A Greater Good (girlxgirl)

Party

I walked into the party late, Mum had forced me to come and something in her tone over the phone made me think that she knew something about Everlyn and I. I was not in the mood to come and celebrate the only girl I'd ever really liked getting married, I'd been spat on by a client when I found out their wife was cheating, and all I wanted to do was go home and take a long shower before cracking open a bottle of tequila to drink while scrolling through Everlyn's Instagram.

I pushed open the doors to the bar and stood in the warm air looking for Everlyn's crowd, regretting coming.

"Janeeeee!" 

I turned to see who had shrieked at me and saw... Claire? Clara? That can't be right. Rissole? Clarissa! That's it. I smiled at her, she was smashed completely and I was only an hour late, she must have started early. She was cute, but in a ditzy sort of way that I usually didn't go for. I must admit that when she was my 'type' it was when I wanted Everlyn's attention.

"Hi," I said with false enthusiasm to her.

She wrapped me up in a hug and kissed my cheek before leading me towards the back of the bar. "You're just in time, we're about to go to another place."

"I just got here."

"I know, but it's a whole thing." Clarissa rolled her eyes. "Steph's got some extravagant plan that will take us well into the morning."

"I hope drugs are involved," I said flatly.

Clarissa laughed. We neared the table and as Everlyn came into view, I became hyperaware of Clarissa's hand resting on my elbow. The last thing I wanted was Everlyn getting mad at me over some girl like Clarissa again, I didn't want to fight with her anymore it was getting boring. Everlyn turned to look at us when Clarissa's laugh pierced over the sound of the bar. She looked good, I'm not going to lie. Her hair was slicked back out of her face and trailing down her back, very modern of her, she was wearing a thin, shoelace strapped black dress and hardly any makeup which left her freckles on display. I wanted to walk up and kiss her and smile at everyone and for them to smile back at me and say 'God! Took your time!" because all along it was a party to celebrate her and I. But it wasn't. She locked eyes with me and I stopped in my tracks, Clarissa's tugging at my elbow snapped me back into reality and Everlyn's eyes off me. 

"Jane!" Steph called out and stood up, knocking things off the table. "Oops!" she said with no remorse and climbed out of her seat to get to me.

She hugged me, over her shoulder and through her hair I could see Everlyn determinedly not looking at me, this night was going to be a nightmare. Steph giggled into my ear, I could smell the booze on her.

"God, you're so drunk," I said and laughed. Steph was very professional and businesslike, being drunk was really unlike her.

She let me go and looked into my eyes with wide, excited ones. "And you're so not! Come on, do some shots with me and then we'll go."

"With pleasure." I was not only relieved to be getting drunk, but that Clarissa had left me alone now that Steph was by my side.

"You know what your problem is?" a hippy, palm reading, friend of Everlyn asked me at the bar of the third club where I basically poured alcohol down my throat so I didn't have to notice Everlyn.

"What is it, Shirley?" I asked, slamming down the shot glass.

"It's Shirree, and it's that you don't know what you want."

"Sure I do, I just can't have it." I looked over at Everlyn who was having a really good time on the dance floor. I really wanted to go over and wrap my hands around her neck and dance with her.

"Well don't you deserve to be happy? Shouldn't you go and get it?"

I looked back at hippy dippy Sharon or whatever and smiled. "The thing is, I don't really deserve to be happy, I was a dick and ruined other people's happiness out of jealousy."

Sally shrugged wisely, but before I could get anymore wisdom out of her, Clarissa came up and kissed me.

"Woah!" I pulled out of the kiss and looked around, people were staring as they do when two girls kiss, and even worse, Everlyn saw but she was acting like it wasn't a big deal. "What was that?"

Clarissa smiled at me, she was at a point of drunkness where she didn't understand tone of voice and couldn't tell how annoyed I was. "Don't act like you don't want to."

"Trust me, I don't."

"Sure." Clarissa winked at me.

"Clarissa, I don't."

Clarissa shrugged, she closed her eyes and bopped along to the music like the conversation had never happened.

"Next bar, ladies!" Steph yelled out and the whole party shuffled out onto the cool street.

I pulled on my jacket and headed out onto the street, pulling out a cigarette and lighting up. I hung back near the door and when Everlyn walked out with an old school friend of ours, I took my chance.

"Ev."

She turned and saw me, she smiled at her friend and they went ahead without her. We took off down the street together, hanging back from the rest of the group.

"Hey, that kiss with Clarissa..." I begun.

"She's so drunk," Everlyn laughed and smiled at me.

"I know, but still, there's nothing going on."

"It'd be alright if there was, she deserves to be happy and I can't get mad about you being with someone."

"Right."

We walked on in silence. Fuck! She'd moved on. I fucking hated that night, I wanted to go home, maybe take that Susan chick with me and pretend it was Everlyn. Beside me Everlyn was shivering in her skimpy little dress, I took my jacket off and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said and took it from me without making a big deal about it. She looked across at me and smiled. "What about a drag?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What would James say about it?" I asked as I handed the cigarette over to her.

"Oi," she said in a low warning voice whilst sounding comedic about it. 

I laughed and mist floated out of my mouth, giggles and voices could be heard from the crowd in front of us and if I didn't think Everlyn had moved on, I'd be perfectly happy strolling down the street in silence with the woman I love.

"I'm nowhere near drunk enough for this," I confess, I was fairly drunk otherwise I'd never have said that.

"Neither," Everlyn admitted heavily, she turned to me. "Let's make a deal that we get so drunk that we're nearly hospitalised."

I laughed. "Sure."

She dropped the cigarette and ground it into the ground in her sexy high heel outside the next pub. She handed me back my jacket. "Now, let's get back in the warm." She stepped up the stairs and smiled back at me. "Your jacket smells great, by the way."