Chapter 2 - Girls Night part 3

The next morning, Aurora was in the kitchen making herself a cup of tea. She could hear Tasha moving around in her room. Aurora wasn't happy with her. While she was standing outside talking to Fred, Tasha had somehow sneaked past with that monstrosity of a man. She hadn’t noticed until she sent her a text message thirty minutes later telling her she'd got lucky.

'Morning.' Tasha walked into the kitchen and popped two slices of bread into the toaster.

'Good morning, friend. Where did you go last night?'

Tasha turned the kettle on, 'I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left you. But he was gorgeous.'

'If being smothered in hair -gel is what you go for, fair enough. But you could have told me.' Aurora huffed, she was so selfish it was unbelieveable.

'Look, I said I was sorry, what more do you want? Honestly. Anyway, how was bartender guy? I saw you guys chatting when I…'

'When you abandoned me?’ Aurora interrupted her. ‘His name is Fred, and he was very nice. He took my number, we're gonna go for a drink sometime.'

'Look at you, hussy. Two guys at once.' Tasha gave Aurora a nudge with her hips, 'good for you, maybe you'll let these guys near you, if you're not wearing that padlock and chain around your pants.'

'I do not wear a padlock. And I'm not with anyone, it's just a drink. And Sam and I have only been on one date.'

Aurora put her plate in the sink and turned to walk out of the kitchen as suited man walked in, 'Morning.' He walked over to Tasha and gave her bum a squeeze. Charming, thought Aurora. You couldn’t ask for anything nicer in the morning.

She looked him up and down, noticing his bed head, 'how are you going to go out with your hair like that? I think I've got some hair gel you can borrow. Is 3 tubs enough?' With that, she walked out.

Chapter 2 - Girls Night part 2.

'Tash, how long are you going to be? I've been waiting half hour,' yelled Aurora.

Tasha padded into the living room, 'I'm ready, lets hit the road.'

When they finally got to the bar it was rammed and there were no free tables. 'We'll just stand at the bar,' said Tasha

'Yeah, If we must, if you'd got ready quickly like me, we would have got a table. I hate standing at the bar,' groaned Aurora.

They squeezed their way through the crowds of Thursday night drinkers.

A young barman looked up at them, 'Hi, what can I get for ya?'

Tasha instantly put on her charm 'We'll have two Sex on the Beaches, please. Or should that be Sexes on the Beach?'

'Well, we are a couple of Sexy Beaches,' said Aurora

'You are indeed, two…of them coming right up,' he said, looking at Aurora.

She turned her head, and blushed. Probably wishing she hadn't said that, Tasha wished Aurora had more confidence, she could have any man she wanted if she didn't turn and blush everytime she flirted a little. The bartender was hitting on her, and she didn't even realise. He looked like he was blushing a little too, maybe they could blush together, she thought, smirking to herself.

Clutching their cocktails, the girls clinked glasses. 'Eyes!' ordered Aurora 'I can do without 7 years bad sex or whatever the Greeks say.' 'You could just do with 7 years sex, full-stop,' laughed Tasha.

They turned to face the crowded room, where stood lots of young trendy types chatting and enjoying bottles of lager with names Tasha had never heard of. Shoreditch is so damn cool, even the drinks seem to change with the seasons. Why were all the girls drinking beer too? Tasha knew they weren't really enjoying it, deep down they were all cringing at the sour taste of cheap lager in expensive bottles going down their throats. Why couldn't they just be real and stop pretending for the sakes of guys who might find a girl with a beer attractive?

'So, I heard from Sam,' said Aurora, bringing Tasha back to reality.

'You meeting up again? I knew I'd get you a guy.'

'Yes, we're meeting up again, but I'm still not sure. What if he talks about his cars a lot?'

'Go along with it, get him drunk and shag him.'

'You're so crude, I will not be doing that.'

'And you're so square. Now that's my kinda guy,' declared Tasha pointing towards a tall, handsome man, standing with a couple of suits.

'Well, he's coming over, thanks to you,' Aurora always hated the men Tasha went for, she hated men in suits. She instantly thought of them as boring, banker types with too much money and hair-gel.

'Hi girls, can I get you both a drink?' He said.

'That would make my night,' Tasha purred.

He ordered them both a cocktail, Aurora reluctantly accepted.

'So what are two beautiful girls doing out alone?'

'Out on a desperate hunt for rich boring men whom we hope to snag, marry and murder for their money. I think we may have struck gold early tonight.' Said Aurora, making no attempt to hide her sarcasm.

'Oh, feisty one! You not going to answer?' He asked pointedly at Tasha. He seemed very eager to know what two friends were doing out alone, like this was only a man's world. Such a disgrace to find two single ladies enjoying a drink together on a Thursday evening. Aurora was shocked by how bored she was so quickly. He'd only said a few words and she was getting angry. She knew it was rude, having just accepted a drink, but knew she needed to get out before she said anything worse.

'I'm just going to pop outside for some fresh air,' Aurora left Tasha and the man alone.

'For your information, us two beautiful girls always come out alone on Thursdays,' said Tasha eventually.

'Well, Thursdays are the new Fridays,' he quipped, giggling at himself.

'And accountancy is the new Rock and Roll I suppose?' replied Tasha.

He didn't laugh at that comment but Tasha didn't really care: 'Treat them mean, keep them keen,' that was Tasha's motto.

'No man in your life, then?'

'No, I'm a lesbian.'

Aurora was standing outside after having escaped, smoking a cigarette, she knew she had to give up. People don't realise how hard it is. She has to constantly worry about having ash breath and she has to carry chewing gum everywhere she goes.

She thought about that bartender, was he really flirting with her? Why couldn't she be like Tasha and flirt back?

'Hey.' Said a voice breaking through her thoughts, Aurora turned round to face the bartender. She was not expecting that, she felt her throat closing up. Story of her life.

'You got a light?' Great, he just wanted a light, why had she thought he was flirting. She always got it wrong.

'Yes,' she started searching through her handbag. 'Here it is,' she handed him the lighter and watched him light his roll up and hand it back to her.

'Cheers, how comes your friend isn't out here with you?'

'Did you not see her inside, chatting to that suit?'

"Oh, yes. I did notice.' He gave her a look, a look that meant he understood why she was outside hiding, 'He comes in a lot, can't say I like him, to be honest.'

'I instantly knew I didn't like him, just looking at him across the bar, he seemed like a big jerk.' She giggled.

'Yeah, I hate his type. Anyway, I'm Fred,' offering her his hand.

'Hi, I'm Aurora,' she shook his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Fred.'

'Pleased to meet you too.' He smiled at her, a smile that sent electric shocks through her body. She'd never felt that before, apart from when she was young. But that was never an I-find-this-man-extremely-attractive kind of shock, it was more of a my-best-friend-is-the-coolest-dude-around type of thing and that didn't count.

'I've got to get back to work, but let me take down your number. Maybe we could go for a drink, sometime?'

'Ok, yes. That would be cool.'

Stay tuned for more.

Chapter 2 - Girls Night part 1.

Getting into her beloved Fiat, Tasha could feel her phone vibrating in her bag, 'hold on.' She never understood why she shouted at her phone while it was ringing, the phone didn't know what she was saying, the caller at the other end couldn't hear her, so she was just talking to herself.

'Hello.' She answered her phone.

'Hi, Tash, are we still on for tonight?' Said Aurora.

'Of course, you know I never miss it.'

'Ok, I'll see you back at the flat then, we can can get ready together?'

'Sounds groovy, darling.'

'See you in a bit.'

Tasha put her phone back in her bag. She loved Thursday nights. She and Aurora go to a local bar for cocktails, and talk, but most importantly get numbers of hot, single men. She loved her life.

Tasha has only had one serious relationship, with Nick.

Nick had been her perfect man, they had met in a pub in Soho, they had hit it off straight away. He was funny, handsome, and very charming. Maybe a little too charming but she had looked past that. They were together 3 years until she got home from work one day to find him in bed with a big busted blonde tart. She kicked him out, he stood outside the flat shouting up at her as she threw his clothes out onto the street.

'It wasn't what It looked like, babe.' Nick had shouted up at her.

'Really? I'm sorry, have I over reacted? Was that not you in my bed shagging some blonde tart?' She bellowed back, she knew people were starting to stop and stare, but she she didn't care. She was seeing red.

'Well, OK. I'm sorry, It just happened. Can we just talk this out?'

'What do you mean it just happend? It's half four in the afternoon!' She wouldn't let him back into her flat, how could he do this to her?

'I swear, it's over now.' He called, he looked miserable. So he should, she thought.

'It's over now, how long was it going on for? Actually I don't want to know.' She shut the window and didn't leave the flat for weeks, she cried, and ate, and cried. In the end she got back up on her feet and moved on. She deserved better. But she's never let herself get close enough to find out if she can really get better after Nick.

When she looks back on it now, she laughs, it was like a scene from a comedy film. Though it wasn't a film, it was her life.

She arrived back at the flat to find Aurora laying on the sofa with her cat. She talks to that cat like it's a person, she often hears her having one way conversations with it. 'You and that cat are like a couple of old bags.'

Aurora sat up, 'hey now, that's not nice. And the cat has a name.'

'Oh, I'm sorry, Buffy, I forgot you can understand what I'm saying,' she winked at Aurora.

'Actually, cats are very intelligent animals, don't ever underestimate the feline.'

'Ok, whatever. What time do you want to head to the bar?'

'7 o'clock?'

'Great, I'm going for a shower.'

After her shower, Tasha was sitting in front of a mirror brushing out her long golden hair. She loved her hair, it had taken her years to get it waist length. When she had been with Nick he had convinced her to cut it all off into a bob. She had hated it, but she had done it for him. Now it was long, she finally felt herself again. She started applying her makeup and looked at her face in the mirror. She knew she wore too much slap when she went out, but her motto is, 'If you put more on at the beginning of the night, you'll have the perfect amount on by the end of the night.' Aurora thought this was a terrible idea, but what did she know? She applied the tiniest amount of foundation when she's putting her face on. Aurora has a pretty face, not that kind of face that makes men turn to look at her as she walks into a bar, not like Tasha, but she had a natural beauty. As soon as Tasha walks into a bar, men stop what they're doing and stare. She has them rolling out the red carpet for her, with paps standing around for hours snapping hundreds of pictures, she often feels like a celebrity. Well, a girl can dream, right?

Stay tuned for more.

Chapter 1 - Minor Skirmishes part 3.

After Sam paid the bill they left the restaurant, outside he asked if she wanted to share a taxi. She couldn't say no to that, she didn't like taking taxis on her own, she always dreaded having to share pointless small talk with chatty cabbies. Just drive me home and leave me alone, she would think.

'Yes, I would like that.'

In the taxi Sam put his arm around Aurora's shoulders. She felt awful, he must have felt the date went well. She only wanted to share a cab and now she was feeling guilty. Maybe she could see him again. What harm could it do, really? He was handsome, if a little boring, but she was sure he wouldn't talk about toy cars all the time. The taxi pulled up outside her flat in Shoreditch. Aurora tried to give Sam some money towards to taxi but he refused. See, he was a gentleman. She could do worse. A lot worse in fact. Some of the men she'd been on dates with in the last 3 months had been diabolical.

The last date was 2 weeks ago, with a wannabe Politician, he idolised the likes of David Cameron and Thatcher. He spoke about them the whole time. It had driven Aurora mad. 'I think he's such a role model, people should look up to him. He's doing so many good things for this country.'

'Yes, I suppose so,' said Aurora. She had wanted to tell him to stick his stupid views up his public school educated bottom. He had gone on like that for 2 hours, and the more Aurora drank the more he morphed into Thatcher or the political Ant and Dec that is Cameron and Osborne. She had to keep blinking at him as his hair changed from black to ginger. The next glance and his forehead had started to shine. She had to get out of there before she looked across and saw that baby Chancellor gurning back at her. In the end she threw her napkin across the table at him, 'I've heard enough,' and she stormed out fuming. She had thought about telling him he looked a little like them, but she could imagine him taking it as a compliment. She wished she had when she got home, she imagined he would probably have tweeted about it whilst rolling around on his bed with his Conservative party scrapbook. Idiot.

She swore that would be the last blind date she'd go on, but somehow Tasha persuaded her into this one. She had moaned and groaned for the last week, in the end Aurora had agreed, under the condition this was the last time.

Thinking about Tory boy, tonight hadn't been so terrible after all.

'I really enjoyed tonight. I'd like to do it again sometime,' said Sam.

She looked up at him. Under the street lamp he looked cute, his eyes were almost sparkling. How could she say no to those eyes. 'Yes, I'd like that too.'

'I've got your number, I'll ring you.'

'Ok.'

'Goodnight, Aurora, it was a pleasure.'

'Goodnight.'

She climbed out after Sam. He gave her a hug, he felt nice against her, strong, protective and he smelt like…what? What was that smell? Dog poo.

She didn't know if she should tell him. What if he likes to roll around in his dog's poo? What if it's a new fragrance 'Dog Eggs, for men', maybe there's a cat poo one for women.

'Sam, i'm not sure how to say this, I think you might have stepped in something?' Gulp.

He moved away from her and looked down at his feet. Oh no, he had stepped in what must have been a pretty large poo.

'Ah, well that's rather embarrassing, I probably shouldn't tell the taxi driver,' he said, not looking Aurora in the eye. 'Err, bye then.'

She walked off towards her flat as he got back into the taxi, she turned to wave as he pulled away. As she turned back she hadn't realised how close she was to the steps, she stumbled and fell flat on her stomach, protecting her face. She heard a howl of laughter. It sounded like Tasha, she had been sitting at the window the whole time, she is such a cheeky bugger.

'Did you have a nice trip?'' Tasha shouted in between laughing out of the top window.

'Bugger off Tash.' She was glad it was dark, maybe Sam didn't see the fall. 'Do you think he saw?'

'Well he was looking out of the window, so I would expect so.'

Great, Aurora thought, this night couldn't have gone much worse. Until she looked down at her beautiful favourite shoes and saw poo. Not just a bit of poo. Lots of poo. Poo all over her strappy heels. He'd stepped on her foot.

'NOOO!'

'What?' said Tasha from the window. 'What have you done now?'

'Well, Sam stepped in dog poo, and he only went and stepped on my favourite shoes.' She wanted to cry, her favourite shoes ruined. How could she wear them again, knowing they'd had poo on them.

Tasha had stepped back from the window, but Aurora could still hear a faint laugh from inside the flat.

Annoyed, but knowing Tash was not going to let this go, Aurora swallowed her pride and walked up the steps to her flat.

In the flat, Tasha, was laying on the sofa watching TV. 'So, Aurora, how was it?'

'Went alright, he was nice but…'

'But what?'

'It wasn't exactly perfect. I just didn't feel it. In romance novels, as soon as the heroine meets her one she instantly knows. I want that feeling, Tash, and look at my shoes.'

'Oh please, why do you need that feeling? Be like me, free like a bird. I can do what I want, when I want.'

'Whatever, hippy. I'm off to bed. Night.'

She put her stinky shoes next to the bin and would decide whether she could rescue them in the morning.

Stay tuned for more.

Chapter 1 - Minor Skirmishes part 2.

She took a deep breath and walked through the door. The very pretty hostess, turned to face Aurora. She had short spiky bleached blonde hair and a friendly smile. 'Good evening, Madam. Have you got a reservation?'

'No, I'm meeting Mr Sam Jones, I believe he reserved the table. I'm a little late,' she smiled.

The hostess pointed towards the far side of the restaurant, 'Mr Jones is sitting at the bar.'

'Thank you.'

Aurora walked towards the bar, hoping the mysterious Sam Jones wouldn't turn around and watch her, she hated it when they did that. She looked around the restaurant, which was decorated in whites and creams, the back wall by the bar was painted red which gave the place a warm glow. It had wooden floors so she click-clacked self-consciously across the restaurant.

All the waiters and waitresses looked Italian, and she felt like she really was in their beautiful country. That was until she looked out of the window and was brought back to reality with a wallop when she didn't see a cobbled square highlighted by the golden sun but dark, dreary London.

The things she'd do for a holiday.

Sam Jones was very handsome - she was not expecting that. She almost gasped when he turned to face her which she just managed to cover by saying 'hi' too loudly. A few diners turned to see who had shouted.

'HI.' she could feel the blush washing over her, that's all she needed. Now he probably thought she was drunk. She had very pale skin so it was obvious when she blushed - she couldn't hide it, unlike Tasha who was tanned all year round. She couldn't imagine Tasha ever blushing anyway.

'Hi, you must be Aurora, I'm Sam.'

'Yes,' that's all she could get out. It felt like her throat was closing up, she needed some water.

'Shall we…' Sam led the way to their table.

Aurora was looking through the menu, trying to decide what to order. She didn't want to get anything that was messy like spaghetti bolognese, she didn't want to end up with pasta sauce splattered all over her face. She decided on chicken breast wrapped in parma ham. Not messy, she hoped. Sam ordered steak. Why was it, men always ordered steak? She wondered if it made them feel big and strong.

'So Aurora, what do you like to do in your spare time?' Sam asked, while pouring her a glass of wine.

'A lot of stuff, I don't know. I like to read, watch films, your normal kind of thing I suppose. What about you?' Aurora tried to give him a cute but sexy smile, which she instantly regretted, she gulped down some wine.

'I collect cars.'

Now wishing she'd learnt to drive, 'what kind of cars?'

'All sorts, I won't bore you by naming any though,' he gave her a cheeky smile.

No, she thought. That's for the best. She'd probably end up falling asleep in her dinner.

'Do you drive many of these cars? Must be an expensive collection to keep.'

He started laughing, which Aurora thought a bizarre reaction and was beginning to annoy her until he stopped guffawing and explained.

'I collect matchbox cars. I don't imagine I'd be able to fit.'

'Oh, well that was silly of me.' She laughed along with him although inside she was dying of embarrassment. She wondered if her face was as red as it felt. Why was it so hot in here? She wouldn't be surprised if she started to melt right there in her chair.

After they had eaten their main courses the waiter came over to take away their plates. 'Would you like to order some dessert?'

'No, thank you.' After the car incident, Aurora couldn't wait to to leave. They hadn't spoken much after that. He was very nice, and friendly but they didn't have much in common. Sam collects matchbox cars and she likes to watch reality TV while painting her nails. He did tell her more about the cars during the meal, but Aurora kept feeling like she was going to yawn.

'I love going out hunting for the cars, they can be quite difficult to come by, so when I find one, even if it's one I've already got I get this great warm feeling in my stomach. Only collectors could understand. I'm sure you feel like that when you've found something you love. Right?' Hunting for matchbox cars, it sounded like he was hunting for some exotic near-extinct animal in the dark.

Aurora looked down at her strappy heels 'Actually, I do know exactly what you mean.' When she found the heels in the sale, she wished she could break into a song and dance number and that everyone else in the shop would join in and automatically know the words and moves like they do in musicals.

'Any coffee, or something a little stronger?' Said the waiter with what Aurora thought looked suspiciously like a wink.

'I wouldn't mind some coffee, what about you, Aurora?' She looked over at Sam as he said this. Oh please, no, she thought.

'It's getting a little late.'

Sam looked up at the waiter, 'I think we'll leave it then, can we just have the bill, please? Thank you.'

Stay tuned for more.

Chapter 1 - Minor Skirmishes part 1.

'I can't do this,' moaned Aurora, 'the last one went terribly, I've got a gut feeling this one is going to be worse, ten times worse.'

Tasha stopped rooting through the wardrobe and turned to look at Aurora, 'No, you say that every time. It's all sorted. Table is booked, and your taxi will be here in exactly 13 mintues, so will you please put this on. That's an order.'

Throwing her a disgusted look, Aurora pulled the floral blouse on over her head. She liked her outfit this evening, she looked chic in her skinny jeans and favourite strappy heels, 'fine, but I swear this is the last time I go on a blind date.'

Aurora has been on 9 blind dates in the last 3 months. Her best friend and flatmate, Tasha, who has a constant flow of men believes she could find "The One". That's highly unlikely. She's never come across so many boring, pompous, smug men in her whole 23 years of life. Where does Tasha find them?

'Tash, will you do my eyeliner please?' Aurora has never been able to do a perfectly straight line, or a fancy little flick. It always ends up looking like her 7 year old Niece has done it for her.

'Yes, of course. But we've only got 5 minutes.' Tasha picked up the little black felt pen and drew a thin line across the top of Aurora's eyelid. 'Perfect.'

Buzz

'Oh, that'll be the taxi,' Tasha said, slighly out of breath running for the front door. 'Be right doooown.'

Aurora walked slowly to the front door. 'Right, wish me luck. See you later.'

'You'll be fine. I bet he's lovely.'

'If he's a banker, I swear…'

'I know, you'll have my guts for garters. Right, have you got spare panties?'

'I hate you, bye.'

In the taxi, Aurora was feeling nervous. Not that nice 'fluttering butterflies' feeling, this was more like wasps. Angry wasps flying around violently in her stomach, slowly buzzing their way up to her throat. She had to keep swallowing to keep them from spilling out of her mouth. That horrible feeling that she only ever got before a job interview, on the first day of school… or a blind date.

The taxi pulled into an alley way. Aurora looked out of the window 'I'm sorry, but I think you're going the wrong way.'

'Nah, love. I got my sat nav on, this is the right way. Don't worry, we're nearly there now.' said the taxi driver, without turning his head.

Splendid. Now she was feeling even worse, a date in a dark, stinky alley. They pulled up outside a big steel door. Shit, where the hell was she? Thought Aurora, now she felt certain she wouldn't be able to stop those angry wasps from spilling out of her mouth if they came up. She felt sick. She paid the taxi driver and got out.

She stood outside the door, wondering what could be behind it. Maybe it was one of those lap dancing clubs, but why on earth would a guy take his date to one of those? He could be a drug dealer, she thought, or worse. She would kill Tasha for this when she got home. If she got home.

'Oh God, what's that smell.' She turned her head and saw the culprit. Bins. Yuck.

She turned and started walking down the alley, thinking she couldn't take anymore of this, the door opened. Out stepped a large bald man, lighting a cigarette. He looked over at Aurora who was contemplating going over and asking what was behind the door.

'You lost?' the large man said, throwing her a suspicious look.

'Erm..I think so. I'm looking for Bordello's, it's an Italian restaurant' she was now looking around for a quick escape route. You can never be too careful. He could be an axe murderer after all.

'Well, you found it.' he was now laughing at her. Why was he laughing? How was she supposed to know the little Italian restaurant was hidden behind a big menacing steel door. 'You're just at the wrong side of it.' pointing down the far end of the dark alley. 'walk down there, and turn right. you'll find it.' He threw her a not so friendly smile.

'Oh, right. Thanks.'

She walked off down the alley, feeling very self conscious, cursing the know it all sat nav. She turned right at the end and there it was, why hadn't she thought of that? Of course that wasn't the restaurant. She checked her watch, 10 minutes late. Shoot.

Stay tuned for more.