Page 83 of Before the Encore

“You did it, Maddy.” Ruby joined her on the balcony, bumping their shoulders together. “You really did it.”

She exhaled. A crescent moon was carefully carved into the purple sky, dusk painting the hovering clouds with orange and pink. They weren’t high enough to have a good view of the London skyline, but the hum of traffic reminded her the city was never far away.

“You should see Bonnie’s place,” Madison said, looking in the direction of her building, even though it wasn’t visible. It was only fifteen minutes away, a big plus for Madison taking the apartment. Though if asked, she’d deny it played a significant part.

Ruby leaned on the railing. “When is she back?”

“I don’t know.”

Madison checked the time. Bonnie would be starting rehearsals soon. Once she’d finished, she’d be able to call, but it wouldn’t be for a few hours yet. Bonnie had been busy following her album release. Between her schedule, Lipstick Fever’s time in the studio, and Madison’s apartment hunting, they hadn’t spoken much these past few weeks. The eight-hour time difference was a killer too.

Long distance sucked.

Madison was strung like a live wire, finding herself watching videos of Bonnie online just to get off. This had been the longest she’d ever been without sex. Just one fleeting thought about Bonnie’s thighs or the way she touched her had her nose-diving into a plunge pool of inappropriate thoughts.

It was more than that, though. She missed Bonnie’s calming presence and how she smelled like honey and vanilla. She missed making Bonnie laugh—especially that amazing cackle that lit Madison up inside. They were both busy; she knew that. But what if their time apart changed how Bonnie felt? What if she changed her mind about Madison, like Meg did?

Madison didn’t enjoy being the jealous girlfriend. Long distance sucked.

She blinked away the thoughts and turned to Ruby. “Pizza or Chinese?”

Ruby flashed a grin. “Both?”

After feasting on fresh wood-fired pizza, heaps of spicy noodles, and salt and pepper chips, they lounged on the sofa, playing Mario Kart. Well, Madison did; Ruby sat on the floor so she could fully concentrate, but she still lost the last three races.

Madison didn’t gloat. Much.

“Have you tampered with the controller?” Ruby shook hers like it might make her race better.

“Nope.” Madison popped a chip in her mouth, even though they’d gone cold. “You just suck.”

The TV chimed with the start of a new race, the karts humming their engines in anticipation. The buzzer sounded, and they zoomed ahead, Madison already leading at the front.

“How can you sing and be great at Mario Kart?” Ruby huffed. “The world isn’t fair.”

“You got the brains, remember?”

Ruby bashed the buttons on the controller. “Some good that’ll be when I finish my degree and still can’t get a job with the current rate of youth employment.”

“You could be a professional cupboard organiser.”

Ruby scoffed. “Yeah. Or maybe my new sister-in-law could hire me as one of her backing dancers.”

“I think you’d have more chance being Devika’s glamourous cat assistant.”

Ruby smacked her with a cushion, knocking Madison’s kart off a cliff.

“Hey! You cheater.”

Ruby sped ahead, laughing maniacally, only to run straight into a banana and spin out of control.

Madison nudged her with her foot. “That serves you right.”

As they played, they caught up about Ruby’s English course, and the gossip with her friends—apparently her roommates Demi and Alex were close to breaking up—and Madison gave her a pity win on track four that only made Ruby more annoyed.

When they were all gamed out, the sky dark beyond the window, Ruby asked, “Have you spoken to Mum?”

Madison took a swig from her can of Coke. “I think you know the answer to that.”