“Why didn’t you go to university in the end?” Oliver asked. “I’m sure I remember your dad talking about that entrance exam you guys take.”

“The SATs. Yeah, I took them, but never went to college.”

“Why not? I know you would have done well in the test. You’re the cleverest person I know.”

“You only know athletes,” I pointed out. “That’s not saying a lot.”

Oliver smiled, and I wished we weren’t sat opposite each other so I could snuggle up to him. I used to associate his smile with arrogance, but now it meant warmth and security.

“Fair enough,” he said. “But you could have gone to a good university as well. Why didn’t you?”

“You know why,” I replied.

Oliver looked genuinely puzzled for a few seconds, but then realization spread across his face. “Maisie?”

I nodded. “Not that I’m blaming her,” I added quickly. “That’s not it at all of course. But after Mom lost her job, I had to earn money to support the family. College wasn’t an option.”

“And you blame yourself,” Oliver said. “For what happened that night.”

“Don’t say it like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I’m being irrational. I blame myself, because I was to blame. It’s quite simple.”

Oliver stared out of the window for a few minutes even though it was dark outside and there wasn’t much to see. “I know I need to do more to earn your trust after the way I treated you all those years ago,” he said, still staring out the window. “But where Maisie is concerned, you do trust me, right?”

“Yes,” I replied instantly. Oliver would do anything for Maisie and Shaun. You only had to look at him around them to know that.

“Then trust me on this: what happened to Maisie was entirely my fault.” I opened my mouth to speak, but he held up his hand to stop me. “I might as well have been the one to throw the acid over her. I am one hundred percent to blame. You need to stop blaming yourself.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “I know you think you should have walked us home, but you wouldn’t have been able to stop the attack. Those men appeared out of nowhere.”

“I can’t say. But trusting me means you have to take my word for it, okay?”

I nodded, but nothing he said made much difference. I knew Oliver was trying to help, but he would never be able to take the guilt away. Why was he so convinced it was his fault anyway? The attack had been completely random, as far as I knew. Certainly no one had any reason to attack Maisie or me.

“Let’s just try to have fun tonight,” I said. “No worrying about Maisie and Shaun. I just want to let my hair down.”

“Deal,” Oliver said. “But in that case, let me choose where we go. I know the owner of a nice little establishment near Leicester Square that I think you’ll like.”

I sent a text to Alisa and Sierra telling them where to meet us and they certainly seemed to approve judging by the enthusiastic responses. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone out for a night on the town. I had a feeling this night was going to be a memorable one.

-*-

I met Sierra and Alisa outside the bar. They’d been standing in line, but I pulled them out and said that we could go straight in thanks to Oliver. He’d already gone inside, so when we dropped his name at the door we were escorted straight to a VIP area at the back of the club.

We had our own table, and the section was raised just enough to make us look important, without feeling completely detached from the rest of the bar.

“Ladies, this is Oliver,” I said, making the introductions. “Oliver, this is Alisa and Sierra.”

“We know who he is,” Alisa said excitedly. “I’ve actually been to a few of your games.”

“You’re a fan of West London?” Oliver asked.

“Uh, no, not exactly. But it’s hard to get tickets for the Harlequins games. I’m sure I could be persuaded to switch allegiances though.”

Oliver laughed, then got the attention of the waitress who would be waiting on us tonight. “I guess I can buy a drink for a Harlequins fan still. You’re not all horrible people, or so I hear.” He ordered a few bottles of champagne, and some food to nibble on. Oliver was always eating.

The table was so big that I had to leave a gap between Oliver and me or it would have looked obvious that I wanted to be with him. When the food arrived, I had an excuse to move up closer to him, but unfortunately Alisa did the same thing.

“I’ve been hearing rumors about you,” Alisa said to Oliver, as she ate some of the chips.

“That sounds incriminating,” Oliver replied.

“Oh no, nothing naughty,” she said with a smile. “Although I’m sure you have plenty of those stories locked away as well. No, I heard you were going to get a call up for the England team.”

“Ah. Well, I couldn’t possibly comment on that.”

“I usually cheer for the American team at the World Cup—even though we suck—but I think I could be persuaded to follow England if there is someone of your—” she eyed him up and down “caliber in the team.”

“Uh, thanks,” Oliver replied awkwardly.

Oh Jesus, she’s flirting with him. Nice work, Michelle. You’ve gone and introduced a rugby star to your confident, flirty, rugby loving friend without thinking things through. I was so bloody bad at this.

“Alisa,” Sierra said, standing up. “I’m going to the bathroom.”

“Okay,” Alisa said, not looking away from Oliver.

“Maybe you want to come with me,” Sierra said strongly.

Alisa frowned but followed Sierra to the bathroom. “Do women throw themselves at you everywhere you go?” I asked, once they were out of earshot.

“Pretty much,” Oliver replied casually.

“Oh.”

“It doesn’t mean anything. I’m sure you don’t go home with every guy who hits on you at a bar.”

“Maybe I do,” I joked.

“You’re a beautiful barmaid,” Oliver said. “If you went home with every guy who hit on you, you’d never get anything done.”

“Alisa’s a nice girl,” I said. “She’s beautiful and clever. You two would make a cute couple.”

“Don’t say things like that. You know I’m not interested in her. There’s only one person here tonight that I want to spend time with. That’s you by the way.”

I smiled. “Yeah, I kind of hoped that’s where you were going.”

“I’m done playing around, Michelle. You know I want you, and I think you want me too.”

I nodded. It was a hugely understated way of explaining how I felt, but no words could have captured it either.

Alisa and Sierra returned from the bathroom and Alisa leaned over and whispered into my ear. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you two were close. My bad.”

I mouthed “thanks” in reply and moved up closer to Oliver. There didn’t seem to be much point in playing coy anymore.

“How about we go dance?” Sierra asked. “There appear to be a few men in here who know what they’re doing.”

“You can leave your jacket at the table,” Oliver said, as we stood up to head to the dance floor. “No one but us is allowed there, so it will be perfectly safe.”

“No, it’s okay,” I replied. “I’ll keep it on.”

I didn’t have any sweaters that were suitable for a night on the town, so I wore a light jacket instead. It looked normal enough to keep it on at the table, but I was going to stand out on the dance floor, where everyone else had shed layers of clothes to get as sweaty and intimate as possible.

Oliver was becoming increasingly suspicious of my constant need to wear one more layer of clothing than was typically required, but I’d been doing it for years and people got used to it in the end.

Alisa and Sierra found men to dance with in just a few minutes, leaving Oliver and I to press against each other and lose ourselves to the music. The dance floor soon got crowded, and strangely that actually helped me relax. We became inconspicuous; just another couple getting physical and hoping for more.

Oliver’s thick arms wrapped around me from behind and held me close to him. I rubbed my ass firmly against his crotch and felt his member under his pants. His fingers moved over my stomach, with his little finger gliding close to my waistband, while his other hand moved down to my thigh.