Page 121 of The 21-Day Boyfriend
“Why are you so nervous?” Mila asks, bringing me back to her, to this moment, to a version of myself that isn’t at all convincing.
“I shouldn’t have said yes,” I say out loud.
Mila furrows her brow. “Didn’t you both agree to be each other’s dates until after Christmas?”
At the word ‘Christmas’, I grimace involuntarily; it doesn’t escape my sister.
“Is there something I should know?”
I turn to her. “Is there somethingIshould know?”
“Don’t try to change the subject.”
Mila leaves me in my room and heads into the living room. I take off my blazer, laying it out on the bed, and follow her. I find her by the window, her gaze fixed onto the Christmas lights on the building across the road.
“I’ve already told you everything there is to know.”
“Really? Because it seemed like Jake had a different idea the other night.”
“Jake’s an idiot.”
“We can agree on that. But you still slept with that idiot.”
Mila sighs.
“I thought he was like a brother to you, the way he is to me…?”
“But you had a crush on him for years!”
“Details, details… Besides, that was a platonic crush that could never have gone anywhere.”
Mila shrugs. Her gaze has shifted from the lights to the street below. I can see it in her reflection in the window.
It’s as if she’s waiting for something; or someone.
“He says he’s in love with you.”
“Of course he’s not…” she minimises.
“You don’t believe him, then?”
“How could I?”
“Well, Jake is an idiot – there’s no doubt about that. But we know him, and he’s a good guy. I don’t think he’d lie about something like that.”
Mila turns to look at me. “You beat him up!”
“I didn’t beat him up! It was one punch, with terrible aim.” I look down at my bruised hand.
God, does it hurt.
What was I thinking?
“So, you’re defending him now?”
“I’m not defending anyone, and I’m not on anyone’s side. He just caught me by surprise, and I reacted instinctively. But then I thought about it, and…”
“And you realised it can’t be real. He could never really be in love with someone like me.”
