Page 39 of Ex in the City
‘Great intuition,’ I tell him.
Dylan makes our drinks and nods towards the kitchen door with his head.
‘Come on, let’s take this party to the sofa,’ he suggests.
I follow Dylan into Mr Campbell’s lounge. It’s as dark and moody as I feel. Dylan turns on a couple of lamps, which do little more than give the room an eerie glow.
‘I can’t turn the big light on,’ he tells me. ‘It’s not that it doesn’t work – it’s so powerful it gives you a tan.’
I laugh.
‘It’s okay, I like this light, it’s good for wallowing,’ I say as I take my drink from him. I take a sip and, oof, that’s strong. I’d forgotten about Dylan King measures.
‘So, what’s up?’ he asks me.
‘Oh, it’s just Rowan being a dick,’ I reply. ‘He went mental about me taking the boys to the recording studio, and their temporary tattoos.’
‘Do you want me to go talk to him, to explain what it was like there, that there’s nothing to worry about – I could invite him to join us next time,’ Dylan suggests.
I give him a small smile. He’s so sweet.
‘No, thank you, that’s okay,’ I reply. ‘He’s… he’s not happy about your presence.’
‘Men with girlfriends or wives never are,’ he jokes. ‘But I can reassure him on that one too.’
I slump down in my seat and rest my head on Dylan’s shoulder.
‘Ahh, Dill, it’s all such a mess,’ I say with a sigh. ‘Can I tell you a secret?’
‘Always,’ he replies.
‘Rowan and I aren’t together any more,’ I confess.
Dylan doesn’t say anything so I sit up and look at him, surprised by his lack of a reaction. I give him my best puzzled look.
‘Yeah, well, I figured something was going on,’ he says simply.
‘How on earth did you do that?’ I ask in disbelief.
‘You’ve been messing with him,’ he says through a smile. ‘Pranking him.’
My jaw drops.
‘And how did you know that?’ I ask.
My gosh, I thought I was so clever.
‘Come on, Nic, I taught you the salt and sugar swap,’ he reminds me. ‘We used to do it all the time on tour. It was never not funny.’
‘Oh,’ I say with a laugh.
‘And I’m guessing it was you who put the red sock in with his white shirts,’ he says.
‘It was,’ I reply. ‘But he realised, and took it out, so I didn’t actually go through with it.’
‘I figured as much,’ Dylan says with a laugh. ‘So I chucked it back in for you.’
I snort with laughter.
