All or Nothing

Chapter 7

It was Aimee's bladder that got her out of bed in the end, she went to the toilet, had a quick shower, and then crawled back into bed with glass brimming with ice. She was just dozing off when she heard the doorbell, she ignored it; if it was a delivery driver they'd stick the parcel in the shed, but then the bell sounded again, and this time whoever was at the door was holding their finger to the buzzer. Aimee staggered downstairs in just a thong and an oversized t-shirt to find Chloe at the door, looking very fresh for someone who had knocked back as many as she had last night.

Aimee struggled to stomach the all-day breakfast Chloe had brought, she took a few bites of sausage then pushed the box away. 

"So, John..." Chloe said tentatively, a smile played on Aimee's lips, Chloe knew she never ate when she was hungover, her arriving on the doorstep with a bag of food was just an excuse to discuss the events of the previous night. It had been impossible to talk properly in the club and Chloe could wait no longer. 

"Nothing new to report," Aimee said forlornly.

"He was eye-fucking you all night," Chloe smiled smugly. 

Aimee blushed, was he really!? 

"I wish," she downplayed her friend's comment. 

"He was Aims! This is getting boring now, can you two just get it together please?!" Chloe was the most impatient person Aimee knew; she had only known John for a few weeks.

"I don't know," Aimee picked up her glass and swirled her water around, the partially melted ice cubes knocked against the sides. "He keeps blowing hot and cold. Yesterday I didn't hear from him at all, and then in the club I thought..." She trailed off. 

"You thought?" Chloe prompts, eyes wide with anticipation.

"I just felt like it was going somewhere, but maybe it was just the drink." 

Aimee had replayed the memory of him pushed against her at the bar over and over in her mind. Then there was his message. 

"He sent me a message last night and then he deleted it." 

Aimee now wasn't sure she had done the right thing not acknowledging it, maybe she should have taken the momentum herself and sent him that boob pic after all. 

"What did he say?" Chloe was on tenterhooks, when Aimee told her, she burst out laughing, "That is so vanilla Aims, and he deleted it?"

"Maybe he's just shy," Aimee said protectively, it was hard for her to correlate the bashful John who struggled to make eye contact when given a compliment with the one who had been at the club.

"He did not look shy when he was practically fucking you from behind at the bar."

"You saw that?" Aimee cried in horror, she had never been one for PDAs, particularly not with someone who was not even her boyfriend. Chloe smiled knowingly in reply. "So, what did you reply?"

"I didn't," Aimee shrugged. "He was obviously embarrassed, and I didn't want to make it worse."

"You're not doing much for my opinion of him here Aimee I've gotta say," Chloe cleared the last of the food from her plate. Mostly she was annoyed with Aimee, she had been so close to procuring that dick pic but was letting the side down badly. 

"Is he a man or a teenage boy?!"

*

Conscious of tomorrow being a match day, John had resisted the temptation of hair of the dog and bottomless mimosas and instead was drinking fresh orange by the pint glass. Megan, in solidarity had also forgone alcohol. It was a nice day, albeit windy, and they had eaten outside in the restaurant's sky garden. The fresh air and food had done John the world of good and he was feeling much better. As they finished eating, he looked at his phone and was instantly panic stricken, four missed calls from Lauren.