‘Four and a half.’
‘Ouch. What about Allegra?’
‘A solid eight,’ I say.
‘Nice!’ He smiles. ‘And Rochelle?’
‘Ten.’
He gasps. ‘Well, we have a winner!’
‘And then she immediately ghosted me, so . . .’
‘Straight down to zero, got it.’ He nods in understanding.
‘I can’t give her zero; she was such a great kisser,’ I sigh.
He chuckles, nodding back at me. ‘Been there.’
I catch him stealing glances at his terribly silent phone and my mouth fills with venom at the idea that he likely means Eléa.
‘When areyougetting back out there?’ I ask coolly. ‘We only have three months left to find you a serious girlfriend.’
I don’t know why I’m the one pushing it. Maybe I’m a masochist. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the slap in the face that I need. The sooner he gets serious with someone, the sooner I can see it and come to terms with the fact that it will never be me. He wants and he needs to be friends. I knew that all the way back in Brussels and I was naive to think things might have changed.
‘Damn, has it been three months already?’ he asks.
His eyes roll back as he starts visibly counting back the months in his head. I lift my glass of water to my lips and gulp it down ferociously, trying not to think about what we were doing the last time his eyes rolled back like that.
‘Yeah, time flies when you’re having fun,’ I reply, voice shaky.
His smile glows from within as he leans further across the table towards me. ‘Are you having fun with me, Am?’ he asks smugly.
‘You’re all right.’
‘Charming.’ He winks at me. ‘Although speaking of girlfriends, do you have any plans tomorrow night?’
‘What are you thinking?’ I ask, eyes squinting in confusion.
I feel a buzz, but I have to shake it off because I know it can’t mean anything I think it does. I’ve been down this road before – every time I assume so, he ends up leaving me high and dry.
‘My mate’s here with his girlfriend and they want to meet us both,’ he replies.
I blink back at him. ‘Us?They know who I am?’
‘Everyone in my life knows who you are, Amorie. You’ve been the most important part of my trip.’
He states it like it’s obvious, rolling his eyes at the ludicrous concept of a world where that’s not the case.
‘Please, I need you.’
‘Need me?’ My heart’s pounding.
‘I can’t do this without you!’ he says. ‘Jake and his girlfriend can be pretty...full onwhen they’re together. And I figured what’s better than one third wheel? Two third wheels!’
He stares right at me, desperate, and I straighten my spine as I try to shake off my sudden bout of nerves.
‘That’s not how wheels work,’ I say.
