I swallow my mouthful with a groan as the memories from our late-night conversation come back to me.
“She has,” Calli announces. “Look at her cheeks. She’s blushing.”
“I am not,” I sulk, not that they believe a word of it. They can see the heat on my face as much as I can feel it.
Both of their brows rise, silently demanding I spill the beans.
“We messaged a bit last night.”
“And?” Calli urges, her romantic heart running away from her.
“And nothing. I just wanted to make sure he was okay. Apologise, I guess.”
“What did he say?”
“He… uh… did the same thing.”
“He apologised too?”
“Yep,” I confirm, grabbing my takeout coffee cup and having a sip.
“So… are things… okay between you now?”
“You mean, am I about to move back into my marital home and live happily ever after?” I ask Calli sarcastically.
“Uh…” To her credit, she does look a little embarrassed.
“No, things aren’t okay. But there’s now a higher chance I won’t kill him with my bare hands the next time I have to see him.”
“Well, that’s progress right there,” Stella jokes, something mischievous flashing in her eyes.
“What?” I ask, knowing that look all too well. It’s the one she gets before she convinces us to cause trouble with her.
“We’re going away this weekend.”
“Stel,” Calli warns, but Stella waves her off.
“It’ll be good for her,” Stella argues. “We’ve got a suite at this insane spa hotel.”
“And you think dropping in a spa will help convince me? Do you even know me?”
“I’m not suggesting you have to use it, I’m just saying. It’s fancy as shit, and it’s out of the city, away from all this bullshit. It’ll do you good.”
“Why?”
“Why will it do you good?” Stella asks, a frown forming on her brow.
“No, why are we going? Why this weekend?”
Stella hesitates, but Calli refuses to cover up the real reason and blurts it all out.
“The guys have this huge football match against a rival school in Oxford. It’s this huge annual thing that’s a kind of rite of passage for the year thirteen boys.”
“No,” I state firmly. “I’m not going to some school football weekend. Just… no.”
“Come on, Em. Just because they’ll be there, it doesn’t mean we have to hang out with them.”
“There is no way on this Earth you’ll abandon Seb all weekend, and we all know it.”