The woman comes out from the other side of the bar, holding two larger cups. ‘Try these now, longer drink. Not so strong.’

I take a sniff, and it has a yeasty, hoppy smell. Some sort of beer, I expect, which isn’t a bad thing after the other stuff. I don’t want us to peak too soon. Outside the tent, the sun is still high in the sky and the drums carry on their steady beat. The crowd is chanting something hypnotic, and the smell of wood smoke and the effects of the alcohol make my head swim. Martin stands close to me, sharing my trance, and I feel the warmth of his skin against mine, and right now I want the night to last forever.

‘Hey! There you both are. We’ve been looking everywhere for you.’

Carrie’s skin is glowing, her cheeks flushed. Rory has an arm draped around her shoulders, and he’s grinning like the cat that got the cream.

A rush of pure rage surges through me.

‘What have you two been up to?’ I hiss.

Rory smirks. ‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’

‘I couldn’t think of anything worse.’ I push his arm off, harder than I realise, and he stumbles back.

‘Hey…’ he starts.

But Carrie just laughs. ‘Wow, V. Miss me, did you?’

Rory’s face glows red, his eyebrows knitted. But he says nothing.

The tingling in my body seems to grow more intense. I throw my arms around Carrie, just managing not to spill my drink down her back.

She pulls away, startled at the embrace. Then she looks Martin and me up and down, and laughs. ‘Oh, wait … it’s more like what have you two been up to, eh?’

I open my mouth to speak, to correct her, but she carries on.

‘Where did you get the drinks? We have been hunting high and fucking low for a drink.’ She squeezes past me and into the tent, Rory following behind like the little pet that he’s become. He throws me a dirty look, but I ignore it.

I down my beer. It’s warm, and it’s not very nice, but I just want to get wasted now.

‘Hey…’ Martin puts a hand on my shoulder and I shrug it off. Then I have a change of heart, and spin around to face him, grinning. ‘Let’s have some fun tonight, OK?’

He looks wary of me now. He’s seen the way my moods can shift up and down like loose gears in a manual transmission. I don’t wait for him to answer – I head straight after Carrie.

Carrie and Rory are leaning on the bar, having their second shots of the weird herbal schnapps. The woman serving them gives them the same warning.