Johnny Be Good (16 page)

‘Have you heard from Serengeti recently?’ Where did that question come from?

He looks down into the water. ‘No.’

I don’t say anything and he doesn’t either for a little while. Finally, he speaks. ‘I think she’s seeing someone new.’

‘That’s good,’ I say. ‘Isn’t it?’ Well, I’d better double-check.

‘Yeah,’ he nods. ‘Yeah, it is good.’

‘She wasn’t pregnant, then?’

I don’t know where I’m getting the courage to interrogate him. Oh, yes I do: Hi, there, Mr Pinot Grigio!

‘Fuck, no, Meg! Christ. I’m not that much of an idiot.’

The relief is immense.

‘Always use a condom,’ he instructs, giving me a knowing look.

‘Alright, boss, I’ll keep that in mind,’ I reply. ‘So what went wrong, exactly?’

‘Good point. One broke.’

Is he really telling me this?

‘Bummer,’ I say.

‘Yeah, bummer,’ he agrees.

I suddenly remember the girl he was with on the landing. He didn’t look much like he was going to use a condom then. The memory of the sight of him pressed up against her right outside the room where his girlfriend was sleeping sobers me up momentarily.

‘What’s up?’ he asks, seeing my expression.

‘Nothing,’ I reply.

‘Yeah, there is. Tell me.’

‘Well, it didn’t look like you were about to slip a johnny on little Johnny when you were with the girl that Serengeti caught you with.’

‘Nutmeg, were you watching us?’ he asks, grinning.

Shit! I walked right into that one. My face heats up so fast I feel like I’m going to boil over.

‘No!’ I quickly reply.

‘You were, weren’t you?’ he teases.

‘Johnny, stop looking so goddamn pleased with yourself. It’s nothing to be proud of, you know.’

His face falls. ‘No, I know. You’re right. Fuck.’

Phew. Good save, Meg. I turn round to the wine. Actually, I decide, I don’t feel like anymore. I put my glass down. ‘Do you want a top-up?’ I offer. ‘I’ve had enough,’ I tell him.

‘Yeah, we’re probably turning into prunes in this heat. Christian won’t recognise us tomorrow.’

The reminder that I’ll see Christian again soon immediately brightens my mood. ‘It’s so nice that he’s coming!’

‘Yeah,’ Johnny replies, with less enthusiasm. He wades towards the steps. I follow him out, trying, but failing, not to look at his really rather lovely bottom. He hands me a towel and we quickly dry ourselves off before putting our robes back on.

‘Aah, if your fans could see you now,’ I tease. ‘Super-cool rock god Johnny Jefferson wearing a fluffy robe and slippers.’

‘Look, even super-cool rock gods need home comforts sometimes.’

We wander back along the path towards our rooms.

‘This is me,’ I say, as we reach my steps.

‘Cool. Sleep well, Nutmeg.’ He reaches over to squeeze my arm.

‘Thanks.’ I look up at him. ‘You too.’

‘Early night for a change,’ he calls over his shoulder as he heads across the path.

‘It will do you good!’ I call back, watching him go inside his room, before I walk, feeling a touch dejected, into mine.

Knock, knock, knock.

Who’s that? Can’t be housekeeping. I came back from breakfast this morning to find the Tree House spotless and the fridge magically restocked. It was as if little gnomes had been in. I’ve already decided I want to live here for the rest of my life. Here with the little gnomes.

Knock, knock, knock.

Oh, better get it.

‘Hang on!’ I shout, pushing my chair away from the desk in the corner. I’ve been trying to get some work done. Johnny is clearly having one hell of a lie-in because he didn’t emerge in time for breakfast. I snuck him out some pastries. Christian is going to love the spread they put on in the restaurant.

I fling open the door to find Christian, the man himself, standing on my doorstep.

‘Hello!’ I exclaim.

‘Meg!’ He wraps his right arm around me and pulls me in for
a hug, then lets go, looking down at me. I beam back up into his dark-brown eyes.

‘You’re here already!’

His hair is a little longer and he hasn’t shaved his overnight stubble.

‘Just got in,’ he explains.

‘That was quick! Didn’t think you’d be here until after lunch.’

‘Well, it’s two o’clock,’ he says.

‘Is it that time already?’ I’ve been so busy working I didn’t realise. I’m trying to keep a handle on all of Johnny’s emails so I don’t have a million to go back to.

‘Hey, can I see your room?’ he asks, eagerly peering past me.

‘Sure.’ I step aside.

‘That view is amazing.’ He stands there, shaking his head at the mountains. ‘This is really cool.’ He looks around. ‘Bloody hell, high bed!’

‘I know!’ I laugh. ‘I could barely get onto it last night.’

He climbs up onto the bed and turns around to plonk himself down on his bum. Then he bounces up and down a few times. He looks like an excited five-year-old.

‘Fuck me, mate, I turn my back for one minute and you’re in Meg’s bed!’ Johnny says from the doorway. ‘How many times do I have to tell you to keep your hands off my staff?’

Christian jumps off the bed and they engulf each other in a big bear hug, laughing.

‘Hey,’ Johnny says. ‘Good to see you. Journey okay?’

‘Yeah, in the end. Fucking queues at Heathrow. Nightmare.’

‘Nightmare,’ Johnny agrees, then his face breaks into a grin. ‘Private jet when we go on tour in six weeks.’ He nudges Christian on the shoulder.

‘Wicked.’ Then Christian says excitedly, ‘Hey, did you check out the elephant seals on the way here?’

Johnny gives me a pointed look. ‘Did we check out the elephant seals on our way here, Meg?’

‘Um,’ I answer, comically looking left, right and left again.

‘Nah,’ Johnny says, ‘we didn’t get to fully appreciate the elephant seals because this one ’ere was too busy feeding the fucking chipmunks.’

Christian laughs. ‘They were pretty cute, too.’

‘See? See?’ I say to Johnny.

‘Mate!’ Johnny berates. ‘You’re letting the side down!’

‘Ah, sorry,’ Christian responds.

‘Fuck me, Meg, high bed,’ Johnny says suddenly.

‘I know!’ Christian practically shouts.

Johnny goes and climbs onto it and Christian follows, both turning around and bouncing up and down like little boys.

‘Sorry, how old are you?’ I ask.

They laugh and get off.

‘Have you had lunch yet?’ Christian asks us.

‘I haven’t even had fucking breakfast yet,’ Johnny responds.

‘You never have breakfast,’ I chide.

‘Good point.’

‘I did get you some pastries, though,’ I offer.

He smiles at me, warmly. ‘No thanks, Nutmeg. Shall we go and get a bite to eat?’ he says to Christian.

‘Yeah, that’d be great,’ his friend replies.

‘You coming, Meg?’ Johnny asks.

‘Um, I might just carry on with some work here,’ I respond, figuring it might be nice to let them have some time alone before I gatecrash their party.

‘Okay. You sure?’ he checks.

‘Yes. Thank you.’

They head out through the door.

I carry on working for a couple of hours and then picture approval comes in from one of the magazines Johnny had done a photoshoot for recently. The art editor has sent PDFs of the page. We’ve already approved the copy, but it always interests me to see the pages laid out.

The photographs are amazing. The first shot is of Johnny standing front on, staring moodily into the camera. You can clearly see the definition of his torso underneath his vest. I click down a page. This one is a close-up. I feel like his clear green eyes are infiltrating me, and I sit there for a moment just studying them. His lips are perfectly shaped, not too thin, not too full.

Oh God, I fancy him. I still do. Even though he’s a total bastard to women. I just can’t help it.

Hey, where are his freckles? There are none on his nose. When I first met him I wondered why I’d never noticed them in photos.

Anyway, where are those boys? I haven’t seen them since they left for lunch a couple of hours ago.

I don’t have to get back to the art editor about approval until tomorrow, so I decide to take a break and go for a wander, see if I can spot Johnny and Christian.

I find them down on the bench that Johnny and I were sitting on last night. Christian has his notepad in front of him and is writing. Johnny is leaning forward on the bench, elbows resting on his knees, smoking a cigarette. I wonder if I should bother them, but Johnny looks up and nods at me. Christian turns around and smiles, so I wander over.

‘How’s it going?’ I ask.

‘Good, good,’ Christian responds. ‘Just catching up on what’s been happening lately.’

‘Cool,’ I reply. ‘I was just going to go for a walk. Johnny, that picture approval has come in. Shall I bring it along to dinner?’

‘Yeah, yeah. That’s fine, Meg.’

I head off around the corner where there’s a forest full of enormous redwood pines, situated on a steep decline. I venture into the darkness and am soon lost in my own thoughts again.

I didn’t sleep well last night. My head was spinning and I was more drunk than I’d realised. I couldn’t get Johnny out of my mind. The sight of him almost naked in the pool, the feeling of his body pressed up against mine…I went down to breakfast this morning feeling on edge, turning my head every time another person entered the room. But he never showed up. I didn’t know how he’d be with me, but when he appeared in my room he was fine. Totally normal. Just like he was with Christian.

I feel a bit foolish. He probably didn’t think twice about our hot-tub encounter. I’m sure I’m making more out of it than I ever should.

But I am so attracted to him.

I stand there in the forest for a moment and close my eyes, listening to the far-off chirping of birds.

He was so close. I imagine putting my hands on his chest, slick and wet from the water. Touching his bare stomach. I open my eyes, feeling feverish and off balance. I wave my hand in front of my face to cool myself down, and keep walking.

That evening I spend extra time on my appearance. I decide on a black dress and tie my hair partially away from my face. I don’t overdo my make-up, but keep it soft and simple, just vamping up my eyes with a little black kohl.

I don’t want to be the first person to arrive at the table, but by the time seven twenty-five appears on my watch, I can stand it no longer. I’m completely anal when it comes to punctuality. I can just about handle other people being late, but I can’t bear it if I’m the offender.

Of course, I
am
the first to arrive. The waiter seats me in the middle, leaving chairs for each of the boys on either side of me. We’re on a square table, facing the water, with the cliff dropping away beneath us.

I study the ocean in case I can spot another whale, while the waiter brings over the wine menu and suggests some options for tonight.

Christian appears next.

‘You look nice,’ he remarks as he sits down.

‘Thanks. You too.’ A waiter appears to pour the wine. ‘So what have you been up to?’ he asks.

Soon I relax back into his company, which is just as well, because Johnny doesn’t appear for another half an hour. By that time, Christian and I have made our way through half a bottle of wine and a basket of bread and butter.

He doesn’t explain why he’s late and we don’t ask.

We place our food order because Christian claims he’s starving, and then Johnny asks me if I’ve brought the pictures. I have. I pull my laptop out of my bag.

He studies them for a minute, while Christian and I wait patiently, and then finally nods and says, ‘Cool.’

‘Can I have a look?’ Christian asks. Johnny passes over the laptop.

‘What’s happened to your freckles?’ I ask Johnny, motioning towards the computer. ‘Where are they?’

He looks a little embarrassed.

‘Airbrushing,’ Christian says. ‘You know, touching up. Getting rid of any little imperfections, clearing up skin tone, making Johnny look hotter than he actually is…’

He says ‘hotter than he actually is’ in a joking tone.

‘But why get rid of your freckles?’ I press.

Johnny shrugs.

‘Do you like his freckles, Meg?’ Christian teases.

‘Yeah,’ I say in a small voice. ‘I do.’

‘Aah…’ Johnny leans across and rubs my arm affectionately. Christian just laughs and closes the laptop.

The night wears on. I’m stuffed by the third course (there are five in total) but still manage to squeeze in dessert, whereas Christian has been tucking in with gusto and Johnny has been tasting each dish, happy to leave at least half of it on his plate.

I know I should head off to my room and leave the two friends alone, but when I flag up that idea, they’re having none of it.

‘Fuck that, Meg,’ Christian says, ‘let’s go to the hot tub!’

‘Um…’ I hesitate. Out of the corner of my eye I see Johnny glance at me.

‘Go on,’ Christian urges. ‘She can’t go to bed, can she, mate?’

Johnny shrugs.

‘No, really.’ I try to be strong. ‘I could do with an early night. Anyway, it’s too cold for the hot tub tonight.’

It
is
colder tonight. I think we were lucky yesterday.

‘It’s called a “hot tub” for a reason, you know,’ Christian says.

‘I know,’ I reply. ‘But, sorry, the idea of going back to my room, lighting the fire and climbing into bed with a book is very inviting indeed.’

‘Alright,’ Johnny says, putting an end to the discussion and turning to his mate. ‘What are we drinking?’

I set off for my room, leaving them to it.

An hour and a half later, I’m lying in bed on my side, watching the log fire crackling. The hearth doesn’t pass out much heat, but the scent of the burning wood fills the room and I’m so relaxed and content that I can hardly concentrate on my book.

A knock on my door snaps me out of my reverie.

‘Hello?’ I call, reluctant to get out of my nice, warm and very high bed.

‘Open up!’ comes the sound of Christian’s voice.

What does he want at this hour?

‘Open up!’ comes Johnny’s voice.

Oh dear, they both sound a bit pissed. This could be funny. I get out of bed and look for my dressing gown, realising I’ve left it in the bathroom at the other end of the Tree House. I quickly unlatch the door wearing only my pyjamas and run back to my bed, shouting over my shoulder, ‘Quick! I’m freezing!’

‘Sorry, Nutmeg.’ Johnny tries to sound sober as he leans against the doorframe to my bedroom. ‘Didn’t think you’d be in bed already.’

Christian pushes past him, clutching a bottle of champagne and three glasses. ‘Have a drink with us!’ he all but shouts.

I’m pretty sober now, so having a couple of piss-heads crash my solo slumber party could be considered annoying. But, truthfully, I’m thrilled that they’re here.

‘Come on, then.’ I pat the bed.

Christian tries to get a leg up, but stumbles backwards and almost bashes into the fireplace.

‘Give ’em here.’ I hold out my hands for the bottle and glasses.

Unencumbered, he has more luck, but he’s still remarkably ungainly. I watch, laughing, while Johnny just stands in the doorway, looking amused. He seems a bit more together than his pal.

‘Come on, mate,’ Christian beckons for Johnny to get up. He does so with substantially more grace, lying down on his side behind Christian and alongside me, and propping his head up with his arm. I’m sitting up against the wall, cross-legged, under the covers, and Christian is sitting at my feet with his legs hanging off the side.

‘Nice swim?’ I ask, nodding towards Christian’s fluffy robe. I glance at Johnny–his has fallen open at the chest. I look away quickly.

‘Yep, yep,’ Christian says, waggling his hands at me and looking eagerly at the champagne bottle I’m still holding.

‘Don’t you pop that cork and get it all over my bedspread,’ I warn, handing it over.

‘I will endeavour not to pop my cork all over your bedspread…’ Christian assures me with a grin as Johnny starts to guffaw.

‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ I berate, ‘you two are like teenagers.’

Still looking pleased at his own wit, Christian cracks open the champagne and starts to pour it, deftly, into the three glasses. I’ve already cleaned my teeth. Oh, well.

‘You look different without make-up on,’ Christian observes.

‘You’ve seen me without my make-up on before,’ I remind him. ‘Last time, when I was doing my laps in the morning.’

‘Oh, yeah,’ he says. ‘Have you finished the box of Fruity Pebbles yet? I could really do with some of those right now, actually,’ he continues, not waiting for me to answer the question.

‘You two and your Fruity Pebbles,’ Johnny chips in.

‘Hey, what about my bet?’ Christian exclaims, suddenly.

‘I haven’t forgotten,’ I reply. ‘In fact, if you pass me my bag over there I can settle up immediately.’

Christian groans. ‘Bag over where?’

‘Over there,’ I point. ‘That one.’

‘Can’t get down,’ he says, sorrowfully.

‘Oh, for goodness’ sake,’ I huff and get out of bed, bringing two bags of sweets back with me. I chuck them on Christian’s lap and climb back up under the covers.

Johnny sits up beside me, moving closer and pulling his robe across his chest. ‘Brr.’