‘Jesus, this party’s lost its sparkle,’ Joe said, nudging Carina with his elbow, then gesturing towards Alex with his can of beer. ‘Look at the alpha male. His whole world has been turned upside down. Pushed off his throne by a skinny little musician.’

‘Shut the fuck up.’ Alex turned away and spat into the darkness.

‘And the lovesick cook over there looks confused more than anything,’ Joe went on, pointing to Bruno. ‘Don’t worry, kids, Uncle Joe will explain what’s happened. Your friend Simon, the sweet little troubadour, has grown away from you. And just a little while ago, he realised that himself. Realised that he’s too gifted, too attractive and too smart for this dump, and to hang out with losers like you.’

Silence fell once more, an unpleasant, oppressive silence that somehow drowned out the music. The burning lump in Carina’s chest kept on growing. She really wanted to tell Joe to shut up and remove his hand from the base of her spine. Tell him to get on his fucking motorbike and go to hell. But she didn’t do it. She was somehow paralysed by the whole situation, and the others seemed to be in the same boat. Joe’s words slithered around her brain, a snake of letters and syllables, taboo yet at the same time so very true.

Simon had always been the outsider in their group. He ought to be grateful that they’d let him hang out with them all these years, grateful that they’d put up with him always showing up late and playing crap music. It also annoyed her that people’s voices softened when they talked about Simon fucking Vidje – unlike her own family – as if he was so special just because he could play and sing.

Marie suddenly stood up and pointed at the others. She looked at each of them in turn, but seemed to be having some difficulty in focusing.

‘Pissed,’ she slurred. ‘He’s pissed on all of us . . .’ She swayed, looked as if she had more to say, but instead she ran between the tents and threw up again. Bruno followed her. ‘Black Velvet’ came on the tape player – one of Carina’s favourites. Without really knowing why, she got to her feet, turned up the music and began to dance, closing her eyes and nodding in time with the bass line. She sang along, cigarette in one hand, can of beer in the other. After a little while Joe joined her, slipping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. He pressed his crotch against hers, and she felt him harden in seconds.

She glanced at Alex – no response. Instead, he was glaring at the path, as if he still couldn’t understand why he wasn’t the one who’d gone off with Tanya. Joe drew Carina even closer, rubbed his cock against her as the suggestive bass line kept on pumping.