The Gap Year

Chapter 26

'Shit!' The lace edging of my top caught on a heavily scented bramble growing wild amongst the higgledy path, as I ran towards the now welcome cave of my apartment. 'Ouch!' The cantankerous bush fought back as I struggled to unhook myself, now scratching at my hip and arm in the hurry; an apt metaphor for the scars of this evening, the humiliation cutting unseen but deep along my chest. 'Go away; get lost!' I hit out a wasp which was now circling me, angry that its seclusion had been disturbed.

'Is there something the matter with you?' I startled at the male voice calling after me, it too edgy with anger. Alone here in the dark I was suddenly acutely aware of how unfamiliar it was; a huge indication of the limited number of words actually spoken between us.

'Well?' He was definitely cross, 'is something wrong?'

'The bushes attacked me.' I grasped at any potential excuse to delay admission of my own insanity and lack of courage, 'and now the wasps are after me too.'

'You really are the most infuriating person.' I held my head down shamefully as Harry stepped out of the shadows, clearly not willing to indulge me any sob story I might be about to tell about the perils of the local flora and fauna.

'I'm infuriating?' If he's going to force me to acknowledge the evening then I need to turn this back on him, if only to salvage my last slither of dignity. 'I'm not the one who has just been openly flirting with four different women.'

'Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise that would be an issue to you, since you were busy playing happy families with Mummy, Daddy and Dr Dishwash.' He was really cross, like in an actual almost scary way and causing me to edge further in to the bushes.

'I didn't know that they were going to be there; any of them,' I defended, panicked, 'and I'd hardly call the experience happy.'

'I reckon you've got him on speed dial haven't you?' He was really persisting, unconsciously moving towards me each time I took a step back away from him, 'that's why he magically comes to your rescue every time you need saving.'

'It wasn't like that. I didn't need saving.'

'Well it sure looked that way to me. Talk about give mixed messages.'

'I am NOT giving mixed messages!' That crossed the line. There is absolutely no way that I've ever given out any sort of message other than innocent neutrality.

'You are so far in denial Emma. I really think Dave might be right and that you do actually have a problem with your head.'

'My mental health is perfectly fine thank you very much.' That's it, there is no way I'm hearing anything of him being in agreement with Dave the Head Rep. 'Other than suffering the side effects of being permanently surrounded by a bunch of morons.'

'Oh that's right, I forgot that you need to have a PhD just to be honoured with talking to you.'

'That's not true, I've talked to you.'

'Barely. Oh except for when you kissed me, but I guess we can't really classify that as talking can we?' He smirked to himself apparently pleased with his own observations.

'But I only kissed you because I was drunk.'

'Thanks.' He was solemn.

'I mean...I'm sorry. I don't know what I mean, this is all really confusing for me.'

'What's confusing for you?' The atmosphere had shifted, the dry air now crackling in the anticipation between us. In the distance I could hear Adonis's thick accented version of 'Wonderful tonight' lilting its way out of the karaoke at Zorb's, but for everything else it was still, as he again inched closer, this time cautious that his proximity might cause me to push him out of the way so that I could bail once more. I watched as his chest rose gently, a stark contrast to my own which now swelled tight, my entire being was tight, clenched as I anticipated what he might do now; now that he had me cornered.