On Sunday Bianca decided that everyone should come to hers for a roast dinner, before going to the tiny Palace Cinema. They needed to book though, to make sure they could all get in. Unfortunately, Mikey and Joanne couldn't make it. Bianca also didn't invite anyone outside of their immediate group of friends this time.
It was a bit of a squeeze in Bianca's house, but it was a good afternoon. And Mrs Jones had made a fantastic late lunch for them before going for a walk along Viking Bay. They definitely needed the walk as well, to work off the food before going to the cinema and having popcorn.
Somehow it ended up being Stephanie, Kevin, Heather, Jamie and Bianca in one row, with Chloe, Diana, Bailey and Andy in the row in front of them. Other than them, there were maybe four others in there, so they had to try not to get too rowdy and ruin it for those four people. Even though Kevin was holding his girlfriend's hand and Heather had a hold of Jamie's, they still ended up leaning on the inside armrest, whispering comments to each other during the film. It was so easy to fall back into their old behaviour, with it being dark and their friends sat in the row in front of them. Eventually Stephanie pulled him over a little bit, but it didn't stop them from having an elbow-shoving match for more space on the armrest.
"You two were so annoying," Diana told Heather afterwards as they headed to the pub by the harbour arm, only a few yards away from the cinema.
"Oh, come on," she responded with a laugh, making the others look a little confused. They hadn't heard Diana's comment.
"How long are we staying here?" Stephanie asked, as Kevin wrapped his arm around her and they headed in. He'd noticed she hadn't been too happy this evening, and he wasn't entirely sure if it was because she'd noticed his behaviour or because she just wasn't in a good mood.
"Not long, if you don't want to," he told her and kissed her on the cheek as he pulled her in for a hug. She made the most of it and held him close. "One drink?" he suggested, feeling her nod against his chest.
"Drinks?" Heather asked them; she was next to be served.
"Red wine and a Guinness, thanks," Kevin answered, with a smile. She smiled back and turned towards the bar.
"Two Guinness?" Stephanie asked confused when Heather handed her the red wine and still had a Corona in her hands. Heather passed the Corona over to Jamie and then handed Kevin one of the pints of Guinness. Then she took the second one herself. Stephanie gave a wry smile; of course they both love the same beer, why not, she thought. "Shall we do something just the two of us tomorrow?" she asked Kevin, pulling him closer to her so she'd have his sole attention.
"Yeah of course," Kevin smiled and gave her a kiss.
"How do you drink this stuff?" Jamie asked as he took Heather's Guinness and looked it over a couple of times. He sniffed it and tried a small sip.
"I was raised on the stuff," she laughed teasingly as she took it back off him. "Besides, how do you drink a Corona? It's not even beer," she asked back, getting a chuckle in response.
"Touché," he said and clinked his bottle against her glass.
"Oh, you guys, I'm thinking of organising a picnic tomorrow, but I'm not entirely sure where yet," Bianca told them all. Immediately, Stephanie shook her head at Kevin.
"Don't count on us," he immediately passed the message on to their 'ringleader'.
"Ohw that's a shame," she reacted earnestly.
"I'll have gone home by then, sorry," Jamie now added.
"You'll still come though right?" Bianca instantly turned to her friend, getting a slightly insulted look from him.
"No 'that's a shame' for me?" he asked, making the others, including her, laugh.
"Of course, it's a shame," she told him quickly and gave him a hug.
"Careful Heather, I think you might have some competition," Chloe teased, making the others laugh again. Jamie gave a blush but pulled his date in for a hug. She chuckled as well and gave him a kiss.
"I think I'm alright," she told her friends.
Kevin and Stephanie left after that one drink as they agreed. The others stayed for a few more before heading home as well.
"Bye Jamie, nice to meet you," Chloe waved as she, Diana and Andy headed off up the high street. They all lived near the station.
"Bye," he waved back.
"See you tomorrow," Bianca told them. "I'll text you about time and place," she added before they got too far away. All three of them gave another wave to tell her they'd heard her.
"So what time are you leaving tomorrow?" she asked Jamie.
"About ten, ten-thirty," he answered with a shrug.
"Have you had a good stay?" Bailey asked now, getting a nod and a smile in return.
"Yeah, it's been good," he added.
"Good. Right, this is my car, so I'll see you guys probs sometime this week. I'm on call next weekend though, so don't plan much without me, yeah," he said now, his car was parked along the front. "Nice to meet you mate," Bailey said, grabbing hold of Jamie's hand and shook it. "See you laters Heather, cuz," he added as he gave the two girls a quick hug.
"Bye Bailey," Heather smiled and gave a small wave as he drove off. The three of them continued walking.
"It was great you could join us this weekend Jamie. Hope you can come back soon," Bianca said when they'd reached her house. She gave him a quick hug.
"Thanks, I had fun. I hope I can too," he answered, giving her a grateful smile. She returned the smile and gave Heather a hug as well.
"See you tomorrow hun," she told her.
"Yup, don't forget to text," Heather responded, getting a nod now.
"Bye," she and Jamie both said now as Bianca opened her front door. They got a wave back before she headed in.
"Your friends are nice. Tonight was fun," Jamie said as the two of them headed the one remaining street to her house. "I'm glad I came," he added as he took hold of her hand. She smiled.
"Yeah me too, glad you had fun," she said, using her free hand to dig her keys out of her bag. "Film was good too right?" she asked, pulling him gently into the right street.
"Yeah it was alright," Jamie nodded. "I can't believe the cinema was really that small," he added with a laugh, getting a chuckle from her too.
"It's nice though," Heather said now; she loved their tiny cinema and didn't want him dissing it.
"Oh, it reminds me though, Jimmy Carr is performing in the O2 Academy in November. Would you like to go?" he asked her now.
"I'll have to check my diary and money," she said hesitantly, not wanting to commit to an answer either way at this time of night. A minute later they'd reached her house and she let them in. The lights in the living room were off, so she knew her parents were in bed already. It was only just gone twelve, so she was sure they weren't worried about where she was just yet. "Do you want a drink before we go up?" she asked as she made her way into the kitchen. She opened one of the cabinets to get herself a glass in any case.
"I'm alright thanks," he answered, surprising her when he stepped up close behind her and started kissing her neck. She turned around slowly and kissed him back for a few minutes as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"We should probably not stay downstairs too long, before my parents come down to check," she said slowly as she eventually pulled back.
"They'd do that?" he asked confused; he hadn't thought they'd be that strict, despite the separate rooms rule.
"They might," she nodded.
"Did they do this with you and Kevin?" Jamie asked now, getting another nod.
"Oh yeah, all the time," Heather added for good measure.
"Oh okay," he said grudgingly, and gave her a single kiss before he stepped back. "Best go up then," he said with a shrug.
"Sorry," she told him now and started turning off the remaining lights and locked the door. He led the way up and started heading into her bedroom. "Eh Jamie, it's probably best if you don't," she whispered, desperate for her parents not to hear.
"Seriously?" he couldn't help sounding annoyed. "But we don't know when we'll see each other again," he added now, trying to undo the apprehensive look on her face.
"I know, but my dad will kill us if he finds you in my room after they made it so clear you were sleeping in the spare room," Heather tried to explain.
"Fine, okay. See you in the morning then," Jamie gave in and gave her another kiss. She made sure to keep it short and gave him a smile.
"Sleep well," she said as he started for his room. He nodded as he opened the door.
"You too," he whispered back and headed in. She closed her door before sighing deeply. Her parents could be strict but that was mostly about openly doing stuff. If he had gone in to her room now, they wouldn't have known any differently and her dad never checked on her anymore. It just hadn't felt right though.