The Middle Child Read Free Page A

muffin.  Small crumbs broke off and tickled her chin.  Suddenly, all was right with the world and if it lasted for the duration of the muffin, that was fine with her.
         "Nikki came into the club after you left."
         Alex rolled her eyes.  Of course it couldn’t last.  "So?"
         "Just thought I’d let you know, that’s all.  You were a gnat’s bollock away from bumping into her."
         "Why should I care?" she cried at him, her voice rising.
         "I just thought I’d mention it in case you were interested," he said, flicking his non-existent hair.  He’d gone for the shaved look a month earlier.
         "You’re so gay," she said, laughing at his campness.
         "You’re right, I am a truly happy person."
         Alex chuckled as Jay tried to press a beauty spot formed of muffin crumb above his upper lip.
         Thank God for her friend, she thought as she viewed his crestfallen expression when the fruity beauty spot landed on the plate.  He’d been the first friend that she’d made when she'd moved to London seven years earlier. 
         They'd met during her first venture into a gay bar.  He was one of three males amongst a thong of females dancing and gyrating in a small, airless space.  Intrigued, she had asked him why he was there.  He’d admitted that when he wanted a quiet drink he frequented bars full of butch lesbians who’d leave him the hell alone. 
         Any thoughts of meeting someone that night had been put aside as the two of them had spent the whole evening chatting and laughing together.  And little had changed since, she thought as she chewed the last mouthful of dough.  They both still worked part-time in different bars.  He was still trying to make it as an actor and she was still content not to be trying to make it as anything.
         "So, how did she look?" Alex asked, off-handedly.
         "Gorgeous, as ever.  She’s put on a couple of pounds and she’s got a nice tan.  To be honest if I was a lesbian I’d be all over her."
         "You’re biased and you know it so be objective for a minute."
         Jay put his finger beneath his chin and pursed his full, feminine lips in a dramatic thinking pose.  "Okay, objectively she looks fucking gorgeous."
         "Thanks for the impartiality."
         Jay shrugged.  "It’s not my fault if you’re too stupid to realise that she was the best thing that ever happened to you."
         Alex buried her head in her hands.  "Jay, leave it alone.  You don’t know anything about us or what happened in our relationship."
         "I know enough to understand that you were the happiest you’ve ever been when you were with Nikki.  She was something special and you let her get away," he said, accusingly. 
         "Back off," she warned.
         "You don’t frighten me, missy.  I’ll say what I like; free speech and all that.  You were stupid to let her go.  Is it really so much better getting a quick shag now and again to ease the misery?"
         "I get a quick shag ‘cos I like sex," Alex said, attempting to lighten the mood.
         "You get cold sex with faceless strangers because you’re lonely and don’t even pretend otherwise ‘cos we both know it’s true."
         "Fuck off," she sighed, lighting a cigarette.
         "And before your pride sinks any lower, I’ll put you out of your misery.  No, she wasn’t with anyone."
         "I wasn’t going to ask," Alex said, stubbornly.
         "No, you probably weren’t but it was the one question rolling around in your mind."
         "Jay, I’m warning you, if you don’t shut the hell up I’ll…" Alex was saved from finishing the threat by the ringing of the phone.
         She traced the muffled sound to a pile of clothes on the sofa.  She threw them onto the floor.
         "What?" she barked into the mouthpiece.
         "Is that Alex Morgan?" the voice asked,