Page 151 of Falling for You
But … it wasn’t that, was it? I felt something beforehe complimented me. I don’t really know what, I just felt something.
And then he ran off into the night like bloody Cinderella.
I sigh, trying to squash my confused feelings down my body as I walk back into the office, handing Pam her coffee. She has the grace to look up at me as I come over. I perch on the desk next to her, holding my mug in my hands, making it clear that I’m here for a chat, whether she likes it or not.
‘Go on, then,’ she says, taking her mug and closing her laptop screen. ‘Tell me all about your favourite night of the year. How was your party? How many costumes did you make?’
I smile, turning my phone towards her and showing her some of the photos my customers have sent over. ‘Around fifteen this month.’
Pam raises her eyebrows in a ‘get you’ way.
‘Look at these,’ she says, pulling a cigarette out of her shirt pocket and propping it in her mouth. ‘You really made all of them?’
‘I did. My mum usually makes a few too, but this time it was mainly me.’
‘And what about you? What did you wear?’
I take the phone back and find the photo of my costume. Tanya did a full-on photoshoot for me before we left. Mainly so I could send pictures to Mum and Dad and use it for our business Instagram to show off our latest costumes. But also because it’s quite a fun part about living with your best friends. I could feel like a severed toenail and all it would take is Tanya and Penny ramping me up and telling me howto pose and I’d be feeling more like a severed toenail with glittery nail varnish on.
Pam lets out a slow whistle when she sees the picture. ‘Blimey.’
‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’
‘What happened when you opened the wings, then?’ she asks, pinching her fingers so she can zoom in. ‘I bet everyone was in bits.’
‘Well,’ I sigh, taking the phone off her. ‘Yes and no.’
‘Oh?’
‘I stabbed a guy when they opened.’
Pam snorts.
‘And ripped his shirt open.’
‘Crikey.’
‘And then got stuck to him for a good ninety seconds.’ Hmmm. Now I look at it like that, it’s no wonder he made a break for it.
Pam laughs a deep, gravelly laugh. ‘That’s one way to get them.’
‘Well,’ I say, feeling myself redden as I pick up my coffee. ‘He actually left not so long after that and we didn’t exchange numbers or anything, so …’
Pam looks at me expectantly. ‘But it doesn’t matter,’ I babble. ‘One of those things.’
‘Your costume looks great, though,’ she says and I smile.
‘Thanks. How was your Halloween? Did you get any trick or treaters?’
She frowns, taking a swig of her coffee. ‘Of course not. I closed the curtains and turned off all the lights.’
‘Pam!’ I laugh. ‘What about Rodney?’
Where Pam is round and hunched, Rodney is tall and lean and I don’t think I’ve heard him say more than eight words in the entire ten years I’ve worked here. But they always hold hands, and I occasionally catch them looking at each other in a way I’ve never seen Pam look at anyone else.
‘Oh, he doesn’t care,’ she waves a hand at me. ‘Now, how’s your diary looking today?’ She pulls her laptop lid back open. ‘Can you get over to Richmond this afternoon to look at a house? We have a family of five moving in eight weeks, the dad is coming next week to look at properties. Can I put you on it?’
I feel a little thrill. I’m always the first one that Pam asks for new clients, not that either of us would ever admit that.
