Curtis grinned. It had been a month since Shaun had done a deal with Shayne Carr, the owner of the club, to use it to launder their drug money. He fucking loved his brother. The Curtis brothers were on the up.
We’re like the Krays of Liverpool, Curtis thought as he went and hugged Shaun.
Shaun grinned at him. His eyes were like saucers.
‘Christ kid, you hammering the charlie already?’ Curtis said, giving his brother a slap on the cheek.
‘We’ve got a lot to celebrate, la.’ Shaun gestured to a barman. ‘Eh, tell that clown to hurry up with my Cristal, would you?’
‘I’m gonna get a beer,’ Curtis said as he headed for the bar. He couldn’t stand the taste of champagne.
As he arrived, the barman looked up and then visibly recognised him. ‘Everything all right?’
‘My brother says that if he doesn’t get his Cristal in the next minute, he’s gonna have a word with you,’ Curtis said, watching the colour drain from the barman’s face. ‘Just joking, mate. And can you get me a very cold bottle of San Miguel?’
Spotting an extremely attractive girl a few feet down the bar, Curtis gestured to her. ‘And put whatever she’s having on our bill too.’
Now she is fit, Curtis thought, watching the girl look over as the barman told her that the drinks were being paid for. She smiled at him and raised her glass. She had wavy brunette hair and big brown eyes.
Curtis approached and gave her his best cheeky grin. ‘Hope you don’t think I’m being rude?’
‘If you want to pay for my drinks, I’m not gonna stop you,’ the girl said turning to go. She was probably the same age as Curtis.
‘Where are you going?’ Curtis asked.
‘Back to my friends,’ the girl said with a flirty smile. Curtis looked at her dark eyes, cheekbones and lips.
Okay, she is seriously fit! I’m in fucking love.
‘Oh, you can’t go. Not yet,’ Curtis said, smiling and putting his hands together as if in prayer.
‘Why not?’ the girl asked, raising an eyebrow.
‘I told my brother that you were the most attractive girl in this club. Then he bet me a hundred pounds that if I came to talk to you, you would walk away. So, I need you to stay here for at least a minute.’
‘Okay. And then we can split it and you can give me fifty quid,’ the girl said with a broad grin.
Curtis laughed. ‘Okay. You’re on. Curtis by the way.’
‘I’m Laura,’ she said as she sipped her drink.
‘Okay Laura. I’ll make you another bet. You’re a student,’ Curtis said.
‘Is it that obvious?’ Laura asked.
‘Smart, incredibly attractive, funny Welsh accent. You can’t be from around here,’ Curtis explained.
‘Llancastell actually,’ Laura said.
‘Oh well, never mind,’ Curtis joked. As far as he knew, Llancastell was a boring, slightly grotty town in North Wales.
‘Hey!’ Laura said in mock defence as she grouped the glasses together ready to take back to her friends. ‘Thanks for the drinks, Curtis. You can give me that money later.’
Curtis watched Laura as she went. He was fascinated. He had never met a girl with that kind of confidence or sharp wit.
FOR THE NEXT TWO HOURS, Curtis and Shaun entertained friends in the VIP area with champagne and coke. However, Curtis couldn’t help but keep an eye out for Laura. She and her friends were dancing on the far side of the club, close to the DJ booth. When the DJ put on ‘Bad Habit’ by ATFC, Curtis decided to make his move and weaved his way onto the dancefloor. Making eye contact with Laura, he feigned mock surprise as he moved over to dance with her.
The music was pounding and as they started to talk, Curtis moved close to her ear to make himself heard. He could smell her perfume and her hair. As she leaned in to respond, he could feel her breath on his neck.
I need to spend the night with this girl, he thought.
As they danced, they locked eyes for a moment before smiling and laughing at each other. Curtis took her by the hand and led her across the dance floor to the VIP area where he introduced her to Shaun and the others. Moving back into the booth, Shaun poured her a glass of Cristal and then took out a wrap of coke. He started to tap the powder out on the glass surface of the table and then cut it into lines with his credit card.
‘Do you want some?’ Curtis asked.
Laura hesitated, ‘I don’t know.’
‘You’ve never done coke before, have you?’ Curtis could see it in her face.
Laura shook her head and blinked, ‘No...’
Something about her innocence and the fact that he was supplying her first line of coke gave Curtis a massive kick.
‘Don’t worry. It’s just like doing a tequila shot ... Just better,’ Curtis explained as he rolled a twenty-pound note into a tube and snorted a line.
Laura took the note, snorted a line and then pulled a face at him.
‘All right?’ Curtis asked.
‘Yeah. I think so,’ Laura said rubbing her nose and then taking a glug of her champagne. He could see as she took a deep breath – the coke was kicking in. His eyes flitted down over her body – breasts, hips and legs.
A bouncer came over, smiled at Curtis and shook his hand before walking away. Curtis saw that Laura looked terrified as her eyes widened.
‘It’s all right. He’s not going to do anything,’ Curtis said laughing.
‘Why not?’ Laura asked.
‘It’s my club,’ Curtis said. He knew he was trying to impress her but fuck it.
A moment later, Curtis noticed that Laura’s friends were gesturing to her. They were going home.
‘I’ve got to go now,’ Laura said.
‘Can I have your number?’ Curtis asked, confident that the answer was going to be positive.
Laura looked at him. ‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea.’
‘Why not? You think I’m some dodgy scally and you’re a posh girl at Uni?’ Curtis asked with a grin. ‘You’re too good for
