The club was a small spray of neon in the drab town centre. Dan checked his watch. Nearly 1 a.m. He should go home. The booze was wearing off, a bottle of wine drunk too quickly, and he was cold, waiting in a shop doorway opposite. The trial would continue in the morning and he needed a clear head, but he couldn’t leave Jayne like that.
He was angry with himself though. For how he’d pushed her away to how he’d hunted her down. He had no right to do that. That didn’t change how he felt though, and in that fog of booze there was the hope that he could make it up to her. He could wait until the morning, but he didn’t want to do that. He wanted to go back to how it was before he messed it up, where he enjoyed their connection, and her company.
Most of all, he didn’t want to leave her to those goons, pawing her and hoping to take advantage of her own attempts to obliterate the evening.
He wished he could see past her as a former client. So many times he’d wanted to reach across to her, whenever she smiled in a certain way, or bit her lip in concentration, or when she laughed that free, bright belly laugh at something that really amused her. The sensible part of his brain acknowledged that their relationship was unequal.
But he still wanted to hear her laugh more.
The night was disturbed by the sounds of conversation, drifting from across the road over the gentle thump of music that was playing in the club. Two men emerged from the building with Jayne propped between them. They all swayed as one of the men waved at one of the cab drivers waiting in the taxi rank.
Dan walked across the road.
‘Jayne?’
Everyone turned round. The man who’d been dancing with her scowled. ‘What do you want, dickhead?’ He wobbled on his feet as he stepped closer to Dan, letting go of Jayne, who stumbled against the club doorway.
‘Jayne, don’t do this.’
She grinned, in that exaggerated way drunks do. ‘Dan, my knight in shining armour.’ Her voice was slurred, her eyelids drooping.
‘Come home with me.’
The man stepped even closer, until his stale breath washed over Dan’s face. ‘She’s told you to piss off already. Just do one.’ He snarled and bared his teeth as he said it.
Dan pushed him. He tottered backwards and fell against the wall. He made as if to go back to Dan, but Dan shook his head. ‘You really don’t want to do that. Even if there are two of you.’
Jayne doubled over, sucking in large breaths, as if she was trying to stop herself being sick. ‘What do you want, Dan?’
‘I want you to come home. Either to your place or mine, but don’t go home with these guys.’
Jayne lifted her head to look at them, both standing with their fists clenched by their waists.
‘You’ll hate yourself tomorrow.’ He looked the men up and down. ‘You’ve never gone this low.’
The taxi pulled up against the pavement. Dan nodded to it. ‘Just go, both of you.’
The two men looked at Jayne and back at Dan, and realised their night had ended. They got into the taxi without producing any more threats, although, as the car pulled away, one of the two men wound down a window and gave Dan the finger.
Dan went towards Jayne and held out his hand. ‘Come home.’
She straightened and put her arm round Dan’s waist, her head against his shoulder, uncertain on her feet as they both meandered down the street.
Neither of them said anything as they walked. Dan spotted another taxi, and they both stumbled into it. She wound down the window and let the cool breeze wake her up, staying silent.
She leaned against him in the lift to his apartment. He put his arm round her. ‘Can we just write off tonight? And I’m sorry for hunting you down.’
‘I’m glad that you did. You rescued me.’ She looked up at him. ‘Are we still friends?’
‘Always.’
‘Can I sleep here?’
‘That’s the idea.’
Once they were inside, Jayne went straight to the bathroom as he stripped down to his underwear and climbed into bed. Sleep started to overtake him. Jayne came into the bedroom in her T-shirt and knickers.
As she climbed in with him, she put her arm across him and rested her head against his chest. He pulled her closer.
She fell asleep before he did, soft nasal whistles letting him know.
He smiled. She felt good against him.