Nothing to Lose

“Ellie, you should have come out with me last night!” Margot gushed as she walked into the apartment the two girls shared together.

“Are you just getting in?” Eloise asked as she poured some hot water into her mug to make some tea. She had spent the whole afternoon sleeping the day prior, up until Margot came in to her room and pleaded with her to go to a club with her so she wouldn't be alone. Once Margot finally took no for an answer, Eloise immediately went back to sleep until the next morning just in time to see her best friend just walking in the front door.

“Yeah, I did just get in.” Margot blushed, “I met someone last night, El.”

“Oh really?” Eloise quirked a brow at her fiery haired best friend, “You look disheveled, but not quite walk-of-shame disheveled, Mar. What exactly did the night entail?”

“That’s the thing! He was a proper gentleman! I mean we went back to his place, and he didn’t even try anything at all! We just talked and talked all night long about anything and everything.” She prattled on as she jumped up on the kitchen counter, “He’s taking me out to dinner tonight.”

“Oh how romantic.” El raised her brows suggestively, “Next you’re going to tell me he’s arriving in a horse and carriage to whisk you away to his castle.”

“Not every guy is a jerk like Caleb, Eloise.” Margot scoffed, “Why are you even still with that arsehole?”

“It’s complicated, Mar.” Eloise sighed, “Not everything is black and white like your fairytale and fantasy filled love life. Seriously though, what kind of drunk guy you meet at a club isn’t horny enough to want to have sex?” El giggled, “Maybe he’s gay and you’re going to be his new beard.”

“Enough with the jokes, El.” Margot rolled her eyes, “He’s a really nice guy. I like him a lot.”

“Is Margot going soft on me now?” El chuckled as she threw her hand over her heart and feigned surprise, “Say it isn’t so!”

“He’s really cute.” She blushed as she hopped off the counter, “I need to find something to wear for tonight! Oh, and did I mention you’re coming with us?”

“Margot, no!” Eloise screeched as she nearly dropped her tea in surprise, “Caleb would never!”

“That’s why Caleb isn’t invited, sweetie.” She winked as she shut the door to her bedroom, “They’ll be here at six, don’t be late!”

“They?” She called after her friend, not quite sure if she even wanted to know what she meant by that.

“Oh I almost forgot! I got you a date!” Margot called back to her. Eloise huffed as she threw her cup in the sink and headed to her room to see if she had anything appropriate to wear. Somehow, she knew there wasn’t going to be a way out of this one.



“How I get roped into these sorts of things, I will never know.” Eloise scoffed as she finished pulling on her black tights. She paused to looked at herself in the mirror one last time to adjust her grey dress and her hair, “If Caleb found out he would positively murder me.”

“Will you quit mumbling to yourself and get the door! I’m not ready!” Margot shouted from the other room. Eloise quickly pulled on her grey and black flats before she hurried out to answer the door.

“Max?” She questioned when she saw him smiling there. She was surprised, but also sort of happy that he was the one standing there.

“Eloise! Hello!” Max grinned as he pulled her in for a hug, “Ready for our double date tonight love?”

“I have a boyfriend, Max. It’s not a date for me.” Eloise sighed as she walked him into the house and sat down on the couch.

“And Josh has a girlfriend, it’s no big deal! At least I think he does… I’m pretty sure they got back together again last night, as usual.” Max rolled his eyes and grinned.

“Josh?” Eloise wrinkled her brow at the use of that name- it couldn’t be Josh from the coffee house, could it? Margot would certainly try something like that, but Max couldn’t possibly know-

“Josh? Oi! Are you bloody hiding?” Max shouted as he got up and walked out of the apartment again for a moment.

“I am not hiding, Max. I was just… admiring the décor.” Josh muttered as he stepped into the apartment being led dragged in by Max. He stared at the ground as to not make eye contact with the girl he knew was sitting on the couch staring at him.

“Yeah, stucco walls are quite a sight.” Eloise said dryly, “Hello again, Joshua.”

“Eloise.” He greeted courteously, finally looking into her bright green eyes, “Lovely home you have here.”

“Thanks,” She smiled as she stood up and headed towards the kitchen, “Erm, Margot should be ready momentarily, but would either of you like something to drink?”

“No thanks.” Josh muttered as he sat down in her place, “I’m perfectly fine.”

“I’ll take a beer if you’ve got one.” Max nodded as he sat next to Josh, sending him a knowing glance. As soon as the girl in question was out of earshot, Max hit Josh on the side of his head with his hand.

“Ow! What the fuck, mate?” Josh whined as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to act like a complete prat the entire evening?” Max scowled.

“How am I in any way acting like a prat?” Josh crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch. He really wasn’t in the mood for this, especially after the argument he had had with Hanna in the car on the way to the girls' home.

“Oh, I’m just admiring the décor.” Max mimicked Josh. “Seriously, Josh. You’re acting like a total dickhead.”

“What am I supposed to be doing, Max? I have a girlfriend. I’m not going to be acting like a couple with this girl because you just want to bone Margot.” Josh scowled.

“I do not just want to bo- Oh hi Margot! You look lovely.” Max stood up and hugged her as she entered the room.

“Look at him,” Eloise giggled as she suddenly appeared next to Josh, “They haven’t even had their first official date and she’s already got him whipped.”

“Look at you two.” Margot gushed as she eyed Josh and Eloise who were sharing a laugh, “Too cute for words, I’ll say.”

“Watch it Margot.” Eloise warned through gritted teeth, she knew there was a reason behind her going to the date, and apparently it was because of Josh.

“Shall we be going then?” Max asked as he grabbed Margot’s hand and led her towards the door.

“We shall.” She giggled as she eyed Josh and Eloise one last time, practically grinning from ear to ear before she was pulled away by Max.

“I guess we should, er, follow them or something.” Eloise suggested as she motioned to the door, “Or would you like to stand around and admire the décor some more?”

Josh chuckled and rolled his eyes, “Maybe if the walls were a less horrendous colour, I’d take you up on that offer. Let’s go before Max gets the loony idea to drive.”

“My walls are not a horrendous colour!” El protested as she scurried to follow him down the flight of stairs to the car after she finished locking up her apartment, “It’s a lovely shade of teal, and I love it. In fact, I get loads of compliments on it whenever people come over.”

“It looks like something my gran would pick out.” Josh snorted as he opened the passenger side door for Eloise and waited for her to slide in before closing the door. El found it rather odd considering Caleb never did that sort of thing for her, not since their very first date and that was so long ago that she could barely even recall anything from it.”

“Well then your gran has very good taste.” El huffed once Josh was in the driver’s seat. She looked in the rear view mirror to see Max and Margot cuddling, she had to look away before things got too heated.

“Don’t fog the windows; remember there are other people in here!” Josh bellowed as he looked in the rear view mirror as well. Josh and El laughed while Max and Margot moped in the back seat, obviously both desperately wanting to make out with each other.

“Watch the road, Joshua!” Eloise screeched as she gripped her seat tightly. She checked to make sure her seatbelt was buckled correctly, because she was definitely moving around too much in her seat for her liking.

“What?” Josh asked as he swerved around the bend in the road, “Why are you so tense all of a sudden?”

“You were worried about Max driving, mate?” She laughed haughtily, “I am honestly scared for my life right now.”

“My driving is not that terrible, Eloise.” Josh rolled his eyes as he rolled over a kerb as he turned into a lot to park.

“Say that to the pair holding on for dear life in the back seat.” She laughed as she pointed to Max and Margot who were both grabbing the sides of the car with scared looks on their faces, “Your driving privileges are revoked from now on.”

“You can’t do that!” Josh protested as he put the car in park, “She can’t do that.”

“Oh yes she can, Joshy.” Max shook his head as he got out of the car. The minute he was on solid ground again, he immediately fell to his knees and kissed the asphalt, “We’re alive!”

“He’s such a drama queen.” Josh rolled his eyes as he closed his car door, “My driving is perfectly fine.”

“We’re safe!” Margot screamed, following after Max and kissing the ground once she got out of the car. They both sat there, praising the solid ground while Eloise and Josh both watched on.

“They were made for each other, yeah?” Eloise nudged Josh in the side with her elbow as she nodded her head towards the pair that were still on the ground.

“They’re two peas in an extremely dysfunctional pod.” Josh agreed, “Oi! Ground kissers! Get up so we can get this dinner over with.”

“He says that like he didn’t pace around our flat for an hour worrying about what to wear.” Max whispered loudly to Margot causing her to burst out into fits of giggles as he helped her to her feet.

“Sounds just like Ellie.” She whispered back as they followed behind their two friends, “They’re so alike it’s kind of scary.”

“What are you two yammering about back there?” Josh questioned as he turned to look at the two who kept falling more and more behind every passing moment.

“Who uses words like ‘yammering’ anymore, really?” Eloise chuckled.

“I do, get over it.” Josh rolled her eyes and bumped his body into her own, knocking her sideways a bit. She was immediately glad she chose flats and not heels because she would have been on the ground if that was the case.

“You two have been bickering the whole time we have been together, which hasn’t been that long I might add.” Max rolled his eyes as they all entered the upscale restaurant.

“Just like an old married couple.” Margot winked. As she hurried to catch up with Max and the host who was leading the small group to their table, Eloise and Josh stood there both blushing and avoiding eye contact.

“After you.” Josh nodded towards the table that Max and Margot had already claimed for themselves. She smiled faintly as she led the way and Josh couldn’t help but to notice how perfect her ass looked in her dre- No, he had a girlfriend. He couldn’t have those sorts of thoughts about another girl, no matter how sexy she- no! Josh shook the obtrusive sexual images that were beginning to form out of his head as he sat down next to the girl who was showcasing them all.

“I want to have sex with you.” Josh heard Eloise say quietly to him a few moments later.

“W-what?” He stammered as he swallowed hard, trying to suppress any more sexual desires he might have for the girl that would cause a party in his pants.

“I said,” Eloise huffed, obviously annoyed by Josh’s lack of attentiveness, “Do you want to have one check, or two? Since this isn’t a real date for the two of us and all.”

“Oh, no I will pay.” Josh shook his head and let out a sigh of relief as the moment passed, “It’s the polite thing to do. I mean, I did agree to take you out tonight.”

“So, uh… what do you two do?” Eloise asked both Josh and Max as she played with the napkin in front of her absentmindedly.

“We’re in a band together, actually.” Max grinned as he looked over at Josh who smiled and nodded his head.

“Yup, we have been since we were fifteen.” Josh nodded his head bashfully. Even though he hadn’t really spoken in depth about his music, you could tell he was really into what he did. They both were.

“That’s why you’re in town for a few months.” Eloise noted as she put two and two together, “So I presume the travelling you have to do is some sort of tour?”

“Yeah, we’re touring over in America for a few months and then for a couple of weeks here in the UK, and then we’re off for a month or so again before summer festivals start.” Max continued to ramble on to Margot who pretended to be interested in tour antics when in actuality she just wanted to shut him up by kissing him.

“So what’s your band called?” Eloise asked as she sipped on her drink.

“You Me At Six... kind of like saying you and me are meeting up at six tonight, yeah?” Josh scratched his head as he chuckled a bit, “I don’t really know where it came from, but it’s a little too late to change it.”

Eloise laughed along with Josh as their food arrived at the table. “Oh thank God, I am ravenous right now.” Eloise proclaimed as she immediately cut into her steak.

“Slow down there, Lou. It’s not a race.” Josh chuckled as he watched the small girl scarf down her food in a very unladylike manner. He kind of admired the fact that she didn’t worry about eating in front of him especially in such a sloppy fashion unlike so many girls he knew.

“Lou?” El paused mid-bite to question the nickname. Josh only shrugged and smiled at her as he took a bite of his own steak. Eloise mirrored his gestured and smiled, “I’ll let it slide, I kind of like the ring it has.”

“So do I.” Josh agreed with a laugh, “So what do you do for a living, Lou?”

“I actually own the coffee shop that you’re so very fond of.” She grinned, “I’ve actually been considering buying the adjacent shop and expanding my small place into a little book store as well.”

“Oh wow, you must get a lot of business if you can afford to do all that.” Josh pointed out.

Eloise shrugged, “Not really. I mean, I get enough business to get by, especially with all the regulars that come in. It’s just that my family is from money so I can just afford to do it on my own.”

“Interesting.” Josh wriggled his brows, “That’s lovely though that you can actually afford to do something you love.”

“Thanks, and the same to you.” She grinned. She couldn’t help but to notice the warm feeling she got in her stomach whenever Josh smiled at her. He was a lot nicer than most guys she knew, even after all the animosity she showed him in the very beginning. She could really see becoming good friends with the guy.

“Ready to go?” Margot asked her as they stood up leaving their money on the table. She looked over at Josh who was doing the same so she followed suit.

“Where to?” She asked curiously assuming that there must have been something else planned considering it was only eight thirty. She knew Margot far too well to think she’d be going home at such an early time. The girl almost never slept, and from what she could tell about Max, he was most likely the same way.

“To the club you bailed on me at last night! It was wonderful, you’ll love it.” Margot smiled as she gripped Max’s hand and headed towards the car.

“Fine, I’ll go.” Eloise sighed, “But only on the condition that I am driving.”