Her Song

23 - Lounging Around

"So...Melinda Delaney, eh Gray? I never picked you as a fan of Lust Archipelago," Ace mused as he took a smirking sip of his Cosmo. Josh's eyes were tight with longing as he took in Ace's frosty glass.

"I'm not a fan of Lust Archipelago!" Gray hissed with venom. "I may have met her one time after I over enthusiastically sampled the product at some stupid vodka launch back when we were on The Biz."

"And..." Josh prompted avidly. Gossip isn't usually my thing but I have to admit I was right there with Josh, Ace and Kim leaning in to hear what Gray had to say.

Gray mumbled something into his glass and my eyebrows just about crawled off my face. He hadn't!

"What was that Gray?" Ace leaned even further forward as a huge grin spilt his face.

Gray glared at him and mumbled, "We hooked up," before he planted his hand firmly between Ace's shoulder blades and shoved him to the carpeted floor. Ace scrambled to his feet and gave Gray a shove and a dark look.

"Will you idiots cut it out," I snapped and couldn't help glancing in the direction of Melinda and her friends. If Gray was trying to avoid her he was going the wrong way about it. To be brutally honest I was shocked that Gray had hooked up with her, he'd made his interest in Kim clear to me and while both Kim and Melinda were blondes they couldn't be more different if they tried. It was hard to imagine that Melinda would have been his type.

"Never guessed you were into big boobed slappers mate," Josh smirked. Kim smacked him in the chest with the back of her hand.

"Be nice." She gave Gray a sympathetic smile. "When it comes to you three I pretty much assume that if a woman is interested she is your type."

Ace, back in his chair and scooping up another spoonful of trifle, gave her an approving nod. "Bang on Kimmie!"

"Of course we are," Ace agreed, "I just...uh...thought that Gray was into someone a bit less..." He flicked the briefest of glances at Kim and I could see the exact direction of his thoughts. Ace thought Gray was into Kim. All of a sudden I wondered if Gray had actually gotten over his crush on her. After all he'd never actually told me he was over her. I'd just assumed. I'd finally staked my claim, Kim and her baby were mine. I'd just expected everyone else to fall into line with that plan, what if they didn't?

I risked a look at Gray, he was scowling at his wine glass. "You're such a bunch of knobheads. Melinda isn't my type okay? I got drunk on shitty vodka and shagged her in the toilet at Bunga Bunga. She realised that I was even more D-list at the time than she was and I realised that she was as shiny as a Christmas bauble and just as hollow. Done. Over. Never to be spoken of again. Are you happy now?"

Maybe not happy but immensely amused by it all. Gray may have been embarrassed by it all but even though Melinda Delaney was as plastic as a Barbie doll a good portion of the UK's male population would have given their right nut to shag her in the bathroom at Bunga Bunga.

"Wow, so shiny and hollow like a Christmas bauble. That's beautiful man. Tragic but beautiful. You ever think about writing songs?" Ace teased gently. Thank god for Ace, he and Josh might have been stirring little shits but they generally meant well. Gray rolled his eyes at him and gave a reluctant laugh. Just like that all was well with the world.

Unable to be restrained any longer Josh took off in search of the cocktails. I turned to Kim. "These dickheads aren't going to get us kicked out of here are they?"

"No, they've dealt with far worse. They've had to deal with Liam and Noel Gallagher more than once." Kim's lip quirked up with a hint of a smile.

"So, well up for the challenge then." I wrapped an arm around her and shifted her closer to me. I found it impossible to resist touching her when she was so close. There was something about the warmth of her skin beneath my palms and the softness of her body that soothed me. And that was a strange thing because I'd never realised before we got together that I'd needed soothing.