She laughed and nodded. “You look great, Emma. You’re gonna be fighting them off tonight. Maybe you’ll even get some; that’ll put a smile back on that frustrated face of yours!” she teased, smirking at me knowingly.

I laughed and rolled my eyes. She knew I didn’t go with anyone other than Carson, so that was a silly suggestion and we both knew it. “Yeah, okay. Well, I’m ready to go then,” I confirmed, letting my gaze wander to the mirror again. I was wearing a dress for a change tonight – something Lucie and Rory had jointly bought me for my birthday. It was black, pretty, and a little figure hugging, cutting off at mid-thigh. She was right, though; it did suit me and made my small breasts appear bigger.

Sighing, I followed her out into the lounge, smiling at Rory who was sitting there watching TV. Sasha was already asleep; we’d worn her out all day today so she would want to go to bed early and would be easier on my little brother while he babysat. I never went out unless she was asleep. Not that I didn’t trust my brother to be able to put her to bed, because I certainly did, but it wasn’t fair to ask him to do that.

“Right then, I’ve got my mobile, so ring if you need me. Knock next door at Mrs Miller’s if there are any immediate problems, okay?” I instructed, patting the top of his head teasingly.

“Yep, have a great night. And no coming home unless you’re drunk!” he replied, laughing.

Lucie winked at Rory. “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely get her drunk for a change,” she affirmed, linking her arm through mine. I smiled and rolled my eyes, checking in my handbag to see if I had my purse and phone. “Come on then. I’m starving.”

Letting her drag me along, we went to start our night.

The dinner was nice, and so was the adult, normal, civilised conversation. Talk of kids was banned, as was work and uni, so we’d sat there gossiping and laughing about anything and everything. I hadn’t had a girlie night since we went out for Lucie’s birthday seven months ago. I’d forgotten how much fun it was to just be myself for a change.

After, we went to Lloyds bar where I was meeting a few friends from my university. As we walked in, the music was banging and vibrating off the walls. The place was packed considering it was Sunday night. We pushed our way to the bar, and I tried my best to ignore the guys brushing up against me on purpose as we wove through the crowd. After buying a pitcher of cocktails, we finally found my group of friends. With them, there were a couple of guys I didn’t know. I smiled tentatively, exchanging greetings with the girls I was meeting. Lucie knew all my friends already, so nothing was awkward.

One of the guys leant forward, his hand outstretched to me, his eyes raking down my body slowly. I laughed at his obviousness and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Joe,” he purred.

I nodded in greeting, noticing he hadn’t released my hand. “Emma.”

“Happy birthday, Emma. I hope you don’t mind us tagging along?” he asked, motioning toward the other guy who was knocking back shots with my friend, Angie.

I smiled and shrugged. “Sure, why not. More people to buy me birthday drinks,” I joked, taking a sip of my cocktail, watching him over the rim of my glass.

He grinned and turned back to his friend, doing a shot with him. I laughed at how easy boys were; a little flirting and they were putty in a girl’s hand. Not that I would ever do anything about it, of course, but it was nice to be appreciated, especially since I hadn’t had much attention in the last few weeks from Carson.

Lucie elbowed me in the ribs gently to get my attention. “You are so in there tonight! He’s hot. Maybe you should take him home for a little sheet time,” she suggested, waggling her eyebrows.

I laughed at her absurdity and rolled my eyes. “You know my heart and body belong to someone else!” I scolded playfully.

She laughed. “Yeah, but he’s not here, and obviously, Mr Celebrity Driver isn’t doing it for you at the moment. You look like some kind of sex-starved, depressed woman!”

I stuck my tongue out at her and chinked my glass against hers. “Cheers. Here’s to getting wasted.” She smiled and we both downed our drinks before pouring another glass from the pitcher.

TWO HOURS LATER, I was more than wasted. The bar was getting more fun, the music louder, the conversation funnier, and even Joe was getting more interesting the more I spoke to him. When my phone vibrated in my bag, I pulled it out, squinting at it but unable to read the number on the caller ID because my eyes refused to focus properly.

“Helllllllo?” I sang as I answered it.

The guy on the line laughed. “Emma, it’s Jason.”

Jason? What on earth is he calling me for? “Jason? What do you want? You do know I’m off duty, right?” I asked, giggling.

He laughed. “Yeah, and very drunk by the sound of it,” he replied. “Anyway, I have someone here at the club who wants to talk to you. He wanted your number but I’m not allowed to give that out, so I agreed I’d call you and he could talk to you.”

I frowned and gripped the edge of the bar as someone bumped into me from behind, making me giggle as I almost fell over. “I don’t want to talk to any freaking perverts from the club,” I stated, throwing Lucie a ‘what the fuck’ look. She was laughing and mouthing ‘hang up’ to me.

“Oh, okay. I’ll tell Mr Matthews you don’t want to speak to him then,” Jason replied.

I gasped at the mention of his name. “No! Carson’s there? What’s he doing there? He’s supposed to be in Dorset” I shouted excitedly.