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Paige got in her car and drove straight to Sophie’s house.
* * *
The first words from Marcus were: ‘Well at least someone is getting some action in that flat. Come on, it’s been a while for you, right?’
‘They were on my sofa,’ Paige deadpanned.
Marcus started laughing again. ‘Come on, I’ll make you a cuppa and you can begin therapy with Sophie.’
‘Wait.’ Paige grabbed his arm and stopped him from turning.
‘What?’ Marcus asked, but his eyes looked away from hers quite quickly.
‘What are you keeping from me?’ she asked.
‘Nothing at all, let me make you a drink.’ Marcus all but ran off.
Paige knew — yes in the mojo sense! — she knew that something was amiss and the first thought that went through her head was that Sophie was pregnant, but no that didn’t feel quite right.
Paige walked through the immaculate Instagram-worthy house and into the front room. It made Paige smile every time. Every inch in Sophie’s house was Instagram worthy, not a single wall that you couldn’t film in front of, the light was resplendent, the garden perfectly designed, obviously. But the front room was a mess and Paige loved it.
There was an old corner sofa piled high with throws of different colours, all the cushions you could ever need. Half-burnt candle jars on the cluttered coffee table, accompanied by non-coaster ring stains. A TV hung on the wall above the fireplace, a PlayStation connected to it, which had originally been Marcus’ but had since been commandeered. Paige collapsed into the soft sofa and rested her eyes until Sophie arrived, mugs in hand.
The room while messy was essential and Paige could see why. Sophie had struggled at first with the influencer fame. Of course they had all been there to help her out. Keep her grounded and generally just take the piss as only the best of friends can. But Sophie had struggled with her work-life balance. Everything was for show. Every minute could be content and at first Sophie couldn’t switch off.
Now she had the opposite of an office. It was Sophie’s anti-office. The place where she literally could not work. The blinds meant the light wasn’t great, the mess meant it wasn’t all that photogenic; it was bliss. On the coffee table and down the side of the sofa were magazines, books, almost all about either make-up or business models and entrepreneurism.
Paige sipped her brew. ‘My mojo is starting to come back,’ she said, finally voicing the biggest thing that was doing her head in. ‘I think it’s to do with Melanie.’
As soon as she heard the words out loud she knew it was absolutely true. She actually didn’t care that she had walked in on Connie and Councillor Houghton; she wished she hadn’t, but actually Marcus was right. It was time that sofa saw some action. The real issue was Melanie.
‘How do I know I want Melanie for Melanie or because she might be able to fix me? Because one of those isn’t fair. How can I be something that Melanie needs in return?’ Paige grumbled into her hands.
‘First of all, how do you know your mojo is even coming back?’ Sophie asked.
Paige sat up and studied Sophie for a solid ten seconds.
‘You and Marcus are wondering whether or not to come off the pill. It’s a big decision. You’ve had lots of conversations about it but neither of you are sure it’s the right time yet.’
Sophie stared, her jaw open.
‘Did Marcus say . . . ?’
‘You know he didn’t.’ Paige collapsed back into the sofa.
‘Are you back to full power or . . . ?’
‘No . . . not yet.’
‘When did you notice it come back? Wait, no, hang on, we need to wait for everyone else. Here.’ Sophie found the remote lodged under the cushion next to her and stuck the TV on, both of them quietly trying to enjoy their tea. But Paige’s brain was a mess and Sophie was biting her lip and twirling her engagement ring around.
One by one everyone arrived and cheered and hugged, welcoming Mya back into the fold. Whenever Mya returned it was like she’d never been away.
Everyone got comfy and started chatting and catching up but Paige couldn’t stay quiet any longer and without warning, interrupted. ‘What if my gift only came back because Melanie and I had sex?’
The room fell silent, and Sophie quickly turned the TV off.
‘You and Melanie did it! Woohoo. About time. How was it?’ Mya leant forward, her hands on her chin, eager for the details.
