Lupo

Chapter Fifteen: All the young dudes

This is SO rushed and far from ready to be published but I'm so bored with writing this chapter. I plan to move on and come back and edit later...so lower your expectations haha!

Picture above is of Audrey

Copyright SJCLewis2020

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The Cowley Retreat was a particular favourite amongst the students of Brookes University, and so was - unsurprisingly - rammed by the time Darcie arrived.

Squeezing herself through the entrance, she immediately found herself amongst large group of third years guys she vaguely recognised from the rugby society. All yelling and crowing and slopping their beer, they turned, almost as one, at her appearance, and regarded her with varying degrees of lechery. A couple of them hooted; she ignored them. Clutching her bag to her chest, she shouldered her way through the crowd towards the centre of the room, where she paused, stood on tiptoe, and scanned the perimeter.

It wasn't hard to spot Minerva's familiar red hair.She was sat in a little group of people in a booth opposite the bar, clutching at Dan and shrieking with laughter. As Darcie approached, she picked out couple of Dan's friends to the right side of the table, and one or two familiar faces she knew from the wider English Literature classes. The people sat with their backs to her she couldn't immediately identify, but as she drew level with the table directly  behind them, Darcie felt her stomach drop. 

A horribly familiar, curly- haired head was bent low over the table opposite Minerva, bobbing - unmistakably - with laughter. 

Tito

Darcie froze, her mouth suddenly very dry, her heart hammering as she watched him rock back in his seat and throw his hands up with a whoop of delight. The gleeful sound clashed with the blood pounding in her ears, and she was jolted out of of shock almost instantly. Her next instinct was to back away before anyone noticed her, but just as the thought occurred and she began to turn away again, Minerva looked up. Mistaking Darcie's look of horror for one of confusion, she raised her arm to wave.

"Darce!" she called, in a loud, jovial voice that jarred Darcie's steps and made the back of her neck prickle with discomfort. "Over here!"

At Minerva's shout, everyone in the little group glanced up or half turned with mild curiosity to look at her. Tito, who had straightened up in his seat again, was the last to turn, a triumphant little grin on his face. Darcie met his maddeningly provoking gaze with a sudden shiver of dread, and fought the urge to run away.

Fuck

With a tight, embarrassed smile, she clutched her bag to her chest and shuffled reluctantly forwards. As everyone turned back to their respective conversations again, Tito winked and fixed her with a knowing look.

"There's space here, Patatina." he declared sweetly, clearing his coat off the bench beside him and indicating that she sit down."Nice and cosy."

Darcie stiffened and narrowed his eyes at him. She bit back a scathing retort - all too aware of Minerva's gaze on her-before sliding into the booth beside him with a sense of bitter defeat. Every muscle in her body was tense with unease, and her face was burning; Tito leant back in his seat and took a lazy swig of his corona, watching her with an expression of mild amusement as she tucked her bag between her feet.

"You alright, Darce?" Minerva probed, eyeing Darcie's flushed face with marked concern. "Hot out there?"

Darcie felt herself redden further as a couple of Dan's friend's looked round again to scrutinise her. Placing her elbow on the table, and her hand on her forehead in an attempt to shield her face from them, Darcie lent forwards and sighed.