Page 89 of The Suite Life
She lets out a sigh, pausing to choose her words carefully.
‘Nathan talks about you all the time, Gigi,’ she confesses. ‘And so many of his memories seem to involve you. The things he owns, the thoughtful presents, they’re all from you. It’s like I can’t escape from you, and then the icing on the cake is the fact that you’re still around.’
I’m a little annoyed at first because how does she think I feel? I have to be around him and her. But, as I process her words, I start to feel sorry for her. Me having to see my ex with his new girlfriend sucks for me so, for Sunshine to be trying to enjoy her new relationship, but for her boyfriend’s ex to still be on the scene, must be a similar kind of weird.
Perhaps we have more in common than we realised.
‘Sunshine, I feel the same way about Nathan being around,’ I tell her. ‘I’m very much of the opinion that once someone becomes an ex, they should just… disintegrate – or appear to, at least. But I’ve stuck it out for Lucy and Rick, so that it doesn’t mess up their wedding.’
‘You have?’ she says. ‘You don’t want him back or anything like that?’
‘I absolutely do not want him back,’ I say firmly, trying my best not to sound too much like I can’t think of anything worse, because he is her boyfriend, after all. ‘I’m here for my sister and Rick. And, come on, you… you’re Sunshine Greene! Why would you feel threatened by anyone?’
She sighs, a vulnerability in her eyes that I not only didn’t expect, but I didn’t think possible.
‘My Instagram is the version of myself and my life that I want to show people,’ she tells me. ‘But real life isn’t what you see on Instagram.’
I mean, I knew that, but Sunshine has always made it seem like her perfect online presence was a genuine representation of her real life. Wow, so Sunshine Greene is human after all, and feels insecure just like the rest of us. If someone as bright and sparkly as Sunshine can feel insecure, then maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on myself the next time I’m feeling down.
‘Like, this morning, I posted a photo of my dress, and I started getting all of these replies, and not all of them were complimentary, but it was too late to do anything about it, so I’vespent the whole day wondering if I really do need Botox in my armpits…’
Wow, I don’t even know what that would do there, and I certainly hadn’t realised I needed to be self-conscious about my armpits. Then again, with me at least, I’m sure there is plenty that a person might criticise before they looked that closely – not that I’m going to let myself feel all that bothered by it (hopefully) any more.
‘We all feel insecure sometimes, it’s just human nature, there’s no shame in it,’ I tell her. ‘You and Nathan really do seem great together. Perhaps, now that you know that I don’t want him back, and that he doesn’t want me back, you can just focus on that, and enjoy it?’
She nods, looking almost relieved that I understand.
‘You’re right,’ she admits. ‘Sorry, I know it might be hard to believe, but I’m not usually this crazy.’
I do find that hard to believe – I watchedWelcome to Singledom.
‘Shall we hug it out?’ she suggests.
‘I’d like that,’ I reply.
I step forward, offering her a reassuring hug.
‘You look beautiful,’ I tell her. ‘Get out there any enjoy yourself – and don’t worry about what anyone thinks – especially not about your bloody armpits.’
She laughs as hugs me back, and for a moment, all the tension between us seems to evaporate.
‘Let’s go enjoy the wedding together,’ she suggests. ‘I’m not taking no for an answer.’
‘I do still need to pee,’ I admit with an awkward chuckle.
‘Okay,’ she replies, laughing too. ‘Come and find me later. We’ll have a nice, normal chat.’
‘Sounds great,’ I reply.
Sunshine heads for the door before quickly stopping in her tracks again.
‘Gigi,’ she calls after me.
I turn around. I really do need to pee, but I don’t like to stop her, when she’s being nice.
‘You look beautiful too,’ she tells me.
‘Thanks,’ I reply.
