Michelle and Carla walked into Nick's Bistro to find that it was extremely busy. Each table had people at it and it also seemed like everyone was working tonight, Leanne and Steph were behind the bar whist Nick and Andy were dealing with the many, many customers that were having a good time in their restaurant.
The bistro, like most places, had been decorated for Christmas by now and in each corner stood a beautifully lit tree and fairy lights had also been hung all over the walls too.
The fact that the bistro was so busy, meant that there were no tables for Carla and Michelle to sit at so Steph took them over to the bar and promised that she'd get them a table as soon as she could.
"Ahhh don't worry about it Steph, We're not actually eating, Just here for a few glasses of wine before going into town…" Michelle said, as Carla jumped up onto the stool next to her.
She smiled at her surroundings and couldn't help but feel pleased to be out with her bestest friend. She couldn't remember the last time she had been in a restaurant without Jada by her side and even though she loved her daughter to pieces, Carla had to admit it felt really pleasant to be on a proper grown up night out.
Nick had been talking to a customer nearby when Steph had shown Michelle and Carla over to the bar, after Steph had left them with the drinks menu and after he had finished his conversation with the customer of course, he made his way over to the bar area briskly and with a smile he approached Carla and Michelle saying,
"Hello ladies, So you decided to come after all then?" Carla gave him a friendly smile as Michelle put her bag on the bar in front of her, she raised an eyebrow at Nick and nodded, whilst Carla was the one to speak first.
"Well how could we say no when we're offered free booze eh?" She said with a smile, reminding Nick on the offer he had made outside.
"Free booze? Said who?" Nick joked, acting as if he knew nothing about this free booze situation as he leant on the bar next to Carla.
"Eh don't even try it Tilsley…" Carla said, nudging Nick hard in the side with her elbow. He chuckled loudly as Michelle nodded and said,
"Yeah, I think you'll find that you said the owner might let us have a free drink."
"Mmmhhhmm I did, if you were really nice to him that is." Nick said with a smirk.
"Define nice?" Carla said smirking back at Nick, unaware that Leanne Battersby was watching her from a far.
"Well no more lethal nudges for a start." Nick said, dramatically rubbing the spot where Carla had nudged him. "How's the little one?" He asked her.
"Yeah she's good thanks, fast asleep when I left, bless her." Carla said, smiling like she always did when ever anyone asked her about Jada, Michelle just looked down at her hands feeling like a bit of a third wheel whilst Nick and Carla spoke about Jada.
Carla spoke normally, smiling politely and watching Nick in a friendly fashion but Nick was a little different, he spoke as if he was enchanted almost and when the conversation between Carla and him naturally died down, Michelle decided it was time to intervene and very cheekily ask,
"So… where exactly are we on the free drink scale then?" Nick chuckled once more at Michelle as Carla just nodded and when Steph returned, he said to her,
"Steph… let these two have their first drink on the house."
"Errr okay." Steph said, nodding at her boss who gave Carla and Michelle a very friendly smile before walking over to a table where someone wanted to speak to him.
Michelle watched Nick walk away from them and then turned back to Carla who was staring down at the drinks menu.
"So are we getting wine or cocktails?" Carla asked, not sure which option to go for because just like she had told Peter last week, she really wasn't a drinker anymore.
"I dunno?" Michelle said with a shrug, "What would you prefer?" Carla was still reading the menu when Leanne eventually walked over to her and Michelle to ask them if they were ready to order yet.
Leanne was Peter's ex and even though she and Peter had ended it years and years ago, things were still very awkward between her and Carla.
Since Carla had been back, she and Leanne hadn't really had many exchanges, they just gave each other civil nods and smiles but they hadn't had any desires to talk to each other due to their rather stormy history.
"Right what can I get ya both?" Leanne asked, looking at Carla who still hadn't made her mind up on what to drink.
"Errrrrrm." Carla began, smiling as she looked down at the menu. Leanne raised an eyebrow at Carla and looked at Michelle who quickly said,
"Can I just have a large glass of red please?" Leanne nodded towards Michelle and then turned back to an indecisive Carla. "Carla?"
"Errr I still aven't decided." Carla replied, scanning the cocktail menu again as she spoke.
"Well in your own time." Leanne said rather shortly, looking as if she was starting to get annoyed in waiting for Carla to decided. Carla knew she was winding Leanne right up and so she closed the menu and quickly said,
"I'll just ave a glass of red too." Leanne sighed slightly and then went over to where the wine was to pour Carla and Michelle's drinks. "I see Leanne's still as miserable as sin then." Carla said, watching Leanne who was at the other end of the bar pouring their drinks.
"Oh she's not that bad…" Michelle said smiling, "Although when it comes to you I guess she still holds a grudge…"
"Well I don't flamin know why." Carla scoffed, "I mean all that stuff with Peter was years n years ago, she should really be over it all by now."
"Yeah…" Michelle said, turning to look at Nick and then back at Carla, "Although I don't think her current mood is to do with you n Peter if I'm honest."
"Eh?" Carla said, frowning and not understanding what Michelle meant by this and especially not understanding why she had turned to look at Nick.
There was no time to explain though because Leanne had soon returned with their glasses of wine and as she put them down, Nick very quickly ran over and said,
"Those are on the house Lea…" Leanne stared at Nick for a moment and then shook her head as she walked away from the bar to serve someone else.
"Cheers Nick." Michelle said and as Carla picked up the large glass of red wine she also said,
"Cheers."
Once Nick was a good way away, Michelle lowered her voice, because Leanne was still lurking and said,
"I reckon he's got a bit of a crush on you y'know."
"Who?" Carla gulped, halfway through a sip of wine when Michelle had spoken. Michelle laughed and made sure that Nick was still far away before saying,
"Nick."
"Nick Tilsley?" Carla exclaimed.
"Shhhhh!" Michelle said, poking Carla roughly on the shoulder and turning to make sure Nick and Leanne were both out of earshot.
"Ow…" Carla groaned, putting her wine glass down on the bar before turning to look at Nick who was stood talking to Andy about something on the menu. "Nick Tilsley?" Carla then repeated, only talking quieter this time.
"Yes Nick Tilsey, how many other Nick's d'ya know who live around ere?" Michelle replied, wrapping a hand around her wine glass as she took another glance at Nick.
"Oh please…" Carla said, shaking her head and taking another sip of wine.
"I'm being serious Car… I mean I've been watching him and I reckon he might fancy you." Michelle explained, remembering how every time Nick looked at Carla, his eyes looked brighter.
"Chelle we've only been in ere five minutes." Carla said, shaking her head again, almost laughing at what her best friend was suggesting.
"Yeah I know but yesterday when you and Jada had popped into the pub, I watched him and even though you didn't talk, his eyes were still on stalks the entire time." Michelle said, watching Carla who still wasn't convinced.
"No…" Carla said, sure Michelle had got this all wrong. "He's just being nice that's all… besides, didn't you say he has a girlfriend?"
"No." Michelle said, making sure that Nick was still on the other side of the restaurant and that he wasn't somewhere where he could over hear their conversation.
"Yes you did…" Carla nodded, "Back after I'd first got ere… when you told me about the baby they lost."
"Oh…" Michelle nodded, "I did mention her but they aren't actually together anymore, they spilt just afterwards… they did try to stay together but in the end they decided to be mates."
"Oh right…" Carla said, nodding slowly as she picked up her glass of wine and took a sip.
"So…" Michelle said eagerly, grinning as Carla put her glass back down on the bar.
"So…" Carla mimicked, looking rather blankly at her best friend.
"Nick… would ya?" Michelle said with a suggestive eyebrow raise, one that told Carla exactly what Michelle was getting at.
"Oh as if Chelle!" Carla cried, playfully shoving Michelle and shaking her head.
"What?" Michelle giggled, "He's younger than you, he's handsome and he's got his own restaurant… what more could you want eh?"
"Yeah, he's all those things…" Carla nodded with both eyebrows raised at her friends ridiculous suggestion, "But may I remind you that he is also the ex husband of my ex husband's ex wife… I mean talk about complicated."
"Okay…" Michelle said with a nod, laughing when she actually thought things through for a moment.
"Besides, I'm leaving ere, I'm hardly gonna start a relationship with someone new am I?" Carla said, hating the way it tasted when she talked about leaving Weatherfield and taking another large gulp of wine to try and get rid of it.
"I know…" Michelle said, nodding sadly at the mention of Carla leaving because she desperately didn't want to lose her oldest and bestest friend again so soon. "But still no one is saying you ave to marry the man… you could just have a bit of fun… "
"Fun?" Carla replied, rolling her eyes at the very idea of her having "fun" with Nick Tilsey.
Yes he had been extremely nice to her since she had arrived back in Weatherfield and Yes, he was rather good looking but Carla had way too much awkward history to be even thinking about going anywhere near Nicholas Tilsley.
There was also another reason she wouldn't be having "fun" with Nick but it was a reason she was keeping strictly to herself because if she told Michelle she'd never hear the end of it.
It was a reason that was sat across the road and down the street from her and that was currently looking after their almost two-year-old daughter.
"Admit it though…" Michelle said, bringing Carla's attention back to Nick who was stood with his arms casually folded, now deep in conversation with Steph.
"Admit what?" Carla sighed, wondering what on earth Michelle was going to be getting at now.
"You like the attention from Nick, don't ya?"
"No…" Carla began, but she knew Michelle could see right through this act eventually said, "Okay… yeah I do, but not because I fancy him back… I mean I'm still sure he's just being nice to me but because it's nice to be out y'know… I don't do this sort of thing often in L.A… I'm always with Jada. Don't get me wrong I adore spending so much time with her but I'll admit it's nice to be out with some grown ups and to get some attention… even if it is from Nicky Tilsey."
"Eh listen, y'know you could do a lot worse than him y'know." Michelle said, downing the rest of her wine and then laughing.
"I know n Trust me Chelle, I ave done." Carla said, going wide eyed at some of the men she had dated in the past.
"Hey…" Michelle said now looking as if she had suddenly remembered something, "Did you ever go on that date, y'know, that guy you mentioned the last time we skyped, the one who had asked you out from work?"
"Oh him…" Carla said, shaking her head and taking another sip of her wine. "Nope… I was meant to go the night I came ere… I called him and said I had to make a last minute trip home."
"Oh right… so are you gonna reschedule then or...?" Michelle said, watching Carla who was running a finger around the brim of her wine glass slowly.
"Erm… probably not." Carla eventually replied, "I mean he's lovely n everything but… I dunno, not really my type."
"Oh come on babe…" Michelle said, "You ave to date someone eventually… I mean how longs it been?"
"Since what?" Carla replied but she knew what Michelle was asking and Michelle knew that Carla knew too.
"You know exactly what Carla Barlow." Michelle said nudging Carla in the side and grinning, "So go on then, how long?"
"D'ya know what Chelle, I really don't wanna talk about my non existent sex life right now okay." Carla said, half laughing and half sighing, Michelle nodded at her best friend and decided that for now, a change of subject was needed.
"Okay..." Michelle nodded, as Carla picked up her glass and finished off the wine, which she had left. "How's life at Casa de Barlow then?"
"Erm…" Carla began, not sure that this subject was much better because she knew that sure enough, they'd be on the subject which was Peter and she new if anyone was going to drag out her real feelings on Peter, it would be Michelle. "It's good… really good actually."
"Yeah?" Michelle asked but Carla nodded at her with a convincing smile. "I was a little concerned after that little meltdown you had on the phone last night over the Christmas tree."
"Okay… let me rephrase me answer…" Carla said with a nod, remembering how she had felt last night when Peter and Simon had returned home with their huge Christmas tree. "Life at Casa de Barlow is good as long as we all dance around the fact that in two weeks time me n Jada will be five thousand miles away from ere."
"Oh… in two weeks… that soon?" Michelle replied, looking downtrodden once again at the thought of Carla leaving.
"And that, my best friend, is why no one mentions me n Jada leaving." Carla said, watching Michelle's expression sadly. Leanne re-appeared and as she went to take Carla and Michelle's empty glasses, Michelle politely said to her,
"Can we get two more please?"
"And are you paying for these ones?" Leanne asked, looking at Carla sideways before turning her attention back to Michelle. Carla just ignored Leanne, deciding it was best to not give her the satisfaction of a response whilst Michelle nodded and said,
"Yes Leanne, we will be." Leanne nodded back and as she went to get the wine, Michelle looked back at Carla and said,
"So anyways… back to life at Peter's…" She decided that she also wanted to avoid the subject of Carla leaving as much as possible because it really did hurt when she thought about her and Jada being so far away again. "How's Jada taken to it?"
"Like a duck takes to water." Carla replied, smiling at how much Jada loved living with her Dad and brother. "Honestly Chelle… that's what makes all of this worth it. Seeing Jada, Peter and Simon together makes all the awkward moments seem like nothing."
Leanne returned back to where Michelle and Carla were sat and placed the bottle of wine in front of their glasses, she rolled her eyes for about the a hundredth time and said,
"Nick said you can ave this on the house too…" She looked at Carla as she spoke and then said, "Must be your lucky night." Carla just smiled falsely and said,
"Cheers Leanne." Whilst Michelle turned to Nick and called,
"Ta Nick… we owe ya one."
"You sure do…" Nick called back, smiling broadly, especially when Carla had turned around to say thank you.
"See…" Michelle said, turning back around with her eyes wide. "He so likes you."
"Oh not that again…" Carla sighed, picking up the bottle of wine and beginning to pour her and Michelle another drink. "I thought we were talking about Peter."
"Well actually we were talking about you staying at Peter's but hey, if you wanna talk about him specifically then go ahead." Michelle said, taking the glass Carla had just filled up with their favourite red wine.
Carla took a large sip of wine at the same time as Michelle and then, after another she decided to tell Michelle about what had happened between her and Peter this morning.
"He walked in on me in the shower earlier."
"He did what?" Michelle half spluttered, with her eyes wide once again.
"You heard…" Carla said shaking her head and remembering how awkward it had been earlier.
"Well what did ya do?" Michelle asked.
"What could I do?" Carla replied in a confused fashion. "He ran out of there before I could say much but afterwards… I dunno… we kind had this little moment."
"Oh yeah?" Michelle asked intrigued.
"Don't get excited Chelle." Carla said, reading Michelle's enthusiastic expression. "I just mean it was like we needed something like that to have happened to ease the tension between us… We went swimming today… with Jada n Si and everything was fine… it was like old times… me n Peter got along like a house on fire and that is exactly what Jada needs right now, us getting along... Like a proper family."
"Well... I'm glad about that… you and Peter... Getting along." Michelle said vaguely, smiling at Carla with the same expression that she had before when speaking about Nick.
"Michelle McDonald stop looking at me like that…" Carla warned, "I know exactly what you're thinking and let me tell you I cannot go there… I just can't."
"I know, I know…" Michelle said, sighing and picking up her glass again. "You're leaving in two weeks."
"Yes I am." Carla nodded, although her voice broke as she spoke and when she picked up her wine glass she almost had tears in her eyes.
There was a horrible silence at the table for a moment and as Carla swigged another gulp of wine, she couldn't help but glance over at Nick, he had been watching her and very quickly averted his gaze when Carla caught him staring.
She blushed slightly and took another lot of wine before looking at Michelle and saying,
"Come on… let's finish this bottle and go into town."
Twenty-five minutes later and Michelle and Carla were done with their bottle of free wine.
Michelle had gone to the toilet and left a slightly tipsy Carla stood alone by the door to the bistro. After years of not drinking very much, Carla was feeling a little more intoxicated than she was used to and this was a very odd experience for her to deal with.
Before hand, she could help Michelle polish off a bottle of wine and barley feel a thing but now she was finding it hard to not be affected by the sudden amount of wine that was in her system.
"You alright?" A voice asked, and Carla knew who was asking before she even turned around.
"Yeah… just waiting for Michelle to get out of the loos…" Carla said, turning to look at Nick who was now stood directly in front of her.
"Are you leaving?" Nick asked, he didn't look too disappointed but he didn't exactly look thrilled at the idea of Carla going either.
"Yeah… there's this bar we wanted to check out in town…" Carla began, "Not that this place isn't lovely." She added with a smile, realising for the first time since she had been inside the bistro that it had all been refurbished since she had left.
"Thanks." Nick said proudly, looking down at his feet sheepishly before looking back up at Carla and as he did so, she was starting to think that maybe Michelle was right, maybe Nick did like her… just a little bit.
She took a deep breath and then ran a hand through her wavy hair before saying,
"You're welcome and Thank you for the bottle… it were really nice of ya Nick."
"Hey no problem." Nick nodded, "It's just nice to see you n Michelle in ere again, I remember the old days when the pair of you would spend practically every Friday night in that booth that used to be in that corner over there."
"Oh god…" Carla said, remembering some the nights she and Michelle had had in the bistro in the past. "We used to drink so much, I don't know how we did it, I mean all we had today was the one bottle and I'm already finding it hard to stand upright."
"Really?" Nick smirked, "You?"
"Oi…" Carla grinned, "I'm a changed woman I'll ave you know, I don't drink even a quarter as much as I used to, having a kid… it changes ya, y'know?"
"Yeah…" Nick nodded although he couldn't help but frown a little because in reality he didn't know, He looked down at his feet and bit his lip as Carla just went over what she had said in her head but before she could say something else, Nick said,
"Well, ave a good night won't ya." he had begun walking away from Carla but she very suddenly found herself calling him back.
"Nick…"
"Yeah…" he said, turning around almost instantly and putting all his attention on Carla, even though his restaurant was still heaving and even though Leanne was watching him with very wide and very angry eyes.
"I errr…" Carla said, her throat growing dry as she attempted to bring up what she wanted to say. "Michelle told me that you'd lost a baby."
"Oh…" Nick said, looking like that was the last thing he had expected Carla to say.
She swallowed hard and wished that she hadn't mentioned it now, because for a moment Nick was silent.
"I just wanted to say sorry for what I said about how having kids changes you… it were really insensitive of me." Carla eventually said, hating her self for making everything so awkward all of a sudden, she was sure that this was all Michelle's fault and that normally she wouldn't be paying this much attention to Nick Tilsey.
Carla was sure that the only reason she was stood staring at the man in front of her was because Michelle had said he fancied her and even though she felt like she should probably shut up, she also couldn't help but apologise once again.
"Sorry… Nick." She said shaking her head in a disappointed fashion.
"No… It's fine..." Nick said, knowing that Carla was slightly flustered due to the amount she had drunk and that she hadn't meant to hurt him.
"I really shouldn't have said anything…" Carla began but Nick touched her gently on the arm and said,
"Carla… please don't worry about it…" He gave Carla a very small and very sad smile as she nodded at him and because for some reason she couldn't keep her mouth shut she said,
"I'm sure you're gonna make an amazing Dad one day." She had thought this would have been a nice thing for Nick to hear but when he frowned slightly, she wished that she had once again, said nothing.
"Yeah… I dunno." He began, "I'm starting to think that it might never happen."
"Hey don't say that…" Carla insisted, shaking her head and moving closer to a very down Nick. "Look at me eh? I always said I was never having kids and now I've got the most gorgeous little kid on the planet." Nick smiled at Carla and nodded as Michelle finally made her way out of the toilets.
Carla stepped away from Nick and then smiled at Michelle, whilst Nick on the other hand, looked down at his shoes again.
"Ready to go?" Carla asked Michelle, who was smirking so widely that she looked like the Cheshire cat from Alice In Wonderland.
"Yes I am." Michelle answered, walking towards Carla and then asking her, "Are you?"
"Course." Carla said, turning to Nick and then smiling. "Bye Nick, thanks again for the bottle."
"Yeah thanks Nick." Michelle said sweetly, nodding at him gratefully.
"You're both welcome." Nick said, and as he opened the door for Carla and Michelle to leave the still very busy bistro he said, "Night ladies."
"Night." Carla and Michelle both said in unison and once they were both a safe enough distance from the Bistro, Michelle linked her arm into Carla's and said,
"So what were you n Nick talking about just then?" She was smirking once again, which made Carla sigh and say,
"Oh give it up will ya Michelle… We were just chatting that's all."
"Yeah yeah if you say so." Michelle said nodding.
Carla just chose to ignore this comment from her best friend and also chose to ignore the horrible feeling that she might actually like Nick Tilsley… just a little bit.
It was four am when Carla returned back to Peter's flat.
She and Michelle had gone into Manchester central and after visiting another wine bar they eventually ended up in a nightclub, which was serving two for one cocktails all night.
Carla hadn't drunk this much in a very very long time, since before finding out she was pregnant with Jada in fact and even though she was emotionally in control, physically she wasn't.
She had let herself in the front door with the keys Peter had given her a few days ago. She had tried extra hard to be quiet and careful but she still ended tripping up the last few steps to the door and after swearing very loudly, the door before her suddenly opened to reveal Peter stood in the doorway.
"You alright?" He asked, holding out his hand to Carla who was sat on a step in the middle of the stairs, he had obviously been woken up by her fall and her curses because his eyes looked sleepy and he was stood in his pyjama trousers only.
"I think so…" Carla nodded, staring up at him, almost in awe.
"So you gonna get up then?" Peter smirked with his hand dangling in mid air.
"Yeah…" Carla nodded again, swallowing before slowly reaching up and taking hold of Peter's hand.
This... was a moment.
A moment that produced a feeling but it was a feeling that they both couldn't have predicted.
The feeling of both their hands entwined with the other's made them both shiver slightly but it was also feeling that they both tried their very best to ignore rather than to deal with the consequences.
Peter gently heaved Carla up the last few steps into his flat and as she came through the door she said,
"Thanks." Peter quietly closed the door behind Carla and as she took off her coat, he took the moment to watch her, captivated.
Even after a night of heavy drinking and even with black eyeliner smudged under her breath-taking eyes, Carla still looked beautiful and as she took off her leather jacket, Peter still couldn't help but stare.
Eventually he got his voice back and managed to get out,
"Good night was it?"
"Yeah… really good…" Carla said, smiling at Peter who walked past her and sat down on the sofa. She wobbled slightly and tried to make her way to sit down next to him without looking too foolish. "I had a great time, thanks for suggesting it."
"I don't know what you mean…" Peter said, smiling sheepishly as Carla reached up to her ears and took out the hooped earrings that she had put in earlier.
"Oh come on Peter… Chelle told me it was your idea." She smiled, reaching forwards and putting her hoops down onto the coffee table in front of her.
Whilst in the wine bar, Michelle had told Carla all about Peter coming into the pub earlier on that day and saying that he thought it would be nice if they both went out and Carla had found it so incredibly sweet that she hadn't been able to think about anything else since.
"Okay…" Peter said, shaking his head because he had told Michelle to act like it was all her idea. "I kept thinking about what you said at the swimming pool and I dunno… it got to me… I know how much you used to love your nights out with Michelle… I just wanted you to go out n ave fun tonight."
"Well I did… I really did. So thank you Peter… it's really sweet that you still care." Carla said, smiling at him tenderly.
"Course I do... Carla how could I not care?" Peter said, his throat growing dry at the thought of Carla thinking that he did anything but care about her these days. "I mean… even after all the time we've had apart… you're still one of the most important people in my life…"
"Back at ya." Carla said but when Peter just gave her a casual chuckle she reached out and touched him on the arm. "No Peter… I mean it… this isn't the alcohol talking either… I... really care about you too."
Peter nodded at Carla slowly and as she let go of his arm he smiled and said nervously,
"Are you seeing anyone? Like in L.A?" Carla watched Peter for a moment and as she swallowed he said, "I know I ave no right to ask you… you can tell me to mind me own business if you want..."
"No…" Carla said, shaking her head slowly and truthfully. "There's no one in L.A... There never has been… not since… you."
There was a silence and it was one where Peter tried his very best not to jump up and punch the air in triumph because as selfish as it sounded, he was quite thrilled to know that Carla hadn't been with anyone since him.
"How about you?" Carla asked, breaking the silence as she thought about that first night in Peter and her's old bed and how she kept thinking about who might have been in there since she left.
"Me?" Peter said, staring at Carla intently who bent forward and took off her high heels.
"Yeah…" Carla said, the alcohol in her system making her feel a lot braver then she normally was around Peter… especially a half naked Peter at that. "Ave you dated anyone since me?
"No." Peter replied instantly, shaking his head adamantly so that Carla knew that there was no way he could have ever replaced her.
Carla nodded at him and in the next silence she couldn't help but be the one to stare this time.
Her eyes travelled over his bare chest and then over to the tattoos on his arm and it was clear to Peter that he was being meticulously watched.
"I erm… I was going to ask you that at the swimming pool earlier… but I bottled it." Peter eventually said, Carla reached over and poked him gently as she replied with,
"So you thought you'd ask now that I'm slightly intoxicated?"
"Pretty much." Peter grinned. Carla laughed at him quietly for a moment and then she yawned infectiously, so infectiously that Peter yawned straight afterwards.
"I'm sorry for waking you up." She said, watching Peter as he yawned twice more.
"Don't worry about it." Peter said, "It was worth it."
Carla smiled down at her lap and as she felt her cheeks go hot she knew that the way she had been feeling about Nick earlier was absolutely nothing compared to the way she felt right now.
Peter yawned for the fourth time, which made Carla eventually say,
"I think it's bedtime." She quickly got up, over estimating how sober she felt, so much so that it actually made her go a bit dizzy.
The room spun but before she fell back down Peter had grabbed hold of her tight.
"Woah…" He said, "Careful love…"
"I'm okay…" Carla giggled and clung onto him whilst she regained her steadiness but then she let herself look right into Peter's eyes.
"You sure?" He breathed, knowing that she was a little drunk and that this situation was becoming totally dangerous for them both.
"Yeah." Carla nodded, Peter had both hands on her waist as he held her upright and when Carla looked down she realised she had a palm rested on his bare chest.
Peter looked down at her hand too and when their gaze met again, their eyes both snapped shut.
Their bodies moved closer.
Their lips almost touched…
Their daughter started crying.
"Mummy!" came Jada's cry. It was unexpected and unnerving and it made Carla and Peter both spring suddenly apart. "Daddy!" Came another cry.
"I'll go…" Peter said, taking a deep breath and letting go of Carla properly. She nodded him in a confused fashion as he left her alone in the living room to ponder what had just happened between them both.
It wasn't long before Jada's cries stopped and before Peter was heard talking softly to her by Carla. She sank back down onto the sofa and leant all the way back with her eyes closed, trying ignore just how close she and Peter had become to a kiss.
She tried to tell herself that it was just the alcohol that had brought on these feelings but deep down Carla knew she desperately wanted that kiss.
Peter returned minutes later, looking slightly sheepish as he walked towards Carla who was sat on the sofa.
"Is she okay?" Carla asked, although she knew Jada must already be back to sleep by now.
"Yes." Peter said with a nod, "I think she maybe had a bad dream or something."
"Oh right…" Carla said, sitting up again.
"I think she could probably do with someone nearby though… just in case." Peter suggested, pointing towards the bedroom with his thumb.
He too had desperately wanted that kiss that almost was, but he too ignored the feeling as best he could and bit his bottom lip anxiously as he stood before Carla.
"Erm… I'd rather stay out ere thanks." She said, "You go."
"Me?" Peter asked, not quite understanding what Carla meant until she explained.
"Yeah… I mean you've slept on this thing for days now and I've woken you up, it's only fair you get the bed… besides. I don't wanna get into bed with Jada half drunk."
"Right." Peter nodded, as Carla stood up, he had been prepared to steady her again but this time she was able to stand up right with out his help.
"I'll just grab some of my stuff." She said, and after slightly stumbling into the bedroom she soon returned clutching a pair of pyjamas and some make up wipes.
"Night then." Peter said with a soft smile, one that made Carla's heart ache because it was so cute.
"Night." Carla replied, sitting back down on the sofa. Peter was in the middle of walking away when she very quietly said, "Peter…." He turned around and lingered by the bedroom door patiently, waiting for Carla to say, "I was erm thinking that maybe tomorrow we should make some plans for Jada's birthday."
"Sure." Peter said, although he was slightly disheartened to hear this because he had hoped Carla was calling him back for something else.
"Good." She nodded, going into the packet of make up wipes.
Another silence came and went.
Carla looked down at her hands whilst Peter looked over at the tree and they both knew that they won't going to get that magic moment that they'd had earlier back.
"I guess I'll see ya in the morning." Peter very quietly said and then, very slowly and reluctantly, he disappeared into the bedroom.
