Peeked curiosity

The days after the café confrontation passed with a strange tension for Sylvie. She tried to focus on the wedding planning, spending evenings with Alex discussing colour schemes and seating plans in their comfortable house. Everything was still on track. Everything was still proper. But the memory of Courtney and her friends kept creeping back into her mind at the most inconvenient moments. The smoke in her face. The crude laughter. The brazen way they had spoken about sex and boyfriends as if it was nothing.

She told herself she was simply annoyed. Offended, even. Those girls were vulgar, uneducated, and completely without shame. Yet, a small, persistent voice in the back of her head kept replaying their confidence. Their freedom. The way they didn’t seem to care what anyone thought of them.

One evening, after Alex had gone to bed, Sylvie sat alone in the living room with a glass of wine. She picked up her phone, telling herself she was just checking emails. Instead, her fingers hovered over the search bar. She typed “chav girls” and then immediately deleted it. She tried again, then deleted it once more.

This is ridiculous, she thought, putting the phone down firmly. I have a fiancé. A future. Why would I waste even a second on that trash?

But the thought wouldn’t leave her completely.

A few days later, Sylvie was out running errands in town again. She had convinced herself it was purely coincidental that she chose the same route as before. As she walked past the same side street near the bus station, she heard the familiar loud laughter.

It was them again.

Courtney and her crew were leaning against a wall, smoking and chatting. Courtney spotted her almost instantly.

“Fucking hell, it’s the posh princess again!” Courtney shouted with a grin. “You stalking us now or what? Can’t get enough of real girls, can ya?”

Sylvie felt her cheeks burn. She tried to walk faster, but Courtney stepped into her path, blowing a cloud of smoke toward her.

“Oi, where you rushing off to? Got another boring date with your boring fiancé? Bet he fucks like a dead fish, don’t he?”

The other girls laughed loudly. One of them added, “Yeah, look at her face. Proper embarrassed. Bet she’s never even had a proper orgasm in her life.”

Sylvie stopped, her frustration boiling over. “That is completely out of line,” she said, her voice sharper than usual. “I don’t know why you feel the need to harass me every time I come into town, but I would appreciate it if you left me alone. Some of us have actual standards and lives to live.”

Courtney raised an eyebrow, clearly entertained. She took another drag from her cigarette and stepped even closer, blowing smoke directly toward Sylvie’s face.

“Standards? You proper think you’re better than us, don’t ya? Walking around like your so much better than everyone else. Come on, princess. Live a little. I could show you how. One night with us and you might actually loosen up and have some proper fun for once.”

The offer hung in the air, crude and tempting in a way that made Sylvie’s stomach twist with a confusing mix of disgust and forbidden curiosity. The other girls grinned, waiting for her reaction.

Sylvie’s heart pounded. She felt her face flush hot. Without another word, she turned on her heel and hurried away as quickly as she could, almost breaking into a run. The sound of their laughter followed her down the street.

She didn’t stop until she was several blocks away, breathing hard. How dare they? she thought. The nerve of that girl, suggesting something so vulgar.

But as she continued her errands, Courtney’s words kept echoing in her head.

Live a little.