Read The Life and Loves of Gringo Greene for Free Online Page B

one that didn’t.
       He glanced over her shoulder at the bespectacled guy playing the music. On the near side of the deck in big silver letters it said: This is a Celine Dion Free Zone. Don’t ask. Don’t even think of asking. Show respect!
       That was fair enough so far as he was concerned. He wouldn’t ask, not in a million years. The slowy was coming to an end. In a moment everyone knew the heavy beat would be back. Hip-hop, House, Dance, Trance, Techno, Jungle, whatever it was called this week, Gringo liked it, when in truth he wasn’t into music at all.
       ‘Can I have a drink?’ she panted.
       ‘Sure. What do you want?’
       ‘Lager, extra cold.’
       He took her hand and dragged her to the bar and ordered two beers. He wasn’t going to leave her alone in an ocean of ravenous sharks. Melanie was the tastiest creature in the sea by some distance, and the place was full of hunters.
       ‘Where’s your bag?’ he said, noticing it was missing.
       ‘In the cloakroom,’ she said, gulping her drink. ‘I left it there.’
       ‘Go steady on the booze.’
       ‘Yes, Mister Boss.’
       ‘And don’t be cheeky.’
       She giggled again. ‘I’m just refuelling. I haven’t finished dancing yet, not by a long way.’ She emptied the glass and took his hand and dragged him back to the floor.
       Some time later people began leaving. A little while after that the DJ said: ‘Make the most of it, guys; this one’s the last one.’
       It had all ended so soon, yet they’d been there hours. Predictably, there were one or two moans and groans, but not so much from the guys. The last tune started, it was a slowy of course, Gringo didn’t recognise it, a young woman singing a big ballad, not unlike the banned Celine herself. Mel clearly knew the track, for she was already singing gently every word into Gringo’s left ear. It was the winning song off one of those Saturday night TV talent shows that Gringo never watched.
       Mel tugged herself closer. Gringo returned the hug, and as she turned and stared into his eyes, it was the moment. He kissed her, just as he knew she wanted him to. In that second she looked precisely the same as every woman yearning to be kissed. She displayed that same moony face, those identical steady, expectant, and demanding eyes. Gringo had seen that look a thousand times before, and it was true. At that exact moment, every woman, regardless of height, build, colour, creed, or age, looks identical. He couldn’t explain it, and he doubted if any one else could.
       The kiss was gentle, to begin with, turning harder, and hotter and more passionate as it progressed, as the best kisses always do. He was getting excited again, and he wasn’t alone.
       When they came apart Mel said breathlessly, ‘You know something? I’ve always fancied you, Gringo.’
       ‘Have you? Really?’
       ‘Yeah, course. Didn’t you know? Even before I married Brian. I always thought that one day you might ask me out.’
       ‘Then why didn’t you say?’
       ‘It wasn’t for me to say! It was for you to act!’
       He thought back to the day he’d first met Mel. Interviewing her in the boardroom where he’d liked her from the very first moment. She’d landed the job before she’d opened her mouth. What was it his old boss used to say? Always employ the one you’d most like to screw.
       Sure, it might have been politically incorrect, and sometimes it went against what was best for the firm, but overall it was sound thinking that often paid handsome dividends. He remembered too that soon after she’d joined the company she’d become engaged to the big-mouthed fool, and the very next day she was seen to be wafting her engagement ring in front of the girls and fellas alike. Maybe that unconsciously put him off, though he still found that hard to believe, both back then, and now.
       ‘You should have said something.’
       ‘I didn’t think