[Complete] Noise and Kisses {chicklit}

46

"I looked online and it's only £40 if we leave in like an hour and a half!" she says, her crazy plan starting to make sense.

"And how do we get home tomorrow?"

"Ben, duh!"

I think for a second, before going for the plunge. "Fuck it, let's do it!"

"Yes! That's the spirit! Right, hurry the fuck up! I'll book the tickets – pack a bag and I'll meet you at the station at 12. Don't be late!"

I put down the phone and, on a whim, book a Travelodge in the centre of town. We need somewhere to get dressed for tonight... and maybe somewhere for Ben and I to come back to later. For the bargain price of £47 – thank you student loans, I book a double room and rush upstairs to pack and get dressed.

With my satchel and Sandra's green holdall in tow, I book and uber and text mum to let her know my plans. I reach the station with enough time to spare to smoke before Leila arrives.

"Yes, bitch!" she shouts as she jumps out her dad's car.

"Leila!" her dad scolds, before laughing. I give him a little wave as she walks over.

"This is mental! But I love it! Do you know where they're going tonight?"

She shakes her head. "Not a blimming clue, but I'm sure I can get it out of Pete on the phone later.

"Sweet. I've booked a Travelodge for us to get ready in."

"Amazing! Plus, you and Ben can..."

"Yeah, alright!" I say, shoving her a little.

We jump on the train and find two unreserved seats a couple of rows away from each other. With nothing but time on my hands, I put on my Spotify playlist and close my eyes. Sometime later, Leila jolts me awake by pulling my headphones off.

"Hey, we're getting off at the next stop."

I'm fully aware of the drool that's dripped down my face and collected in a damp pool on my t-shirt. Thankful that Ben is not aware of our excursion, I wipe my face and pull my stuff together.

"So, where's the hotel?" Leila says as we exit the station.

"Let's ask our trusty pal, Google." I pull my phone out and click on Maps.

"It's a ten-minute walk."

"With these bags?! Next!" Leila replies, brandishing her luggage at me.

"OK, there's a bus that takes us there?"

"Much better, lead the way!"

We take the short walk to the bus stop outside the station and wait for the 72 bus. After swiping our bank cards to pay, we take a seat and follow Maps like a hawk to make sure we get off at the right stop. Bristol is a really beautiful city, full of exciting architecture and I silently hope we have some time to get a little sightseeing in before we surprise the boys later.

We grab our room key from reception and make our way to the room to drop our bags. The room is great for the price, and I quickly freshen up.

"Come on, let's go for a walk around the area... check out some of the sights!" I say, pointing my toothbrush in Leila's direction and attractively spitting remnants of paste from my mouth.

"Classy! Yeah, ok... but we need to be careful – the boys are out today, and I don't want to get caught."

"OK, so just call him now so you can casually find out where they are and where they're going tonight. If he asks, tell him we're going out to the pub."

She looks at me, perplexed. "Why?"

"Because that's what I told Ben I'd likely be doing tonight."

She nods and dials Pete's number, putting it on speakerphone.

"Hello!" he sings into the phone, and I put my hand over my mouth to stifle the giggles.

"Hello love, how are you and the boys doing?" she says, batting at me to shut up.

"We're just walking around the town." I fan my hands at her, trying to get him to embellish further.

"Oooh, sounds nice, whereabouts?"

"St Nicholas Market? I'll take you there next week."

"Aww, sounds nice..." now Leila's holding her hand over her mouth to stop herself laughing.

"What are you up to, babe?"

"Erm, nothing much. Just chilling at home. Going to the pub with Leila later."

"Anywhere nice?"

"Yeah, erm, the Railway Tavern?"

My eyes widen and I shake my head at her.

"The Railway Tavern? Where's that?"

"Just in New Barnet. It's not a definite..."

Barely audibly, I hear Ben in the background "Is that Leila?"

Fuck.

Panicked, Leila gets off the phone quickly. "Anyway, I better let you get back to the boys – talk to you later!"

Hanging up, she looks at me.

"What's wrong with the Railway Tavern?"

"Shaun."

"Oh... shit."

"It's fine – it's not real, so it won't matter in a few hours. You forgot to ask where they're going later."

"Bollocks, I'll text him later or something." She says, dismissively. "So, where are we going?"

"Let's go for a walk around there and see where the day takes us. As long as we stay on this side of the river, we should be ok."

"Come on then, finish brushing your teeth and let's go!"