The Freak In Me

"So you're finally out the closet then?" Kam asked Marianne.

Haruna swooned over Marianne and her new girlfriend. "I don't believe it. Marianne McCollough and Hannah Evans: two female entrepreneurs in love in a male-dominated field. You two are the talk of Luxbourne City!"

Kam lit up a cigarette. "You're the hottest couple in the town."

"Why I can't believe we're on the same table as the former Mrs Wright herself."

Kam rubbed Marianne's shoulder. "We're so happy for you. I hope we're getting invites to the wedding."

Hannah laughed. "Oh it's a bit too early to talk about that, but I promise, if we do get married you two will be the first to know. You can even be bridesmaids if you want."

"Sounds lush."

Marianne coughed, wishing that Kam and Haruna would get rid of the dirty habit. Even better not smoke right in her face. Hannah put up with them like a professional. They were both business women and knew the right words to say at the exact time. Hannah had that edge that made her stand out from the others. She had a special charm about her. It laid deeper than her golden locks of hair, large chest and bright blue eyes. She had charisma. She wasn't like one of those socialites that were famous for being famous.

The fame and fortune didn't faze her. The most golden thing about Hannah was her heart of gold. The divorce never changed that. Marianne and Hannah had high hopes for the future. They both wanted to continue their businesses, even improve them if possible. Marianne loved her stepchildren but dreamed of adopting her own daughter and calling her Mariko. Everything was hands on for the couple even when Luke had them all for the occasional weekend.

A few shots later, the four women burst into giggles as they enjoyed complimentary drinks from the generous blokes with deep pockets. Their intentions remain unclear, but irrelevant for Hannah and Marianne whom affection becomes more obvious with every drop of alcohol consumed.

Haruna and Kam had to leave. They hitched a ride with one of their friends and left Marianne and Hannah alone in the booth.

"Aren't they lovely? I love Kam's shoes? I wonder where she got them from? Ted Baker? Cath Hudson? They really looked designer."

Marianne shook her head as she guzzled down wine. "They're just cheap tack from Primark."

"Really?"

"Those heals won't last five minutes with the way she drinks." Marianne rested her forehead on the table, trying and failing to mask the hiccups. "Ah I do love a girls' night out."

Hannah mimicked her movements. "Me too. I wish I never stopped doing them."

"Hey, don't you think it's a bit hot in here?"

Hannah removed her cardigan. "They've got the heating up. It's a tactic to get us thirsty so we order more drink and then they make more money."

"My throat is dry. I want to get a drink."

"Oh Marianne darling, you're almost as bad as Luke. And this is why I don't like absinthe."

"Why don't you try some? I don't think you've even tried it before."

"I just know I won't like it. I like sweet, creamy and fruity drinks like baileys, ciders and some vodkas. I'm partial to a little bit of rose too."

"Hah!" Marianne was in hysterics. "A little bit? Hannah honey, you drank two whole bottles just now."

She shrugged her shoulders taking off her dress too. "It's not my fault. You were just a bad influence on me."

"Hannah why are you stripping off?"

"Because it's hot!"

"This isn't some nudist beach ya know?" She placed her hands together and whispered above. "Lord, please forgive me for I have no idea what I'm doing, but it's very sinful."

Hannah snuggled up to Marianne. "Aww, I'm sure God will let you off. I think he's pretty cool with it."

Something triggered Marianne. She didn't know what it was. It couldn't have been the alcohol. She'd been more drunk than this and still managed to make her way home with no issues. The painful memories returned. No matter how hard she prayed – they would always come to bite her. She looked at Hannah and saw her – the grown up version of the woman that would have been her first love.

Amanda "Lorraine" Lasairfhiona…

She cupped Hannah's cheeks with hot tears flowing. "Lorraine."

"Who's Lorraine?"

"Oh Lorraine, you're so beautiful!" Marianne sobbed. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE?"

"Now, now, Marianne…" Hannah cradled her. "I'm confused! First of all, why did you call me Lorraine? And secondly who is Lorraine? And why are you so upset?"

Marianne panted as tried to drink the pain away. "I've been holding the pain back for so long."

"That's a terrible thing to do. Whatever it is holding you back you should just…let it go."

The bartender approached the table with a sly grin on his face. Any bartender with an inch of morality would demand Hannah to either put her clothes back on or get out, but he liked what he saw, but was a bit worried about Marianne's wailing.

"Everything alright there, ladies?"

Hannah placed her arms around Marianne. "Yes, everything's fine. She's just a bit under the weather."

The bartender nodded and took the empty classes away. "I'll leave you ladies to it."

Hannah passed her drink over to Marianne. "Here you are!" She smiled and kissed her cheek. The smell of alcohol merged with the fragrance of floral perfumes. Pungent and sweet. Enough to knock anyone out. In the crowded bar, they only knew each other. Each passing minute, the songs get raunchier and the people on the dance floor acted like disgusting filth. The security was too occupied with the blokes fighting in the centre of the dancefloor.

Marianne downed the final drink.

"So tell me everything," Hannah pleaded. "Tell me about your friend, Lorraine."

"Oh she was gorgeous. She was my only friend at school. She told me that she loved me. But I never told her how I felt. Because of me, she's dead. She jumped out the window. I should have told her the truth. I thought I was being sinful."

"Look at me Marianne!" Hannah grabbed her face. "None of this is your fault. I don't know this Lorraine, nor do I have any idea what she looks like, but I know this: she's so proud of you!"

"I just wish I could know if she accepts my apologies…I just want her forgiveness."

Hannah clutched her hands and transferred her warmth towards Marianne. "You already have it darling. In fact, she's watching over you right now. She'll want you to have a good time." Marianne's hiccups made Hannah jump, she was close to falling on the floor. "Oh Marianne, your hiccups are so cute. You're so fun and adorable when you're drunk. I wish our schedules would let us do this more often."

Hannah rolled under the table and dragged Marianne with her. Marianne was using her chest as a pillow – and neither of them minded one bit. "We're having sex in public?"

"Let's see, they keep some toys hidden in some of these compartments."

"HANNAH!" Marianne sprang up. "Don't use them! You don't know where they've been?"

Hannah slammed the hidden compartments back before she could look at the goodies. "Aww, I really wanted to show you my dominatrix side. I used to bring people to their knees."

"You've outdid yourself this time: you've got me on the floor."

Hannah peeked up at the table. "Oh Marianne you must drink some more!"

"I think I've had enough to drink."

"Then I guess I'll have it all to myself."

"You can't drink a whole bottle of baileys to yourself: you'll get sick!"

The bottle was empty within minutes. Marianne had lost count to how much she had to drink and so did Hannah. She wasn't her normal self. There was a gleam in her eyes and cheeky smile. It excited Marianne more than she ever wanted to admit. Marianne knew she was going to regret it in the morning, but she let Hannah take charge.

"Now remember Marianne…this is all harmless fun. This isn't a punishment."

Marianne couldn't stop giggling as Hannah's fingers crawled under her clothes. "Hannah…you're so ticklish. You're letting out the freak in me."

Chairs vibrated around them. They were all covered in clothes. A group of drunk lads cheered as they walked by. The bartender was trying to take sneaky pics on them doing it, Hannah and Marianne had impressed the whole sleazy bar with their ambitious sex session. The police that raided the bar did not share the perverts' enthusiasm. Taking them all for a night in the cells.

The police were going to separate Hannah and Marianne, but once they knew who they were, Inspector Lee escorted them to a private cell to sober up: even included a telephone outside. "I better ring Luke."

The guards monitored them closely. They didn't stop Hannah dialing the phone and picking up the phone.

"Hello?" a voice grumbled through the telephone.

"Oh hello Luke," Hannah said in glee. "I was wondering if you could do me a favour? can you take the kids to school tomorrow?"

"Of course Buttercup, where are you by the way?"

"I'm in jail, darling..."

She couldn't deny the fact that Luke was annoyed." What? Where's Mint? What have you done?"

Marianne showed no signs of sobering up. She yelled through the phone, "Oh, I'm fine Whiskey. Just spending the night in some crappy Travelodge hotel."

Hannah turned the phone away from Marianne and bounced onto the floor. "We were very naughty girls you see," she hissed with a slick grin on her face. "But we had such a good time at The Sleazy Bar!"

"YOU WENT THERE?" Luke howled. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL MINT, YOU'RE SUPPOSE TO BE PROTECTING HER? WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN?"

"That's a good question," Marianne admitted. "I think they're at home, but I can't remember."

Amused as Hannah was, she did her best to defuse the situation. "Don't worry darling, Kylie has them. It's okay."

Her attempts only made things worse. Luke screamed so loud it was as if he was standing right next to him. "SHE'S A CHILD! SHE SHOULD BE STUDYING FOR HER EXAMS NOT LOOKING AFTER CHILDREN."

"No worries, dear!" Hannah said with an everlasting smile. "Kylie will get paid for it, and she's fine with it!"

The line went dead. Hannah took her hands out of the bars and placed the phone back on the wall. Marianne sighed and rolled over on the bed. "Oh Hannah, we really fucked it up didn't we?"

Hannah laid next to her. "Yes we did, but we had a smashing time!"