Free The I.T. Girl by Fiona Pearse

Hey, I love this song. C’mon let’s dance.’ I pulled at both
of them. Sam resisted my grasp.
    ‘C’mon,’ I said again. ‘I really need to let my hair down.’
    ‘I’m not stopping you,’ Sam said.
    ‘ She don’t want no rock’n’roll ,’ I sang along on the dance floor, feeling the
weight of work finally begin to lift away.
    A fair-haired man still wearing his jacket despite the heat crossed
the floor and remembered me from the party before. ‘Lucy?’ he asked, dropping his
hand around my waist.
    ‘It’s Jenny this time. Ben, right?’
    ‘Yeah.’ He stepped into rhythm behind
me. I vaguely remembered meeting him at the last Exchange party. Through a drunken
haze we had danced before knowing each other’s name and linked arms to do Tequila
shots.
    ‘Hey, behave yourself.’ I laughed at his hands following my hips.
I remembered this too – he pushed things as far as he could. I slapped him away
and went back to Boris.
    ‘He’s gagging for it,’ Boris said into my ear.
    ‘Just dancing,’ I insisted. I looked over at our table. Sam was
standing with his coat.
    ‘Stay.’ I caught Sam and leaned my hands into his shoulders.
    ‘I’ve an early start in the morning. And so do you.’
    ‘But why don’t you stay?’
    ‘You stay.’
    ‘But if you stay for another drink then we can leave together.’
    ‘I think I’ll leave you to it. You look like you’re having fun
with your friend.’
    ‘He’s not my friend.’ My voice was high with protest, but I dropped
my hands.
    ‘See you tomorrow, Orla .’ He squeezed
my arm and stepped around me.
    ‘He’s a lightweight,’ Boris said when I went back to the dance
floor.
    ‘God,’ I drawled. ‘He’s so serious sometimes.’
    At the end of the song I snuck up behind Ben. ‘See you later,
Ben.’ I brushed my hand down his back.
    ‘Smooth,’ Boris nodded his approval as we sat down. I guzzled
some more G&T. It felt like 7Up.
    ‘So you’re going to be keeping an eye on me at work then, Boris?’
    He raised his eyebrow. ‘I’ll just guide you, teach you. Be your
mentor, if you will.’
    ‘Maybe you’ll learn thing or two,’ I quipped.
    ‘Hey, I do your job too, remember? It’ll be a while before you
catch up with me,’ he said with a laugh. ‘Look. He’s talking to another woman. You
want to put a stop to that.’
    We looked around at Ben and he looked back at me.
    ‘What’s your plan of action?’ Boris asked.
    ‘I’m going to feel him up until he snogs me.’
    ‘Works for me.’
    I watched Ben go to the bar. ‘Round two,’ I said.
    At the bar I ordered more drinks. A hand breezed across my bum.
I jumped around shocked but then saw Ben walking away. With my drinks clutched in
one hand I passed him by and returned the compliment. A small sober voice reminded
me I was at a work event and this was going too far. It felt like a little stab
– there was a time I’d have been fired up to meet clients – put a face to a name
I might be working with in the future. But I didn’t care. I was going to be leaving
the company soon.
    ‘We felt each other’s ass!’ I informed Boris.
    ‘Yay!’ Boris imitated my enthusiasm.
‘Thanks for the drink but I’m going to have to go. Michelle just rang, wondering
where the fuck I am.’ He laughed. ‘She didn’t say it like that but that is in essence
what she wanted to know.’
    ‘Ah really?’
    ‘Yeah, sorry. You’re in there, though.’
    I looked at Ben’s group. They were a tight circle, talking. I
recognised one of the women from our Exchange team. ‘I think I’ll pretend I’m leaving
too,’ I said to Boris. ‘If he bites, he bites.’
    We went around to various groups sharing ‘goodbyes’ with those
we had avoided sharing ‘hellos’. At each group, I looked over at Ben. He was looking
back at me. I turned a corner into the cloakroom and waded through the coat rack.
The party was still in full swing so there was no one else around. I sang along
to the music. ‘ I feel