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We stay at the bar until late. When it closes there are still a few people left and the party moves to the back office. Carl opens a bottle of champagne and I see Slater’s crew finally take a drink. Slater also accepts the glass that his brother gives him. Dylan is back but Lina is not, and I’m disappointed I didn’t get to say goodbye to her. I sip my champagne, watching Slater and Dylan speaking in the corner by the pool table. It’s almost 4 a.m. and I have to stifle a yawn. Slater sees it. He puts a hand on Dylan’s shoulder then places his untouched glass on the coffee table and takes my hand.
‘Let’s get out of here.’
He doesn’t say goodbye or tell anyone we’re leaving, he just takes me to the door. I slide down into the leather seats of his car and close my eyes, realising how tired I am and how glad I am to be going home.
‘What did you think of the Highbar?’ Slater asks, his eyes on the road.
‘I love it,’ I murmur, my eyes still closed. I feel his warm hand on my thigh and I reach for it.
‘I’m glad you love it, little bird. Those words mean a lot to me. I loved having you there with me tonight.’
His phone rings loud on the Bluetooth speaker and my eyes flick open. He presses answer.
‘S’up Bram?’
‘You left already?’
‘Yup.’
‘Jimmy just called, a girl’s collapsed—’
‘You’re on speaker, Bram, one sec.’
Slater disconnects the loudspeaker and presses his phone to his ear so I can’t hear both sides of the conversation.
‘Where?’ There’s urgency in his tone and I watch him, sensing something bad is going on.
‘What was it?’
A moment later he adds, ‘OK, let me know.’
He hangs up the phone, then glances at me and takes my hand again.
‘What happened?’
‘Ah, nothing. Some drug addict has overdosed.’
‘That’s awful.’
‘It happens.’ Slater shrugs. ‘The moral of that story is, don’t do drugs.’ He pulls into his parking space and cuts the engine. ‘Let’s go to bed.’
I wake the next morning alone. I hear the shower so wait for him to come out, stretching happily. Slater emerges from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist.
‘Morning, beautiful.’ He grins, then sits down on the bed and kisses me.
‘You’re going to work today?’ I ask.
‘I have to, little bird. I’ve got classes.’
‘Can’t Bram or Dylan take them?’ I moan, not wanting to be alone again.
He laughs. ‘I think I’ll be covering their classes today, not the other way round. From what I can tell it was a late one at the Highbar.’ He gets up and puts on deodorant and starts dressing. ‘What are you going to do today?’
‘Ah, I don’t know. I’m done with studying. Assuming I’ve passed I won’t need to go back to uni ever again. Well, only for my graduation ceremony.’
‘So what are you going to do instead?’
‘I might read some of your books. Maybe I’ll finally start on Crime and Punishment. And I was thinking of applying for some jobs I’ve seen.’ I watch to see how he responds.
‘Oh, yeah? What sort of jobs?’
‘There’s lots of promising ones. I’ve seen an ad for an assistant copy editor, which could be interesting, and there’s one for a content manager at a bike company I might try for.’
‘Sounds good.’
He pulls on his polo shirt then stands in front of the mirror and styles his hair. I wonder what he thinks. He hasn’t reacted with shock, which is a good thing, and he hasn’t told me it’s not safe to go out so I should forget it, either. He turns and looks at me.
‘I’ll leave my card. You can order some stuff, you know, clothes and whatever, anything you need. If you’re going to interviews, you’ll need something to wear. Get them delivered to the drop-off place and I’ll pick them up.’
‘Oh, OK. Thanks, Slater. I’ll pay you back as soon as I start working.’
‘You don’t have to. Spend what you like. As much as you like, it’s fine.’
‘Are you sure?’
He comes and sits on the bed again. ‘Yes, I am. I want you to have anything you want.’ He sweeps a hand over my forehead and tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear. ‘In a few days it should be OK for you to start going out on your own. I hate you being stuck inside like this. It must be horrible for you.’
‘I’m used to it.’ I smile.
‘You just have to sit tight for a few more days.’
I laugh to cover my emotion and cup his face with my hand. ‘It’s OK. I can manage a few more days.’
‘Good.’ He kisses my forehead.
‘You know, it would be a lot easier if you were here to keep me company.’ I curl my fingers inside his polo shirt and trace the compact segments of his abs until I reach the fine hairs below his belly button. He groans and I feel his hard-on grow in his shorts. He catches my hand and presses my fingers to his lips.
‘Dale, don’t. I won’t be able to stop, and I haven’t got time.’ He pulls away from me. ‘I’m already running late.’
‘Oh.’ I cross my arms over my chest and pout. ‘I’m going to be here all alone and bored all day.’
He grimaces and looks away. ‘I’m sorry, little bird, but I have to go. Read that book. Tonight, we need to go to the Highbar again, but we won’t stay late. Then we can spend some time together.’ He turns and heads for the kitchen. I get out of bed and follow him.
‘Here’s my card. Order anything you want.’ He puts it on the table.
‘I’ll probably just order a Ferrari.’ I pick up the card and turn it over.
‘Within reason, miss.’ He takes a bottle of juice from the fridge.
‘Slater, will you come and watch my graduation ceremony? If I pass, I mean. I need to submit the number of tickets I want.’
He glances at me, then back to his phone. ‘I don’t know, Dale. I might be working.’
‘I haven’t even told you when it is yet.’ I laugh.
He gets up and kisses me. ‘I’ll have to see. I’ve got to go now. Be ready to go out later. Call me if you need anything.’