We do not own Eastenders, Ashes to Ashes, Waterloo Road or Doctors

Chapter 52

Molly grinned up at Gene and waved at Ray as she left with her soon-to-be step dad.

Alex hit Ray in retaliation on his shoulder causing him to rub it. It hadn't hurt. He had seen her deliver an uppercut to Gene before. That had looked painful. He knew he had got off lightly and smirked.

Alex caught up with Molly and Gene as they got into the car and rode home with them.

Molly hurtled out of the car as they reached the flat and dashed up the steps with her spare key poised in her hand. She let herself in and quickly gathered up everything she thought she would need. She got her make up bag too. She didn't know what make up Whitney had. Molly slipped into her outfit and came back out to the Quattro, smiling as she locked up behind her.

As soon as Molly was back in the car, Gene drove them back to Walford. He dropped Molly in front of Whitney's house and looked at Alex.

Gene looked at Alex as Molly rushed into the flat.

"So, what was all that about with Ray? You two need to stop winding each other up or I'll start thinking you fancy each other," he teased, a wicked grin creasing his face.

"Home or out for dinner?"

Alex waved at Molly and watched as she was admitted into Whitney's house. She looked back over at Gene and smiled wickedly.

"How about we start at home and see what happens?" she suggested.

I like your thinking, soon to be Mrs. Hunt," Gene matched her smile and slammed his foot down on the gas. The car leapt away and he drove them back to the flat in record time.

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Alyssa finished work and left Gayna to lock up. She dashed home and pulled out the dress Rowan had insisted she should buy. Alyssa smiled and got dressed. She twirled in front of the mirror and then picked out her blue heels and slipped her feet into them. She smiled and made a start on her makeup. She thought about Jack's text earlier. She went and grabbed her toothbrush and put it in a hard plastic case and slipped it into her bag. She was not spending a weekend with fuzzy teeth.

Alyssa pondered what to do with her hair and decided to leave it down. She heated up her curling tongs and went over the ends. Smiling at the finished result in the mirror she picked up her black jacket and left the flat.

Alyssa entered the club after smiling at some kids outside and she laid her coat over the counter where jackets got held. She waved at Jack and took in his pained expression with a sympathetic smile. She made her way over to Rowan who was lurking by the food and stopped as she spotted Ronnie. She beamed.

"You look gorgeous, Ronnie," she smiled and went to give the woman a hug. Ronnie hugged her back and blushed.

"You'll blow him away," Alyssa said with a grin and went over to see Rowan.

"Someone's been busy today then," she stated as she came up behind her best friend.

Jack saw Alyssa come in and felt relief wash over him. He watched her as she walked over and spoke to Ronnie and then went into the VIP room where he knew Rowan was. He turned back to Steph, hardly paying attention to what the woman said as he began to lead her in the direction of the VIP room.

Rowan looked up as Alyssa came into the room.

"Well, it wasn't all me," she said and gestured at Syed who was picking up the last of his emptied cases. He grinned at Alyssa and walked out.

"So…I saw Dr. Harrison today. Turns out one of my ovaries is damaged. She said the other one is fine though. She said it may take time, but it's not impossible," she swiped at a tear before continuing. "She said if we want to, in a few months or so she'll set me up on fertility treatments. But she said we should just see how it goes first. We're not in a rush, so I don't mind. I'm just so happy we can have a baby," she said and flung her arms around Alyssa.

Alyssa swept her arms around Rowan and beamed.

"Ro, that's fantastic news!" she exclaimed and a small wave of relief washed over her. She knew that Rowan would want children with Chris at some point and was glad that Rowan wouldn't be upset that it wouldn't happen.

Steph allowed Jack to lead her towards the VIP room and her eyebrows flew up at the smaller woman she knew was Jack's girlfriend told the other woman they could have a baby and then throw her arms around the other woman. Jack detached himself from Steph and tapped Alyssa on the shoulder.

Rowan saw Jack out of the corner of her eye and let Alyssa go. She turned to the table and fussed with the last tray of cookies.

Alyssa twirled around to face Jack as she felt his presence behind her and smiled at him happily.

Jack put his hands on Alyssa's shoulders. "You look fantastic, Lyss," he told her as his eyes drank in the sight of her. He stroked his finger across the necklace he'd bought her and then gave her a quick kiss.

"Alyssa, I'd like you to meet Steph Haydock. We worked together back when I was the Head at Waterloo Road," he said and turned around to face Steph.

"Steph, this is my girlfriend," he looked at Alyssa and smiled, "and the love of my life, Alyssa Redcliffe."

Steph tried hard to school her expression. What was he playing at? Two women? And this one was frankly stunning. Steph felt a stab of disappointment. She had to be honest; there was no way she could compete with this woman. Even Davina would have been hard pressed to compare to her. Steph forced herself to smile and weakly shook Alyssa's hand.

Alyssa turned her head to look at Steph and blushed slightly at Jack's introduction. Alyssa held out her hand to Steph and shook lightly.

"Heya," she said brightly.

"Nice to meet you, um, if you'll excuse me?" Steph said and rushed from the VIP room and went to the bar.

Alyssa had got butterflies at Jack's words and they were still there now. Her eyes tracked Steph as she hurried from the room and she frowned gently.

She looked back up at Jack and smiled.

"Love of your life?" she questioned as she took his hand.

Jack smiled. "Yes," he told her and pressed his lips to hers softly. "Unless Rowan throws Chris out, then you're out," he joked and pulled her into his arms tightly and kissed her thoroughly.

He heard Darren and Jodie's voices outside and broke off the kiss. "The chaperones have arrived, come on, we'll have to behave now," he told her as he tapped her on the nose and led her out so he could give instructions.

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"Double G&T, now, please," Steph ordered.

Sarah looked at Ronnie who was just in earshot and Ronnie nodded. "It's not 6:30 yet so go ahead, but after that, no."

Sarah nodded and watched Steph rapidly drain her drink. Steph shoved the empty glass back across the bar. "Another, please."

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Jack watched Steph rush from the room and looked back at Rowan and Alyssa. "Well, looks like she's given up on me, thank goodness for that," he commented quietly.

"Look, I have to go, but I'll see you later okay?" Rowan folded Alyssa into a hug again and stroked the necklace. "It's as lovely as you described Jack, well done. I'll see you Sunday night? Or Monday?"

"I'll bring her home Sunday night, she has to work Monday morning after all," Jack said. Rowan nodded and smiled and left.

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Tamwar walked up the club with Libby and waved at his brother as Syed was walking out of the club.

"Hey Sy, how's it going?"

"Fine, Tam, yourself? Hey, Libby," Syed greeted.

Libby smiled and headed inside. She knew Darren and Jodie were right behind them and she didn't want to have to watch them.

"Have fun tonight, Tam," Syed said and smacked his brother on the back as he walked away. Tamwar rocked slightly under his brother's smack and then went inside. He walked over and joined Darren and Jodie and Libby who were receiving their instructions from Mr. Rimmer.

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Whitney waited excitedly for Molly to arrive. She finished drying off after her shower and put on the dress. She put the robe on over it so she wouldn't get make up on it and started drying her hair.

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Paul watched the stunning redhead in the green dress walk in to the club, barely able to keep his eyes in his head. He looked at Bolton.

"Who d'you reckon that was?"

Bolton stared at the door where she had vanished from their line of sight and shook his head.

He looked back at Paul and grinned.

"Dunno, but it looks like she's at the party to tonight" he grinned.

Paul nodded. "If she's a teacher then I want to go to Walford."

Bolton nodded his agreement. Teachers that looked like that and girls like Whitney could definitely make him want to transfer schools.

Paul perked up when the doors were opened and he slapped Bolton's arm as they went inside.

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Molly rang the doorbell excitedly and smiled at Ricky as he opened it. He sent her up stairs to Whitney's room after Molly had poked her head around into the lounge and said hello to Tiffany and Morgan.

Molly knocked Whitney's door.

"Whit?"

Whitney jumped up and opened the door and grinned when she saw Molly standing there. "Hurry, get in," she said and pulled Molly inside and then shut and locked her door.

"Had to get you in before the kids decided to rush in here. Oh, the dress is great! You look brilliant," Whitney exclaimed. "Here," she thrust a spare robe at Molly, "so you don't get makeup on your clothes."

Whitney dragged a second chair over to the mirror for Molly to sit in and sat back down and worked on putting her hair up in hot rollers.

"I asked Peter to stop by here so we could walk to the party with him. If he's supposed to be your boyfriend then you should get there together."

Molly pulled the robe over her dress and tied it carefully. She set her make up bag on the dressing table and pulled out her hairbrush. She nodded about Peter.

"What time did you tell him to get here?" she asked curiously as she tamed the tangles that she found in her hair.

"Around 6:30," Whitney replied. "If he gets here early the kids will keep him entertained until we're done," she grinned and began to put on her make up. "I have extra rollers if you need them. They're all ready," she gestured at them.

Molly finished brushing her hair and accepted the rollers. She sorted her hair as she wanted it in the rollers and opened her make up bag. She had a pretty good idea about how she was going to do her makeup and got started with a smile about the comment about the kids.

Whitney put down her lipstick and looked in the mirror. "Done," she stated. Her hair fell in large curls and she'd pinned it up a bit on the sides so it flowed to her back. She carefully pulled a few long curls to frame her face and then stood up and took off her robe. She smoothed the dress and slipped on her shoes.

"Well? What d'you think?"

Molly gave Whitney a playful nudge and finished doing her mascara. She fixed her eyeliner and smiled at her reflection in the mirror then took the hot rollers out of her hair, smiling as the curls she had created bounced about her shoulders as they fell.

She turned and looked at Whitney and grinned.

"You look gorgeous, Whit. Really."

Molly grabbed her stuff and packed it back into her make up bag.

She put her make up bag and hairbrush into her bag she brought with her and stood up and smoothed her dress.

"Let's go!" she said excitedly and followed Whitney downstairs.

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As Peter walked, he saw Lauren and her friend and her friend's boyfriend walking past towards the club. Abi and Jordan were close behind them. He nodded and finally stumped up the steps to the door. He knocked.

Ricky opened the door. "Hey, alright Pete?" he asked.

"Yeah, um, are Whitney and Molly ready yet?"

"Come inside, I'll check," Ricky trotted up the stairs and knocked on Whitney's door.

"Hey girls, Peter's here," he called.

"Almost done, just a few more minutes," Whitney called back and grinned at Molly. "Your boyfriend's here," she giggled.

Ricky went back downstairs. "Be a few more minutes."

Peter nodded and leaned against the wall to wait.

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Whitney stood up and surveyed her friend.

"We look gorgeous," she corrected. "We are going to knock them dead."

She smiled at Molly with a hint of triumph and unlocked her door to lead Molly downstairs.

"Alright?" Peter said as he saw the girls walking down the stairs. He smiled at them. "Looking good," he complimented. He had to admit, he wasn't minding at all pretending to be Molly's boyfriend. With her hair done and make up on, she was beautiful. Add in the dress, and yeah, guys were going to be well jealous of him.

He offered Molly his arm as Whitney opened the door.

"See ya later Ricky, bye!" Whitney called out and she headed down the steps.

Peter led Molly out close behind.

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Steph sourly watched the young people come in and walk over to talk with Jack. They were obviously chaperones of some kind. She looked at the clock and began to drain her drink a bit faster. She sighed hugely when she'd finished it and pushed it across the bar. "One more, then I'm done," she told Sarah.

Sarah glanced at the clock and hurriedly fixed the drink. She placed it in front of Steph and then locked the gin back in the cabinet. Ronnie was taking no chances, all the booze was either locked up behind the bar or elsewhere. At least if any of the kids got drunk, it wouldn't be down to Ronnie having alcohol available.

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Ronnie rushed through her paperwork and glanced at the clock. Ray would be here soon she hoped. She pulled her compact out and blotted her nose and touched up her lipstick. She sighed and stuck it back in her handbag. She read over the few last invoices, her finger beating out a nervous tattoo on the desk.

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"Keep an eye out for alcohol. I'd like to avoid a repeat of what happened last year with Lucy Beale if we can. Ronnie has had all the stuff here locked up so we only have to watch for the stuff being snuck in. Okay, I think that's everything. Jodie, Libby, why don't you go in to serve the food. Tamwar, Darren you two watch the door. Lyss, would you mind taking any coats with me, at least for a little while?"

He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her over to the small coat area.

Libby glanced unhappily at Jodie and went into the VIP room. Personally, she would rather serve with Tamwar; at least he knew what the food was. She wasn't sure Jodie had a clue. Jodie followed Libby in a few minutes later while Darren joined Tamwar at the door.

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Ray practically ran home. He showered swiftly and changed into the suit that Rowan had suggested. He couldn't decide between the two ties though. He sighed and pocketed both. He'd ask Ronnie. He nodded at Darren and Tamwar as he strolled past them into the club. He grinned at Jack and Alyssa as he walked up to them.

"Ronnie around?" he asked as he scanned the club. Ronnie's staff milling around, a blonde woman at the bar and he could see two girls in the VIP area.

Alyssa followed Jack's instructions and picked up her coat from where she had left it and hung it up so it wouldn't crease.

She looked Ray up and down as he came in

"She's in her office Ray," she studied his appearance and smiled. "Going somewhere nice?"

Ray nodded. "Restaurant Rowan recommended," he smiled. An idea struck him and he pulled the ties out of his pocket. "Which one?" he asked her nervously

Alyssa looked over his suit once more. Ronnie was wearing black so he wouldn't have to coordinate or anything.

"The blue one," she said confidently.

Jack smiled and patted Ray on the back.

"You look good mate," he said. "Lyss, why don't you go get Ronnie. Ray, get your tie on and relax mate. I have to let the flood in," he grinned and had Darren and Tamwar open the doors and lock them in place.

Alyssa nodded and grinned at Ray as she turned on her heel and walked to Ronnie's office. She frowned slightly at Steph. Surely it wasn't a good idea to be getting pissed when a student party was about to start. She sighed and knocked Ronnie's door.

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Steph turned on her stool as she finished off her third drink and gazed at the big man in a suit who had just come in. He would do nicely. She watched Jack move to open the doors and that girlfriend of his walk across the club. She put her shoulders back and slid from the barstool and walked over to him. She watched him fumble with his tie and smiled as she approached and reached out and covered his hands with her own.

"Here, love, let me help you with that," she said flirtatiously as she began to attempt to tie his tie for him. "What a lovely big lad you are," she breathed and ran her hands over his chest. "I could eat you with sauce, me," she added.

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"Ronnie. Ray's here," she smiled and left the door open as she went back to the counter.

Ronnie looked up as Alyssa told her Ray had arrived. She drew a deep breath and stood and smoothed her dress before walking out of the office. She saw Ray, looking fantastic in his suit. She felt her knees go slightly weak and steadied herself. She also took in the overblown blond who was hanging on him. Her eyes narrowed and she growled low in her throat and strode angrily over.

Ray smiled gratefully at Steph as she helped with his tie. He was nervous. That was stupid. But he didn't want to let Ronnie down. His eyes widened at her as she came onto him. She was pissed. He started to push her away when someone did it for him.

Ronnie walked up behind Steph and stopped. Her hand snaked out and clamped on Steph's shoulder and spun her around. Steph tottered and caught her balance as she was spun to face a very beautiful, but very angry-looking blond woman.

Ray's eyes widened as he took in Ronnie. That dressed hugged her curves in all the right places. She looked drop dead gorgeous.

Steph glared at Ronnie. "What do you think you're doing?" she sputtered.

"I could ask you the same question," Ronnie snapped angrily. "Sling your hook, he's mine."

Ronnie turned back to Ray, the anger on her face quickly replaced by her delight in seeing him.

Steph made a noise and grabbed Ronnie's hair and yanked her head back.

Ray had gone to pull Ronnie into a kiss when her head was yanked back.

He glared at Steph for hurting the woman he loved but Ronnie beat him to the tongue lashing.

"He certainly didn't seem to be missing you when I was here," Steph snarled.

Ronnie's eyes went flat and she spun to face Steph.

"Listen to me," Ronnie hissed ominously and leveled a finger at Steph's face, as she briefly looked the woman up and down, "you mutton dressed as lamb. I suggest you back off or I will make you sorry, are we clear? Now, get out of my sight!" Ronnie shouted the last right in Steph's face. Ronnie turned to the bar and gestured Doug over. He ran over.

"Take this woman away from me and sober her up," Ronnie ordered her tone still dark.

Doug did as he was told and pulled Steph away and sat her at the end of the bar and poured her a cup of black coffee.

Ronnie tossed her hair, took a breath and smoothed her dress before turning back to Ray. "Now, where were we?" she asked calmly.

Ray beamed at her. She was incredibly sexy when she was furious

"You look stunning, Ron," he said and pulled her towards him and into his arms. He devoured her mouth and kissed the side of her neck. "You are sooooo sexy when you get possessive," he drawled in her ear.

Ronnie melted under Ray's kiss and locked her arms around his neck. She shivered and felt her knees nearly give way when he spoke into her ear. She rocked against him slightly and took a deep breath as she stroked the side of his face and smiled.

"Not in front of the children," she joked. "You better get me into a cab before I drag you off and lock you in the office," she paused and raised an eyebrow at him. "Because I will eat you with sauce," she whispered.

She stepped back and took his hand. She gave a quick wave to her staff and patted Jack's arm as she led Ray out of the club.

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Jack felt bad for Steph as he watched Ronnie pull her off Ray and threaten her but he also had to fight to hold back the laughter. He kept one eye on the scene as he took coats as a few of the kids filed in. He smiled hugely as he recognized the kids from his old school and he walked out from behind the counter and gestured Alyssa over.

"Hey, how are you guys?" he greeted them enthusiastically.

Bolton grinned up at his former head master and took a sweeping look around the club. Haydock sat on her own with a cup of what looked like coffee. A burly bloke was locked in an embrace with a pretty blonde woman and the leggy redhead stood a little way away, smiling.

"Alright Mr. Rimmer. How's things?" he asked with a grin.

"Things are great Bolton, thank you. It's great to see you all again," he grinned at them all.

"What made you come here?" Paul wanted to know.

Jack chuckled. "Well, I had to go somewhere didn't I?" he replied.

He patted Karla's arm. "How are you? Doing well in school?"

"Yes, I am. It's nice to see you, sir," she said and gave him a smile.

"Danielle, Aleesha, still best friends I see, how are you?" he addressed them.

Aleesha smiled up at Jack and nodded.

"Good sir, yeah" she replied and Danielle nodded too.

"Oh, I want someone to meet you," he suddenly blurted out after Dani and Aleesha had answered and turned and held his hand out to Alyssa.

"Lyss, these are some students from my old school. This is Bolton, Paul, Karla, Danielle and Aleesha. Kids, this is my girlfriend, Alyssa," he introduced.

Paul's opinion of Mr. Rimmer increased tremendously knowing the stunning redhead in that dress was his girlfriend. So, not a teacher, but still.

Alyssa slipped her hand into his and took a step forward to meet his former students. She gave them one of her dazzling smiles.

"It's nice to meet you all," she said brightly.

Her attention shifted slightly as she spotted Abi and she waved at the young girl.

Bolton grinned at Paul. So she was Mr. Rimmer's girlfriend. Still, Whitney was coming soon.

Danielle looked Alyssa up and down shyly. Poor Miss Haydock. It was painfully obvious that the reason they had got here early was so she could hit on him. She didn't stand a chance with this woman around. She took Aleesha's hand and dragged her away after saying a hasty goodbye to Mr. Rimmer. She didn't want to waste the evening by talking to her former headmaster.

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Fatboy, Zsa Zsa and Leon stood in the park with a couple of cans. Zsa Zsa had filled a couple of perfume bottles with vodka which she had in her bag and had convinced Fatboy to hide an alcopop in his baggy trousers. They sat in the middle of the Park near to the club and drank and joked as they waited for the party to start.

Zsa Zsa stalked towards the door to the club. The cans had loosened her and her friends up a bit. The vodka in her bag would do the rest. She glared at Lucy Beale as she reached the club and pushed in front of her to get inside. Leon shrugged at Lucy and followed Zsa's lead. Fatboy brought up the rear and gave Lucy a cocky grin as he followed his friends.

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Libby and Jodie started serving up food as the kids filed in and grabbed plates. She would be glad when they were done and she could be farther away from Jodie. She sighed as Jodie gave a ridiculous answer to a question – clearly she had the mental capacity of a gnat.

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Steph sat and nursed her coffee. She was completely embarrassed. What was she thinking grabbing that woman like that? Steph knew she was lucky that the woman was distracted by that nice prime beef or she might have followed through on chucking her out of the club. She smelled the mouth-watering aroma of the food that was set up and drained her coffee and went to get some as she berated herself for drinking around the students.

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Lucy had finally pulled on a dressy jacket to wear and hid the bottle in it. She'd move it to her handbag when she decided to take off the jacket. She smiled as she walked to the club.

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Ray smiled at Ronnie and went with her up the stairs and out of her club. He ignored the kids as they filed into the club and slipped an arm around Ronnie's waist as he spotted Charlie navigating his was through the hordes of students.

Ray opened the door of the cab for Ronnie and let her inside. He handed Charlie the paper with the restaurant's name on it and settled himself in the back of the cab with his arm around Ronnie comfortably.

Ronnie crossed her legs and leaned against Ray in the cab.

"I suppose I can't blame the woman," Ronnie sighed finally. "You do look fantastic in a suit."

She eyed his tie critically.

"Drunken cow messed up your tie," she groused and shifted so she could fix it.

Ray grinned down at her as she fixed his tie and kissed her forehead, his arm shifted around to accommodate her as she moved.

"So, where are we going?" she wanted to know.

He smiled slyly down at her.

"That's for me to know and you to find out" he told her cryptically

He glanced out of the window and watched the buildings as they flew past. If it was winter these places would have lights on. But it was summer so they weren't.

"But it's romantic," she pressed and slid her hand across his thigh and squeezed.

"It's very romantic, Ronnie love," Charlie told her over his shoulder. Ronnie jumped and moved her hand in case Charlie could see.

"Thank you, Charlie," she said and tilted her head to look at Ray. She kept her body slightly facing him and slowly crossed her legs again. She noticed they were on the High Street and began to get an idea where they were going. Charlie was right. This place had become the place to go for a romantic dinner. She smiled.

Ray opened the door of the cab for Ronnie to get out and handed a few notes over to Charlie

"Cheers, mate" he grinned at him and followed Ronnie out of the cab. He looked up at the building in front of him. He had to hand it to Rowan, certainly seemed the 'romantic' kind of place.

He took Ronnie's hand and led her inside. He looked at the maître de and smiled.

"We've got a reservation. The name's Carling" he said as he squeezed Ronnie's hand.

Ronnie squeezed Ray's hand back as she looked around the restaurant with interest. She'd heard about the place from people who'd been here but she'd never been herself. People really only came here on dates. The maître de picked up two menus and led them to a table.

Ray pulled the chair out gallantly for Ronnie and then sat down himself. He looked over the menu and looked up at the Maître de who was still hovering.

"Can we have a bottle of your house white please?" he asked.

The man nodded and walked away. Ray smiled at Ronnie over the top of his menu. She really did look breathtaking in that dress.

Ronnie smiled at Ray as he pulled her chair out for her. She glanced at the menu and looked at Ray as he ordered wine. She raised an eyebrow at him. She couldn't remember him ever drinking wine. She watched as he smiled at her over the menu. She knew that look in his eye and felt her heart beat faster as she blushed and looked down at her menu again.

"I think I'll have the salmon," she pondered aloud and glanced at Ray again.

Ray nodded at her choice and frowned again as he looked over the menu. Beef it said. He liked beef. Or lamb. He liked that too.

He looked up at the waiter as he came back with the wine.

"Ronnie. Are you ready to order?" he asked dropping his menu down slightly.

Ronnie looked up at Ray and nodded. She turned to the waiter.

"I'll have the salmon with the wild rice and vegetables please," she said. She put her elbow on the table and leaned her chin in her hand, knowing Ray would be able to see a bit more down the low, slit neckline of the dress and gazed at him with a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Errr, beef with the new potatoes and green beans for me" he said as he handed back the menu.

Ray turned his attention back to Ronnie and felt his blood run south as he registered the way she was sitting.

He made a slow deliberate point of doing what she clearly intended for him to do and grinned.

"You are such a tease, Ronnie Mitchell."

Ronnie smiled as he looked at her. She swallowed hard and took a drink of wine.

"I'm not a tease, Ray," she replied in a low, seductive tone. "A tease promises with no follow through," she raised and eyebrow at him, "and you know I always deliver."

She looked at him smugly and took another drink of wine. She wasn't done yet.

Ray smirked at her and nodded. This was true. He sipped the wine. He didn't normally drink it, he preferred beer or brandy. He like brandy. This wine was okay though. It was dry, he couldn't stand sweet wines.

"Why don't you order yourself a glass of beer? I'm pretty sure you don't like wine," she suggested.

Ray shook his head.

"It's not that bad," he shrugged. He replaced his glass and looked around the little place again. His gaze moved back to Ronnie.

"So, how much damage d'you reckon there's gonna be when that lot have finished at the club?" he asked trying to change the subject.

"Well, Jack and the people he brings in as chaperones pretty much clean the place up," she answered. "There's been surprising little damage which is why we keep allowing the party in the first place," she added. She tilted her head at him.

"Different from parties up in Manchester then. Every year when the end of term parties start the whole of the Manchester police are on call and ready to go. Something always kicks off and somewhere gets trashed," he told her.

"Well, it's only this one in particular. I'm sure there are parties out there right now where things are kicking off. Jack's pretty good about keeping the one at the club under control. He's from Manchester, he taught at some fairly rough school there called Waterloo Road, did you know that? So, he can handle it," she asserted and took another drink of her wine.

Ray shrugged his agreement. Rimmer seemed fairly capable of handling whatever got thrown his way. Ray knew about Waterloo Road, that place was a nesting ground for under privileged kids with ASBOs. If Jack had managed that place then he could take anything thrown his way.

Ronnie leaned on her hand again and gazed at Ray across the table. She stretched her other arm across the table towards him and took his hand.

"This is really lovely, Ray," she said softly and squeezed his hand. "I'm really glad I met you. You really are just so amazing."

Ray squeezed her hand back and tried to keep his eyes trained on her face. He couldn't think of anything to say to that, in any other situation he would have showed her. Somehow he didn't think that was appropriate.

He lift her hand and planted a kiss on it.

"Me too, Ron. Me too."

Ronnie smiled as their food arrived. She took a small bite of her salmon. "Oh, that's really good," she paused.

"How's yours?" she asked in an overly-casual tone.

Ray tucked into his beef greedily as it was placed before him. "Fantastic," he answered as he swallowed his mouthful and grinned up at her. A shadow of curiosity danced across his mind, he knew that tone of voice. The last time she had used that had been when she was talking to Roxy in the cafe when she had been...Ray's grip on his fork tightened as her foot advanced up his leg. His eyes flashed at her warningly as he jerked his leg away and playfully nudged her leg with his foot.

Ronnie snorted a laugh and took another bite as he nudged her leg. That was one warning glance. She waited a moment and then slid her bare foot over his shoe and up under the cuff of his trouser leg and onto his shin. She lifted her eyes up from her plate to peer at him from under her lashes and waited.

Ray raised his eyes to hers again and put his knife and fork down. He leaned in to get his head closer to hers.

"Ronnie, how do you honestly expect me to be able to eat when you are making it practically impossible to concentrate on what I'm supposed to be doing?"

Ronnie bit her lip and took her foot off his shin.

"Really? I could understand that this," she broke off and ran her foot along his inner thigh to between his legs, "might be a distraction but just your shin, surely not," she scoffed and flashed a wicked smile.

She'd received warning number 2.

Ray gritted his teeth at her foots movements up his inner thigh. His eyes flashed once more and he returned his attention to his food. God help him if she did one more thing with that foot of hers.

Ronnie smirked. She was getting to him, she knew it.

She calmly ate her dinner, making the occasional comment here and there about her day. She tracked his progress on his dinner and when he was over half-finished; she put her foot squarely between his legs and massaged him gently with it. A smile tugged up the corner of her mouth as she met his gaze. She folded her arms flat on the table in front of her and leaned over.

A single touch from her. That's all it took. One touch and his blood rushed southwards. He nearly dropped his fork in shock.

He thought she had stopped all that, at least until they got home.

"Ronnie..." he growled as a warning, the hand that had held his knife flew under the table and took hold of her foot. His other had joined and he gently tickled the bottom of her foot.

Ronnie jumped, startled, when he tickled her foot and giggled and pulled her foot away.

She gave him a look of wide-eyed innocence. "Sorry, it was an accident, my foot slipped."

Warning number 3.

"I think I'll have some of that cheesecake," she mused and glanced around for the waiter, deliberately avoiding Ray's gaze.

Foot slipped! Not unless...no. There was no way that her foot could 'slip' and end up in his lap.

He narrowed his eyes at her and got the waiter's attention. He nodded at Ronnie and gestured for her to order whatever she wanted.

"I'll have the cheesecake, please," Ronnie requested. The waiter nodded and came back with a slice of cheesecake. Ronnie thanked him and looked at it. Ronnie scooped some of the creamy cheesecake onto her finger and then caught Ray's gaze and held it while she licked her finger clean.

"This is really good, you should try some," she flirted and calmly picked up the chilled dessert fork and daintily cut a bite and ate it.

Ray held in a groan as he watched her. This wasn't fair.

He shook his head.

"Not a big fan of cheesecake or sweet foods," he told her as he leant back in his chair and watched her eat. This was definitely unfair.

Ronnie raised an eyebrow at him. Not a fan of sweet foods, since when? He'd certainly gone after those brownies Rowan had baked quickly enough.

"So, the brownies Rowan gave us, was that just some random moment of madness?" she asked him playfully.

She'd seen that look when she'd licked the cheesecake off her finger. No warning this time, she wondered why. She clearly wasn't trying hard enough. She put her fork down by her mostly finished cheesecake and wiped her hands on her napkin. She stood up and smoothed her dress.

"Be right back," she told him as she stepped over to him. She leaned over and looked in his eyes and then moved her mouth to his ear and began to whisper. She stood up and strode away towards the ladies' room. That should do it, she reckoned.

Ray held in a groan as he watched her go. This torture was going to have to end. Soon.

He looked at her nearly finished dessert and waved a waiter over and asked for the bill. He tapped his fingers impatiently on the table as he tried in vain to avert his mind from the images that had been conjured with Ronnie's words. She was enjoying this. He knew she was.

Ronnie walked back to the table and saw him paying the bill. She bit her lip. As much as she loved Cuddly Toy Ray, she liked his other side too. She loved pushing him and hearing him growl and threaten to punish her, he never did though. She stepped next to the table as the waiter walked away and picked up her bag.

"I'm ready," she said, making her voice low and seductive. She blinked at him and turned to walk towards the door.

/\/\/\\\\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Jack smiled and waved at his former student as they wandered off.

"Good kids, they didn't start out so great, but they're a credit to the school," he murmured proudly. He noticed jackets were piling up and rushed back over to the counter, pulling Alyssa along with him.

/\/\/\\\\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Abi waved at Alyssa and walked over.

"Hey, Mr. Rimmer, hiya Alyssa," she greeted. She handed over her coat and saw Darren near the door. She gazed at him for a few moments and sighed. He was so responsible. She turned back to Alyssa.

"You should know that I saw Leon and Zsa drinking in the park before coming over here, Fatboy may have been too, I can't be sure," she whispered and walked off to get some food.

/\/\/\\\\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Paul watched the girls come streaming in; looking around for the girl he'd seen the other day, Lauren. He finally spotted her and nudged Bolton.

"That's the girl. She said she'd dance with me tonight. Hope it will be all night," he said with a grin.

Lauren saw Paul and gave him a small smile before turning deliberately away and handing in her coat. She walked with Mari and Hugh to get something to eat, glancing once more at Paul as she walked by.

"See, she keeps checking me out. I'm well in there, mate," he bragged.

/\/\/\\\\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Lucy rolled her eyes at Zsa, less than impressed. She winked at Fatboy as she followed him into the club. She managed to face the wall just long enough to move the bottle from her jacket to her bag. She quickly shrugged off the jacket she was wearing to reveal the very skimpy dress she wore. She smiled at Jack, sniffed dismissively at Alyssa and sauntered over towards the VIP room where the food was.

/\/\/\\\\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Darren grinned at Tamwar as the flood of students finally tapered off. Jack told them they could leave the doors and they did so hurriedly. Darren went to the VIP room and pulled Jodie out. Libby was furious! She was not going to serve all the kids by herself! She caught sight of Tamwar and waved him over.

"You have to help me; Darren's just run off with that Jodie. I'll kill him," she ranted. Tamwar shrugged. This way he'd get to look at all the girls as they passed by. He didn't mind. He hurriedly began serving up the food.

/\/\/\\\\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Bolton rolled his eyes and scanned the crowd again. He still hadn't seen Whitney. He looked over at Lauren and agreed, it seemed most of these girls in Walford were fit. It was so depressing. But he would make the most of it.

"What are you waiting for, you Muppet. Go make your move!" he said rolling his eyes.

"I will in a minute, when there's more dancing going on. I'm gonna get some food," he decided and headed in the direction of the food.

/\/\/\\\\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Zsa Zsa grabbed Leon's hand and dragged him onto the dance floor. She sneaked him a perfume bottle that held vodka inside and watched him as he drained it.

Fatboy stood against the wall casually and watched Leon knocked back the contents of the perfume bottle.

He stood back and watched the girls that danced by, surveying the talent and choosing his target.

/\/\/\\\\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Alyssa laughed as she was tugged along by him. She smiled at the kids as they handed over their coats and set about hanging them up neatly as Jack handed them to her.

Alyssa smiled at Abi and nodded at her tip off. She had no idea who the people she mentioned were but no doubt Jack did.

The flow of teens began to lessen and Alyssa took the opportunity to wrap her arms around his waist and kiss the side of his neck. She watched the kids silently as they went about dancing and chatting and eating. She smiled.

Jack leaned over and nuzzled Alyssa's her ear after she kissed him. "What was Abi saying to you earlier?"

Alyssa tilted her head to look up at him.

"Oh, some kids were drinking before they came in. Leon, Zsa...Zsa? and I think she said Fatboy."

"I should have guessed," Jack sighed. He looked around and spotted Leon and Zsa Zsa on the dance floor. He pointed them out to Alyssa. "Those two, we'll have to keep an eye on them." His eye fell on Lucy Beale. "And Lucy as well," he added. He slung and arm around Alyssa's waist.

Alyssa spotted them.

"Girl with the blue hair dancing with the cute guy, got it!" Her eye fell on Lucy too. She had seen her around before. Ian Beale's daughter. If her reputation was anything to go by then she was nowhere near as nice as her brother.

"Want something to eat? You'll need your strength up I promise you," he told her with a grin.

She smiled up at him and nodded.

"I skipped lunch today so I'm starving!" she told him as she walked with him to the VIP room. Her eyes took in the teenagers milling around and she smiled as she picked up a plate.

Jack patiently waited for their turn at the food. It looked like quite a spread. He kept an arm around Alyssa's waist as they moved. He noted that Libby looked upset and had an idea that her price for tonight had likely just gone up. He sighed.

/\/\/\/\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Lucy walked over to Fatboy and leaned against the wall next to him.

"Hey Fats, how are you," she asked, making conversation.

Lucy saw her brother walk in with some strange girl and frown.

"What's he playing at? Who's she?" she muttered as she tracked the pair of them with her eyes as they crossed the room.

Lucy arced away from the wall and headed towards the food. She folded her arms and watched Peter with the strange girl. Now that she could see the girl close up, she thought it was that girl that was working in the café now. The one who's mum was a cop. She smirked. Peter better be careful! She picked up a plate and tapped it thoughtfully with her finger.

/\/\/\/\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Molly smiled at Peter and raised an eyebrow as he took her arm. He was going to do this then. She sighed inwardly and smiled. If he was going through with this then she would too.

Molly's excitement grew as they drew nearer to the club and she beamed at Whitney as they went inside.

Whitney smiled back hugely at Molly as they went inside. She waved at Mr. Rimmer and smoothed her dress quickly as she walked along.

"The food's over there, I'm starved," she remarked and headed in the direction of the VIP room. She was so nervous; she kept her eyes straight ahead and didn't even see Bolton as she passed him.

"Food?" Peter asked Molly. "I know I'm hungry," he added and began to slowly follow in the direction Whitney went.

Peter handed Molly a plate and waited. He glanced at her again out of the corner of his eye. She did look amazing. He found he was looking forward to dancing with her.

Molly caught Peter looking at her out of the corner of her eye and felt herself blush as curry was loaded onto her plate. He looked quite nice in that shirt. Better than he did in an apron at any rate. She smiled to herself and looked over to see Whitney talking to Bolton. She smiled at the expression on his face.

/\/\/\/\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Lauren talked idly with Mari and Hugh as she picked at her food. She noticed that boy Paul kept looking at her. She didn't mind. He was kinda cute. Her eyes widened as Peter walked in with some strange girl on his arm. Mari put a hand on Lauren's arm.

"You okay, pet?" she asked her friend, her tone heavy with concern.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she sighed and tossed her paper plate in the recycle bin and walked off. She gave Peter a look and then grabbed Paul's hand as she passed and led him onto the dance floor.

Paul smiled as Lauren danced with him. He was a much better dancer after Bolton had taught him some moves. Lauren smiled back. Paul seemed all right. He was a passable dance partner if nothing else. She smiled as Mari and Hugh came and started dancing next to them.

/\/\/\/\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Whitney toyed with her plate and looked back to see if Peter and Molly were coming and spotted Bolton. She smiled. "Hiya, good to see you," she said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic.

Bolton looked her up and down slowly.

"Yeah you too!" he started loading food onto his plate but couldn't help checking her out every so often. He had thought she was fit before, but now. Wearing that. Wow!

Whitney blushed as Bolton looked her up and down. She quickly turned around and stuck her plate out to Libby. She pointed at what she wanted without looking and walked nervously away, wondering if Bolton was still watching her and terrified to look and find out.

/\/\/\/\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Libby looked and saw the line of kids was nearly done. "All I can say, is we better be getting paid some good money for this," she said quietly to Tamwar who nodded absently. He was busy watching Aleesha and Danielle.

/\/\/\/\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

Zsa Zsa looked around casually and made sure no teachers or chaperones were about as she pulled her perfume bottle out and drained the contents herself. The alcohol had hit Leon; she could see it as his coordination went lax. She smiled and kissed him as she danced.

/\/\/\/\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\

"Well, hello, brother dearest," Lucy drawled as she followed Peter and Molly after getting her food. Peter turned and looked at her.

"I guess Dad didn't see you before you left for the party," Peter comment, a hint of disgust in his tone.

"No, he was busy with something, I wasn't paying attention. I had better things to do. So, who's this then?" she asked him and took a bite of her food.

"This is Molly," he replied shortly.

"Molly, you work at the café, don't you?" Lucy nodded to herself and then looked back at Peter. "So, I guess Rowan said no then when you asked her to come?"

Peter rolled his eyes and moved to steer Molly away.

"Do one, Lucy," he told her, his voice full of annoyance as he moved away, pulling Molly back out of the VIP room. He led her over to one of the tables and sat down. Lucy followed, a smile tugging the corner of her mouth.

"So, go on, Peter, tell me what happened. You can confide in your sister. Did she break your heart? Awww, poor Petey-Wetey. Or did you not even ask her?"

Peter glared at Lucy and stood up. "Shut up, Lucy."

"Oh, come on, Peter, you can tell me. I want to help. You never know, she might have said yes," Lucy drawled sarcastically.

Lauren stopped dancing with Paul and came walking over.

"What's going on, Lucy?"

"Well, poor, poor Peter here fancies Rowan something rotten. I think he chickened out of asking her to be his date tonight so he wouldn't have to bring her," she pointed at Molly. "But he won't tell me if he did or if he got turned down." she explained as she put on a sad face. Peter folded his arms in exasperation. He picked up his plate and looked at Molly and mouthed 'come on' and started to move to another table.

Lucy pushed him back. "Where do you think you're going? You're going nowhere until you tell me what happened. Come on, Peter, spill," she grinned maliciously at him.

"Lucy, I said leave me alone."

Whitney saw what was going on and walked over, she noticed a lot of other people doing the same. But she was going to support her friend; the others just wanted to gawp.

Bolton saw a crowd gather and watched Whitney fight her way through. Something was about to kick off then. He left his food and pushed through until he could see. Molly and her boyfriend were being teased by a blonde girl in a ridiculous dress. He eyed her and dismissed her as a complete and utter slapper.

Molly looked up at Lucy. GOD! This girl was such a bitch. How evil and twisted did you have to be to full on embarrass your own brother in front of everyone? Her temper flared dangerously with every malicious word that came out of Lucy Beale's spiteful mouth.

She couldn't take it. Peter was just there doing absolutely nothing to stop this. All he had to do was stand up to the girl. Her temper overflowed and Molly calmly stood and faced Lucy Beale, her expression one of disgust.

"Well at least he got a date Lucy. Not like you. You're so desperate. Look at you, flaunting yourself like a whore because your self-esteem is sooo low that you know feel that revealing your body will get you what you want. How's that working out for you so far, hey?" she retaliated leaving her food on the table and moving to face the bitch that Peter had the misfortune to call a sister.

Lucy looked at Molly as if she'd been slapped and glared at the girl.

"I'm not desperate, I'm not interested in little boys," she gestured around her. "My boyfriend is a man, and besides, you're just jealous you can't wear a dress like this," she sneered.

Lauren walked up and stood next to Lucy.

"What the hell are you playing at Lucy?" she demanded to know.

"I'm trying to find out what your old boyfriend is doing with this," Lucy broke off unable to think of a word and gestured at Molly.

"I don't need you to fight my battles for me Lucy; I really can't be bothered with Peter anymore. I thought you knew that. And you," she turned and leveled a finger at Molly. "Leave my friend alone, this is between her and Peter, so don't go sticking your oar in."

"Oi, shut up Lauren. Lucy's got no right talking to her brother like that, so you go on and do one," Whitney broke in and pushed Lauren.

Lauren was caught off-balance and backpedalled into Paul. She reached out to grab him and stop herself but accidentally shoved him instead. Paul was not so lucky. He spun around and took a few unintended running steps and slammed into Mari and her boyfriend, knocking their plates out of their hands as they all three fell to the floor.

Tamwar jumped out from behind the food table and in front of Danielle and Aleesha, picking up a tray as he went and blocked the food from getting all over them.

Molly shot Whitney a look of admiration and thanks as she pushed Lauren.

"Now, look what you've done," Lucy shrieked and advanced on Molly. Peter stepped in front of her and pushed Lucy back.

"You started it Lucy, now why don't you just leave," he snapped. "Go find that creep you call your boyfriend and get out of here."

He turned and put his hands on Molly's arms and guided her away. Lucy was just really unbelievable sometimes.

Molly glared at Lucy darkly and her fists clenched at her sides as she fought with her sudden desire to slap Lucy around the face and wipe away the self satisfied expression.

Lucy watched her brother walk away and then turned and shoved people out of her way to get out of the club.

Molly's attention snapped back to Lucy as she heard the shriek and she bristled, ready to take whatever Lucy dished out and send it back ten times worse. She tensed at Peter's hands on her arms and let him guide her away. She looked back over her shoulder and saw Lucy storm out.

"Peter, I know she's your sister and everything but she's a right bitch," she exclaimed as she unclenched her fists and flexed her fingers.

Peter sighed. "I know, I did warn you remember?" He faced her and grinned at her. "That was really something though, I'm gonna be real careful not to ever get you mad at me."

He leaned over and gave her a swift kiss on the lips and then cleared his throat and turned away. "We forgot our food," he said and went to get their plates. He could not believe he'd done that!

Molly watched him go. She had not expected that at all. What the hell had just happened? She touched a finger to her lips and smiled shyly. That had surprised her.

Molly spotted Whitney looking at her and widened her eyes before looking back up at Peter as he came back with their food.

"What was that?" she demanded.

/\\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\\\/\/\\

Lauren hurried over and helped Paul up.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know that Whitney would push me," she told him.

"S'alright, I've had worse in football practice," he looked over at Mari and Hugh. "Sorry there, yeah? You okay?"

The couple looked at each other. Apart from some minor bruises they'd be fine. They nodded. Hugh got up, bent down and scooped Mari's slight frame from the floor and stood her up.

"My dress better not be ruined," Mari complained.

Hugh turned her around and brushed at the back of her dress while she inspected the front.

He folded her in his arms. "You still look fantastic," he assured her.

Her eyes spotted the cakes and her expression brightened. "I guess that means it's time for chocolate!" she cried and grabbed up a promising looking slice of chocolate cake. Hugh chuckled and grabbed one too.

Whitney looked around and made sure Molly and Peter were okay. Lauren didn't seem interested in getting her back for the push. She touched her hair and smoothed her dress and sighed. If Lucy Beale could be counted on for one thing, it was to spoil a good party. She sat down and picked at the food on her plate. She wasn't very hungry anymore. She glanced over just in time to see Peter kiss Molly and she bit back a smile.

/\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\\

Steph saw the girl with the blue hair drinking from the small bottle when she thought no one was looking. She narrowed her eyes. She caught Doug's eye and nodded him over and told him.

"I'll go find Mr. Rimmer; he'll help you get them out of here. That boy she's with looks like a trouble maker."

Steph pushed her third cup of coffee away and went to find Jack. She saw him in the VIP room with his girlfriend, they were eating and talking.

She squared her shoulders and walked over.

"Jack, you should know that girl with the blue hair and the boy she's with are drinking from little bottles, perfume bottles I should think. She's likely got more hidden in her bag. I thought you should know," she told him.

"Thanks, Steph; I'll go take care of it."

"I asked that bartender Doug to help you."

Jack nodded and put down his plate. He and Doug walked over and Jack asked Zsa Zsa to open her bag.

Zsa Zsa looked up at Mr. Rimmer and let go of Leon. She stared at him defiantly.

"Why?" she asked glaring at him.

Leon suddenly looked bashful and took a tiny step backwards in a vain attempt to remove himself from the situation.

"Because Zsa Zsa, we know you've got perfume bottles full of liquor in your bag. Now, you either turn it over or leave now. We're not having a repeat of last year," Jack told her and turned to look at the commotion in time to see Lauren and then Paul get knocked around. He looked back at Leon and Zsa Zsa. "Don't make me call the police."

Zsa Zsa scowled at him.

"You've got no right to go through my stuff!" she snapped and grabbed Leon's hand.

"I don't even want to be at your stupid party," she said coolly and leant her face closer to his "It's rubbish!"

Zsa Zsa pulled her face away and gave Jack an icy glare.

"Come on Leon. Auntie Shirley's out tonight and there's booze at her flat. Heather won't notice!" she muttered as she pulled Leon after her.

Jack and Doug stood and watched the two leave the party. "Keep an eye out if they try to come back."

Doug nodded and went back behind the bar.

/\/\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\\\/\/\/\

Steph eyed Alyssa as she stood there.

"So, rather an interesting life you three have, I'd say, with your little ménage a trois," she commented quietly, tilting her head as she spoke. She folded her arms and gazed at Alyssa steadily, her eyebrows lifted expectantly.

Alyssa watched Jack as he walked away. His arse looked amazing in those trousers she thought as she swallowed her mouthful.

Alyssa smiled up at Steph and confusion clouded her face at the statement. What was this woman on about? Ménage a trois? French. Alyssa translated as carefully as she could and found herself even more confused.

"Sorry, what exactly are you talking about?" she asked, twisting in her chair to face Steph.

Steph sat down.

"Well, you and that little American girl and Jack, all nice and cozy. So going to have a baby then, the three of you? How nice," Steph remarked in an overly sweet tone. Steph leaned closer. "But tell me, is it all three of you at once or do you and she take turns?"

Alyssa laughed as she caught on. Where had all this come from? She had clearly got the wrong end of the stick.

"Listen Steph, I don't know what kind of weird little fantasy you've got going on in your head but me, Rowan and Jack aren't in a threesome. Rowan's my sister, so technically sleeping with me would be considered incest in our eyes. And why would she sleep with Jack when she's completely head over heels in love with her own boyfriend," she told her.

"Why on earth did you think we were, what did you call it? A ménage a trois?" she questioned incredulously.

Steph blushed but carried on.

"Well, I heard her on the phone with him didn't I? Calling him her 'dearest one' and saying some plans sounded sooo romantic and telling him he was the best boyfriend ever. And then when she was here earlier and he hugged and kissed her! And then I see you hugging and kissing her and she's so happy you're going to be able to have a baby! Then I meet you, he says you're his girlfriend, what was I supposed to think? It's not like he's never juggled two women before," Steph told her.

"Jack planned a romantic meal for me and him in his office Wednesday night and asked Rowan to make the food. She's a terrific cook. They get on and joke around together. And Rowan's personal life is none of your business, you have no idea what she's been through," she told Steph her eyes flashing.

Alyssa smiled at the fact that Steph thought Jack would cheat on her. If he did decided to sleep with someone else, she could think of people a lot more willing than Rowan. No way!

/\/\\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\\/\/\/\\/\/\

Libby went around the table and patted Tamwar on the shoulder.

"Nice one, Tam," she told him with a sidelong glance at the girls whose outfits he'd saved.

/\/\\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\\/\/\/\\/\/\

Danielle smiled at Tamwar and then grabbed Aleesha's hand. She was glad no curry had got on her dress. Curry stains were impossible to get out.

Aleesha nodded at the boy who had prevented curry from splattering them and rushed back to the dance floor with Danielle.

/\/\\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\\/\/\/\\/\/\

Bolton watched the scene with amusement and fixed his gaze on Whitney as the crowd disbursed. He followed and sat down next to her.

"You push real hard. Remind me never to get on your bad side," he joked with a grin.

/\/\\\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\\/\/\/\\/\/\

Tamwar looked at Libby and then back in the direction of the girls.

"Yeah, you're welcome," he called after them and flopped his arms in defeat. He put the tray back on the table and went to get some towels to clean up the mess.