Close Observation Ch. 11

The bank was in Charing Cross. They could have walked there in five minutes. He and Katie went in. She deposited the money she'd had from the girls. It was a large sum. As they got out of the door, Katie took Ron's arm.

'We were talking, Ron, and we wondered if you'd like to join us,' said Katie.

'I said I'd meet Emma, sorry Katie,' said Ron.

'No worries,' said Katie.

'I thought she was a bit down in the dumps, I couldn't stand her up,' said Ron.

'It's alright, really. Can I ring you tomorrow? I need to ask a favour' said Katie.

'Yeah, certainly' said Ron.

Ron walked back to the bar. It was busy on the streets. There were tourists and groups of foreign, teenage schoolkids on trips, taking up large expanses of the pavement. Ron imagined what it would have been like being in bed with Katie, Layla and Caroline.

When he got back, it was Emma, Vicky and Marie sat at the table. They didn't need drinks. He went to the bar. He wanted another black label. The last one had gone down nicely. He felt impatient about the number of people in front of him waiting to be served. The bar staff didn't seem to be working particularly hard.

He only realised Marie was there when he felt her hand on his back. The way she touched him felt soft and intimate. He looked up in the mirror, expecting it to be Emma again, but it was Marie. Her hair was down. He thought she was more beautiful than anyone or anything that had ever existed. Her hand went across his back and hooked around his arm about midway between his shoulder and his elbow. She kissed his cheek, like she had in the car when he'd pissed himself. Ron loved Marie and it felt beautiful being touched by her and being kissed by her. He turned towards her. He very gently took her hand from his arm. He looked in her eyes.

Marie, let me say something to you,' he said.

'What?' she said. She looked worried.

'Marie, I love you, I mean that, I love you, I really do, but I can't have you, or anybody else, feeling sorry for me. If I keep seeing that look in your eyes, like you're looking at a puppy with three legs, I'll stop working for Katie, and I'll stop coming to the appointments. I'm not having pity, from anyone,' he said. He looked away from her.

'Ok, I understand, I'm sorry' said Marie. She was hurt. She looked down at the floor.

'There's nothing to apologise for,' said Ron.

'Ok,' said Marie. She wouldn't look at him, she kept looking down. She turned and walked back to the table.

When Ron got to the bar, he made the black label a double. When he got back to the table, Marie and Vicky looked like they were leaving. Marie wouldn't look at him.

'Right. We're off Mr Ron,' said Vicky.

'Do you want me to walk you anywhere?' asked Ron.

'No, not at all. Thank you though. I was going to ask, when are you moving in?' said Vicky.

'Tomorrow, if that's alright. When's the best time?' asked Ron.

'I'm not doing anything till the afternoon, is lunchtime-ish ok?' said Vicky.

'Grand. Ok, I'll see you then,' said Ron.

'I'll leave you two alone then,' said Vicky. She smiled mischievously at Ron. She and Marie left. Ron thought Marie looked upset.

'What's going on with you and Marie?' asked Emma, when he'd sat down.

'What? Nothing,' said Ron.

'She kissed you and went to put her arm round you and you brushed her off. She came back here looking really upset. I thought you had a thing for her!' said Emma.

'It's complicated,' said Ron.

'Has something happened? Have you...'

'No, nothing like that. Can we talk about something else?' said Ron.

'Of course we can. You hadn't mentioned you were moving in with Vicky and Annabelle,' said Emma.

'Yeah, I'm subletting my flat out. They invited me to move in, they have punters there and I think they want a bloke around, just in case,' said Ron.

'There'll be a lot of temptation for you, living with those two,' said Emma.

'I'll be alright,' said Ron, smiling.

'And what are you going to do when Marie comes round?' asked Emma.

'I thought she was spending more time with Layla now,' said Ron.

'She has been, but she still goes over there and has some fun with them. Sometimes Marie and Layla both go over there,' said Emma.

'I might get some ear plugs,' said Ron.

'You might have to,' said Emma.

'Emma,' said Ron.

'What?' said Emma.

'I hate this fucking place. Can we just get some booze and go back to yours?' said Ron.

'We certainly can, that's a splendid idea,' said Emma.

***

They made a detour to the supermarket on the way back to Emma's from the tube. Ron bought a bottle of black label and a bag of ice. He got white wine for Emma. When they got to hers, Emma fed Cuddles the cat, and they started drinking.

Emma talked about Layla. She said something had just happened when they had sex, it had felt amazing, like nothing she'd experienced. She described it as like having sex with someone who had a man's strength and a woman's sensitivity. She said that for the first week after they'd met, Layla had basically been living there, and they'd been in bed almost the whole time. Having to go out and meet clients had been a ball ache, she just wanted to stay in bed with Layla.

Ron told her about Marie, about how uncomfortable he was around her, how he was always worried that she realised he was in love with her, and how anxious it made him. As he drank more, he felt tempted to tell her about when he'd pissed himself, but he held it back. He thought about Marie and he knew he'd upset her.

Emma told him that when she realised Layla wasn't that bothered, and that she was seeing Katie and Vicky, it had hurt her, but that seeing her with Marie at the stag party booking had been much worse. She said that when she'd seen the way Layla looked at Marie when they were having sex, it had been very painful for her. She said she still dwelt on it.

Emma asked Ron if he'd carry her into bed again and he said he would. She told him that she got fucked all day, every day, so she wanted to make love now, she wanted to be intimate. He said he was ok with that.