Die Hard Mod by Charlie McQuaker Page A

gonna get maself one more pint. I’ll see ya back at the ranch later mate.’
    The alcohol was anaesthetising the sense of lonesomeness that Steve had felt earlier and he hadn’t given up on the hope of finding someone to take home. As he lent on the bar, he looked to his left and started taking in the rear view of an elegant-looking brunette with hair cascading down her back who was chatting to a pair of female friends. She was wearing a slinky knee-length black dress that clung to her curves and emphasised the peachiness of her ass. Steve reckoned that if her face was anywhere near as attractive as the rest of her, she’d be a stunner. He pondered what sort of opening gambit he might make to get talking to her. He opted for something innocuous.
    ‘Sorry to bother ye luv,’ he said as he tapped the girl on the shoulder. ‘Do ye know what time this gaff shuts at?’
    His heart lurched when she turned round.
    ‘Jeanie!’

 
     
    17
     
    Her hair and style of dress had changed radically but there was no mistaking those cheekbones, full lips and big brown eyes.
    ‘Christ Almighty… Steve! What the hell are you doing here?’
    Steve had prayed so long for this moment that the sight of Jeanie before him hardly seemed real. He could feel his voice trembling as he tried to keep his composure.
    ‘I’m, uh… well, I just fancied getting away for a while. You know how it is Jeanie… anyway, I reckon it’s you that has some explainin’ to do.’
    Jeanie looked at him impassively with a mildly bemused smile.
    ‘Sometimes a girl just needs to spread her wings. Belfast was just doing my nut in, darlin’.’
    So that was the best she could muster? All those months of misery and soul-searching, lying awake at night mulling over every possibility of where she could be and what might have become of her.
    ‘Jesus, is that all you’ve got to say to me? For fuck’s sake Jeanie, all you left me was that poxy note that explained fuck all and left me worried sick. I thought we had something together and next thing you do a fuckin’ Lord Lucan act on me.’
    Jeanie noticed that her companions were becoming all too aware of their lively exchange.
    ‘Could you keep it down, Steve? I don’t think we should be discussing this here’.
    Her voice quietened to a whisper.
    ‘Look darlin’, I’ve been wanting to ditch these too all night, they’ve been boring the arse off me. I’ll have a quick word then we can split. Okay?’

 
     
     
     
    18
     
    ‘Let’s just find somewhere quiet where we can get a drink, okay?’ Jeanie said brusquely as they walked along Marine Parade towards the Palace Pier.
    Steve struggled to think of how he could get a conversation going as she moodily blew smoke rings from her Menthol cigarette.
    Outside the Madeira Hotel, two girls in hen night fancy dress were sat on the pavement with one of them holding the other’s hair back as she puked into a drain.
    ‘Classy,’ said Jeanie.
    ‘Seen a lot worse in Belfast ,’ said Steve, ‘... at least she’s keepin’ the boke outta her mate’s hair. That’s showin’ a lotta class in my book.’
    ‘Yeah and using the drain’s a nice touch too, very civic-minded,’ added Jeanie.
    They smiled at each other for the first time that night.
    ‘Hey darlin’, I’ve remembered somewhere we could get a late one,’ said Jeanie. ‘Place called The Fishbowl, just a couple of minutes away, okay?’
    The bar was still busy at 2 am but they had little trouble getting served and managed to find a seat by the window upstairs. Looking at her in the dim candle light, Steve felt himself fall under the spell of Jeanie’s beauty anew. He realised he barely cared what she had to say for herself. The fact that she was there right in front of him was all that mattered.
    ‘So what’s the story then, Jeanie? What was so bad about Belfast that you had to do a moonlight flit?’
    Jeanie gave him a seductively wide-eyed look and sipped on her glass of red wine before