Page 106 of Meet Me in Berlin

‘Thanks.’

I gesture towards her new partner. ‘You should probably be getting back to Frankie. Can’t imagine she’ll be too pleased about you sitting here with your ex.’

She slips off the stool. ‘I’ve told her everything, including what a cow I was.’

‘And what a cow I was?’

She grins. ‘That too.’ She reaches into her pocket and slides a small felt box towards me. ‘Thought I should return this.’

I push it back towards her. ‘Keep it.’

‘Seriously, Casey. As much as I love it, I’m not going to wear it again, am I? Even if I do get engaged to someone else. Take it.’

I slip it into my pocket. ‘Thanks.’

She gives my forearm an affectionate squeeze. ‘I hope it works out with Holly. I can call her if you like?—’

‘No! No. It’s fine. I’ll sort it.’

‘Okay, well, I’m glad we ran into each other,’ Eva says. ‘I would’ve contacted you at some point anyway. Might be hard to avoid each other now that Jaz and Leila seem to be a thing.’ She pauses. ‘They’re kind of cute, I guess.’

I smile. ‘They are.’

As she walks back to Frankie, I sip my ale and feel a slight shift, the apathy I’ve been lugging around beginning to dissolve. I call Jaz.

‘Mate,’ she says. ‘Where are you? Got the shock of my life when I got up and didn’t see your miserable face moping about the flat. I’m not sure whether to be worried or happy.’

‘Fancied a change of Sunday scene, so I went to work for a bit and now I’m having a pint in Soho.’

‘I’ll come meet you.’

I neck the last of my ale. ‘How about we go to the pub near ours? Eva’s here with her new partner, so I think I should get out of their space.’

‘Ha, no way. Right. Meet you at the Pig and Butcher in about half an hour, then.’

I slip my phone away and give Eva and Frankie a wave goodbye. They both wave back, and Frankie gives me a genuine smile. Very cool.

As I head for the door, I accidentally knock shoulders with someone. ‘Shit, sorry.’ Then I make eye contact and inwardly cringe. For such a huge city, London is really fucking small sometimes, and it needs more lesbian bars.

The vet nurse’s eyes narrow. ‘I remember you.’

‘Do you?’ I say, playing dumb.

‘Yeah.’ She points to the far wall. ‘Over there.’ She folds her arms. ‘Easy to remember such blatant rejection. I thought you were going to take me home, but you scarpered.’

My cheeks warm. ‘Yeah, sorry about that. I was wired that night.’

‘Ah, so you do remember.’ She cocks her head and her eyes shamelessly roam my body. She steps closer. ‘No reason we can’t pick up where we left off.’

The desire in her eyes and the want in her voice tells me there’s a night of sex on offer. I dig about for the old me, the one who’d have a drink with this woman and dive into bed with her without a second thought.

‘Rum and orange, wasn’t it?’ she says.

‘Erm…’ I look down at my phone, at my unanswered message. Holly has made herself clear, so why am I stalling? I could definitely use a good shag, no question. But that old me is nowhere to be found today because the thought of being with someone who isn’t Holly makes me feel dead inside. ‘Thanks,’ I say. ‘But my best mate’s got a bevvy waiting for me elsewhere.’

Her eyebrows shoot up and she shakes her head. ‘Wow. Rejected twice. You sure know how to make a girl feel good about herself.’

‘Sorry.’ And with that, I head for Islington feeling pretty bloody proud of myself for saying no for once.

---