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Jen hopped off her bike, her attention fixed on the flagpole. It was surrounded by people, most of whom looked like boozy teenagers. ‘Busy up there. Will we find somewhere else?’
‘I’ll go wherever you take me,’ Holly said and wondered if that sounded like an odd thing to say.
Jen scanned their surroundings. ‘The back of the allotments? Always quiet there.’
‘Sounds like a plan. Flat too,’ Holly replied, running a hand down her face to help the sweat on its way.
They pushed off in tandem, cutting through the wooded area behind the park’s many eclectic sheds and greenhouses. ‘Ever feel like we’ve been given the short straw?’ Jen laughed. ‘Do you know what Chloe and Ryan are doing?’
Holly shook her head. ‘Please don’t say a spa.’
‘Close enough, well not really, but a pottery class.’
‘Aw, I would have loved that. I’ve always wanted to try.’
‘We could go ourselves some time, if you’d like?’
Holly paused, suddenly all too aware of what she’d just been dreaming about, the need to distance herself now more important than ever. Jen didn’t want anything more, plus Holly wasn’t in the right headspace for a relationship. But there was no denying she was attracted to her. A friendship could get messy, fast. But now wasn’t the time for stepping back.
Jen grappled with the silence, attempting to fill it with as many words as possible. ‘Like, as friends, obviously. Just a thought. I had fun the other night, when we went to Bar Orama; I just thought it might be nice to do something else, as friends.’
Holly couldn’t help but snigger at Jen’s never-ending torrent of words.
‘What?’ Jen asked, somehow managing to blush an even darker shade of red than she already was.
‘Nothing, you’re just c—’Jesus.She only just caught herself before the wordcutetumbled from her lips.FUCK.Holly’s cheeks matched Jen’s. She coughed, clearing her throat quietly and pretending that was why she’d stopped. ‘I would like to go some time. With you. As friends.’
Jen’s features relaxed, her shoulders visibly dropping like a weight had been lifted. Message received: friendship was on the table, nothing else.
At the rear of the allotments, not another soul was in sight as the trees opened up, revealing a spectacular view of the Southside. Not quite the postcard-perfect horizon they would have seen from the flagpole, but beautiful nonetheless. They carried on along the dirt path in search of a place to sit. Why no one had ever thought to put a bench here had always perplexed Holly.
‘What about over there?’ Jen said, pointing to what looked like a dry patch of grass.
‘Six of one,’ Holly said, twisting her bike in the new direction.
‘Hey, that reminds me,’ Jen said, her face lighting up. ‘What was on your card at the first Lovefest event?’
‘And into the fire.’
‘Not a match, sorry. This date’s over,’ she said with a cheeky grin.
‘You didn’t find your match either, then? What was yours?’
‘Two in the bush.’
Holly snorted with laughter. ‘You’re having me on.’
‘No, really. I’m guessing as in “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”.’
‘Ah,’ Holly replied, sense dawning. ‘Two in the bush and into the fire.’
The duo erupted into giggles once more. ‘I don’t think it will catch on.’
‘You never know.’ Holly placed her bike on the grass and got comfy alongside it. ‘This isn’t too bad, now my legs have stopped dying.’
‘I can’t do that again,’ Jen huffed, rubbing at her thighs as she joined Holly on the ground. ‘Can we just chill here and tell Connor we went cycling?’
‘Your secret’s safe with me.’
