Chapter Three Ella
Chapter Three
Ella
It was the morning of our trip to New York, and I walked into Glasgow airport feeling exhausted and drained.
I hadn’t spoken to my friends about what had happened, just in case he calmed down, came back and was hit with the prick status forever.
However, Philip had been silent since he’d walked out of Mini Grill, and since then I’d experienced a wave of emotions.
One minute, I was excited about New York; the next, I wanted to cancel, admit he was right, beg for his forgiveness, explaining that the whole concept was a terrible idea in the first place.
I had cried in the bath, eaten shitloads of pizza and jumped at the sound of footsteps in the outside hallway just in case it was him coming to sort this mess out.
But it was radio silence – no calls, texts or emails.
And as much as I wanted to reach out, I hadn’t.
After all, he was the one who left me alone in the restaurant with a bill so monumental I’d considered asking for Klarna to pay for it.
Still, a couple of days on, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was really it.
As I approached the check-in desk, I immediately spotted Zola’s colourful braids, now finished with fluorescent pink beads at the bottom.
She was standing beside the queue, dressed in low-rise jeans and an oversized denim jacket, exuding her usual trendy energy.
Next to her, Katy stood yawning, her sleep mask pushed up onto her forehead and her neck pillow already in place, clearly prepared for a Transatlantic nap in her comfortable grey Adidas tracksuit.
I felt a genuine smile form when I saw my friends, and they both began jumping in excitement as I walked over to join them.
‘How crazy is this, Ella!’ Katy hugged me, making me laugh.
‘Yeah, it’s wild! Are we organised?’ I asked, trying to hype up our New York vibe, despite feeling numb inside.
‘Shit, I was ready when we got that email. I can’t believe it’s actually happening, though.
Go check in, girl. We need to talk business!
’ Zola pointed towards the check-in desk.
I nodded and started wheeling my neatly packed case over, handed my passport to the attendant and received my boarding pass before returning to where my friends waited.
After security, we wandered through the duty-free area, where Zola and Katy seemed to try on every pair of overpriced sunglasses, taking selfies happily.
Meanwhile, I pretended to browse the shelves of travel-sized toiletries while actually checking my phone nonstop, wondering if Philip would text.
A simple Don’t go, Ella message would be better than this.
Even an angry text would be something. I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made this whole situation worse, if I’d massively overreacted with my ‘I’ve changed’ patter that I was mouthing off with.
Had I pushed away someone I loved because of this opportunity?
Would it be worth it? What if we’d got so carried away with a free holiday that I’d lost the first man I cared about in years on a complete whim?
‘OK, I can’t anymore. Spill,’ Zola said as we headed towards the bar.
‘And don’t say it’s nothing, Ella. Your face has been like a smacked arse since we saw you, and you’ve barely been on the chat in days,’ Katy chimed in.
I blinked fast as tears stung my eyes, scrubbing at them before they could fall. Not here, not now.
‘Well . . .’ Zola held her hands up. ‘What’s going on?’
‘Me and Philip had a massive fight at the Mini Grill about this whole New York thing and how he doesn’t support it because of everything that happened with The Dicktionary Club in the past. Basically, he walked out and left me.
We haven’t spoken since.’ Immediately, I watched my friends’ faces fall in shock.
‘So, he’s jealous?’ Zola asked.
I shook my head. ‘I don’t think so.’
‘Controlling,’ Katy said.
‘Honestly, I don’t think it’s that either,’ I sighed.
I looked at both of them as we made our way to a booth and slid into the velvety seats.
‘I also told him that I had to do this for me, because I haven’t felt like myself recently and .
. .’ I hesitated, glancing down at my hands.
‘So, lately, I feel like I’ve changed. And I don’t think he’s changed me, but I just keep prioritising everything he wants – watching his shows, going to his events, having dinners only when he’s free.
Philip is such a great boyfriend, but I’ve put so much effort into our relationship that I feel like I’ve let my career slip. So, I told him that.’
‘Ouch, I bet he loved that.’ Zola bit her lip nervously. I sighed again, acknowledging that she was right.
‘So, wait, does that mean you’re single now, Ella? For New York?’ Katy asked.
I side-eyed my friend. American boaby was the last thing I wanted to think about right now.
Katy stood. ‘I’ll get drinks. You need something strong, Ells.’ She went to the bar.
‘I can’t believe he just got up and left you in the restaurant like that.’ Zola put her arm around me and pulled me in towards her. ‘You should have told us before now. We could have helped, you know.’
I smiled at her kind, worried face. ‘I didn’t want to be a buzz kill. You both were so hyped.’
Zola shook her head.
‘He made such a scene in the restaurant, too, walking out with food still on our plates. And I had to pay the bastarding bill!’
Zola’s face fell in disbelief.
‘Yep. And, we’d had steak and a bottle of champagne! You can imagine the fucking price of those bad boys, Zo!’
Zola giggled, covering her mouth at his audacity. ‘The cheek of that man! What did you do?’
I felt my jaw tighten just as Katy rejoined us, balancing a tray of drinks. ‘I may have put it on the business account. Sorry, girls!’ I admitted, reaching for my glass of prosecco and taking a quick swig. My two friends burst out laughing at this confession.
‘Well, Ella, you better do the best pitch of your life tomorrow then, because we fucking need funds,’ Zola concluded. ‘Badly!’
‘OK, guys, I just downloaded American Tinder – oh my God!’ Katy scrolled, Zola and I smirking at her expression.
‘Whatever happened to the Irish guy? I thought he was still hanging about?’ Zola asked.
‘Yeah, Sean. He is, but it’s casual. He comes over, we shag, then I don’t hear from him for weeks.’ She shrugged.
‘Wait, and you’re OK with that?’ I asked, knowing my friend had real attachment issues and thrived on male attention, especially post penetration.
‘I mean, I’m not going to lie and say I haven’t jumped on Rightmove at times and priced houses in Ireland, but at the same time, he kind of annoys me.’ Her voice was soft and carefree. In the decade I’d known Katy, I’d never seen her so relaxed about a man she was pumping.
‘He annoys you?’ Zola nudged me.
‘Yeah, in what way?’ I probed.
Katy let out a huge sigh and set down her phone.
‘Well, when we’re having sex, OK? I am giving him sookie after sookie, my jaw practically locked at times.
He’s always like, “You want to kiss him, don’t you?
” in that fucking accent. But now I’m like, no, I actually don’t.
My mouth is throbbing. I can’t be arsed, especially since he doesn’t do anything for me.
He sticks a finger in if I’m lucky, then we’re having your bog standard missionary sex. ’
‘So selfish,’ Zola tutted.
‘Yes, so selfish,’ Katy replied. ‘And at the start I didn’t mind, because – well, that voice – but now I think, I’m not sucking him without you pleasuring me, pal.’ She sounded so angry that both Zola and I burst out laughing.
‘You’re quite right, babe. Know your worth!’ Zola smiled, her beautiful set of white teeth on display, and I agreed.
‘To Katy and her quest for New York dudes who actually put out!’ I raised my glass in the air for a cheers, and together we clinked.
We sat in the bar for another hour, chatting and sipping our drinks, before gathering our bags and heading to the gate. When our flight was called, we walked side by side onto the plane, following the line of passengers.
As we boarded, I scanned my boarding pass again and showed it to the flight attendant. She grinned pleasantly and held her hand out to the right.
‘Business class is this way, ladies.’
I turned to my friends. Their jaws were on the floor.
‘Business class?’ Katy bellowed. ‘Shut the fuck up!’
Zola nudged her, and together we followed the flight attendant through to the far fancier part of the plane. Leather seats, extra leg room, and menus on tables. I grabbed my friends’ arms.
‘Get this on our TikTok, Zo!’ Katy shouted, but Zola’s phone was already out, recording the entire experience.
We reached our assigned seats and sat down, each of us placing our bags either on our laps or under the seats in front of us. I took my seat by the window.
‘There’s a cocktail menu!’ Katy exclaimed.
‘And a goodie bag with eye masks and socks and a tiny toothpaste,’ Zola said. ‘Plus, the seats tip back flat!’
I grinned at their excited faces, settling in for what promised to be a comfortable flight.
‘This is insane,’ Zola said, grabbing my hand.
I squeezed her fingers for a second then pulled back as I opened my phone again. The screen lit up. Still nothing from Philip – no Safe flight, no Good luck. My chest tightened at the emptiness, the feeling of abandonment. Zola saw the flicker of disappointment on my face.
‘This is going to be amazing, Ella. I’ve got a feeling our entire lives are about to change here. Don’t let some fucking guy you’ve known for a few months take this opportunity away from you, OK? If Philip is the right man for you, he’ll come back; they always do.’
I nodded at her encouragement, and she gently pressed my shoulder before turning to rejoin Katy. They rummaged through the business-class goodie bags left on their seats, exclaiming at the contents.
I gazed out at the slick grey tarmac and let my breath out slowly.
Zola was right. We’d got lucky, yes, but I’d also put years of work into this, and now was my moment.
Philip’s doubts weren’t going to decide for me; I wanted to prove to him that The Dicktionary Club could change for the better, too.
Squaring my shoulders, I reached into my cabin bag for my laptop.
Seven hours. I was about to pour everything I had into this pitch.