Free Unbind by Sarah Michelle Lynch

I’d be fucked for getting up in the morning.
    Between the swilling, chewing and snickering as hot waiters continually passed us by, we’d yet to get to the real stuff on our minds.
    Kayla was an old friend from childhood and we’d roomed together during our university days in Sheffield. She and I had both modelled part-time but I gave up because of the scar and she gave up because she got a ton of tattoos which made it more difficult to get work. Nevertheless, she’d kept a little memento of those modelling days in the form of Grade A dickhead Rob, an underwear model who loved flinging his cock around town, if you know what I mean. She was a rebel and my god did I love her for it. I sometimes wished I was more like her. However, I wouldn’t wish Rob on anyone and he was gradually diminishing everything I loved about her.
    Rob had given Kayla a place to crash in London when she graduated. She’d grovelled at the gates of Fleet Street until something came up. Some friend of a friend put a word in and she was now working for Empire , the lucky bitch.
    She was a great girl and beautiful. Why she put up with that shit, I didn’t know. She had a figure I envied and her chocolate skin and glossy black locks were incomparable. Both arms displayed tattoo sleeves and she wore rocker gear. Tonight it was ripped black jeans so skin-tight and so torn, it was a wonder there was anything left. Black Converse you wouldn’t catch me dead in but she rocked the hell out of them. Plus, a batwing black jersey covered everything but the cleavage and had the word ‘gangsta’ embroidered in silver thread. The guys where she worked worshipped her, which was more than could be said of the douchebag she was continually calling ‘boyfriend’ when what he really should be termed is ‘Casual Fuck Fuckwit’. Or skank. He constantly blew hot and cold and despite the number of nights they spent together, she kept that crap bedsit because they had so many rows.
    He often went cold on her for weeks on end and then would suddenly get back in touch. You know, probably between failed conquests. Kay was his backup girl and everybody knew it, except her. Surely if you’ve been on and off with someone for ten years, you’d have gotten past that stage and closer to talk of living together properly, not screwing whenever the mood struck.
    She argued it was because their sex life was so exciting (the reason she couldn’t let go) yet I kept my mouth shut even when I sensed she might get a nasty wake-up call someday. It wouldn’t surprise me to know he had one for each day of the week. She even saw his wandering eye—but kept going back for more. Consciously, too!
    “I love the dress, Chlo.” 
    “Oh, this?” It was just a flowery Kate Moss thing from Topshop. I’d removed my soiled tights and replaced them with white leggings. “You can borrow it if you like, as long as you’re not gonna shag that wanker in it.”
    She almost choked on her red and I grinned devilishly. There wasn’t much unsaid between us two (EXCEPT YOU REALLY ARE SCREWING A WANKER, KAY!).
    “You might eat your words very soon, girlfriend.” She looked smarmy, pleased with herself even.
    “Umm, will I?” I rolled my eyes.
    “He asked me to move in… with him.”
    The slight hesitation in her speech had me watching her closely and I noticed, she didn’t look all that happy. You know, like a girl should look when the man they supposedly love is asking them to make that first, big step in the commitment stakes. Why had it taken her a good few hours to tell me this news? In fact, why was I yet to tell her about Cai? Well, when you’re on the cusp of beginning something new and exciting and your friend is kind of not happy, you know… I was being sensitive to her feelings. Somehow I didn’t believe this new development meant that Rob the Deceiver had done a 180°.
    “Why are we here drinking ourselves stupid if you’re happy about this?” I began, my cradled glass my