I pause by the door of the bar. He's stood with his back to me, laughing and joking with Joe and Colby. He looks happy. Real happy. I take a deep breath and walk in, going straight to the bar. "Hey" I say quietly. He spins around and looks at me. He's clearly had a few already. "Tor" he whispers, touching my cheek. "I didn't think you were coming." "I wasn't" I say, looking back at the girls. "I kinda got forced into it. But hey, what's one drink, right?" He nods and turns to the barman. "Double jack for the ex wife" he says. He hands it to me and raises his glass. "To me, right?" he asks. I nod and we touch glasses before downing the drink. "Look after yourself Ambrose" I whisper. He nods. "You too doll" he says quietly. I smile and head over to the booth the girls are sitting in. "Can I go back to my daughter now?" I ask, sliding in next to Michelle. She shakes her head. "Sorry dude" she says hugging me. I groan as Layla brings a tray of drinks over, handing me another double jack. I shrug and down it, making the best of a very bad situation.
"Torrie!" Layla yells. I snap out of the trance I'm in and look at her. "Huh?" I ask. She smiles. "Dance?" she asks. I shake my head and go back to staring at him. Summer is draped all over him. She says something and he laughs, looking over at me out of the corner of his eye. I shake my head and look at Layla. "Fuck it" I say standing up. "Come on El, let's do it." She smiles and stands up, taking my hand and leading me to the dancefloor. "I need to go Layla" I say as we start dancing. "I can't be here, not now. This isn't right." She nods. "Tor" she says. "Don't think we don't all understand how you feel. We're all here for you, ok? Just stop shutting us out. You can't deal with this on your own." I smile. "Thanks Layla" I say hugging her. "One more drink, then I'm going back up." She nods and we head to the bar to get more drinks.
"Guys and gals" Dean says over the microphone. "Better do this bit before I get too wasted. I, uh, just wanna thank you all for the last few years. You're a great bunch to work with, and I hope to work with you all again sometime in the future. To my brothers, Joe and Colby, this ain't the end, it's just the start of a new chapter. I'm still gonna be next door, hounding the crap outta you. Is Torrie still here? Ah, there you are. You, Tor, are quite simply, the love of my fucking life. I don't think I need to say any more on that. Cos I could go on all night. Look after our baby girl, ok?" I nod, tears rolling down my face. "I have to go" I whisper. I grab my bag and run out of the bar before any of the girls can stop me.
I push the button for the lift and curse as I look up at the display, telling me it's on the 7th floor. "Come on" I whisper. The atmosphere changes and I know he's behind me. "Go back to your party Jon" I whisper. He groans. "Do you really think a party is on my mind right now doll?" he asks, grabbing my arm and turning me around to face him. "How about one last act?" Before I know what he's doing, he dips his head and kisses me softly. I can't help it. I grab onto him like he's gonna disappear, kissing him and running my hands through his hair. "Doll" he moans, grabbing my ass and pulling me against him. He kisses me again as he hitches my leg over his hip, running his tongue along my bottom lip before exploring my mouth with it again. "Woah!" I hear Michelle say from the doorway to the bar. "Is that..." Layla starts. "Tor" Michelle says. "Yeah." The lift pings signalling its arrival, and the arrival of my senses. "Shit" I say pulling away from him and running into the lift. "Bye Jon." I watch as he pulls at his hair as the lift doors close.
Randy is watching tv when I get in the room. "Night Randy" I say quickly, dumping my bag and running into the bedroom, closing the door behind me. I've just taken the top and shorts off when he opens the door and walks in. "Here, now" he says holding his arms out. I run to him and sob into his chest. "What happened?" he asks quietly. I sigh and look up at him. "We kinda kissed" I say. "Then I ran, I left him in the lobby." He groans. "Tor" he starts. I shake my head and put my finger on his lips. "Goodnight Randy" I say, kissing him quickly before getting in to bed. He nods and heads back out to the tv. He's back in with my phone a few minutes later. "It's going mad" he says passing it to me. "Layla, Michelle and Jon." I groan and put it on silent as a text from Jon comes through. Randy nods and goes back out. I glance at the text. "Say the word and I'll stay" I read. I shake my head and turn the phone off before cuddling in to the pillow.
Destiny is babbling to herself when I wake up the next morning. Randy has his arm across my stomach. I smile and sit up, groaning when Randy's grip gets tighter. "Hey" he whispers. "You ok?" I nod and look at him. "Just gonna feed Dessie" I say, glancing at the time. "Randy" I say. "What time is Jon's flight?" "Nine" he says, sitting up. I nod. It's 8.30 now. I swallow the lump in my throat and pick Dessie up. He takes her from me straight away. "Go get him Torrie" he whispers. "Go get your life back. You need Jon like you need air. Go!" I jump out of bed and get dressed, quickly pulling on my shorts and a vest before pulling my converse from under the bed. Randy throws me the car keys and I'm out the door, pulling my shoes on as I run.