Page 41 of Suddenly Beck

He hands them around the table, and I watch as Nat stares down at the label. ‘Tastes Like Bad Decisions,’ he reads aloud. ‘Is that its name?’

‘Yeah.’ Ryan grins as he leans over the table and cracks the lid off Nat’s bottle before picking up his own.

‘Ryan has just started up his own microbrewery,’ I explain. ‘He makes his own craft beers.’

‘Really?’ Nat stares down at the bottle, this time seeing the Callahan Craft Beer Co. above the ridiculous name of the beer. ‘I’ve never been much of a beer drinker,’ he muses as he sniffs it experimentally. ‘I’m used to wine.’

‘Go easy then,’ I warn him. ‘Craft beer is much stronger than regular beer, and that particular one is one of Ryan’s strongest. It’s like forty percent alcohol.’

‘Well, as you’re so fond of saying, Beck.’ Nat shrugs and smiles as he lifts the bottle, ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’

‘That’s a great name for one of my beers,’ Ryan muses as he taps Nat’s bottle with his own in a toast, and they both raise the bottles to their lips.

What’s the worst that can happen? Quite a lot apparently.

Chapter Twelve

Beck

Doing the right thing sucks…

‘Oh, the stars are so pretty,’ Nat slurs as he leans back tilting his head so far back, I almost lose my grip on him as we weave down the street.

‘Yes, they are,’ I laugh, trying to get him to walk somewhere in the vicinity of a straight line.

We left the others at Mum’s, and they weren’t in a much better state than Nat. Ryan, Quinn and Georgie were attempting to play a rather drunken game of Twister, and Jesse was snoring, passed out cold on one of the sun loungers. Reed had stuck to water as he was on call at the hospital, so he was stone cold sober. I’d had a couple, and I was only slightly buzzing, but I was still over the limit to drive.

‘You can never really see them in London because of the light poll…un…ution,’ he mumbles, stumbling as he tries to pronounce the last word.

‘Pollution?’ I supply helpfully.

‘That’s what I said pollynution.’ He nods in agreement.

‘God, you’re so fucking irresistible,’ I mutter under my breath.

‘What?’ He blinks owlishly.

‘I said what part of London do you come from?’

‘Oh, um…’ His eyes squint, and I can almost hear the grinding in his brain. I swear this is the last time I’m letting him drink anything of Ryan’s. ‘My parents have a townhouse in Knightsbridge,’ he hiccups.

‘Knightsbridge?’ I reply in surprise. I always knew he probably came from money, but Knightsbridge is literally one of the most expensive places to live in London.

‘That’s where Pia and I grew up,’ he adds.

‘Pia?’ I cast my mind back over our previous conversations. ‘You mean your sister, Sophia?’

‘Thass right.’ He nods. ‘But sssh.’ He puts his finger over his mouth exaggeratedly. ‘We’re not allowed to shorten our names, it’s vulgar… apparently.’

‘What?’ I frown in confusion.

‘Mother doesn’t like it. My sister’s Sophia and I’m Nathan, and we’re not allowed to shorten our names. So, it’s our secret. She’s Pia and I’m Nat, but only when we’re on our own.’

I notice that he refers to her as mother not mum.

‘What’s she like?’ I ask inquisitively.

‘What, Pia?’ He frowns.