Terms of Agreement

22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Aiden

A s Ed and Tilly opened the dance floor to Taylor Swift’s Lover , I heard Erin whisper to Charlotte that Tilly had been a Swiftie since high school and had insisted that Ed listen to her entire discography before she would go out with him. ‘She didn’t expect him to actually go through with it,’ she rasped from behind her hand as the couple swayed under the beam of the spotlight.

‘But he did?’ Charlotte asked, her naturally soft voice lowered to an imperceptibly quiet whisper that I strained to hear.

Erin nodded, and I followed her gaze as she turned over to where Ed spun Tilly back into his arms. Their matching smiles left a dull ache somewhere beneath my chest.

‘He did,’ I confirmed in a low whisper against the shell of Charlotte’s ear. An attempt not to let Erin monopolise my girlfriend—fake girlfriend. ‘He not only downloaded the entire discography to my computer, but he also downloaded about fifty viruses that crashed the system entirely.’

Charlotte bit down on her lower lip, smiling in the direction of the dance floor.

‘Alright ladies and gents,’ came the voice of the DJ, ‘it’s time to join the new Mister and Missus on the dance floor.’

The song shifted into the Black Eyed Peas’s I Gotta Feeling , and Erin squealed, pulling Micah to his feet and dragging him toward the dance floor. The other members of the bridal party followed the pair onto the dance floor, leaving Charlotte and me alone at the table.

‘You don’t dance?’ Charlotte asked, turning to face me. Finally.

‘Not in recent history, you?’

‘Only in my kitchen,’ she laughed awkwardly.

‘Oh?’ I looked down at her as I pictured it. I wondered if she’d ever had a partner in those moments? Oscar, maybe? Memories of the furball’s meows of protest sounded in my ears… Probably not.

‘It’s easier to dance like no one’s watching when there’s actually no one watching,’ Charlotte continued with a shrug, her gaze following the trickle of guests that had slowly begun to shimmy their way to the dance floor. ‘Well, no one but Oscar and he’s judgemental enough to keep my ego well in check.’

My head tipped back in a laugh at the memory of Oscar’s baleful expression that night in her apartment. The song seamlessly morphed into something slower, and the group separated as couples paired off. Hands either came to rest atop shoulders or lowered to rest on hips as individuals came together to sway to the melody.

Charlotte swayed gently along to the music as we sat in comfortable silence, her back leaning against my front and my arm draped loosely around her middle. It felt good. Leaning forward, I rested my chin on her shoulder and together we watched the couples on the dance floor.

‘Ugh,’ came a huff that I was all too familiar with, and I let out a pained groan. My sister had the worst timing. I glanced to the side just as Louise dropped into Erin’s empty chair, her legs sprawling in front of her and her face painted with a pout. ‘Stupid slow songs.’

‘Jealous, Lou?’ I teased.

‘Pffft, no,’ Louise replied indignantly. ‘But I’ve just eaten half of my weight in dry chicken breast and potatoes.’ She reached for a bread roll from one of the small baskets placed in the middle of the table. Tearing it in half, she paused for a moment before stuffing it into her open mouth. ‘And I’m stuffed,’ she said as she chewed.

‘What does that have to do with the music?’ I winced, imagining what Mum would say if she saw Louise spraying crumbs across the tablecloth.

‘It has everything to do with the music.’ Louise rolled her eyes. ‘How am I supposed to make room for cake if they’re playing the sort of music best fit in a retirement home?’

‘I don’t think that The 1975 would appreciate you lumping them in the geriatric genre of music.’ Charlotte giggled. She was close enough that I could feel her laughter ripple across my chest in a way that had something stirring in my abdomen.

Louise stuck her tongue out and made a face at Charlotte, causing Charlotte to roll her own eyes and turn back to the dancers.

‘I like this song,’ she said to no one in particular.

‘Oh, thank God!’ Louise jumped to her feet, tossing the remnants of her bread roll onto the table. ‘We can dance to this!’

‘We?’ Charlotte asked, her voice rising in pitch.

‘We.’ Louise nodded, rounding on my date, an excited grin on her face. She reached down, grabbing Charlotte’s hand and tugged. Charlotte’s eyes widened as she was pulled to her feet.

‘I don’t think…’ she started, looking back at me for help. I shook my head, knowing that it was a lost cause and opting, in this instance, to save myself.

‘Please, please, please!’ Louise begged. ‘I’ll be your best friend forever!’ And then, in typical Louise-fashion, she made as if to lower herself to her knees to beg.

Mortified, Charlotte grabbed hold of her arms. ‘Okay, okay!’ she conceded, her head jerking from side to side to make sure no one had seen.

‘Yay!’ Louise sprang upright, all thoughts of grovelling forgotten. Charlotte cast a look back at me, her eyes wide and pleading. But I’d been Louise’s dance partner in some form or other for the better part of two decades. It was someone else’s turn. I smiled and lifted a hand to wave sympathetically. And Charlotte, emboldened by Louise, stuck her pretty, pink tongue out at me and allowed herself to be pulled away.