Tilly sighed. ‘No. Anyway, I’ve decided that last night was a huge mistake. I’m not going to pursue it. It was just a kiss. Just a silly, tipsy kiss between two people who'd had too much gin. That's all. Nope, I am not even going there. I need to nip this in the bud. It’s simply not a good idea.'
Pia joined the call. 'I'm here, hello. Sorry, sorry. What did I miss? How was it?'
'Tilly kissed Otto. She jumped on him,' Jasmine added.
'I said Imore or lessjumped on him.' Tilly put her face in her hands. 'Oh, God, why the flipping heck did I behave like that? How do I get myself into these things? He’s going to be avoiding me like the plague.'
'Okay, okay.' Pia leaned into the screen. 'Tell me everything from the beginning.'
Tilly told her. The gin, Otto coming back, the sofa, the whole sorry catalogue. Pia listened with both hands pressed together under her chin and said nothing. Tilly tutted and shook her head. 'I've decided it was a mistake, and I'm leaving it.'
'Hmm.' Pia tilted her head.
'What does hmm mean?'
'I'm just thinking. What exactly did the text say? Word for word.'
Tilly looked down at her phone. 'Great night. Watch for the high tide later and keep an eye on the back decking.'
'That's it?' Pia queried.
'That's it.'
'He said great night.'
'He did say great night, yes, so that’s something,' Jasmine agreed.
'He also talked about decking,' Tilly noted.
'Well, yes, but he said great night first. Tils, a man who thought it was a mistake, doesn't say great night. He says nothing, or he says something boring about the weather.'
Tilly looked between them both. 'I think I got the wrong end of the stick. What a complete idiot I am! I think he was being kind, I read it wrong, and now he's being polite and backing off like crazy. I don’t blame him! I would just like to quietly forget the evening ever happened.'
'Has he done anything else?' Jasmine asked. 'Since the text?'
'No.'
'And what did you text back?'
'I haven't. What am I supposed to say? I couldn’t give a hoot about the tides.'
Jasmine made a face. 'It’s simple. You just need to send back something normal, short and unbothered. So he knows you're not weird about it.'
'Iamweird about it. That is the whole point!'
'He doesn't need to know that.'
Pia nodded firmly. 'Jasmine's right. Just reply about the tide, keep it easy and leave it. Technically, it wasn't a mistake because you fancy the pants off him. That's not a mistake. I mean, this could actually go somewhere.'
Tilly looked out at the water for a moment. 'Not happening.'
Jasmine nodded. 'You're going to reply about the tide, and then you're going to get on with your day.'
'And stop catastrophising,' Pia added.
'I'm not catastrophising.'
'Babe,' Pia said gently.
