Kinky Boots(41)

The man offered her a very kissable smile and gave a quick glance around. ‘Who’s a nice guy?’

Jesus! She hadn’t missed the cues on what should be said out loud and what shouldn’t since her first day with Eleanor. A sign of her lousy mood, she reckoned. She smiled back at the man and opted for honesty. ‘I’m talking to my demon. She said you’re a nice guy.’

Eleanor gave her the equivalent of a demon elbow to the ribs and Rugby Guy cocked his head, then chuckled softly. ‘Well, I’d say your demon has good taste, but then I might be a bit prejudiced.’

Eleanor was positively glaring at her.

‘What do you want me to do?’ she asked.

The man looked slightly confused then said, ‘Well, I was about to ask you to dance, but then, wait a minute, are you talking to me or to your demon?’

When Eleanor did nothing but glare at her harder, she said. ‘Well, actually I was asking my demon, but she’s not a lot of help at the moment, though she seems to have done a fine job of fucking up my life recently.’ She straightened her jacket and squared her shoulders. ‘Look, you seem like a really nice bloke, and I see a half a dozen women with their eyes on you right now. Truth is, I’m not fit company at the moment, and trust me, you don’t want to hear it. But if you came here for a few laughs, I’m not the one to have them with.’

He ran a hand along the square line of his jaw and studied her. ‘I might be able to cheer you up.’

‘Possibly, but I’m not sure I want to be cheered up at the moment.’

He surprised her by leaning in and kissing her. It wasn’t a heavy kiss. It was just a brush across her lips. ‘I can be miserable with you if you’d like that better.’

‘I wouldn’t wish that on anyone,’ she said. ‘And while I appreciate the offer, I still have to decline. And I really do appreciate the offer. It’s just, well, the timing’s wrong.’

* * *

Finn didn’t hear any of Jill’s conversation. All Finn saw through the crowd was Jill in a lip lock with the bloke she’d been dancing with the first time he’d pulled her out of Juno. And he saw red.

He pushed his way through the milling crowd to where the two stood at the bar, and he didn’t waste time on preliminaries. ‘Goddamn it, Eleanor, what are you doing, just trying to get her hurt?’

Rugby Bloke straightened and squared his shoulders, half moving in front of Jill protectively. ‘You’re Eleanor?’ he spoke over his shoulder, keeping a wary eye on Finn.

‘Eleanor’s my demon,’ she said. ‘I’m Jill.’ Then she shouldered her bag, pushed past the man and stood nose to nose with Finn. ‘Fuck you, Finn, and fuck you, Eleanor. I’ve had about enough of people and demons controlling my life, so fuck you both. I’m going to do what I want, and it’s none of your damn business.’

As an afterthought, she turned and addressed Rugby Bloke. ‘Thanks again for the drink. And in future I highly recommend a woman who’s not possessed.’ Then she elbowed past Finn toward the door.





Chapter 13


She shoved her way into the street with Finn right behind her, and Eleanor keeping her mouth shut.

‘What were you doing with him?’ Finn asked.

She turned to face him, bumping into a couple of smokers milling around out front. ‘Not that it’s any of your goddamn business what I was doing with him, but he bought me a drink and asked me to dance. Now leave me alone.’ She pushed past him. This time he grabbed her by the elbow and swung her around to face him.

‘That’s all?’

‘Fuck you!’ She jerked away and headed down the street at breakneck pace towards the bus stop, the path in front of her blurring in a mist of tears.

‘Jill! Jill, wait.’ He caught up to her, nearly ploughing over a couple snogging on a street corner. ‘Jill, I’m trying to apologise.’

This time he grabbed her around the waist and practically hauled her off her feet into a quiet alleyway. ‘I was looking for you to apologise and I saw you with him, and I lost it, OK, I just lost it. I thought that Eleanor, that you … that the two of you …’ His voice drifted off, his chest heaved as though it would explode, and she couldn’t help herself. She grabbed him by the hair and pulled him to her in a kiss that was more of a head bashing. Her tongue waged battle with his, her teeth raked and nipped at his responsive lips.

‘If you’re sorry, prove it,’ she said when she came up for air, then she guided his hand up under her skirt, slipping aside the crotch of her panties and fumbling until his fingers were where she needed them.