Page 24

‘Are you sure you want to go straight home?’ Si asks, his voice low and silky smooth. He gives me what we’ll call an optimistic smile, but there’s no pressure in his eyes.

I hesitate – again – my mind racing. Part of me wants to say yes, to throw caution to the wind, but another part is more careful. I should listen to that part. To the Angie side of my brain.

‘Yeah, I have to be up early,’ I lie, my voice not quite convincing, even to myself. ‘We have a family thing.’

He nods.

‘Okay, well, maybe another time,’ he says.

‘Yeah, absolutely,’ I tell him with a smile.

The taxi slows to a stop outside my parents’ house. The street is quiet, the pavement shiny from the rain earlier. I take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. Si turns to me, his hand brushing against mine where it rests on the middle seat.

‘Can I get your number?’ he asks. ‘I’d really like to see you again.’

‘Yeah, I’d like that too,’ I reply.

He hands me his phone so that I can put my number in. Our fingers touch lightly as I hand it back to him.

‘I’ll message you mine,’ he tells me.

I smile as I grab my bag from the floor.

‘Okay, well, goodnight, Lia,’ he says, his voice soft and sincere. ‘Sweet dreams.’

‘Yeah, goodnight,’ I reply, feeling excited but with a hint of regret as I step out of the taxi.

The chilly air sobers me up a tiny bit, wrapping itself around my bare legs and making me instantly regret not wearing those thick tights again – but after going through with the ordeal of having them waxed, it made sense to have my legs out. That said, the hair must have been doing more than I thought. I feel the cold even more now, like someone robbed me of my insulation.

As the car pulls away, I spot my brother, Rory, dragging his recycling bin to the end of his drive. He’s wearing a winter coat over his Star Wars pyjamas – and this man has the audacity to tell me that I’m not cool. He narrows his eyes at the taxi before turning his gaze to me.

‘Who was that?’ he asks, his tone suspicious.

I laugh, trying to keep things light.

‘Funny story,’ I begin in a voice that does not sound like my own. ‘I bumped into Si, and he offered me a lift home in his taxi.’

Rory doesn’t look amused.

‘Si? Seriously?’ he replies.

I shrug, sensing his disapproval.

‘Yeah, it was nice catching up with him,’ I say. ‘Are you guys still friends?’

‘No,’ Rory says simply.

‘What, did you, like, fall out or something?’

‘We’re not kids any more, Lia,’ he says, sounding a little bit annoyed now, actually. ‘We didn’t fall out, like babies, we’re adults, and we’re not friends, so can you just leave it?’

‘Okay, fine,’ I reply.

‘I wouldn’t hang out with him, if I were you,’ he tells me as he tightens his dressing gown belt.

‘Why not?’ I ask.

‘He’s not a great guy,’ he says simply. ‘Let’s just leave it at that.’