Chapter 13
Astrid
Theo deserved a medal for putting up with the absolute clowns of this establishment. I could barely make my way through the crowd without some balding pisshead wrapping an arm around me and inadvertently spilling their drink onto my jacket. I now felt nice and…sticky. I mean, at least no one was catcalling or trying to grab my ass, so there was always a silver lining I guess. I’m like a radar signal as I try to track down Billy and Rowan. Not going to lie, I couldn’t ignore the flicker of anxiety I felt in my stomach as I scanned my eyes around the bar for them. Theo thought I was being childish about the whole Ass trid situation, and that I needed to let it go. But finding out that your boyfriend’s best friends literally hated you, for no other reason than the fact that I was dating Theo, was an awful pill to swallow. I felt resentful, and I had every right to hold onto it for as long as I needed. If the shoe was on the other foot, (I guess a saying that holds all the more irony now considering we’re literally trapped in each other’s bodies), I know Theo would react in exactly the same way.
“Theodoreeee!” A booming voice slurs from the other side of the room.
Gulping and turning my head, I spot them. Billy is currently manspreading on the barstool with his head in his hands, looking absolutely hammered, meaning that I can only presume that it was Rowan who called me.
“Come here then” Rowan gestures to me with slits for eyes. I think it was safe to say, they’d both had a few already.
It was time to face the music. Casually strolling over, so not to appear too eager, I flash Rowan a brief smile before saying, “You alright mate?” Yeah, that sounded like something Theo would say.
“Theo my man.” Rowan mumbles, jabbing out his palm for a handshake.
I hesitate before giving him a firm hand in return. His palm felt clammy and all I could smell was the stench of Guiness and BO. Nice.
“So uh.” I ask looking at the state of Billy, “Had a bit too much already then?”
“ Nooo I’m frrrin- frii- Fine.” The voice stutters from Billy, who was still very much heaved over.
Turning my attention to Rowan, I ask quietly, “Guessing this is to do with Nicole then? ”
This causes Billy to dramatically shoot up out of his seat, “Nicole! Who’s Nicole?”
The panic sets in then, I could have sworn his ex-fiancé was called Nicole?
Rowan looks confused as he says, “You mean Natalie?”
“Ugh- Don’t say that name!,” Billy whines as he pounds another pint down his throat.
Oh shit, great start.
“Uh-yeah, yeah. I meant Natalie sorry.” I reply, hopefully remaining as cool and confident as I can.
Rowan smirks, “And you haven’t even got on the piss yet,” before slamming a frothy pint of Guinness into my hand.
I bloody hated beer. It tasted metallic and almost like you were sucking on the blood from a papercut. How anyone could enjoy this was beyond me. But alas, I knew Theo would never turn down a beer, and they would be on to me straight away if I refused. So taking the pint from Rowan, I hold my breath and take my first sip.
“He doesn’t want to talk about Nat- her - tonight.” Rowan mouths quietly.
“Got it.” I salute, taking another sip, my throat shunning me with every swallow .
“So,” he asks, tapping his fingers on the side of the glass, “still trouble in paradise?”
What .
Shifting uncomfortably in my seat, I respond, “Uh-no. Things are fine.”
The corner of Rowan’s mouth curls upwards, “Mate, she tried to lob a cake on you at your parents wedding. I’d be pretty pissed off to be honest.”
That fucker. He told his friends about that?
I desperately tried to think of an appropriate response so that things didn’t start to seem fishy. “Well, we’ve started couple’s counselling so we’re working on it.”
Rowan audibly snorts now, “ Couple’s counselling?”
Crap. Did Theo not want his friends to know about that? Actually, do you know what? He blabbed about cake-gate, they can find out about couple’s counselling.
I nod. “It’s a last resort kind of thing.”
A wave of what looks like sympathy crosses his face, “Theo, look. I know Billy and I haven’t always been Astrid’s biggest fans, and this is coming from a place of care.” He places a sweaty palm on my shoulder now, “Who are you kidding? ”
Nudging his hand off me, I ask, “What do you mean?”
“Couple’s counselling has like a 5% success rate. I don’t want to sound like a dick, but from everything you’ve told us lately, don’t you think it would be better to just do both of yourselves a favour and end things before they get even worse?”
My heart felt like it shriveled in size. What he was saying was nothing that Theo and I hadn’t thought about ourselves already. But I don’t know. I guess hearing someone else say it made it feel more warranted, more real .
Was Theo that unhappy?
“Hmm maybe.” Is all I can muster.
“You guys were great whilst you lasted. But sometimes love just isn’t enough you know?” How did drunken Rowan manage to sound more profound in his pissed-up state than our literal counsellor? “Just look at Billy and Natalie.”
“ I said DON’T!” A disgruntled looking Billy shouts.
“Plus. It’s not like you’d have any trouble pulling anyone else.” Rowan adds, smirking.
I don’t ignore the stab of jealousy that makes me feel. Theo and I are on tender hooks at the moment, there’s no doubt about that. But even if we did break up, I’d hoped he wouldn’t just throw himself immediately into bed with the first girl that came running.
“Speaking of.” He grins, glancing his eyes behind me.
Turning my head, I spot the culprit of his gaze. She’s young, probably around 18-20 years of age. Her Chocolate Brown hair was thrown up into a claw-clip in one of those effortless-looking ninety’s styles, with those face-framing strands brushing her high-cheekbones, piercing blue eyes, perfect skin, a mini skirt that hugs her petite figure and a massive cleavage.
“Your favourite barmaid is always an option.” He winks.
I feel the bile rising slowly through my throat, “ Favourite barmaid?!” I shout, a little too furiously, causing a few heads to turn in my direction and Rowan to jolt.
“Well, yeah. You know she ogles you every time you’re here mate. You could ask her to jump, and she’d say, ‘how high?’” He chuckles.
“Is that so?” I reply through gritted teeth.
As if on perfect cue, she starts approaching us, her hips swinging back and forth like she thought she was strutting down a bloody Victoria’s Secret runway .
Completely ignoring both Billy and Rowan, her piercing gaze diverts straight to me, her mouth in a permanent flirtatious smirk, as if I was the prey to her predator. “Hey Theo.”
I feel sick as I look down at her nametag, Chloe , why is it always the Chloe’s?!
She rubs a warm hand down my back now, “you’re looking a little empty…can I fill you up?”
“You must certainly cannot!” I shout, clocking on to her innuendo and causing her grin to quickly transform into a wide ‘O’ shape.
I’m losing my cool, I’m making them suspicious, fuck sake. She was clearly flirting with Theo, my boyfriend. What sort of whore flirts with another woman’s man? Wait, before I say something as anti-woman as that, I quickly tap Rowan and whisper as if she’s not stood directly behind me, “does she know I’m with Astrid?”
Rowan looks uncomfortable as he nods.
Right. Whore it is then.
Peeling her arm away from me, I spit sharply, “Maybe you should look for another cup to fill, maybe one that doesn’t already have a drink in.”
“How can I fill a cup that already has a drink in? That would be pointless” she asks confusingly.
Poor Chloe. Dense, ignorant, Chloe .
“So is openly flirting with a guy who you know is taken, now piss off!” I shout, waving her away like the annoying wasp she is.
Rowan looks completely puzzled now, “Mate, are you feeling alright? You’ve never said that to her before?”
I can feel the rage bubbling in my gut, “What, I’ve never told her to go away or ignored any of her advances?”
He pauses for a moment, “Why are you talking as if you’ve never been in here before?”
“Just answer me Rowan .” I demand, not giving two shits anymore whether I’m making them suspicious or not.
“Well, no. I guess not.”
That was it. I’d heard enough. I had to get out of here now so I could find out the truth and interrogate Theo for all he was worth. I immediately rise out of my chair, and march out of the door, shoving the pisshead-clan as I went. If Theo thought I was mad before, he hadn’t seen anything yet.