Chapter 31
31
Nita leads us into the lounge – aka, the boys’ bedroom – ready for our chosen round for the competition.
‘This,’ she announces as she practically slaps my laptop down on one of the sofas, ‘is what we want to do for our round of the competition, and you have to say yes. Boys, allow me to present… the Sex and the City quiz.’
I smile to myself. We’ve got this one in the bag.
‘How are you on the wi-fi?’ Nolan asks.
‘Molly paid for some local hotspot thing, or something – don’t change the subject,’ Nita insists. ‘We’re doing this quiz, okay?’
‘And you lot don’t stand a chance,’ Lou continues, smirking. ‘We’ve been training for this since we were teens.’
Harry frowns.
‘That’s the one with the shagging and the shoes?’ Harry checks.
‘Oh, you’re going down,’ Willow replies.
We all sit down on the sofa, after Travis clears his bedsheets from it, and set the laptop down on the coffee table.
‘Apparently, it has thousands of questions, but it serves them up at random, so it’s all fair,’ Nita tells them.
‘How is it fair, to quiz us on your favourite show?’ Harry asks.
‘How was golf fair?’ Nita claps back.
‘You had Willow Tree,’ Nolan points out, still clearly in awe of Willow’s driving skills.
‘We’ll take turns, ten questions each, and whoever gets the most points wins. If anyone doesn’t know the answer to a question, the other team can steal it. Sound good?’ Nita asks.
She obviously thinks that will be a way for us to get extra points. Honestly, this is going to be like taking candy from a baby.
‘Question one,’ Nita reads aloud. ‘For the girls. In the pilot episode, what does Miranda say her date has a fixation with?’
‘Easy,’ Lou replies. ‘It’s models.’
‘Correct,’ Nita replies as the answer flashes up.
The boys groan, but Owen leans forward, suddenly focused.
‘Okay, go on, give us a question,’ he insists.
Lou reads it aloud: ‘What colour is Carrie’s tutu in the opening credits?’
Without hesitation, Nolan answers, ‘Pink.’
‘I mean, that’s just a good guess,’ Willow points out. ‘What other colour would it be?’
‘A point is a point,’ Owen reminds her.
The quiz continues, and of course we get our question right, but the boys surprise us again and again, answering questions we thought would stump them. They nail the name of Charlotte’s first husband (Trey MacDougal), Miranda’s favourite takeout (Chinese), and even the exact designer of Carrie’s infamous wedding dress (Vivienne Westwood).
‘Come on, how do you know this?’ I ask, as they score yet another point.
‘Do you really want to know?’ Owen asks. We nod. ‘We used to watch it together at uni. We thought it might give us some expert knowledge, to help us with girls.’
We can’t help but burst out laughing.
‘You watched Sex and the City to help you with women?’ Willow scoffs, rolling her eyes. ‘That’s ridiculous.’
‘Is it, though?’ Owen counters. ‘It’s helped us win this quiz, hasn’t it?’
‘An excellent point,’ Travis chimes in. ‘Also, it’s just a great show.’
‘You liked it?’ I ask, surprised.
‘Yeah,’ he says with a shrug. ‘It’s really entertaining. And Samantha is hilarious.’
‘That’s true,’ Nita says, raising her drink in agreement.
Despite our best efforts, the boys stay neck and neck with us until the final question. We need to get this one right.
‘Last question for us,’ Lou says, her eyes fixed on the screen. ‘What continuity error can be spotted during the opening credits of Sex and the City ?’
We exchange panicked looks. Continuity error?
Willow furrows her brow.
‘I didn’t even know there was one,’ she says.
‘Neither did I!’ Nita replies, chewing her nail.
Harry leans forward, smirking.
‘I think I know this,’ he informs us.
‘No, you don’t,’ Willow says with a scoff.
‘Give me a chance to steal?’ Harry asks.
‘Okay, fine, if you’re so sure,’ Nita says.
Harry grins, and the boys nudge him forward like he’s their star player, about to take a penalty.
‘The bus that splashes Carrie? In one shot it’s got people on it, then in the next, it doesn’t,’ he says smugly.
Lou checks the answer.
‘That is… correct!’
The boys explode into cheers and high-fives, while we sit there, stunned.
‘Once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it,’ Owen says smugly, leaning back in his chair. ‘It used to annoy us every time.’
‘You’re way too smug for someone who learned everything about this show to “understand women”,’ Nita tells them.
‘Oh, come on,’ Harry teases. ‘You’re just gutted we won.’
‘Credit where it’s due,’ I tell them. ‘You won fair and square.’
‘All right,’ Nita says, swirling her wine glass. ‘Honest opinions – did you like the movies? I assume you watched them.’
This is just so bizarre.
‘I liked the first one,’ Willow chimes in. ‘But the second one? Absolutely not.’
‘Agreed,’ Lou says firmly. ‘What even was that?’
‘I actually liked the second one,’ I admit, feeling a little sheepish. ‘More than the first. It’s just… it’s silly and over the top, but it’s entertaining.’
‘Same here,’ Travis says. ‘I mean, yeah, it’s not deep or anything, but it’s fun, and sure, all the Abu Dhabi stuff is… what it is, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it.’
‘It was awful,’ Willow insists. ‘It’s basically a parody of itself. And I can’t believe you two are bonding over Sex and the City 2 . Think about your life choices.’
Travis and I look at each other and laugh. Clearly feeling a little warm, he pulls off his T-shirt, the muscles in his arms flexing as he pulls it over his head, slowly revealing his abs a bit at a time. Is it me, or is this happening in slow motion? The magnetic pull of his toned stomach – and the fact his eyes are briefly covered by this T-shirt – mean I need something to look at, so his body it is. Of course, my gaze lingers for just a little too long, and he catches me staring. Could the ground swallow me up?
‘Are you hungry?’ he says – is he reading my mind? ‘We were just about to eat – Spanish omelettes. Fancy some?’
It takes us a moment to realise he’s talking to us. He says this like it’s no big deal, but to us it’s huge. Hot food! Imagine!
‘Erm, yeah, okay,’ I say coolly. ‘That would be really nice.’
Nita looks like she can’t believe our luck either.
‘Perhaps I could make us some cocktails?’ she suggests. ‘We can all pretend we’re the Sex and the City girls.’
‘Now that I would love,’ Harry says. ‘Best way to celebrate. Let’s do it.’
I can’t believe Travis is offering us food. It’s such a simple gesture, but it softens something in me. We’re really starting to feel less like rivals and more like, well, friends.
We eat, drink, and chat until it’s time to go to bed. It’s one of those nights that sneaks up on you – fun, warm, and surprisingly lovely. Even as we tidy up to head for bed, I find myself smiling, the boys’ laughter echoing in my ears.
Maybe this competition isn’t such a bad thing after all.