Page 17 of Once Bitten, Twice Fried
Julie smiled back. This date was going well, wasn’t it? She’d forgotten how charming she could be. Her phone buzzed in her jacket pocket.
“One moment.” She looked at the screen. Yasmine was calling her. Maybe it was a wedding emergency? She couldn’t really pick it up right now. She’d decline and wait for Yasmine to send her a message.
“Sorry, it’s a friend of mine who’s getting married and I’m helping her organise the wedding.”
“She’s lucky. It must be nice to have a friend who can help with your kind of skills.”
“She is!” Julie’s phone buzzed again. This time it was a message from Yasmine. “Sorry, let me just check if there’s been any issue in the organisation or something.”
“Yeah, go ahead. Don’t worry.”
Julie’s heart stopped as she swiped open the message.
“Sorry you must be on the date you told me about! Just wanted to let you know that Zoe will be at the hen do! She wants to spend some time in Brussels before heading to the Ardennes because she has another event before my wedding. So excited! Break a leg on the date!”followed by several winking emojis.
Margot cleared her throat. Julie looked up, realising that she’d been staring at Yasmine’s message for a long moment.
“Is everything OK?” Margot frowned.
Julie hurriedly put her phone away, nodding frantically. “Yes, no worries! Just some information about the hen do.”
“Exciting! Where are you guys heading? One of my friends got married last year and we had an amazing time in Madrid. The Spaniards really know how to party.”
Julie drank herPineapple Surprisefast. Maybe too fast. The awful taste of the cocktail lingered in her mouth and it felt like her tongue was hungover. “Oh yeah?” She answered distractedly.
“Yes! We went clubbing for three days straight, it was awesome.”
Margot’s cocktail was only half-drunk. What time was it? Why was it taking her so long? Cocktails with Zoe were always the best. She was so good at them. When she’d googled Zoe a few weeks ago, Julie thought she’d seen that Zoe had published a book about cocktails. Maybe she should check it out if she got the chance. Maybe Zoe had even included the cocktail that Julie invented: theBritish Exchange Student, which was a dash of gin, a bottle of cider, and the most British ingredient Zoe had in her kitchen at the moment. One time, they’d put Worcestershire sauce in it and regretted it instantly.
“You seem distracted.” Margot sipped her cocktail.
What were they talking about again? Something about Madrid. Julie had completely lost the plot.
“Why are you grinning?” Margot leaned forward, making insistent eye contact.
“I’m grinning because I’m thinking about my straight college friend I had a stupid crush on.”That was the truth, but Julie couldn’t say it, could she?
“What? I’m not grinning.”
“You absolutely are. You’ve been grinning since you stopped looking at your phone.”
Julie scoured her brain, trying to think of a reason why she would be grinning, but suddenly her mind was full of a memory of Zoe, offering her a cocktail containing jelly babies, failing tostifle a laugh as she tried to force it in Julie’s hand and insisting it would be good this time. Not helpful.
“Oh you know, it’s just the wedding. What can I say? I’m so happy my friend is getting married!” She said, unconvincingly.
“Really?” Margot raised a brow.
“Yes. Yes, yes.” Julie smiled at her date.
“It’s nice that you care so much about your friend.” Somehow, Margot had bought that line. “Where was I? Ah yes, our second night in Madrid.”
This was hopeless, Julie thought. Every second she spent with Margot was a second she wished she could’ve spent with Zoe instead. Her laughter still echoed in her head even after all these years. Yasmine’s message about the hen do sent her hurtling down that path. Julie could feel a warmth in her stomach just thinking about it. Would it be like it used to be? Would they reconnect? What if things get out of hand and what if they ended up kissing again? Or even more. The room suddenly got hotter.
“And then the guy just turned towards my friend, and said in a Spanish accent ‘I guess it’s nice to see you here.’” Margot burst out laughing.
Having no idea what had just happened, Julie laughed along. “That’s so crazy!”
“Isn’t it?” Margot’s finger was circling the rim of her cocktail glass. She looked up at Julie. “Do you want another one of these?”
