Eloise: I f.u.c.king hate my life.

Hayley: I'm sorry chicken :-( I'll make it up to you tomorrow with hot fudge dipping sauce and s.h.i.t load of marshmallows.

Eloise: This pleases me... just a little...

"I need a date. This is so depressing!" I announce dramatically to no one in particular.

And then comes a voice from the heavens. "I'll take you out."

"Holy f.u.c.k." I stare at the hazel eyed, dark haired twenty year old and my mouth drops open. "Justin?"

He smiles that smile I'd never forgotten. It was a lot cuter back in the day, as he had chubbier cheeks and no neatly trimmed and styled beard. Now it's just handsome, so b.l.o.o.d.y handsome. "It's been a while."

"Yeah." I can't breathe. This is so awkward and so f.u.c.king exhilarating. "You never called."

"Neither did you." He leans on the counter and stares at me through the gla.s.s that separates us. "I forgive you though."

"Hot mama," Katie whistles and gives Justin a finger wag.

He waves back, his eyes not leaving mine. "So... fancy a catch up?"

"Why are you here and don't you have plans? You must do if you're in a taxi office."

"I did, but I can cancel."

Now I feel more awkward. "Don't be stupid. Go have fun. Don't go breaking your date's heart."

He throws his head back and laughs. "Same old Elle, saying one thing but having a tone that totally suggests another." I do not do that. "Don't pout. It reminds me of the time I stole your bike."

"This pout got that bike back."

"Don't worry. I don't steal bikes anymore."

"You upgraded to cars?"

He laughs again. "I just got a job repainting that old building out on Trinity Road."

"That's my dad's project." I frown. "Did my dad send you here? Why are you back in town? Are you my pity date? Did he pay you?"

"Why the h.e.l.l would he pay me? When he knew I was back in town, he threatened to chop my manhood off if I came near you."

That does sound like something my dad would say to him.

He smiles softly. "So... fancy a catch up?"

"How convenient of you to show up tonight of all nights," I mutter, but I'm not unhappy about it. "I have to work until nine."

"No she doesn't," Katie says, smiling cheekily at me. "Leave the chocolates. You owe me that much."

Now I'm excited. "Are you sure?"

"About the chocolates? Definitely."

I hug the woman I've hardly acknowledged over the past few months and make a promise to myself that I'll make more of an effort in the future. "I owe you."

"Yes. Yes you do." She winks at me and pops another piece of chocolate into her mouth.

Isaac "It's a really nice town, small but I kind of like that about it. It's one of the reasons I moved here in the first place." Susanna says and I take a large swig of my beer.

This place is packed to the brim. There are no tables left and the bar is full. I'm starting to wish I'd never come.

There's f.u.c.king silver, red and pink ribbons and streamers hanging from the ceiling. It's like walking through a thousand fly catchers. They didn't raise them high enough and they keep falling the f.u.c.k down.

Susanna finds it funny when I pull one from my drink and yes, I'll admit she's rather pretty, but I'm just not feeling the chemistry.

"Yeah, I'm more of a city guy myself. I like the crowds and the multiple choices when it comes to restaurants and activities." I respond as I should, smiling and making her feel like my attention is on her. It is, but I'm not as focused as I should be.

"Each to their own." She shrugs, still smiling. Her eyes hold mine as she sips her drink. It reminds me of the time Elle did that and then spat the drink in my face in a large spray, all because I told her that her a.r.s.e was large. It is large, but not in an overweight way, in a 'h.e.l.l that a.r.s.e is f.u.c.king beautiful' kind of way.

Her eyes wander to the door and I feel the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. I feel her energy before I even see her. I can practically taste her scent on the air and I haven't even gotten a whiff of it yet.

f.u.c.k.

"Eloise is here," Susanna says. I turn slowly and glance at the woman strolling in on the arm of a man I don't recognise; if you can call him a man, that is. He can't be much older than Eloise. She looks stunning in a tight black dress I've never seen before. It's so f.u.c.king tight, down to mid-thigh, with a slit on one side showing her toned thigh. It has only one strap, which hangs loosely down her arm, bringing attention to the supple, beautifully curved b.r.e.a.s.t.s standing proudly from her chest. I think about the times I've traced that cleavage with my fingertips, dipping into the line into the centre. "Don't you want to say h.e.l.lo?"

Nope, I've seen enough. I don't want to see anymore.

"No." I take her hand over the table, totally sending her the wrong signal. "I'm here with you."

The two of them are led to a table only four places away from us. The card stating that it's reserved is removed and the man with Eloise pulls her seat out for her as the waitress places the menus before them.

"I've never seen him before," I say, tilting my head slightly.

Susanna smirks, her eyes hold a secret that I can tell is a secret I don't want to know. "He's my brother."

Blink. "Your brother?"

"Yep, he just moved back to town. He's an artist. He makes stained gla.s.s windows and is excellent with a paint brush."

I need to know more. "How did he and Elle meet?"

"They've known each other years." Her response is too f.u.c.king vague.

"I thought you just moved to town?" My tone is as pleasant and as curious as I can make it sound.

"Long story short, I lived with my dad in Sheffield. He lived with Mum because he was too young to decide. When he was sixteen they left town. Mum and Dad got back together and they came to live with us in Sheffield. He left school and went on to become a painter. He's one of the lucky artists that made it."

"But Elle doesn't know you."

"I'm five years older than Justin." I hate his f.u.c.king name. "I moved in with my dad when I was twelve. He was only..."

"Seven." I respond, annoyed that she thinks I can't do simple math.

She seems to think I'm just taking an interest in what she has to say, or at least I think that's it. She's still got that strange twinkle in her eye. She catches her brother's eye and waves. He waves back and that's when Eloise turns.

She spots me and holds my eyes for a second. It may as well have been a year. I feel a rush running through me, even after she pulls her eyes from mine. She smiles and waves at us both before turning back to her date.

Date.

I f.u.c.king hate that word.

"They look good together," I say bitterly, but Susanna doesn't notice my tone. "They definitely look like they're familiar." I can see him playing with her fingers on the table as she reads through the menu. I watch as she giggles and quickly turns it into a game of thumb war. Only Elle... sigh.

"They were together a while ago, before he moved. I don't know that much about it. I just know he brought the most adorable picture to Dad's and kept it above his bed forever."

Picture? They were together? "When did he move?"

"He was sixteen." And Susanna is five years older than him, so she would have been twenty one, probably in University studying nursing. So if she's now twenty four, that would make him nineteen.

He's only a year or so older than Elle.

I hate him.

"When did he get into town?"

"I don't know. He came into town when I told him about the old warehouse on Trinity, the one with that old clinic behind it."

f.u.c.k. "Elle's dad is fixing it up, turning it into some kind of leisure centre."

"That's the one."

I grit my teeth when I hear her laugh again, not Susanna, but Elle. I'm jealous. I can't help it. I f.u.c.king hate this. I just want to leave, but I don't think I can while she's here with that a.r.s.ehole.

"You look lost in thought."

I look up at my date and shake my head. "No, I'm just hoping they add an ice skating rink."

"Oh my gosh, you totally read my mind." I did? "I love ice skating."

Eloise I push my plate away, my stomach stuffed with delicious foods.

"At least you still eat like you used to. I was worried you'd become one of those salad junkies."

I laugh. I've been doing that a lot tonight. It's probably the wine going straight to my head. "Food is one of the best pleasures of life. As long as you don't abuse it, there's no reason to not indulge on occasion."

He brings my hand to his mouth and kisses my knuckles. "You really haven't changed that much. You look older and you're definitely more mature but... you're still so quirky."

"You got taller." I sip my drink, winking at him playfully.

"I got taller... is that it?" He pouts, putting on the puppy dog look, still holding my hand in his. "Just taller?"

"You grew a beard?"

Now he laughs hard. "Quirky."

I feel Isaac's eyes on me again but I can't be bothered to feel bad about it. Not tonight. I'm having too much fun.

"Do you want to go?" I ask.

"Where do you want to go? The night is still young."

Isaac's eyes burn into my profile. How can he do that while he's clearly with someone else? It's unfair. I've left him alone all night. I have hardly looked his way.

Of course it has hurt when he's laughed and made Susanna laugh. Of course it has hurt when he's held her hand. It is f.u.c.king killing me, but there's nothing we can do about it anymore.

He made the choice to move on and now so am I.

"I don't mind. I'll just use the restroom first." Then I get a thought. "The corner?"

His eyes light, "The corner huh?"

"Yeah. We can go to the garage on the way and you can try and get served again."

His laughter is even louder than before. "I think this time I'll succeed."

Smiling widely I stand and smooth my dress down before looking around me to locate the toilets. I see the sign pointing to a s.p.a.ce behind the crowded bar and quickly weave through the crowd of lovers.

The toilets are located down a narrow hall. I skip into the disabled after giving the lock a twist with my house key, a trick I learned from Hayley. The queue of women and men lining up on either side was unreal; no way was I waiting in that.

"Holy f.u.c.k!" I'm about to scream when a hand slams over my mouth and the door is kicked shut. Isaac's startling eyes come to mine. "What are you doing?" My voice is m.u.f.fled.

He removes his hand and runs it through his hair. "I don't know."

Blink. "You... how can you not know?"

"The corner? Elle..." He takes a step back and leans against the door. "What's so special about the corner?"

I blush and look away, but still catch his reaction out of the corner of my eye. He looks pained, his body seeming to sag.

"Oh." Is all he says for a short while and I feel how defeated he sounds. "He was your first."

"Isaac." My brows pull in as embarra.s.sment and irritation sparks within me. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

His eyes, still defeated and sad, roam up and down my body. "It's not." Shaking his head, he turns and pulls on the handle. "It's not."

"Enjoy your evening." I say stupidly and his shoulders sag even more.

"You too."