Page 111 of The Dicktionary Club

I turned to Katy for backup, but she lowered her head, avoiding my gaze.

‘I .?.?. I did try, Zola. Remember me in a slinky red dress and gold heels chasing a man down a set of stairs? That was trying! He didn’t want to listen. He turned his back on me.’ I shrugged.‘These things happen in life .?.?.’

Silence filled the room.

Eventually, Katy spoke up. ‘I sort of think Zola’s right, Ella.’

I rolled my eyes, flopping my head back.

‘You don’t take chances, El, you play everything so safe when it comes to your feelings. But Philip was different. In a few short weeks, he got you. You opened up to him, and you deserve a second chance if he makes you happy.’

I felt my eyes turn heavy. ‘What I wrote, what he thinks I think about him, was so horrible. It was so untrue.’

‘Well, go fucking tell him that then!’ Zola snapped back.

‘Philip deserves a full explanation. You deserve a second chance. If he hears you out and still doesn’t want to go forward, then that’s OK. At least you’ve tried, right?’ Katy said.

Zola agreed. ‘Imagine spending the rest of your life wondering what could have happened if you didn’t at least try to apologise. Girl, come on!’

I looked at Zola’s face, then my gaze went back to Katy’s.

‘What time is the awards show?’ I asked.

‘It starts at seven,’ Katy replied.

‘You really think I could sneak in? What if Andrea’s lurking about?’

Katy laughed. ‘Trust me, she won’t be expecting you. Sneaking in is so not something you would do.’

I paused, wondering, as anxious butterflies swarmed my stomach.

‘It would feel good to apologise properly,’ I said. I bit my lip, weighing up my options. ‘And I won’t know if I don’t try, right?’

Zola grinned. ‘Too right, you fucking won’t! You in?’

Eventually, I nodded back, giggling anxiously. ‘Yes, I’m in. I think .?.?.’

Both of my friends began cheering and hollering, then ushered me into the bathroom to begin getting ready.

Outside in the hall, Katy skimmed Zola up and down. ‘You know, you’re great at dishing out advice, but maybe you should take it at times, too.’

Zola grinned widely. ‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Oh, you know exactly what it means. You’ve been avoiding Curtis, hoping he comes to you when you were the one who was in the wrong. But you deserve a second chance just as much as Ella does. That’s if you want one?’

There was a long pause.

‘I don’t know what I want, Katy. That’s the thing. And I don’t know what he wants either,’ Zola said, holding her head in her hands.

‘Well, you’re not going to find out sitting here, are you? Go and talk it out, Zo. He deserves that.Youdeserve that.’

‘I suppose,’ Zola groaned.

‘Don’t be nervous, it’s Curtis, right? Just talk it through. See where you both stand, and everything will seem much clearer after that.’

Zola headed towards the door, then turned to Katy.

‘What if he’s not forgiven me yet? And what if he doesn’t want to talk it through?’

---