“So, what's it like being a soccer player?” Billy asked. “I play a little, but nothing even close to your level.”
“It’s unbelievable,” Radleigh replied with a grin. “I get to travel all around the country doing what I love, and I meet loads of hot women.”
He added the last comment with a sideways glance at me, but I scowled at him.
“What do you do for a living, man?” McCoy asked after a few minutes silence, in which Billy had obviously been fantasizing about what it would be like to be a Westberg Warrior.
“I'm an accountant. Nothing nearly as interesting as you,” Billy said.
“At least you get to stay at home and be with your woman.”
I had to admit, I was impressed with the amount of effort he was making to fit in with my friends. This was quite possibly the first time I'd ever seen Radleigh being nice when there wasn't anything in it for him.
After fifteen minutes of Billy hanging off McCoy's every word, Stacey grabbed my hand and dragged me on to the dance floor.
“I can’t stand any more of Billy's hero worship,” she chuckled.
“I know, like McCoy's ego isn't big enough already.”
We danced to a few cheesy pop songs before we were worn out and desperate for another drink. Stacey and I headed to the bar, where she insisted I at least have a glass of wine. I took it, but only drank a sip before setting it down and getting myself another coke.
A few minutes later, Alison approached us, glowing with pride and looking every inch the perfect blissfully happy bride.
“My goodness, it's hot in here,” she said, fanning herself with her hand as she reached for a glass of vodka and lemonade. I agreed, but Stacey looked a little distracted.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I think I better go and rescue McCoy from the Billy fan club. I might see if I can put Billy in the mood for later with a little dirty dancing!”
Alison and I shook our heads in amusement as Stacey left to re-join her boyfriend.
“So,” Alison said, steering me away to a far corner of the room where it was a bit darker and a lot quieter, “now we’re away from the guys we can catch up properly. How are things with you? Are you still enjoying the job?”
“Hey, come on, this is your night! We're supposed to talk about you and the wedding.”
Alison grinned. “What's to know? It's a wedding, it was expensive and I will never be able to afford anything again for the rest of my life.”
“You can't fool me, Ali. I can see how excited you are.”
“Okay, of course I'm excited, I just got married! But I’ve been gushing about how happy I am for hours. I want to hear about what you've been up to.”
“Me? It's all been about work. Apart from meeting Miguel.”
The thought of him made me smile, and Alison said, “Wow, that's the happiest you've looked all evening.”
“Oh,” I moaned, briefly hiding my face behind my hands. “Do I really look that pissed off?”
“No,” Alison laughed. “Actually, you look incredible tonight. I just meant that your eyes kind of lit up at the mention of his name. Are things getting serious between you two?”
“Well, we've not been together long but … he told me he loves me.”
“Ooh, that's a big step forward! How did you feel about that?”
“Ecstatic. Ali, he's such a great guy. He's so caring and honest. I wish he was here.”
“Why isn't he?”
“He’s injured,” I said, not wanting to go into the ins and outs of how it happened.
“So, how come Radleigh McCoy's here?”