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‘I mean, I wouldn’t say a flat-out no—it has been a while for me—but only if the right person offered. And I have no idea why I gestured so strongly at you then. Please ignore that.’ Jules buries her face in her hands. ‘This is awkward. I’m much less awkward when we talk on the phone.’
‘You are.’
Jules emits a strangled laugh. ‘Thanks.’
‘Sorry. That wasn’t meant as a critique. It’s … interesting seeing this different side of you.’
‘Interesting like actually interesting, or interesting like you’re dreading the next week of my company?’ Jules looks at the car door and wonders how achievable jumping out of a moving vehicle to escape this conversation is.
‘The first. Definitely.’
It’s something, at least.
‘You know what? I’m just going to—’
Jules cranks the volume up on the radio. The floor of the car vibrates so much she feels it travelling up her legs. If it gets loud enough, maybe it’ll vibrate her right into another timeline where she didn’t embarrass herself in front of Cameron.
She grips the sides of her seat and stares ahead. She’s going to be silent for the rest of the trip. No speaking. No more embarrassing herself. She’ll try for step one another time.
Cameron kindly keeps the music at that volume for half a minute before he turns it down. ‘Seriously, Jules. Don’t worry about it.’
‘I think I should stop talking for the rest of the drive.’
‘Don’t stop on my account.’
‘Oh no. This would be for me. So I stop embarrassing myself and giving you the impression I’m some terrible employee who doesn’t do the work and has sex on the brain constantly.’
Cameron makes a noise that’s some combination of a cough, laugh and groan. ‘I don’t think you’re a terrible employee. You’ve helped me out so many times in the office, and you only found out about the conference on Friday. I’m impressed you agreed to fill in.’
It’s sweet of him to defend her on that count. She doesn’t want to hear what he has to say about the second part of her statement.
How can she fail so badly before they’ve even made it to the hotel? She almost spat coffee over herself, confessed to thinking about a conference fling, and told him she’s basically going to be winging her presentation. She’s probably pushed herself back to negative steps and now she only has a week to get back on track.
‘Do you collect tiny spoons?’ she asks after a few minutes of silence.
‘No.’
At least there’s that.
Chapter 5
Jules speeds through check-in like a category five hurricane. Or she tries to. She and Cameron have been placed in rooms beside each other, so she has to ride the lift up with him, their luggage, and all her embarrassment taking up the rest of the space like an invisible monster.
She grips the handle of her suitcase and jiggles her leg up and down. Cameron doesn’t mention anything from the car ride but Jules keeps replaying over and over when she gestured to him and said she wouldn’t turn down a conference fling if the right person offered. Fuck. Tori kept teasing that Jules had been single too long, while Jules was certain it would be like riding a bike to get back into the whole flirting and banter thing. She supposes it is, if that bike has misshapen wheels and no handlebars and brakes that don’t work.
She steps into her room, Cameron continuing to the next one along the carpeted corridor with a polite smile. Jules shuts the door before leaning back against it and exhaling. She tries to keep the embarrassment out, but it creeps in and wraps around her until she starts overheating. She fumbles in her handbag for her phone and messages her group chat with Cat and Tori.
Jules: Tori, you were right. I’ve forgotten how to flirt! Car ride was so awkward! Not sure the plan will work now.
She shakes her body out and takes in the room, hoping to distract herself. It’s a big, open space decorated in shades of blue, with a bathroom immediately to the right, and a kitchenette stocked with teas, coffee, a kettle and a mini-fridge to the left. She wheels her suitcase through and rests it in front of the wardrobe, which runs along the wall behind where the bathroom is. There’s a small lounge chair and a queen bed with way too many pillows against the right wall, and a table with two chairs on the left side, along with a wall-mounted TV. The only character in the room comes from two pop-art style photo series either side of the doors leading out to the balcony, one of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and one of the iconic Luna Park entry.
Trying not to look too closely at the creepy Luna Park clown face, she heads for the glass doors and out onto the small balcony, body relaxing when the cool breeze hits her skin. She stares out at Sydney city and takes a deep breath. Traffic noises float up to her but if she looks out between buildings, she can see the sparkling blue water of Sydney Harbour.
She takes another slow breath in, trying to reset her emotions, but is interrupted by her phone pinging with incoming messages.
Cat: Oh no! I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think.
Tori: Do not back out of this! You deserve it.
