Chapter 11: Mixed Doubles

I took Paige for a posh burger at a newly opened restaurant on the seafront on Saturday evening before we went back to the house for another Freak in the Bed session. Mark, Imogen and Vanessa had gone to Central Pier for the night with some of the girls’ old friends from last year and some of the lads on the same corridor as Mark and me. I took Paige home and was asleep in bed myself before they got back.

The next day I went for Sunday lunch at my sister’s restaurant in Micester with my housemates and then we had a quiet drink in the small pub by Jak’s Café in the evening before heading home to get an early night ahead of what we all expected would be a hectic first week of the new term.

Life then began to settle into something of a routine over the next few weeks or so with lectures, seminars, tutorials and homework Monday to Friday and more homework and assignments at the weekend. Mark spent every spare moment he had working on his car instead of in front of the television, and I have to admit it was coming along nicely—in time it might even be safe to drive.

I continued to make a point of having breakfast at Jak’s almost every morning apart from Sunday. Imogen, Mark and Vanessa usually joined me if they had early lectures. Since it was our second year, we had more freedom over the content of our courses than in the first year, so Imogen and I were actually taking a couple of different modules from each other. It felt weird not sitting next to her in some lectures and seminars.

I had lunch in The Union whenever I was on campus around that time (which was every weekday) and arranged to meet up with whichever of my friends were also on campus at the time, be that my housemates, Emily, Jem, Lily or even—if I was desperate—Amanda. I insisted on paying for whoever I was having lunch with and given they all now knew to some extent that I could easily afford it, none of them ever complained. In fact, Amanda being Amanda, I’m sure she always ordered something more expensive than if she’d have been paying for it herself. I knew she was taking advantage of me, and I knew that she knew that I knew she was taking advantage but, honestly, I really didn’t mind. I was easily spending somewhere between fifty and a hundred pounds a day but that still left me over half of the money that Bobby was sending me each month.

And speaking of Amanda—she continued to be an outrageous flirt with me (and with any other male with a pulse in her vicinity), particularly if we were out on Friday or Saturday night. She made it very obvious that she’d happily hop in my bed—or drag me into hers—any time I was willing.

I spoke to Paige a couple of times a week on the phone. She filled me in on all the gossip at JMS Westmouth and we went out on alternating Friday and Saturday nights. When we did go out, we went out alone rather than with my university friends.

It was as if I had two separate lives—one at university and one with Paige.

I also spoke to Lisa a couple of times a week too and had a stream of messages from her, Emily and Chloë almost every day. Chloë even called me a couple of times.

That surprised me if I’m honest. I genuinely thought that Chloë’s game of trying to control my love life—or finding my happy ending, as she put it—wouldn’t last more than a week or two, but she really did seem genuinely interested in my life.

It was almost as if we were becoming friends.

Routine was definitely the way I’d describe my life throughout what remained of September and into October. And that included my Wednesday afternoon badminton sessions with Mark, Jem and Phil and gym sessions with Mark afterwards.

Alannah hadn’t called to accept my invitation to join the badminton club but, like I said, I hadn’t expected her to—even if she had accepted my buying her lunch on the days she joined me and Lily in The Union.

Then, on the second Wednesday in October, during lunch, which I was having with Vanessa and Imogen, Lily called.

“Hey, Lils.”

“Hey, Paul. Are you still playing badminton this afternoon?”

“Yeah. Every Wednesday.”

“And does the offer to come and play with you still stand?”

“Of course. But why? I thought running was your thing.”

“Oh, it is, but I can run any time. But Lana signed up for the badminton club at that fayre the first week, but she still hasn’t actually been to play yet. She says she’s got no-one to go with.”

“I figured that. That’s why I offered—”

“Yeah, I know. But...”

“Yeah,” I said, knowing exactly what she meant.

“So, I thought if I said I’d go then she would too. I’ll be honest Paul, I’m worried about her. She’s not integrating at all. She’s made no friends other than me and Rina—and I have to say, I don’t completely trust Rina. She’s ... I don’t know, I just don’t trust her.”

“Okay, well, do you want to meet us there or should I call in for you on the way?”

“Meet us there might be best. I think it’s going to be hard enough to get her to come anyway and if you show up...”

“I still don’t get what her problem with me is.”

“I don’t think it’s you, Paul. I think it’s men in general and more ... More the idea of you. If you get what I mean.”

“No, Lils. I really don’t.”

“It’s ... it’s hard to explain. I think—”

“Then don’t. It’s not important.”

“But it is, Paul.”

“No, Lils, it’s not. It’s really not. Tell you what. You work out how to explain it and tell me when you have. In the meantime, I’ll meet you both in the sports hall this evening. We’ll be there for about an hour from around four.”

“Okay. We’ll meet you there. Unless she won’t come.”

We said our goodbyes, I ended the call and put my phone back on the table, then picked up another slice of Pizza.

“Was that Lily?” Vanessa asked. I tried to give her the stupid question look that Imogen used on me so often, but I don’t think I pulled it off because she just laughed.

“I like her,” Imogen said. “She’s nice.” She sipped her drink and gave me another of her patented hidden meaning looks—although her meaning wasn’t all that hidden. Chloë had asked me about how I was getting on with Lily a few times, so it was obvious that she’d been a topic of conversation in the group chat.

“She’s trying to get Alannah to come to badminton this afternoon. I said I’d meet them there and play a couple of games.”

“Alannah is that girl with the giant chip on her shoulder, isn’t she?” Vanessa said.

“You noticed that, huh?”

“Yeah. I noticed there’s a sun and a moon in the sky too,” she said.

“Do the other guys know you’ve invited them along?” Imogen asked.

“They’ll be cool. We’ll just team up for some mixed-doubles for something. It’ll be good to mix things up. I was getting bored with beating everyone anyway.”

I’d already beaten Jem in a singles match and we were waiting for Phil and Mark to finish their game so I could play the winner (and Jem play the loser) when Lily and Alannah arrived. They entered the giant sports hall and stood by the door looking around—I assumed they were looking for me, or at least Lily was.

“Back in a sec,” I said to Jem.

“She won’t shag you, mate,” Jem said as I jogged away towards the entrance. “Wait, what am I saying. She probably will in the end. Whichever one it is you’re after. They usually do.”

I turned around to walk backwards and offered him a middle-finger salute before turning around again.

Lily beamed as I approached. Alannah ... didn’t frown. She didn’t smile either, but she didn’t frown or show any displeasure at my presence, which I guess was something.