Zola paused briefly, then continued chewing. ‘Honestly, I don’t think he’ll be arsed either way. We’re not like most couples anymore; we’re not together all the time. I do my thing and he does his. I’m not even sure he’ll notice that I’m gone.’
Katy had found her second wind and caught up to us. ‘But I thought you guys were trying to sort things out after the Spanish guy?’
Zola sighed, no doubt remembering her encounter with the stunningly handsome Alvero. ‘So did I, but after a few weeks, it just went back to normal. He stopped looking for jobs or courses, and I started focusing more on work again. We have been together for over a decade now. Maybe it always ends up like this, I don’t know. I love him, I mean sort of more like he’s my brother or something, but I do love him, and I care about him.’
Katy’s confused expression matched my own. ‘So, you don’t fancy him or have sex?’ she asked.
‘Ugh! Babe, I’ve just said he’s like my brother. Who wants to shag their brother? Ew!’
I laughed as we headed into our apartment building. A doorman held the door open for us as we traipsed through the lobby, grateful for the cool air conditioning blasting down on us.
‘Maybe the spark will come back,’ I said, walking to the lift.
Zola shrugged. ‘Maybe.’
The lift ejected us into the apartment, and a deluge of bright light shone through the glass as we walked through to the lounge.
‘This shit gives me my spark right now,’ Zola concluded, mesmerised all over again at the view.
I couldn’t disagree. Thirty-one storeys high, looking out to the Hudson River with the sun beaming – this place was unbelievable.
‘What are the plans for tonight?’ Katy asked, heading to her bedroom, which she had hardly set foot in since arriving.
‘Well, the contracts are coming and I’d like to go through them properly. We could grab a bite to eat and head back here. We’ll need to go through the plans for the app as well. Think about names and— ’
‘Ella,’ Zola interrupted. ‘We are in New York and we’ve landed a shit-hot, once-in-a-lifetime deal. Let’s celebrate!’
I smiled, slightly unnerved. I was so grateful for this incredible opportunity that I didn’t want to risk blowing it with a night on the town, and truthfully, after the whole Philip fiasco, I wasn’t in the mood to party.
‘I mean, I’d be up for a toast, but I was thinking today in that meeting – we don’t actually know very much at all about the American dating scene, Zo. And they did kinda call us out on that, so we should take it seriously. Let’s spend some time researching it and getting to know the problems the women face here. We need to be prepared.’
Katy giggled suspiciously. ‘Well, I have an idea that might kill two birds with one rock or whatever.’
‘Stone, but carry on, babe,’ Zola said with a laugh.
‘Well, the app I’ve been using keeps sending me notifications about singles nights in the city, and there’s a really popular one for twenty-fives to thirty-fives tonight!’ Katy looked around at us and grinned; that girl really was irresistible when she wanted to be. ‘We can go out, celebrate – and research the single men over here.’
‘Fuck, I’m up for that, gal!’ Zola clapped with delight.
‘You’re engaged, Zola!’ I huffed back. ‘And I’m .?.?. well .?.?. fuck knows what my status is.’
‘It’s only speed-dating strictly for research purposes, babe. C’mon, it’ll be fun. We can come back afterwards and read over that precious contract of yours.’
I looked at both my friends and felt my head sink to my chest in defeat. ‘Fine!’
Chapter Twelve
Zola
Zola let herself enjoy getting ready that evening, mulling over the day’s events as she stood beneath the luxurious spray of her walk-in shower. She picked out a cute baby-pink strappy dress and paired it with white Converse. Her makeup was minimal and her braids sat effortlessly, the pink beads at the ends adding a bright splash of colour. She walked past the other girls’ rooms, who were still both getting ready, then flopped down on the couch. Remorse weighed down on her as she replayed in her head the earlier conversation about Curtis. Although she knew it was the truth, she still felt riddled with guilt admitting out loud that their relationship was more platonic than anything else nowadays.
She pulled out her phone to FaceTime Curtis. He answered, then placed the phone on the coffee table. She was staring at the ceiling of their living room.
‘S’up?’ he said, gunshots in the background echoing down the line.
‘Hey, I’m just checking in,’ Zola replied, already regretting the call. He seemed so uninterested to hear from her.
‘Cool. How is it?’ Curtis asked, distracted entirely. She could hear the frantic tapping of the PlayStation handset. Could he not even pause his game for five minutes?
