Page 72 of The Life Experiment
But no matter how dark Angus’s thoughts got, he shook them off. Those worries were for another day. Another Angus. The Angus he was right now was too busy enjoying sitting in a restaurant, sipping wine and talking to a woman who coloured his every waking thought.
33Layla
‘What do you think – too short? Not short enough?’ Maya asked as she emerged from the fitting room in a sequin dress with a fur trim.
Instinctively, Joanna laughed, but Layla’s response was a little more direct.
‘Too “I dropped out of theatre school and stole this before I left”,’ she replied.
Turning to face her reflection, Maya burst out laughing. ‘Now you’ve said it, I can’t unsee it. I look like a pantomime dame.’ Giggling, she headed back into the fitting room.
‘Why’s she picking such wild clothes, anyway?’ Layla asked Joanna.
‘Jayden told her she dresses like the other mums at school. Maya thinks it wasn’t a compliment. So, she wanted to make this visit to London a shopping trip.’
‘I thought you came to see me?’
‘That’s why I’m here, but for Maya, the bigger draw might have been Oxford Street.’
Laughing, Layla watched Joanna’s eyes drift to the rail of items others had tried on and declined purchasing. While Maya was picking the more outrageous pieces in the store, there were undoubtedly some beautiful items available. The shine in Joanna’s eyes told Layla that she thought the same too.
‘Why don’t you try something on?’ Layla encouraged, but Joanna laughed at the suggestion.
‘Don’t be silly, love. No one wants to see me in a dress like that. Not with my legs.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with your legs,’ Layla protested, but Joanna silenced her with a shake of the head. There was something about Joanna’s defeated stance that tugged at Layla, but Maya interrupted the moment by exiting the fitting room.
‘Come on,’ she instructed. ‘Time for more identity-crisis shopping.’
Following Maya back onto the shop floor, a terrible cover of ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ filtered through the speakers to greet them. Although it wasn’t December just yet, retail stores were acting as though Christmas was tomorrow. Memories of her family’s penny pinching in the lead up to past Christmases flooded Layla’s mind, but as the chorus kicked in, she gave in to the enjoyment of the song. However poor the cover was, the tune was still too catchy to resist humming along.
When Maya sighed in frustration that a dress she liked wasn’t available in her size, Layla moved closer. ‘If it makes you feel better, I’d swap clothes with you any day.’
‘That’s because you dress like a sex-starved librarian,’ Maya replied.
‘Charming,’ Layla muttered, but she wasn’t angry. She knew Maya had a point.
Maybe you should invest in new clothes, Layla thought as she inspected a slinky black dress. No sooner had the idea sparked than it died. It was hard to get excited about a shopping spree when in a few short years, Layla would no longer be around to wear the clothes.
‘I can’t believe Angus fancies you in that outfit,’ Maya teased. ‘The sex must be great.’
‘Maya!’ Layla hissed, glancing around the store self-consciously. ‘We’re not having sex!’
‘Doesn’t mean you don’t want to, though,’ Maya replied with a wink.
Layla knew there was no point in arguing. Mostly because, lawyer or not, she never won against Maya, but also because Maya was right. Lately, whenever Layla’s mind wandered, it went to one thing: the thought of Angus’s lips on hers. The thrill she would feel as his hands roamed her body…
‘Oh my God, you’re imagining having sex with him right now!’ Maya cried, pointing at Layla.
‘I am not,’ Layla protested, but as Maya waggled her eyebrows, she realised resistance was futile. ‘Fine, maybe I am. A little, anyway.’
‘I knew it! Layla’s in love!’
Layla opened her mouth to respond, but the burn in her cheeks and Maya’s unfiltered joy made her fold.
‘For what it’s worth, I’m sure he feels the same,’ Maya said when she registered her sister’s blush. ‘No one hangs out with someone this much if they don’t want things to develop.’
‘I don’t know about that.’
