Page 21 of The Loneliest Number (The Thirst Trap #3)

Chapter twenty

Cam

“ C ome on, Cam, it’ll be fun. And we can confirm the arrangements for tomorrow,” Saff pleads.

She’s been a whirlwind since she freshened up earlier, not stopping for a moment for me to check in with her properly, and see how she’s doing.

She’s currently trying to convince me to go to The Thirst Trap for dinner and drinks so she can say hi to Pixie.

“We’re going to see her tomorrow. I don’t want to crowd her.”

She pouts. “Please.” Her voice is the most angelic I’ve ever heard it.

I blow out a sigh. “A compromise. We go for dinner somewhere else and then pop in for one drink. And if she’s busy, we don’t get in her way.”

Saff weighs up her options, which I assume are agreement or complete mutiny and finding her own way there. Dammit, I shouldn’t have let slip the name of the bar when I said Abby was working tonight.

A moment later, I get a nod of agreement. “Okay, where shall we go for dinner then?”

A couple of hours later, we walk up the street towards The Thirst Trap. I admire the hanging baskets from afar, charmed by them now I know it’s Abby who takes care of them.

I had thought about sending her a text to say we were popping in, but decided against it, as if it’s busy, we won’t disturb her.

Saff goes in the door first, and a wall of warmth hits me as I follow her. There are a lot of bodies in here. My height allows me to look over them all towards the bar, and I can see Abby, Tom, and another person, all busy serving.

“This is crazy. Maybe we should wait until tomorrow.”

The pout makes a reappearance. “Please, just one. We don’t even need to talk to Pixie.

Look,” she points towards the leaners set back from the bar, “one’s just come free.

Let’s go.” She tugs on my hand and pulls me through the throng, somehow claiming the table before anyone else, a triumphant smile on her face.

“I’ll keep the table. You go and get the drinks. ”

“Bossy thing, aren’t you?” I tease, pleased to see the light that has made a reappearance in her eyes since she arrived earlier.

We had talked over dinner, but she kept veering the conversation away from her personal life and spoke mostly about work.

At one point, she started to say something, but she clammed up when the table next to us filled up with a busy group, and I couldn’t get anything else out of her. “What do you want to drink?” I ask.

She looks over the menu on the table. “I’ll take a porn star martini, please.” She grins at the selection.

I wade through the crowd towards the bar and try to gauge what section Abby is working. I may as well order from her and confirm a time for tomorrow if nothing else. I stand behind a trio of women ordering shots in the middle of the bar and wait my turn.

Abby spots me as she turns back with the card machine, her brows lifting with surprise. I give her a nod and stand patiently while the women down the shots as Abby pours them all a wine. Once they’ve got those, they head away from the bar, enabling me to step up.

“Hey,” I say, staring at her. She’s got a glow of sweat on, which makes sense in this busy crush. And there’s a smudge of darkness under her eyes causing me concern. Not that I’ll tell her she looks tired. Who wants to hear that? No-one. “You okay?” I can’t help checking in.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” she says. “What can I get you?”

I wince as I put in my request of the girly cocktail, “A porn star martini and a pint of the local IPA, please.”

“On a date?” she asks. Her tone is curious, but there’s an edge to it, causing me to frown.

“Saffy’s here. She’s over there.” I gesture over my shoulder.

She brings her palm up to her forehead. “Oh, Cam, I’m sorry. It’s been a mad week. I totally forgot.”

“Nae worries. Everything alright?” I can’t hold back the tone of concern in my voice.

“Just family stuff. Glad it’s busy tonight to take my mind off it.”

“If you need anything, let me know.” I stoop a little to try and meet her gaze, but she’s busy mixing Saff’s outrageous drink. “We just popped in for one to make arrangements for tomorrow if you’re still keen for brunch and that tour. Can you make it?”

She scrunches up her face for a moment, clearly deep in thought, before glancing up at me. “I think so. Can I say yes, but let you know if anything changes?”

“Aye, of course. You’ve got my number. Just call if you need to. Any time you like.”

We agree on a local café and a time, while she hands me the drinks with a grateful smile.

“I know you’re super busy, but if you get a spare moment, Saffy would love to say hi.”.

“I promise I’ll try. I’d love to say hello.”

“I didn’t tell her your name. I thought you’d want to do it.”

She presses her lips together and something clouds in her eyes for a moment before she shakes it loose. “You didn’t have to keep it a secret. But thank you. I appreciate you checking with me first.”

I take the drinks over to Saff and we take our time with them. The crush at the bar seems to go on forever and we’re chatting, heads close together, when I sense someone approaching in my periphery.

I glance up and Abby stands at the opposite side of the leaner.

“Hey, needed to do a glass collection run, so thought I’d pop over.”

“Pixie,” Saff exclaims as she steps down from the stool to round the table and draws Abby into a hug.

“I’m so happy to see you. What a strange coincidence that you and Cam found each other again.

I can’t wait to get to know you better this weekend.

” Saff is talking at a million words a minute, leaving Abby looking a little stunned.

“Take a breath, Saff,” I remind her with amusement.

“Sorry, I’m just excited.”

“It’s all good. My name is Abby, by the way. Cam said he kept my secret, but I want you to know.”

“Abby? That suits you. Cam says you’re coming to meet us in the morning before your shift?”

“Hopefully, all being well. I’ve been dying to get the full tour of the building. Cam said he’d tell me as soon as it was ready.” She throws me side-eye, causing me to chuckle into my pint.

“Well, I’m glad we get to see it together.” Saff seems almost too enthusiastic here. There’s a strange awkwardness that I can’t quite put my finger on. What the hell is going on?

“Really hope to see you both in the morning, but I really need to head off now and collect those glasses.” She raps her knuckles on the leaner table in farewell and is soon swallowed up in the crowd.

Saff takes a seat and I take a long look at her.

“What?” she questions, swallowing the last of her drink and downing the Prosecco shot on the side.

“You’re being weird. What’s going on?”

“I wasn’t trying to be.” A blush creeps up her cheeks. She bites her bottom lip for a moment before continuing, “The truth is, I’m a bit jealous.” Her gaze drops to the table. I follow it down and see her ripping up a napkin.

“Jealous of who, Saff?” I prompt.

“You’ve reconnected with Pixie, which is awesome.

But I really fucking miss you, Cam. It’s been pretty shit since you left.

And I miss your friendship and your company.

When you said you’d found her, I felt this swell of jealousy that she gets to spend time with you when I miss you so much.

I know we’ve always just been friends with benefits and agreed we didn’t want more, but it’s been hard with you gone.

” The tears from earlier this afternoon well in her eyes again.

Dread sinks into my stomach. I should have made effort.

I draw in a breath, wrapping an arm around her and bringing her close to my side.

She looks so lost right now, and it breaks my heart.

“Saff, friendship doesn’t disappear because of distance.

I’m sorry I haven’t been keeping in touch as often as I should.

I was so caught up in the building and all the work that needed to be done, but that’s not an excuse.

I want to be a good friend to you, even if we are five hundred miles apart. ”

“I want that, too. I need a friend right now, Cam.” She sniffs as she burrows into my side. She’s always been so confident in the past and not afraid to ask for what she wants. I’m worried that she’s so down right now.

“Let’s head back to the hotel, and this time, no excuses. You’re going to fill me in with what’s been happening while I’ve been down here.”

“Okay,” she mumbles before drawing away and wiping her eyes as we get ready to leave.

I glance towards the bar as we make our way out, and there’s a break in the crowd.

Abby’s there, a neutral expression on her face.

I lift my hand in a wave, and savour the satisfaction when she waves back.

Something is going on with her this week though, and I make a mental note to get to the bottom of that tomorrow.

But first, it’s time to be a friend to Saff.

We’re back in the suite, Saff and I lounging around in our pyjamas a short time later. I ordered us some tea from room service on the way up to the room, and we sit, taking sips.

“Come on, spill it. What the fuck have I missed? You’re not yourself, and I want to know why.”

“I had a bad experience.” Her voice is low, and I’m grateful for our proximity so I can hear her. “I thought I’d try the unicorn thing like Pixie… Abby.”

“Okay, what happened?” I lay a hand on her knee in a show of support. There’s a sour taste in my mouth as worry gnaws at me. She’s been hurt, and I want to work out how I can fix it.

“I turned up, and the guy was really nice. He was friendly, and I thought it was going to be a fun night. But then his wife came in, and something felt a bit off. I thought it was just nerves, you know?” I nod, giving her space to continue.

“The three of us started messing around, just kissing and touching and stuff, but she seemed really distant. Her husband suggested we play a game of strip poker to get more comfortable with each other. You know I’m rubbish at poker, don’t you?

” I dip my head in agreement. “It turns out they play it all the time, and they were both really good. A couple of rounds in, I’m down to my undies, and they’re both fully clothed.

I didn’t really think much of it, but it got more awkward.

The wife was staring at me. And then she said she couldn’t do this anymore. ”

“Do what?” I ask.

“She said that she couldn’t pretend to be attracted to a fat girl, and that there was no point carrying on. She got up and walked away.”

My hand tightens on her knee as I wince. “Shit, Saff.”

“The husband seemed really apologetic about it all. I really thought he was nice. But then he kinda grabbed me and suggested we should still do stuff even though the wife wasn’t going to participate.

I said I wasn’t in the mood anymore and he got really shitty with me.

Said he was only doing it to make me feel better because he felt sorry for me. ”

“You’re fucking kidding me.” I stand up, fury coursing through my veins. “Who was it? Where do they live?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Saff stares up at me with tears welling.

“It does fucking matter. The pair of them need to answer for this. It’s despicable.” I blow out a breath of pure frustration, wondering what I can do to fix this. “Did you get out safely?”

She nods. “Yeah, I chucked my clothes on and left. Blocked them on the app I used for the hook-up. It just really knocked my confidence, you know.”

I take a calming breath, realising that my anger isn’t helping her feel any better.

I settle back down beside her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

“Saff, you’re fucking amazing. Please don’t believe shitty, judgemental people like that.

You’re stunning, and you deserve so much better than that. ”

She draws in a shaky sob. “I’ve not really met up with anyone else since then. Just threw myself into work. But then, I decided a change of scenery might help, so I gave you a call.”

“And I’m so glad you did. When did it happen?” I ask.

“Not long after you left.”

“What do you need? What would make you feel better?”

“I just wanna have a nice weekend, explore a bit. I brought some of my equipment with me, and thought maybe I could shoot some photos of the building for you. And then come back again in a month or two and do some more.”

“That would be amazing. I’d love that.” I pause for a moment, trying to work out if I should ask or not. “Do you want to play with Abby and me while you’re here?”

Her head leans against my chest, and her hand comes up to pat my pec. “Maybe. Can I think about it? Maybe being with people that I know don’t judge me might help, but I’m not sure.”

“Of course, we can play it by ear. Whatever you’re ready for.”