‘Well, for one,’ he said, swallowing the melon, ‘I’ve never seen you in a trench coat.’
‘Three talking points in this gigantic beige cardigan, then.’
‘You could fit a lot more than three talking points in that cardigan.’
I threw a grape at him. He caught it in his mouth.
We both froze.
‘… I can’t believe that just happened,’ he said, grape caught between his teeth.
‘That was unbelievable,’ I breathed. ‘You got that from, what, two and a half metres away? Three?’
‘I have an Olympic gold medal,’ he said, ‘but that is by far the most impressive feat of athleticism I have ever pulled off in my life.’
We both started laughing. I was laughing so hard I cried, tears streaming down my face. ‘Oh God,’ I sobbed. ‘I don’t know why that was so funny.’
‘It’s this place,’ Dylan said, wiping his own eyes. ‘It’s such a weird, strange environment. Everything is turned up to eleven. Do you need a tissue?’
‘Please.’
He picked up his jacket, dug around in one of the pockets, and produced a tiny travel pack of tissues. ‘Here you go,’ he said, tossing them to me.
I caught them. ‘Thanks.’
‘If you’d really been committed, you would have caught them in your mouth.’
‘Not all of us can be Olympic athletes, Dylan.’
He wasn’t listening, though. ‘Oh!’ he said, rummaging around in his jacket pocket some more. ‘I almost forgot. I have something for you. Here.’
I caught the second object he threw to me.
My jaw fell open. ‘You did not.’
‘It offended me greatly, having to carry them around,’ he said. ‘Having their foulness so close to my skin. But I talked to the craft services guy, and he said that even though their stash was limited, because the crew go through them by the truckload, he could probably spare one measly packet for the Romeo.’
I clutched the packet of gummy bears in both hands, the plastic crinkling under my fingers.
‘Thank you,’ I said, stunned. ‘This is so nice, Dylan. Really.’
‘You’re welcome,’ he said sunnily. ‘My pleasure.’
Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. I wiped my face with the tissue, hoping he wouldn’t notice. I could not let myself cry over a packet of gummy bears. I could not.
‘I expect repayment, though,’ he said, folding his hands behind his head and leaning back. ‘Heather or Jess K. Tell me what the right call is.’
‘You know I can’t do that,’ I said, blinking back any last traitorous traces of moisture.
‘Come on. Please?’
‘No.’
‘I’ll steal you more gummy bears.’
‘Still no.’
‘What kind of friend are you, Cecilia James?’ he said. ‘What is the point of having you around if you won’t help me in my hour of need?’
