‘How’s it going?’ Cam says, not giving the impression he’s keen on the interruption. Anika feels a surge of embarrassing pleasure that things between him and Nia seem to be cooling, if not already on ice, but she’s also desperate to know what Cam was about to say.
‘Do you mind if I grab a seat with you guys?’ Nia asks.
Cam hesitates and against her better judgement, Anika takes pity on her. ‘Sure.’
Nia waits a moment before placing her tray on the table, edging Anika’s ever so slightly away. ‘Mondays are always mad in here,’ Nia says on an exhalation, still smiling. Anika glances around. The place has filled up; she barely noticed, sucked into a bubble of Cam. ‘I didn’t know you two knew each other? Well, I know Anika’s a fan of the show …’
The soupçon of sympathy Anika felt for Nia begins to dissipate. The two women look at one another as Cam says, ‘Yeah. Turns out we went to school together.’
‘Shit, no way!’ Nia takes a delicate nibble of a feta cube. ‘Anika, had you not realised that all this time?’
Anika understands the faint shadiness but she isn’t thrown by it. ‘No, no, I knew.’ She blinks benignly, trying to stifle her smirk.
Nia’s smile is rigid again.
‘Anika started at our old school just as I ended up taking, um … a sabbatical from London for a year or so,’ Cam says, watching Anika.
‘Yeah,’ Anika said softly. ‘We only crossed paths for a bit.’ Her gaze slides from Cam to settle on his … she guessesgirlfriendis no longer accurate, if it ever was. ‘We were just chatting about a potential pitch for one of my ideas for tomorrow. I’m going to be speaking to Ashley about the job they have going.’
‘Oh. Right.’ Nia glances at Cam before turning more fully towards Anika, brushing back her bouncing curls. ‘I’d thought you interviewing for it was a rumour for some reason. So youareinterviewing for the curator role? That’s amazing.’ The awe seems to be lacking in her voice, though.
‘Yeah,’ Anika says, finishing the last of her salad. ‘I thought it was time to take the bull by the horns and go for what I actually got into radio for. Could be a bit of a leap but I won’t know unless I try, right?’
Nia nods. ‘Well, I hope it goes well.’
Anika thinks of the diary. That side of things is already settled. ‘Thanks,’ she says absently, then starts to gather up her things and stand up. Suddenly she remembers Nia mentioning she planned to ask Cam about this very thing, too. It’s not Anika’s fault if she got there first – in all senses.Today I didn’t let anyone get in the way of what I needed.But looking at Nia again, her pretty face taut with keeping her hurt at bay, Anika’s bravado deflates. She forces herself to continue. ‘Well, I guess I should head back upstairs.’ She turns to Cam. ‘I appreciate the chat. Maybe we can catch up again some other time.’ There’s a plea in her voice, and more she can’t quite explain.
He stares at her for a beat too long to be casual. The tension of memory is still there between them, as well as the magnetic pull of attraction.
‘For sure,’ he replies softly.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Thursday 2nd August
A few days after seeing Cam in the canteen, Anika grabs her glass of water and switches off the kitchen light, padding through the dark flat to her bedroom. She’s been trying to push the encounter out of her mind for now to varying degrees of success, but tomorrow is an important day. She nailed Tuesday’s interview, where she laid out some of her initial ideas for the role and why she’d be a great fit for it, but tomorrow is when she needs to seal the deal. Anika climbs into bed and reaches over to pick up the diary, nestling it on her bent knees as she begins to write.
Friday 3rd August
Today I was looking fit. (And ‘hire me’ worthy.)
Today my commute was seamless.
Today nobody pissed me off (not that I couldn’t handle anyway).
Today I won the lottery. (Come on, come on, come on.) (Seriously!!) (EUROMILLIONS THEN?)
Today I had some Friday Fun.
Today I also thought of every good music-related idea I’ve ever had …
Second and final interview for the curator position today with Ashley W, and I absolutely fucking nailed it …
And drinks with Mum and Philip this evening were thankfully swift and as smooth as possible – nothing too annoying, no awkward questions, just chill and lovely to see her. And Philip too, I suppose.She’s happy. That’s the most important thing, right?Sometimes I wish we could talk about
Things are moving in the right direction. Sunup to sundown, things went my way, satisfying and delicious.
Friday 3rd August
