God. This was getting ridiculous. I needed to get out of here before I did or said something stupid.
‘Thanks again, I… I’d better go.’ I darted out of the room.
Once I was safely inside the toilet cubicle, I shut the door and dropped my head in my hands.
I was starting to like Ben.
This would’ve been a bad idea under any circumstances. But knowing that in just over two weeks we’d be travelling together, and pretending to be a couple made it ten times worse.
This was bad.
Very, very, bad.
22
SARAH
Once I’d dried my hands, I was about to leave the toilets when the door swung open.
‘Hey!’ Jess said. ‘How’d the filming go? And how was your Sunday?’
I’d heard that Jess, Theo, Jane and Jackson got back late from their double date in London last night, so we hadn’t had a chance to catch up. Must be nice to do all those couple things.
‘The filming went well,’ I said.
‘Is the shirt around your dress part of the performance?’
‘Nope, I got my period.’
‘Oh, shit,’ Jess said. ‘Are they still super heavy?’
‘Yep,’ I sighed.
‘Did you ever go to the doctors? It sucks that you have to change so often. Must cost a fortune in pads and tampons.’
‘Yeah. I got checked out because I thought I might have endometriosis, but I don’t. My periods can be painful and heavy, especially during the first couple of days, but I’ve learnt how to manage it.’
‘It’s shitty that you have to go through that, but it’s good that at least you looked into it, just in case. Do you need any pads or tampons?’
‘I’m good. I appreciate the offer, though. Thanks to Ben, I’ve got enough period products to last me a few months.’
‘Ben?’ She frowned.
‘Yeah… listen, I was about to head to the B&B to change my dress. If you’re free, do you want to walk with me so I can fill you in?’
‘Sure!’ Jess said.
As we left the loos and headed over, I told her what’d happened. By the time we’d arrived at the B&B, I still hadn’t finished the story, so we made a little detour to the beach.
I wondered if I’d ever get tired of inhaling the delicious salty sea air or watching the waves lapping at the shore. I doubted it. Even if I lived here for three lifetimes, I reckoned I’d still love it.
‘Wait, so he set you a bathandgot you all that stuff?’ Jess gasped.
‘Yeah.’
Next I told her about what happened with the audiobook.
‘That’s hilarious!’ She giggled.
