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‘Yup?’
He’s sitting on his bed with his laptop open.
‘Can we talk some more?’
He nods before he puts his laptop aside and gestures for me to sit on the bed.
‘I was awful to Lara today.’
I unexpectedly burst into tears. Caleb is beside me in an instant. When he puts his arms round me, my sobs become uncontrollable.
‘What happened?’
‘I just got angry. She knew about the pool and she didn’t tell me.’
‘She probably thought you didn’t need to know, because it was such a throwaway conversation; not that it excuses the pool. I remember her putting fifty quid on neververyloudly, if that helps?’ He smiles warmly as he defends her.
‘She could’ve hurt Nicole really badly. Her head was centimetres from a desk corner when she fell.’
‘I saw that. It was brutal, but Nicole is threatening everything Lara loves. You, her job, her clients, her reputation, and even, potentially, her ability to make a living, ever again.’
‘Then she wouldn’t stop digging around about this weekend—’
‘Aari, I don’t mean to downplay how you feel, but these aren’t massive infractions, compared to the shit Lara gets up to normally. Just tell her you’re sorry and everything will go back to normal.’
‘It won’t.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I lied to her.’
‘About what?’
I look away and shake my head.
‘Aaaah. She asked if something happened between us, and you denied it.’
I nod. I feel Caleb’s body deflate with a heavy sigh as silence descends.
‘Tell her,’ he says quietly after a while. ‘She’s all you’ve got. If you need her to know, to make you okay again, just tell her.’
‘But we promised each other…’
‘Ariella. She’s your best friend and this is new territory for you. You need her. Tell her.’
Perhaps it is his kindness, or him giving me permission to do the one thing he made me repeatedly promise not to do, but I kiss him. It is meant to be a short, friendly kiss, until he kisses me back. Then I can’t bring myself to stop and, it seems, neither can he. I wrap my arms round his neck as the kiss intensifies, with our tongues moving in a perfect, familiar rhythm. With no warning, he breaks it, shaking his head.
‘No, Ariella. We handled this earlier. You’re right. We shouldn’t be doing this. It’s confusing for both of us at the moment.’
I feel embarrassed. ‘I’m sorry, Caleb.’
We hold each other’s gaze for a couple of seconds before he continues.
‘We should sleep on it and try to keep it platonic.’
I nod. He’s right. He leans in to kiss my forehead, then stretches out his hand. I take it and let him lead me outside of his bedroom door. He offers me a small smile.
‘Goodnight.’
