‘Well, it’s in a pub, so…’
‘I’ll take myself down to the Plough, then, and try to join in. But you have to pretend you don’t know me. Otherwise Katie’s going to wonder.’
‘OK,’ I said gratefully. ‘That sounds good. I’m going to meet up with her for a drink beforehand, but we haven’t decided on a venue yet. Maybe Angelino’s, on the harbourside? It’s only five minutes from the pub.’
‘OK. Well, I’ll lurk in the vicinity, then follow you to the Plough, yeah?’
‘Sounds good. See you there.’
‘See you there…Ella?’
I paused before pressing the red button. ‘Yes?’
There was a silence. Was he building up to saying something momentous? My heart skipped.
‘Oh…just…take care. Enjoy the rest of the show. Night.’
‘Sweet dreams,’ I said, ending the call and pressing the phone to my bosom.
Chapter Six
Since I had no idea what a munch was, it followed that I had no idea how to dress for one. I had to text Katie for her advice – was a collar and six inch stilettoes de rigueur? She texted back:
Lol, no! Wear what u like. It’s just an informal get 2gether of like minded ppl.
Ah, that clarified matters. Now I wanted to stick with my usual weekend uniform of black jeans and hoodie, but I’d suggested Angelino’s for the pre-munch drink, and that definitely wasn’t a jeans and hoodie kind of joint.
Instead, remembering that Tom would be there and anticipating what might come later, I chose a black jersey skater dress and wore lacy stockings underneath. With black patent Mary Jane shoes to finish I looked flirty and sexy and thoroughly in need of a good spanking. I batted my eyelashes at myself in the mirror, then picked up my shoulder bag and headed out to adventure.
I had misjudged the dress code at Angelino’s, it seemed. Virtually everyone in there – nearly all groups of women with large shiny shopping bags clustered around their ankles – was wearing jeans. But not the kind of jeans I wore. Expensive, fashionable jeans with scarves and lots of gold jewellery and gold highlights.
I stuck out like a sore bum.
I wished I felt daring and scandalous, but I just felt a bit of a tool, sashaying around the place in my sexy stockings, looking for Katie.
I spotted Tom before I found her, so my heart was drumming and my cheeks were flushed by the time I homed in on an almost intimidatingly elegant woman nursing a tall glass in a corner booth.
She, too, had received the memo about the expensive jeans and silk scarves. Why had nobody sent it to me? I put my arms straight at my sides to try and temper the flounciness of my skirt and stood, feeling gawky as hell, waiting for her to notice me.
She looked up from her phone immediately and smiled a rosewood-lipped smile.
‘Are you Ellie?’
I nodded stiffly, still keeping my palms flat on my flanks.
She stood up and it became alarmingly clear that she was an air-kisser. I leant forward just far enough to get a divine blast of her perfume along with the smack of her lips, opening and closing my own mouth in imitation. I wasn’t sure I’d aimed right – I seemed to do no more than breathe on her ear – but she sat straight down, still smiling. She obviously hadn’t got the axe-murderer vibe from me. Yet.
‘I’ll grab a coffee,’ I said after an awkward pause, and I sloped away to the counter to grab myself something as full of sugar syrup as possible. If only they did liqueur coffees here. Dutch courage was definitely called for – but it was going to have to wait for the pub.
No sooner had I taken my place in the queue than Tom appeared at my shoulder.
‘That her?’ he said in a strangely tight voice.
I spun round, concerned, but it soon became clear that the weird tone was down to him speaking out of the corner of his mouth like a film noir gumshoe.
‘Don’t look at me,’ he hissed. ‘We have to be strangers, remember?’
‘Don’t come and talk to me then,’ I muttered in a similar fashion. ‘Yes, it’s her. First contact has been initiated, and all that.’