Page 52 of Date with Destiny

‘Myfanwy, Sonali, do you guys remember Mikey?’ There are looks of only vague recognition, so I add, ‘My first serious boyfriend!’ I say it lightly but Mikey turns to me with surprise.

‘You were serious about me?’ He throws an arm around my shoulder and squeezes me close. ‘I was serious about you, but I didn’t think anyone ever took me seriously.’

I giggle, embarrassed, and change tact. ‘So, how are you? What are you up to these days? Apart from hunting through VIP queues for good times.’

‘Oooh, VIP queue is it?’ he says teasingly and his twinkly grey eyes make me feel a little faint. ‘You always were too cool for me.’

‘Stop it,’ I lightly swat at him and catch Myfanwy’s eyebrows shoot up. She’s never seen me attempt to flirt. I’m not sure I have either. If this could even be classed as flirting.

‘You were!’ he insists, moving closer again. He cocks his head, looking at me and a tuft of too-long hair falls across his face. I visualize myself reaching up to push it away, like they do in the films.

‘We should catch up properly,’ I hear myself say, even though it cannot possibly be me. I’m not forward like that, I’m too much of a coward, but something about Mikey always made me feel braver. Maybe it was all the sex we used to have. It wasconstant.

‘I’d bloody love that!’ he says, grinning as we swap numbers. I grin back so hard my jaw hurts.

As he waves goodbye, after planting a soft kiss on my cheek that isn’t so much a promise, as some kind of sexy swear, Myfanwy grabs me by the shoulders.

‘You know what this is, don’t you?’ Her eyes are wild.

‘It’s Mikey?’ I offer and she laughs maniacally.

‘This is prediction number four, the person you thought lost forever.’

My brow furrows. ‘I considered that, but I don’t know…’ Her grip on my shoulder loosens and she looks disappointed. ‘I mean, he might be!’ I try to offer hope. ‘It’s just that a part of me always thought I’d see Mikey again one day… We didn’t end on bad terms, we were just young and always bickering.’ I pause then smile brightly. ‘But he could be my soulmate? This could be prediction number six instead of number four?’

At this Myfanwy throws back her head, laughing. ‘Thatguy?’ she scoffs. ‘He seems fun, but I doubt he’s meant to be your soulmate. I remember now how all over the place he was ten years ago and he still has that same energy. You’d end up running around after him, cleaning up his messes like some kind of puppy. You’re too much of a people pleaser and he’s too much of a people dis-pleaser.’ She turns to look again in the direction Mikey’s walked off. ‘Sexy though. I like his hair.’ She pauses. ‘No, he might be number four, but he’s surely not number six.’ She straightens up, regarding me seriously. ‘And he could also be an excellent palate cleanser…’

‘Palate cleanser?’ I raise my eyebrows even though I’m very clear on the implication.

She shrugs. ‘Y’know! Just shag him for a bit and see what happens. Youdofancy him, don’t you?’

I nod, because I can’t deny that much. Mikey’s hot in a confusing way. He wouldn’t work in a picture – he’s too sort of wonky and messy, even with his teeth fixed. But in motion, he becomes so attractive. He’s, I dunno,bewitching. People always flocked around him when we were together. Like he was the hottest man in the room. I guess it doesn’t help that he’s also one of the funniest, cheekiest guys I’ve ever met.

Or maybe it’s all just nostalgia. He takes me back to a time in my life before I had to worry about the cost-of-living crisis, or evil politicians, or climate-change guilt. Whatever it is, Idefinitelyfancy him.

Myfanwy grins happily as she adds, ‘It could also help you get Daniel out of your system.’

My heart thuds harder in my chest. I haven’t told Myfanwy about Daniel’s sudden reappearance in my life last month – or his follow-up messages. I don’t really know why not. I think maybe I just wanted to figure out what Iwantto do about it before I hear from her what I should do. It’s not that she wouldn’t be supportive – she’s the biggest cheerleader in the world about everything I do – but I also know she’d remind me of everything that’s happened. Believe me when I say I definitely don’t need reminding. It’s all here, replaying in my head on a nightly circuit whenever I close my eyes to sleep.

‘Maybe,’ I shrug, thinking how fun it would be to spend some commitment-free time with Mikey. He was always such a laugh. It would be so nice to enjoy a bit of affection and some silliness without having to wonder if this is The One, or what he might be thinking, or where this is going.

Myfanwy brings her head closer to mine. ‘Let’s go after him,’ she stage-whispers. ‘We’ll offer to take him for a drink, then Sonali and I can make an excuse and leave you guys to it. Come on! Let’s get you laid!’

I make a face. ‘What about those two?’ I gesture at Toni and Shawn, who are now arguing with different people in the queue. ‘Aren’t we meant to be having a fancy VIP night in this exclusive celebrity hotspot?’

Sonali snorts. ‘We haven’t moved an inch along this queue for forty-five minutes! And those two,’ she waves at Toni and Shawn, ‘have barely noticed we’re here. I think Shawn’s really only interested in having an audience for his shit anecdotes.’

Myfanwy giggles. ‘He really doesn’t need human beings with ears, he needs smiley mannequins with working neck muscles that can nod.’

‘It’s a fair point,’ I concede, feeling bad for my nodding, smiling sister. ‘But oh no!’ I gasp. ‘I really wanted to know what baby names those women ended up deciding on!’ I gesture sadly at the posh women ahead of us.

We all laugh as Myfanwy urges, ‘Let’s make a run for it!’

I dart towards Toni, kissing her breathlessly on the cheek and whispering a quicksorryin her ear. Her mouth hangsopen as the whole lot of us turn and sprint out of that awful queue, away from the non-VIPs, away from my poor sister and her terrible boyfriend – and off to find my palate cleanser.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

I wake up, groggy and confused by a different bed, different sheets, and a different kind of air in the room.

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