I Bet

Chapter 12

I brushed my fingertips along the vivid Indian patterns that adorned the large sofa and bit my lip before anxiously glancing at the clock. It was 9:10PM - they should've been here ten minutes ago.
I had called John up from my mobile, his and George's were the only beatles numbers that remained on my phone. I asked him if he and the others wanted to come, and he said yes it would be great to catch up and all. He asked if it would be okay if maybe Cynthia (John's new girlfriend) could come too and I shrugged and was like sure whatever. I even asked him if he had Dylan's number, which weirdly he did so I noted it down and invited him too. I couldn't think of anybody else who could possibly want to visit my house, however Natalie decided to invite three friends we had been in contact with for a while when we lived in our old home. They were nice girls; Francesca, Clara and Sophie - however I couldn't find that much in common with them and our conversations were often one-sided.
"Stop looking scared Caitlin. It's just a party." Natalie muttered at me as she brushed past, lighting sweet-smelling candles with her lighter.
"I'm not scared." I grumbled, rolling my eyes and sitting down on the sofa.

Fran and Clara were the first to turn up, decked out in floral shirts, tiny denim shorts and jingling ankle bracelets. I smiled sweetly and let them come in, kick off their leather sandals and sit in the living room, chatting excitedly to Natalie. I decided to wait at the door, sipping cautiously at a bottle of spring water until I heard another knock. This time it was Sophie, who apparently had to get the bus because her car had been broken for a week. I think that's what she said. I wasn't absolutely fully paying attention, but I did nod and smile so I'm obviously a great example of politeness and courtesy.
After another five minutes I opened the door and there was Ringo and John, and a girl who I assumed was Cynthia, genuinely smiling and holding their coats in their hands because they didn't realise how hot it was outside. I let them come in and slung their coats over the banister at the bottom of the stairs before guiding them into the living room. I studied them intently as they walked away from me; John was wearing a tight shirt made of soft velvet and it was tucked loosely into a pair of light-wash jeans. He was wearing a string of colourful beads around his neck and his hands were tucked into his pockets. He was leaning ever so slightly towards the girl, Cynthia, who had her platinum blonde hair in a slight beehive and she was wearing a peach coloured blouse with a pair of tailored black trousers. Ringo tagged along behind in a pair of dark blue jeans and a purple paisley shirt which was buttoned up all the way apart from one button at the top of the collar.

I heard another knock at the door so I hurriedly skidded to it and slung it open, staring right at Paul who gave me a wink and a side-smile. I traced my eyes over his delicate features before turning to see who else was with him. George... and some other girl? Who the frickity frack was that? I stared at her intently, watching her brush her fingers through her soft blonde hair and fiddle with the buttons on her pink jacket. I must've been looking at her for too long as she made eye contact and then smiled eagerly. I didn't even bother returning the favour and held the door wide open to let the two lads in and the girl who I hadn't a clue who she was. I was just about to shut the door as I saw Dylan walking casually up the driveway, his hands deeply rooted in the pockets of his distressed denim jacket. He gave me one of the most attractive smiles I'd seen for a while and I mumbled a hello before letting him come in and shut the door behind him.

After following them into the living room and peering around, spotting Natalie intently chatting away to Ringo with a few flirtatious hair-flicks and giggles, I gave everyone a smile.
"Aint yer house nice? I didn't know you were into all this." John muttered, waving a hand towards the candles and other items scattered across the window-ledges.
"Thanks." Was all I could think of to reply with before scuffing my feet on the cold laminate floor. "Do any of you want a drink?"
"Well, depends if you have whiskey in that cupboard of yours." Paul joked with a laugh.
"I know you were joking but surprisingly I do, is that what ya want?" I replied, earning a few smiles from Paul, Ringo and the girls. I rolled my eyes and scurried into the kitchen, grabbing some of the alcohol and setting out glasses. I filled them and handed them out, just in time to catch John and George's conversation.
"This is beautiful material, I can't find a single place in this country that sells this stuff." George exclaimed to John, brushing his hand over the throw I had chucked on the sofa.
"That's from India." I spoke, my presence shocking George as he didn't expect me to be standing there. "I was looking for ages to find it, and finally found this little shop an hours drive away that sells the most beautiful clothes and fabric and everything. I absolutely love the Indian culture."
George just stared at me as John smiled. "Well aint that different. You're just like George, he's obsessed with that place. I used to enjoy the meditation but I aint got any time for it now."
I returned the smile. "You don't have any time for it? Or do you mean to say you don't want to spend any time for it?"
Before I could answer I walked away from George's deep gaze and sat down next to Paul. I leaned over and whispered, "Who's the chick in the pink jacket?"
"Oh her. That's Pattie, Pattie Boyd? George's... I don't know what she is to him. His lady friend? They met not long ago. She's cute but tirelessly flirty with him." He explained vaguely. "Why?"
I scrunched up my face. "Oh nothing, just he didn't tell me he was bringing his girlfriend."
"She's not his girlfriend Caitlin. They ain't going out. Well not yet anyway."
Raising my eyebrows I turned away from him as he started to speak to Ringo and one of the girls, probably Clara. "Well not yet anyway"? What the hell was that supposed to mean? I peered over at George and the girl. They were laughing with John, and they kept exchanging glances and smiles. It was positively revolting. I couldn't believe George had taken it upon himself to bring his skank ass little prostitute to my party. Exhaling deeply I necked the rest of my whiskey and ran into the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine.

As the night grew later, I suggested to everybody that if they wanted another drink they can help themselves. Which they did of course, and not just a few times either. Everyone was having lovely little conversations and laughs and there I was, sitting on the edge of the sofa occasionally sharing a story with Ringo. This was turning out to be a fantastic party.

Suddenly Natalie stood up and raised her hand in the air as if wanting to be picked in a high school class discussion. "I have an idea! let's play spin the bottle!"
I groaned. And I mean heavy, full on groan. Because I really didn't want to lock lips with anyone here, most definitely not George as he probably had been already sticking his tongue into that girls mouth and I didn't fancy the idea of catching Chlamydia.
When I looked back up at them they were already gathering into a circle, so I guess I had to join in. I slid into an empty spot next to Paul and on the other side of me was Cynthia. Someone grabbed an unopened bottle of beer and stuck it in the middle. Natalie smiled and spun it first, and it landed on Paul. She spun it again and the second time it landed on Francesca. I clicked my tongue as they reached over and awkwardly kissed, Fran's face going bright red. I could imagine her exact thoughts actually; "oh my gosh I just kissed paul mccartney somebody call the police because these sparks are illegal honey". If she wasn't thinking that, I would eat my own bra.
Paul then spun the bottle. It landed on Pattie, and then the second time, it legit landed on George. I nearly threw up in my own mouth. I watched as she giggled intensely, looking away for a second before locking eyes again with George. Why the hell was the rat acting all innocent? He smiled awkwardly before reaching forward, sliding his hand into her hair before dipping his head down to reach her lips that were soon pressed against his. My stomach flipped and my blood began to boil, while my head was buzzing. I couldn't concentrate on a single thing in the room, except the two creatures in front of me of course. It was such a strange feeling, it was like an intense burning. I waited until they had finished caressing eachother's lips before looking back up again. George reached out to grip the bottle and his eyes caught mine. I didn't even know what I saw in them. I didn't even know who he really was any more; I couldn't read his emotions, I couldn't read his expressions or his body language like I used to with ease. It was like some terribly cliche love story- however this was not at all romanticised and it was all going horribly wrong. My plan, my party. It wasn't going at all in the direction I was hoping and I felt like passing out to get away from this ridiculous game.
I looked back down at the bottle and waited for him to spin it. Surprisingly enough it landed on Dylan. I clutched my stomach, hoping the sickening feeling would go soon. And then I had the smoothest idea in the world. I mean, it's not exactly cheating, is it? It's only spin the bottle. I stuck my hand into my pocket and surely enough there it was, the bracelet I had bought recently that was of magnetic qualities that was supposed to "heal" your problems. I stuck it on my hand casually and leaned forward, placing my hand extremely close to the bottle. When George spun the bottle again it stopped quite quickly pointing towards me and my hand because of the magnetic bracelet attracting the unopened metal beer lid.

Dylan looked up at me and I linked eyes with him. He gave me a smirk and I let a shy smile play on my lips before he shuffled over to me. I gazed into his eyes, I could get lost in them. In fact, I  hoped I could get lost in them. I wished I could get so hopelessly lost in Dylan's eyes that I didn't need to ever come out again. 
Suddenly I felt his rough finger tips touch my neck and it sent a lightning bolt through my spinal chord and I started breathing heavily, and he leaned in and pressed his sweet lips against mine. They were soft and comforting at first, moving in a soft rhythm with mine. I'm sure he only thought it was going to last a few seconds, but I decided to prove a point. I slid my hand into his hair and tugged it slightly before letting a moan escape my mouth. He smiled against my lips and carried on kissing me, brushing his tongue against the side of my mouth. I closed my eyes tight and kissed him roughly, intent on invoking passion. I had to do this, you see. I had to do something to get at him, he was scum. It wasn't as if I was using Dylan, really. I enjoyed being with him. But I had to do something.
I slowly withdrew from the kiss. "How about we take this elsewhere?" I whispered.
I slowly stood up, watching as George and the others couldn't take their eyes off the situation in front of them. I grabbed Dylan's hand and pulled him along behind me, leading him to the downstairs bathroom. George was looking at me with total dismay and bewilderment, it made me swell with enjoyment but also instill a sinking feeling within me. I shut the door of the bathroom behind me and stepped forward, intending to lock lips again but he gripped my forearm tightly.

"Listen, you little whore. I know you're only doing this to get back at him. George. Why the hell would you do that?" He spat, his grip on my arm so tight that my skin was starting to turn white. "Don't you understand how awful that is? I thought you actually liked me, and here you are, snogging my face off just to make some kid jealous. You are pathetic. I comforted you when you were feeling vulnerable, wanna know why? Because I was feeling vulnerable. I've been feeling vulnerable for a long time. There are things that have happened to me that you better pray you never hear, Caitlin. So don't you ever use me and my feelings as some part of a scheme in your sick little head."
My heart was beating ever so fast I felt like it was going to rip out of my chest and my blood to spill everywhere. My breath caught at the back of my throat and I scanned Dylan's face, my eyes tracing over his skin that was a burning red. "No. No you don't understand, I'm not using you-"
"Yes you are! Are you that sick to not admit it?"
"I'm really not, Dylan! You have everything terribly wrong. You have got to believe me!" I exclaimed, and then slowly stepped forward so my face was under his chin. "Would you just... would you just let me explain?"
He closed his eyes for a few seconds and let out a slow breath, so I took this as an initiative to begin speaking again. "I did used to like George. Heck, I loved him. But that was four years ago. Four entire years. He broke me Dylan, he broke me into pieces and discarded me. I thought that he was the one, you know? I was friends with the whole crew, the infamous beatles, John, Paul, Ringo and George. But then he didn't tell me until the exact day that he was leaving to go to America so that they could do a world tour. And I didn't hear from him again until when I met them again at the record studio. Don't you realise? Seeing him again made me feel awful. It made me feel absolutely disgusting. I don't even know why, either. I'm not playing with your feelings. You're not part of some silly scheme to get that creature to date me again. I want someone new, I want to fall for someone else like I fell for him. I don't want to be attached to him forever."

I couldn't tell wether Dylan believed me or not. I stared into his eyes for at least two minutes, his blank expression looking back at me. And then he bent his chin down and pressed his lips to mine, his warm skin burning mine which was pale and cool. I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing myself as close as possible to him as I could.

{Oh gosh that was unexpected wasn't it? And I know I'm a basic hoe for not updating but hopefully this will make up for it cos it's like 3 x my normal chapter size, yesh? No? well I hope so lols. JUST A THING YES WELL I DON'T HATE PATTIE BOYD I LOVE HER SHE'S MY WOMAN CRUSH BUT OBVIOUSLY SHE IS A DIFFERENT CHARACTER/PERSONALITY IN THIS STORY. If you're on the computer I linked at the side one of my fave songs from the sixties it's nice so yeah. Um, please comment! And please vote! And please drink 7UP lemonade as I am right now!}