‘You’re right where you belong too, by the way,’ he said, when his smile finally faded.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Your parents, you told me how different they were to you.’ He shook his head. ‘They’re not.’
‘Did you actually meet them?’ I asked.
‘I did, and I can tell you that you happen to be the perfect mix of all their good qualities.’
‘What qualities?’
‘You have your mother’s charisma and you have your father’s kindness.’
‘Me, charismatic!’ I burst out laughing.
‘Not in the same way as your mom, but trust me, you are. When you speak, everyone listens. When you walk into a room, you command it, even if you think you don’t. People notice you. You stick out, you don’t blend it. Plus, you can also make a very loud and dramatic entrance too.’
I tried to swallow, but I think I’d forgotten how to.Was that the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me?
‘And you’re kind, you give me pugs even though I know they’re hard for you.’ He looked at me meaningfully. His brows were raised, as if he was trying to ask me a question. Or did he want me to tell him something? I clutched the towel closer to my body, suddenly feeling exposed and naked, even though I wasn’t.
‘Last time we saw each other things got a bit awkward,’ I blurted out with absolutely no warning.
Andrew blinked. My sudden massive conversational segue surprised him. It had surprised me too.
‘And I think I know why,’ I said, clutching the towel even tighter.
Andrew took a step towards me. ‘You do?’
‘I think so,’ I said, moving towards the bathroom door.
‘Wait, where’re you going?’ He moved closer to me.
‘I need to shower,’ I said. ‘I hate the way I smell if I leave the chlorine on my body for too long. And it’s been too long now.’
I turned my back on him and reached for the door.
‘Seriously, you’re not going to tell me why you know it was awkward between us?’
I stopped, let go of the door handle and turned around again. ‘I think we both know the answer to that.’ I held his gaze for a moment; it was way too hard to hold it any longer. I turned again.
‘Thanks for saying those nice things about me by the way, it means a lot,’ he called after me.
‘It’s a pleasure. It means a lot to me that it means a lot to you,’ I said, and then disappeared into the changing room.
I closed the door behind me and then rested my back on it, closing my eyes.
Last weekend, when he’d pulled me out of the tree. When his hands had touched my waist, my head, my face. When he’d moved closer, when I’d moved closer, when we’d both moved closer, I’d felt it. Even though it had taken me a few days to understand what the feeling was exactly.
I liked him.Perhaps more than a fake girlfriend should like a fake boyfriend.
And I think,I think, I suspected . . . that maybe he liked me a little bit more than a fake boyfriend should like a fake girlfriend too.
CHAPTER30
‘Good afternoon, City Tower, this is Flightbird Six Zero Zero.’
‘This is City Tower. It’s almost good evening, actually, Flightbird Six Zero Zero. Time is sixteen fifty-five.’
