Linked (James Graham/Reece Bibby)

Chapter Seven

The three of us had dressed in skinny jeans, heels and nice tops for this evening. Although we weren’t actually going to see the show we wanted to make an effort. Anna had curled my hair as every time I attempted it myself, it went awfully wrong. I put on some eyeliner and lip gloss to finish off getting ready before we finally left the hotel.

We got into a taxi which took us to Wembley. I rang James as we got out of the car and he told me to go round the back and one of the lads would meet me. Anna, Faye and I all wandered round the stadium until we found the fence where I’d met James yesterday. Chris waved at me and I walked over to him, giving him a hug. The three of us followed him inside and along the hall to the dressing room.

“James, they’re here,” Chris said as he entered. James was looking in the mirror, messing with his hair. I walked over to him, taking his hands in mine. “Stop messing with it. It looks fine,” I told him. He smiled, pressing his lips to mine.

“Here are the infamous Faye and Anna,” I introduced my two best friends to all of the boys. James smiled at them. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” They both said hello to everyone. We all sat and spoke for a little while before the boys were told they had to go on stage. Then it was just Faye, Anna and I.

About three quarters of an hour later I decided to go for a wander. “I’ll be back soon,” I told the girls as I left the dressing room. The hall was relatively empty. I wanted to find a producer or someone to ask how long the lads were going to be. But I couldn’t find anyone.

“Jasmine!” I heard James shout. I barely had time to turn around as James wrapped his arms around my waist and spun me round. He put me down and kissed me before I could say anything. “We’re through,” he said excitedly. “What?! Babe, I’m so proud of you,” I replied, hugging him again. All the other lads came up behind James and we all had a group hug.

The group hug disbanded and we all went back to the dressing room where we all celebrated. James and I stood in the corner of the room smiling at each other. “Oh, I almost forgot,” I said, taking something out of my pocket. It was a small gift which I placed in James’ hand. “Happy birthday, Baby,” I whispered and kissed him. “How did you know it’s my birthday? I didn’t tell you,” he asked. I tapped my nose and he chuckled.

I watched James open his gift from me and take out the silver chain. There was a star on the chain and when I bought it I thought it was extremely cheesy. “Thank you,” James said and kissed me. He put it in his pocket and hugged me. “Now come on, let’s go out,” I told him. I took his hand and left the dressing room. Reece and Charlie had gone back to the X Factor house but the rest of us were ready for a night out.

When we arrived at the first club, Casey and Chris went before us. Then James took out his wallet and looked up at me. “What?” I asked. “I forgot my ID,” he replied and I laughed. “Nice work,” I said, taking his hand once again and pulling him out of the line for the club. “I guess we’ll have to find something else to do then,” I told him and he winked at me.

We stopped at an off-licence shop and got a bottle of vodka before heading back to the hotel. I stole two shot glasses from the bar before rushing up to the hotel room with James. Anna and Faye had gone with the rest of the boys so they wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

I handed James a shot glass and poured vodka into it. I did the same with the other glass and counted down before we both drank the shot. We both kept drinking shots until I felt sick. “No more, no more,” I said while laughing. I fell back on the bed and James did the same. “You’re great,” I slurred and kissed him. He pulled me closer to him and deepened the kiss.

Suddenly, he broke away and grinned. “I have an idea. We could go back to the house,” he said. My logical mind would have gone against that but considering James and I had consumed almost a full bottle of vodka, neither of us were thinking sensibly. The two of us left the hotel and got into a taxi. James slurred the street to the driver.

The taxi stopped about half way up the street and the two of us got out. James paid the driver before taking my hand and running down the street. “James,” I whined, “I can’t run in heels.” He stopped then bent down so I could get on his back. He carried me down the street then turned into a driveway.

The house was beautiful and I would have admired it a lot more had I been sober. James let go of one of my legs to open the door then carried me inside. He put me down and we went into the living room. A few of the contestants were sat in the room and they all looked up at us. “Hi everyone,” James slurred then I hiccupped and giggled. James laughed too as he took my hand and we went into the kitchen.

The kitchen was empty so James lifted me up onto the counter and kissed me. “I think we may have drank a little too much,” I told James and he nodded. “Oh well,” he sang and kissed me again.

James and I went up to the bedroom where he was staying with the lads. As soon as he entered the room he fell onto the floor, pulling me down with him. He kissed me again and put his arm around me.