Lucy in the Sky

have the hots for him, do you?’ he asks, with a mix of surprise and mild distaste. ‘If it was Richard, I could understand; he was a good laugh, but Nathan is a bit of a weird one. He doesn’t say much, does he?’
    I force myself to laugh. ‘No, he doesn’t really.’
    At least James doesn’t think to ask about our long phone conversations. Because Nathan does open up. He opens up to me.
    But it’s okay. James doesn’t need to like Nathan loads. In fact, it’s probably better that he doesn’t.
     
    ‘So, how did it go?’ Chloe asks excitedly the minute I arrive at work on Monday morning. Gemma manoeuvres her seat over and is all ears.
    ‘It was fine,’ I respond.
    ‘Fine?’ Chloe’s voice is disappointed. ‘What, no fist fights, broken bottles, nothing?’
    ‘Stop it!’ I laugh. ‘No, it was fine. They got on fine.’
    It was fine. It probably was a good thing that Nathan was a bit detached with me. I have to start thinking of him in a platonic sense. This is the reality of my situation now.
    ‘Boring!’ Chloe yawns.
    ‘Oi!’ I snap playfully.
    ‘Sorry, I’m just fed up with my own tedious existence. When are we going out with James for Friday-night drinks again?’ she asks.
    ‘Do you still want to?’ I grin. She’s obviously over her Bryce snub; the silly Canadian who snogged her but never called.
    ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t mind getting to know William a bit better.’ She smiles.
    ‘That’s the spirit, girl.’ I laugh. Now that was a fun night. I promise her I’ll arrange another one.
    Karen and Reena both call me that week too, wanting to know how it’s going. I’d expect nothing less, but naturally I get completely different reactions from both. I speak to Reena first, who seems happy to accept that I’ve turned a corner and am determined to consider Nathan a mere friend. Karen, on the other hand, tells me I sound like a children’s TV presenter and thinks I’m away with the fairies.
    ‘Oh, bugger off,’ I laugh irritably.
    ‘Come on, Lucy. When you saw him again for the first time, did you or did you not want to get into his pants?’
    ‘Shut up!’ I’m outraged. I’m sitting in Soho Square on my lunchbreak. Karen’s husky Yorkshire voice laughs down the line, then she grows serious. ‘I don’t know why I’m teasing you; you know I don’t approve of all this.’
    ‘Well, then, you should be encouraging me to think about Nathan platonically instead of accusing me of being in La-la land.’
    ‘Yeah, yeah, whatever. So when am I going to meet this surfer dude?’
    ‘Well, it might be sooner than you think…’
    Friday is my twenty-sixth birthday. Karen and Alan, Reena and Paul, Chloe, Gemma and Martin, are all coming to Marylebone for the evening. Yesterday James even suggested himself that I invite Richard and Nathan along, which of course I’d done already.
    While my friends are desperate to meet Nathan at last, I’m mortified by the idea. I hope they don’t give anything away. I’m trying to keep my anticipation in check about seeing him again, reminding myself that he’ll be different with me in public to how he is when it’s just the two of us. What if he’s detached and distant to the point that my friends wonder what all the fuss is about? I shouldn’t care, especially as I’m trying to get over him, but I do. Of course I do.
    The girls spoil me rotten all day at work and Mandy buys me cakes in the afternoon. James sends a massive bunch of flowers to the office, which sends Chloe bonkers with jealousy. But that’s nothing compared to the look on her face when I show her the necklace he gave me this morning. It’s a white-gold chain, with a large diamond solitaire to match my earrings.
    It’s beautiful. I love it. And I also hate it with a passion because every time I look at it I feel like a duplicitous bitch.
    We’re well into October now, the nights are getting longer and colder and I’m starting to travel by tube again. I want to go home first and get ready, instead of going out straight from work. And I’ve invited Richard and Nathan for a quick drink at the flat. We’re meeting the others in a bar on the High Street later.
    I soon regret my tube decision. People pile in behind me and we’re like sardines, packed in tightly.
    Just as I’m thinking about getting off at the next station and walking rather than suffer this unbearable squash, the train comes to a halt in the tunnel. There’s a fire in the next station, apparently, and