a couple of his and Vince’s other friends in the car behind us. Mistress. What would my mother think if she knew I was mixing with people who openly flaunted their lover in front of friends? The idea thrilled me. I loved my new life. I was eager to make the most of any opportunity that presented itself to me and this had to be the most exciting experience so far.
‘Pull over here, Callum,’ Vince said as we entered a tiny village which didn’t seem to consist of much more than a café and a tobacconist. ‘If you girls need to use the bathroom, now’s the time,’ Vince said, getting out of the car and holding the doors open for us.
Hazel and I stepped out. I stretched, watching her staring after Vince as he walked with Gerald to the tiny shop.
‘We’d better get a move on,’ Hazel said. ‘We don’t want to keep him waiting.’
I bit back a retort. I didn’t like her assumption she knew best how we should behave around Vince. He had been sitting next to me in the back of the car, insisting she sat in the front. To be seen with someone as charismatic and handsome as Vince was a dream come true, I mused as we walked towards the café and asked to use the bathroom. I loved that he made me feel like I was special to him.
‘You don’t know him nearly as well as you think,’ I whispered as we washed our hands in the small cracked basin fixed to the wall, studying my eyeshadow and mascara to check it still looked immaculate. I didn’t mean to sound superior, but I couldn’t help it.
She gave me a knowing smile. ‘Maybe you’re the deluded one, Mimi. Have you ever considered that?’
I straightened the bodice on my crimson dress that Vince had treated me to before coming away. ‘No,’ I said, simply satisfied with my reflection.
‘What are you both doing in there?’ Vince bellowed from outside.
We both hurriedly retouched our lipstick and ran out to join him. ‘Sorry, Vince,’ we said in unison, glaring at each other for a split second.
‘Get in, and let’s go.’
We had been driving for a few minutes when Vince’s hand moved slightly up my thigh. ‘Glad you came?’ he asked, a twinkle in his eyes.
I giggled. ‘What do you think?’ I said, enjoying this attention and understanding why he’d insisted Hazel sat in the front with Callum. ‘I’ve never been to Scotland before. It’s very different, isn’t it?’ I asked, still amazed to have been asked to accompany him. I would have been heartbroken if he had left me behind and only taken Hazel.
‘Different to London?’ Hazel sniggered. ‘Er, yes.’
I tensed, disliking the prospect of her needing to emphasise my limited geographical experience.
‘We’re not back in some country village now, Mimi.’
I hoped I would have hidden my jealousy of her if she’d been the one Vince chose to sit next to. She’d never shown this side of her character before. Maybe she wasn’t the sweet, innocent girl we all took her for?
‘Now, that’s not very friendly, is it?’ Vince said, resting a large hand heavily on her bare tanned shoulder, while giving my thigh a little squeeze with his other hand.
I snuggled a little closer to him, relishing the closeness between us. ‘It’s okay,’ I said, enjoying her ignorance of his flirtation. I loved it when he stood up for me. One of these days he would be telling people I was his girlfriend, if I had my way. ‘I’m sure Hazel didn’t mean to sound so nasty.’
She laughed. I could hear the embarrassment in her voice and couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for her. ‘I wasn’t intentionally mean,’ she admitted. ‘But you forget, Mimi, it was only a few months ago that you came to London and you’ve still got a lot to learn about how everything works in the big city.’
‘Maybe not as much as you think,’ I said as sweetly as I could manage. Vince nudged me lightly with his elbow and mouthed, ‘Naughty girl’ to me. If only she knew about our secret meetings when she was working at the café or away at auditions. I pushed away the image of Hazel’s disappointment if she ever discovered that some of my auditions had in fact been assignations with the man who filled both of our daydreams.
‘I want you girls to enjoy yourselves,’ he said, his voice a little louder than usual. ‘I didn’t bring you on this trip for you to snipe at each other.’
‘Sorry, Vince,’ we said in unison.
‘Good. Now, Hazel, I want you to get a sense of how the entertainment works. Learn as much as you can from the way they conduct themselves.’
‘I understand,’ she said.
‘And me?’ I asked, unable to hide my envy. ‘Why have you brought me along?’
He laughed a deep, sexy laugh that brightened everything around him. His beautiful lips drew back in a wide smile; he was so handsome my heart contracted painfully. ‘I brought you, beautiful Mimi, because I thought you might enjoy something like this.’
Hazel turned and glared at me.
‘It’s a long drive to Scotland and we’ve got a late night ahead. I’m going to grab forty winks while I have the chance and it’ll be easier if you two stop sniping at each other and give me a bit of peace to have a kip.’ He tapped Callum on his shoulder. ‘Put on some music, will you, mate?’
For a moment I felt disappointed, believing he meant what he’d said. I saw Hazel relax, closing her eyes, doing exactly as she was told. Callum twiddled around with the radio until he found something by Sting. As the first strains of ‘Englishman in New York’ began to play, Vince gave me a wink. He was certainly my Englishman of choice.
He bent his head and kissed my shoulder lightly. ‘You’re so perfect,’ he whispered.
I caught Callum’s gaze through the rear-view mirror. I could tell he was smiling. He gave me the creeps and I was relieved when he looked away and focused on the road.
I glanced at Vince and nodded towards Callum. He shrugged. ‘Don’t worry about him.’
He kissed the side of my neck and my resolve vanished. Vince smelt so good. He was nothing like the pasty-faced, spotty boys at home. He spoilt me by treating me like a princess and buying me unexpected gifts, my favourite being the beautiful crimson dress that I was wearing with matching shoes and bag. I smoothed the skirt down to try and eradicate the slight creases that had formed during the journey. I sighed, relieved I’d saved myself for a real man. I closed my eyes.
The next thing I knew, the car was stopping.
‘Oh, look,’ Hazel squealed from the front seat. I woke with a start. Desperate to rub my eyes, I remembered just in time that I was wearing make-up. ‘There’s the road sign for Scotland.’
A couple of hours later she shouted again. I wished she would calm down; she wasn’t the only excited person in the car. Typical of Hazel to demand all the attention.
‘Hurry up, you two,’ her sing-song voice pierced through my half-asleep brain. ‘Look at that.’
I peered out of the window and saw two large stone pillars of what I presumed was the country house where the party was to be held. Fuelled with delight, I wound down the window.
‘Look, Vince,’ I said. When he didn’t reply, I turned to look at him over my shoulder. ‘If that’s the entrance, what’s the house going to be like?’ I reached back to grab his hand.
He took my hand in one of his and gently pushed my cheek so that I was once again looking away from him out of the window. ‘We’re not going there just yet,’ he said. ‘But when we do, we’re going to have a memorable time.’
I could feel his warm breath on my shoulders, and shivered. I sensed Hazel glaring at us. When she didn’t look away, I frowned. ‘What’s the matter with you?’
She stared at me for a bit and then turned her attention to Vince, her face softening almost instantly as she forced a smile back onto her face. ‘Nothing,’ she said sweetly.
Callum, satisfied we had seen the view, started the car and we drove on again. Suddenly, I couldn’t help feeling a little guilty towards Hazel. After all, she had met Vince before me and never made any secret about her crush on him. I pretended to stare at the beautiful scene in front of us, the cottages and tea rooms. The wind rushed through my sleep-mussed hair and I tried to fix everything I was feeling at that moment into my mind to remember forever. My anticipation of the next few days gave me a buzz I wanted to savour.
Hazel had told me the night before in our tiny shared room to make the most of every experience that came our way and that’s what I intended doing. We both wanted success, and both wanted Vince. We had little money and only one chance to make our new life in London work.
‘Which way, boss?’ Callum asked, breaking the tense silence that had taken over the car.
‘We can drive into the countryside a bit more and check out some of the small hamlets,’ Vince said. ‘I know you’ve mentioned you’d like that, Hazel.’ He gave her one of his winning smiles. She beamed, giving me a sideways glance that contained all the smugness I would have felt if I’d been on the receiving end of his attention. I knew we were acting like children, but the stakes were high, as far as we were concerned.
He squeezed me gently to him. ‘And as for you, beautiful girl, what can I show you?’ He winked at me and my jealousy seeped away.
‘I’m sure Mimi doesn’t know anything about the Highlands,’ Hazel said, once again staring out of the window. ‘Let alone the best places to visit.’
‘Then maybe we should educate her,’ he said. ‘What do you think, Mimi?’
I tried to keep the excitement out of my voice. I was surrounded by mountainous scenery, it was glorious, and I was in love. Could life be any better?
‘Callum,’ Vince said. ‘Drop us off and leave us for an hour.’
‘Yes, boss.’
Vince directed his attention at me. ‘Take Hazel to find a little tea room somewhere while I take Mimi for a walk.’ He winked at me.
‘Thanks, Vince,’ I said, not taking my eyes off Hazel.
‘Stop calling me Vince. Call me Vinnie, we’re close friends now.’
Without any warning Hazel’s arm shot out at me, her fingers stretching towards my face. I flinched just in time for her to miss clawing my eyes. She grabbed hold of my hair and yanked. ‘You bitch,’ she screamed.
I could feel her tearing my hair out by the roots and snatched her fist with both hands and pinched, digging my nails as deep into her skin as I could manage. ‘Let go, you cow.’
‘Hey, what the hell is this all about?’ Vinnie yelled.
Callum grabbed her as Hazel’s other arm flayed towards me in an attempted punch.
‘Right, that’s enough,’ Vinnie shouted, his voice cold, not inviting argument. ‘Let go of her hair,’ he said slowly. ‘Now.’
She locked eyes with him, opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. Letting go, she grimaced at the sight of my blonde strands entangled in her long fingers. Reaching out of the window, Hazel brushed her hands together to rid them of my hairs.
I rubbed my head vigorously. ‘That bloody hurt,’ I whined, mortified.
‘I said, that’s enough,’ Vinnie said, his tone quiet, yet menacing. He moved slightly away from me, the coolness of the space between us devastating me.
‘Callum, pull over,’ Vinnie ordered.
I chewed my lower lip to stop from arguing. The car slowed and slid over to the side of the road.
‘Right, you get out and sit in the front,’ he said, pushing my bottom away from him. ‘Hazel, you slide in the back with me. We’ll have no more cat fights. I’ve got business to attend to tonight and I don’t need you two acting like a couple of spoilt kids.’
I couldn’t believe how quickly she launched herself out of the car. Hazel pulled open my door and held her arm out. ‘Stop wasting time.’ She winked at me as if she’d planned this to happen.
I slunk out of the car, miserable and wishing she was back at home. I was going to have to find another place to live, I decided. I couldn’t spend time with someone who wanted the same things I did, it just wasn’t working. I heard her giggle, hating the thought that he’d replaced me so easily. It was a stark reminder he didn’t belong to me at all. He never really had. Why then couldn’t I shift the sensation that I somehow belonged to him?
‘This is beautiful,’ Hazel cooed from the back seat. ‘It’s exactly how you described it to me the other day,’ she murmured, letting me know they had spent time alone together.
I was determined not to show how upset I was. If he wanted to play games then that was fine, but I had a few games of my own to play.