‘You’re not just saying that? To be nice? Cos I’m here and the other bloke isn’t?’
‘No, no and no. Anyway, it’s not a competition. I know you’ve slept with lots of women and I’ve no intention of asking for a comparison.’
‘I’ve never shagged anyone like you.’
‘What do you mean, like me?’
‘Class. Peng and posh.’
Jenna laughed.
‘What the hell is peng?’
‘Fit, yeah?’
‘Oh. Thanks for the compliment, then.’
‘No probs.’
He lay back for a while and Jenna watched him from the corner of her eye as he stared up at the ceiling. She thought about getting a shower, thought about getting some food, but it all seemed too much effort.
‘I could be falling for you,’ he said, eventually.
‘So could I,’ she admitted.
‘But what’s the use?’ He turned, leaning on one elbow, his huge dark eyes sombre. ‘Where are we going, Jen? There’s no future. Definitely not for me, anyway.’
‘There is a future. There can be and there will be.’
‘How? All I’m doing here is putting off what’s inevitable. Sooner or later I’ll end up in prison and you’ll go back to America.’
‘Jason, don’t. You’re innocent. You were set up.’
‘All the evidence is against me, Jen, you know it. It’s not that I’m scared of going to prison – I’m not. It’s just … I don’t know. I was starting to think my life was worth something.’
‘Your life is worth something.’
‘It’s the first time I’ve ever thought so. It’s like, I don’t know if I dare. If I start thinking like that, then I’m going to fall harder, aren’t I, when the time comes? Might as well go back to being what I was, just some chav with nothing going for him.’
‘Jason, stop it. You aren’t that. You were never that. Nobody is.’
‘You’d have crossed the street to avoid me, if you’d seen me out of here.’
‘No I wouldn’t. I’m no different from you. I come from where you come from. I couldn’t have made it out without Deano, I know that. I accept it. I built my career on his talent. It’s not something I feel that great about, to be honest, but it’s the way it is. You have so much more than that. You’re a brilliant artist. You’re clever, but you just never bothered with school. You’re good-looking, you’re engaging, you’ve got a great sense of humour. You’ve got everything it takes, except self-esteem.’
‘And a price on my head. Don’t forget that.’
‘What, there’s a reward out for you?’
‘Nah. I dunno. Might be. But it’s not the best start to my amazing artistic career, is it? A five year stretch for possession with intent.’
Jenna sighed. ‘There has to be a way to clear your name.’
‘Leave it, Jen. Don’t get mixed up.’
‘Where’s this house you were arrested in? Who owns it?’
‘The council.’