Take Two (A psychological thriller)

Two of his best bouncers were at the entrance to the VIP section, Brank and Stevan, big Serbian lads who spent hours in the gym every day and were keen kick-boxers. They stepped to the side and Richards walked over to Terry and Jenny’s table. ‘Guys, I’m really glad you came,’ he said.

Terry stood up and Richards hugged him and patted him on the back. He shook hands with Jenny. ‘I hope they’re looking after you,’ he said.

Jenny held up her glass. ‘Cristal champagne,’ she said. ‘What’s not to like?’

‘Well, your sister wouldn’t touch it,’ he said.

‘Yeah, Carolyn’s big on red wines,’ said Terry, sitting down. He leaned back and stretched his arms along the sofa. ‘This is the business, Warwick.’

‘It’s select, that’s what makes it work,’ said Richards. ‘We’re careful about who we let in. It means you can let your hair down without worrying some dickhead is going to snap you on his iPhone and sell it to The Sun.’

‘Yeah, Seb says it’s one of the few places he feels safe,’ said Terry.

‘I don’t know why he just doesn’t tell the world,’ said Warwick. ‘There’s no sin in being gay these days.’

‘Seb’s gay?” said Jenny. Her jaw dropped. ‘No bloody way he’s a pillow-biter.’

Terry laughed and slapped his knee. ‘Darling, you can’t go around using words like that.’

‘I’m Australian,’ said Jenny. ‘We speak our minds.’

‘Yes, well, this is England and here you can end up in court for speaking ill of the gay.’ He looked over at Richards. ‘The thing is, the TV world is funny like that. You can be over the top gay like Graham Norton or Alan Carr but if you’re an actor, especially one playing a soap opera leading man, being gay can be the kiss of death, career-wise.’ He shrugged. ‘I know, it doesn’t make sense, but that’s the way it is.’

Richards grinned. ‘What, all those moist housewives would switch off if they knew that Seb preferred the dance of the chocolate chutney?’

Jenny was drinking and she almost choked on her champagne. She pointed at him accusingly. ‘Terry, are you going to let him say that?’

Richards grinned. ‘I was joking,’ he said.

Anita came over with a glass and he poured Cristal into it. He topped up their glasses and then waved the empty bottle at Anita. ‘Get me another, darling. The 2004 if we’ve got any left.’

‘It’s actually a real problem for guys like Seb,’ said Terry as Anita went over to the bar. ‘I kid you not. If the tabloids were to get a picture of him in a clinch with one of his young boyfriends, the network would probably let him go. They wouldn’t admit the real reason, of course. They’d say his character had completed its arc or some bollocks like that.’

‘You are serious, Seb’s gay?’ asked Jenny.

‘As a nine-bob note,’ said Terry.

‘He kept looking at my tits,’ said Jenny.

‘He likes to look,’ said Terry. ‘And he loves to flirt. But, trust me, his interests lie elsewhere.’

Richards sipped his champagne as he looked over at Jenny. ‘I can’t get over how much you look like Carolyn,’ he said.

‘That’s the thing about twins,’ laughed Jenny.

‘No, it’s not just the physical thing. It’s the way you sit, the way you hold yourself. If it wasn’t for the accent, you’d be identical.’

Terry shook his head. ‘Nah, I’d be able to tell them apart, no matter what,’ he said.

‘How?’ asked Jenny.

Terry shook his head. ‘You’ll get offended.’

‘Nonsense.’

‘You will. Trust me.’

Jenny grinned. ‘Now I’m intrigued,’ she said. ‘Come on, I won’t get mad, cross my legs and hope to die.’

Terry leaned forward. ‘Carolyn is a star. And stars have a quality about them. Something that sets them apart from other people. An aura, if you like. A presence. When Carolyn walks into a room, everyone looks at her. People are drawn to her, like moths to a flame. It’s not because she’s on TV.  She had that quality long before she was on the show. It’s the star quality that made her a star, not the other way around.’

‘And I don’t have it? I don’t have star quality?’

‘You see, you’re offended.’

Jenny sat back and pouted.

‘I think you’ve got star quality,’ said Richards.

‘I don’t need patronizing,’ said Jenny, crossing her legs.

‘I’m serious,’ said Richards. ‘I was watching on the CCTV as you walked through the club. Heads were turning.’

‘Because they thought I was Carolyn.’

‘Maybe. But they didn’t look at you and look away. You’ve got the same quality that she had.’

‘Had?’ said Jenny, frowning. ‘Past tense.’

‘I meant when I saw her with other people, heads turned. Terry’s right, there is such a thing as star quality and you’ve got it.’  He held her look, smiling, knowing that he had made a big mistake referring to Carolyn in the past tense but hoping that he’d covered for it. He raised his glass to her. ‘Here’s to star quality,’ he said.

‘I’ll drink to that,’ said Terry, holding up his glass.

‘I’ll drink to anything,’ said Jenny, laughing. She leaned over and clinked her glass against theirs.

CHAPTER 84