No Heaven, No Hell Page 20

  Ginny merely smiled.

  Mention of the house was enough to motivate Liz. ‘Right then. We’re off.’ This house was Jack’s private mountain. It took all their money and it came between them. To be honest, she wouldn’t care if it was burned to the ground. ‘Have a good time. We’ll see you later.’ She kissed each daughter in turn, then departed in a flurry, her high heels tapping out a tune on the solid floors.

  Jack lingered a moment. ‘We won’t be too long, I expect,’ he assured them.

  Ginny wanted rid of him, but she had to agree with Lianne. He looked incredibly handsome. A real man. ‘She’ll go without you if you’re not careful,’ she said brightly. She wondered how she might kill him. Her heart was elated. Then it was filled with pain. Sometimes, at night when she lay in her bed, she harboured disturbing feelings towards her father. Sexual yearnings that some might claim were decidedly unhealthy.

  ‘Go on, Dad,’ Lianne ordered. ‘We’ll be all right.’ Dave would be here any minute, she thought. And in front of her father she might not be able to hide their little secret.

  Liz’s voice echoed down the corridor. ‘Jack! Are you coming or not?’

  ‘Better go,’ he said with a lopsided smile.

  Like Liz, he gave them a quick kiss. ‘Think on,’ he said.

  The sisters echoed his warning in loud unison: ‘No candles. No fooling around. Behave yourself.’

  Laughing out loud for the first time in weeks, he took his leave.

  Lianne breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Now they’ve gone out, Dave won’t need to stay the night, will he?’ she whispered. ‘We can sneak out during the party instead.’ The idea of Dave in her bed, with her parents only minutes away was too unnerving.

  Ginny gave her a scathing look. ‘Why are you whispering?’

  ‘I didn’t realise I was.’

  ‘I hope you’re not getting cold feet again!’

  ‘Don’t bully me.’

  Grabbing her by the scruff of her neck, Ginny promised, ‘I’ll strangle you if you make a fool of me this time.’ She propelled Lianne out of the hall. ‘If we don’t get a move on they’ll be here before we’re ready,’ she grumbled. And the two of them went down the corridor at a run.

  An hour later the first guest arrived. ‘Hope you’ve got plenty of food?’ Craig was a sixth former with an appetite like a gannet.

  Lianne showed him the way to the great hall. When his avaricious eyes strayed to the tables, she told him firmly, ‘Hands off the goodies until I say so.’

  Ten minutes later the group turned up: a collection of scruffy, ambitious musicians from school, who immediately set about plugging in their equipment and rattling off a quick practice before everyone else arrived. By quarter to nine, the hall was filled. There were young men in jeans and sweatshirts, girls in mini skirts and others in long flowing dresses and wedge shoes.

  ‘What a motley crew!’ Ginny observed wryly.

  Lianne thought the whole thing was marvellous and laid her presents at the foot of the stage. ‘Open them together at the stroke of midnight!’ someone shouted. And all thought that was a splendid idea.

  Ginny’s fellow looked sexy in tight-fitting trousers and open-necked shirt. He had not wanted to come, but Ginny was addictive. He could never say no to her.

  When Amy Burton turned up, Ginny took Lianne aside. ‘I thought I said you were not to ask that little cow?’

  ‘It seemed unfair not to ask her,’ Lianne protested.

  Soon the party was in full swing. The music was loud and lively, splitting eardrums. Then it was soft and romantic, enticing couples on to the floor to smooch. There were other couples seated cross-legged on the ground, chatting, kissing, and generally having a great time. ‘Where the hell is Dave Martin?’ Ginny seemed more anxious than Lianne.

  Hiding her disappointment, Lianne sipped at her orange juice. ‘I expect he’s changed his mind.’

  Jack had rigged up an extension to the front-door bell. Attached to the rafter above the entrance and set against a tin background, for fire precaution, when the bell rang it rattled and sounded like all hell was let loose. It rang now. ‘That could be him,’ Lianne said hopefully.

  ‘I thought you’d never answer,’ Dave told her. ‘I’ve been ringing this bell for ages. In another minute I might have broken down the door.’

  Lianne thought it strange. ‘The bell’s been working all right until now.’ She smiled, drawing him inside. ‘Dad’s pride will take a bashing when I tell him it’s gone wrong.’

  He gave her an envelope. ‘Happy Birthday.’

  ‘What is it?’ Whatever it was she would love it, because he had bought it for her.

  ‘Two tickets to a rock concert,’ he explained. ‘They’re good for twelve months.’

  She was delighted. ‘How did you know?’ Slade was her alltime favourite.

  ‘I have my ways.’ He bent his head. ‘I do expect a kiss for them, though.’

  The kiss was brief, and they were both embarrassed.

  Halfway down the corridor he took her into his arms. ‘Now can I have a proper kiss?’ he murmured.

  Suddenly she was overwhelmingly shy. ‘We’d better get back before Ginny wonders where I am.’

  He nibbled her ear. ‘Let her wonder.’ He had a strong dislike for Ginny Lucas. It seemed inconceivable that two such different girls could be sisters. ‘You’re not letting her bully you again, are you?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ In his arms she felt so safe. At night she went to sleep thinking about him. In the morning she couldn’t wait to see him.

  ‘I mean… you and me. The reason why she asked me to the party. Was it to get at you?’

  ‘I wanted you here. I’d rather have you here than anyone else.’

  ‘Do you love me, Lianne?’

  ‘I think so.’

  ‘That’s only half an answer.’

  ‘I don’t know for sure if I love you, because I’ve never loved anyone else.’ She ached for him. When he held her she wanted it never to end. If that was love, then she loved him with all her heart.

  Ginny’s voice was like a whip across them. ‘Thought you’d got lost.’ She scowled at Lianne and smiled at Dave. ‘You’re the last to arrive. Lianne was worried in case you’d changed your mind.’

  With his arm round Lianne he nodded towards the source of the music. ‘If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like a few words with Lianne before we go in there.’

  Her smile fell away. ‘Sounds to me like you’re not asking, but telling.’

  ‘You’ve got it in one.’

  Bristling with annoyance, she made herself smile. ‘My! You really are an arrogant bastard.’

  ‘Takes one to know one.’

  Realising this could escalate into an all-out fight, Lianne intervened. ‘Please, Ginny. We’ll only be a minute.’

  Ginny’s face was like ice. ‘Okay. But you do have other guests.’ With that she angrily tossed her head and hurried away. He would pay for his arrogance, she promised herself. No one talked to her like that. Especially not in front of her little sister.

  Lianne knew how vindictive Ginny could be. ‘You’ve made a bad enemy,’ she warned. ‘Ginny won’t take kindly to being humiliated like that.’

  Swinging her round he took her by the shoulders and bent his face to hers. ‘You just don’t see it, do you?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘It wasn’t me humiliating her. It was her humiliating you.’

  ‘She doesn’t mean to.’

  ‘She does it all the time, Lianne. If you don’t notice, others do.’ He squared his shoulders. ‘It makes me want to shake her… or you, for putting up with it!’

  ‘Are you sorry you came?’ She hoped he wasn’t. She hoped Ginny hadn’t spoiled everything.

  He gazed at her in the half-light. There was a beautiful strength about him that made her gasp. ‘No, I’m not sorry,’ he whispered. ‘How could I be sorry?’

  She misunderstood him. ‘I promise not to go back on my word this tim
e.’

  Placing a strong finger against her lips, he murmured, ‘That’s not why I’m here.’ His smile gentled into her heart. ‘Though I will confess I haven’t stopped thinking about… well, you know… you and me.’

  She blushed, hoping he couldn’t see the colour rising. ‘Me too.’ She felt foolish, immature. There was less than two years between her and Ginny, yet Ginny had made love many times. ‘I promise you I won’t send you away this time.’

  ‘Don’t make promises,’ he said lovingly. ‘That way you’re free to change your mind.’

  He kissed her then. A long lingering kiss that tortured her senses. She would keep her promise. She wanted to. More than he could know.

  For most of the evening, Ginny danced non-stop. When the food was announced, the musicians took a break and everyone flocked to the tables.

  While Dave went to get food for himself and Lianne, Ginny took her to one side. ‘You don’t have to do it with him,’ she said harshly. ‘There are plenty of others who’d be glad to oblige.’

  ‘I don’t want anyone else. Especially not Old Tom.’ She grimaced with disgust.

  In a quick, spiteful movement, Ginny grabbed her by the arms. ‘What’s he got to do with anything?’

  ‘I thought you knew?’

  The eyes were probing, dark and dangerous. ‘I think you’d better tell me.’

  ‘The other day, I was sent to find him. Some joker had rolled a litter-bin on to the hockey-pitch and there was rubbish everywhere. He was in his hut. He knew about the party, and he said if I invited him, he’d bring some of his dirty pictures. He wanted the two of us to hide away somewhere and look at them.’

  ‘Filthy bastard!’

  Taking hold of Ginny’s hands, Lianne shook her off. ‘Thanks for the offer,’ she said with sarcasm. ‘You’ll understand if I prefer Dave Martin.’

  On two occasions Ginny had tried to seduce Dave herself, but he made it clear he wasn’t interested. She hit back now. ‘He might not be any good at it,’ she said spitefully.

  ‘Good enough for me.’

  ‘You always were easy to please.’ She then flounced off.

  Dave returned empty handed. ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘Yes, why?’

  He glanced to where Ginny was laughing with a group of young men. ‘I just wondered, that’s all.’ He seemed awkward. ‘She can be a real bitch, your sister.’

  ‘I can handle her.’ As much as anyone can, she thought.

  ‘She seemed to be angry.’ He glanced at Ginny once more. This time she returned his glance – a hard, sly glance that only convinced him of her nasty nature.

  Made anxious by the look that passed between these two, Lianne asked jovially, ‘Are you trying to starve me?’

  He jerked his head round. ‘Didn’t hear that?’

  ‘I thought you’d gone to get me some food?’

  ‘There was a long queue,’ he lied.

  ‘I’ll get it.’ Something in the glint of his smiling eyes caught her attention. ‘Are you really hungry?’

  ‘Only for you.’ His voice was soft, shamelessly intimate.

  She wanted to speak, to say something witty, like Ginny would. But her heart was beating too fast, and the words got stuck in her throat.

  He reached out and touched her hand. She couldn’t even look at him. She felt herself being led away, and she followed, eagerly, as ready now as she would ever be.

  They went out of the hall, down the corridor, and away from the living quarters. They didn’t speak. They held hands, and hearts, and she felt closer to him than she had ever felt to anyone. She wasn’t afraid. Not any more.

  When they came to the bottom of the corridor, he turned the corner. There was a small door she had never even known was there. ‘There has to be a back door under the stage,’ he explained, pushing his way through, ‘to get to the cables… electricity, that sort of thing.’ Careful to lock the door behind them, he pressed his finger to his lips. ‘Shh! Softly now.’

  Big eyed and trembling, Lianne went on tiptoe. Once the door was closed she could hardly see. Everything was in shadow. Noises filtered through from the hall, muffled laughter, drifts of inaudible conversation. As the discolamps turned full circle, flickers of coloured light danced in and out. It was weird and cold. And scary.

  As they made their way to the far side, they found themselves caught in a spider’s web. In a panic the huge black spider scuttled towards them, falling down Lianne’s face as she brushed away the sticky grey strands. Her scream pierced the air, at the very moment the music struck up.

  Cleaning her face, Dave cushioned it between the palms of his hands. ‘Okay?’

  ‘Okay,’ she answered, giggling foolishly.

  He took off his coat and laid it down. With a gallant sweep of his arms, he offered, ‘For you, my lady.’ When she was seated, he made himself comfortable beside her. The music was deafening, a wild frenzy that rocked the stage above them. ‘You’d think they’d play something more appropriate,’ he whispered.

  ‘Appropriate for what?’

  ‘For us. You and me… our first time together.’ He took hold of her hand and crushed it to his lips. ‘You can’t be so cruel as to deny me now?’ As he spoke a purple beam lit up his face. There was a softness there. And a brute strength.

  ‘Would you do it anyway? Even if I said I didn’t want to?’

  ‘You shouldn’t have to ask that.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Don’t be.’ Leaning forward he wound his two arms round her body. ‘You’re so lovely.’ As he kissed her, he gently pushed back with his weight, until the two of them were lying flat on the ground, he straddling her, and she beneath him, looking up with trusting eyes. ‘I won’t hurt you,’ he promised.

  She smiled, echoing his own words. ‘Don’t make promises you can’t keep.’

  She had deliberately worn a loose wrap-around skirt that slipped on and off easily. She took it off now, rousing him every time she moved. Next came her briefs. From the breasts down she was naked. The cold was penetrating. The harsh hairs on his jacket pricked her skin, making her gasp.

  In a moment he was totally naked. It wasn’t enough. He needed to see her breasts, to touch them with the tip of his tongue. To feel them hardening as he hardened. To remember. To dream it again. Long after this evening was over. Snaking his hands behind her back he undid the flimsy brassière, skilfully, as though he had done it many times.

  Lianne lay still, waiting, wondering how it would be. Her whole body ached with longing. He was so gentle, so right. His kisses were tender at first, then frantic, like the music. She kissed him, and held him, and loved him with all her young heart. When he entered her, the pain was crippling. Exquisite. She groaned aloud, pulling away at first, then cautiously pushing into him, her slim body writhing in his strong arms. So many sensations sped through her that she could hardly keep control. A breathtaking awareness blossomed inside her, opening from the roots of her soul, taking her into a dizzy spiral. Spinning. Spinning, sweet and breathless. She could hear herself moaning. Like an animal. Was that really her?

  Suddenly the music erupted. So did she. Dave too. Spilling and throbbing into the corners of her self. Merging together. She cried out, clinging to him with all her strength. Suddenly she was laughing. ‘I never thought it would be like that!’

  Without warning the music stopped. Bright searching lights flooded the darkness, plucking them out, laying bare their nakedness for the world to see. There was a crescendo of clapping, rude remarks, lewd laughter. ‘That was a great performance!’ someone shouted. ‘When do we get an encore?’

  Squinting against the lights, Dave yelled something obscene. There was a burst of crude giggling.

  Ginny’s voice crept along the floorboards. ‘I was wrong, sis!’ she called out. ‘He does it better than anyone I’ve ever had.’

  Another burst of laughter, before the lights swung full circle. Horrified and in tears, Lianne saw a blur of faces peering at them fro
m beneath the edge of the stage.

  Ginny’s was the most hideous. Filled with envy, she smiled wickedly, savouring every awful minute. ‘How does it feel, now you’re not a virgin any more?’

  ‘I hate you!’ Lianne could hear her own voice, high and screeching. Like a madwoman’s.

  Suddenly the music started and the faces disappeared. ‘God almighty!’ Dave was shocked. ‘What kind of monster is she?’ He was enraged. Not embarrassed. Virile young men were not prone to embarrassment.

  Sobbing, Lianne grabbed her blouse and skirt. As she ran she managed to tie the skirt round her waist. The blouse was flung over her shoulders. Nobody saw her. Nobody cared enough.

  Behind her she could hear Dave pleading, ‘Wait! They don’t matter! Don’t let them spoil it!’

  But it was already spoiled. ‘Go away!’ She didn’t want him to, but how could he stay now? How could she face them?

  In her room she cried until there were no more tears left. After a while she showered and crawled into bed. Exhausted, she fell asleep.

  It was her mother who woke her. ‘Are you feeling better, sweetheart?’

  Confused, Lianne woke with a start. ‘What time is it?’ Her eyes swivelled to the clock on the bedside cabinet. It was quarter past two in the morning.

  Liz touched the back of her hand to Lianne’s forehead.

  ‘Ginny said you left the party early… not well. How do you feel now?’

  Desperate to get her wits together, Lianne played for a moment’s time. The events of the evening were still blurred in her mind. All she knew was that she hated Ginny. Hated her with a ferocity she had never known before. ‘I had a headache.’ She looked up to see Jack standing in the doorway. ‘But I’m fine now.’

  ‘You had some lovely presents.’

  Lianne couldn’t hide her astonishment. ‘How do you know that?’ She had not even opened her presents. The last time she saw them they were piled at the foot of the stage.

  Now it was Liz’s turn to be astonished. ‘Because I’ve seen them. Ginny was waiting for us when we came in.’

  ‘Ginny showed you my presents?’

  ‘Yes. That was all right, wasn’t it?’