Chapter Twenty-Nine
‘You went where?’ Ben asks.
‘To Aury’s new flat,’ I confess.
Ben looks stunned. ‘You still speak to her?’
This is exasperating, because ‘You know I do.’
‘I didn’t think you saw her, though.’
‘Not much,’ I say. ‘We text a bit, but she was moving into a new place and—’
‘Where is it?’
I’m reluctant to give Ben the exact address. Although I don’t think he’d do anything as crazy as go and knock on the door. But it might not be wise. I’ll leave Aury to give him her address if all goes well on the back of what I say next.
‘It’s near the South Bank overlooking the Thames. It’s pretty cool. Listen, I’m telling you because she wants to see you.’
‘Does she?’ I see hope in his face.
‘Us. All of us. She wants to know if you’d like that, and if Liv would too.’
‘Liv? Why?’ he asks warily.
‘What are you asking? Why does Aury want to see Liv, or why all of us?’
‘Both. Neither. Don’t know. She wants to meet? Weird.’
‘Yeah, that’s sort of what I thought. I also thought it would be a chance for us to all be together again and that, once we’d got past the awkwardness, it would be nice.’
Ben smiles. ‘Nice but weird, seeing Aurora again. Wow!’
‘Yeah.’ I know how his mind works. I can see the cogs turning.
He thinks she wants him back. ‘Can I make it clear – as a good friend to you and to her – that she’s not trying to get back with you.
She wants to be friends.’ Actually I’m not sure about Aury’s intentions, but I don’t want Ben going in there turning on the charm offensive and trying to win her back.
He might succeed. This is probably a bad idea.
‘When?’
‘Not sure. I’ve got to talk to Liv. And it might be nice if you did too.’
‘She hates me.’
‘That was then, and it was an accident.’
‘Doesn’t matter. She still hates me,’ Ben says.
‘OK, well, leave Liv to me then.’
‘She hates you too, doesn’t she?’
I sigh. ‘Maybe she hates me a bit less than you, so …’
‘When is it? Aurora’s planned reunion?’
‘I’ve got to sound Liv out first, and it’s not like our social calendar is brimming with events.’
‘Speak for yourself. I’ve got a job,’ Ben boasts.
‘Really?’
‘Really. Finally. A proper one.’
Thank God for that. ‘Banking?’
‘No. I was shit at that.’
‘You were.’
He was. He got fired. Even his dad couldn’t schmooze Ben back into the world of banking, after he got so trashed he tried it on with his boss’s wife.
Word got around. Ben’s name is mud, despite the fact that he hit on her at a bar and told his boss he had no clue who she was.
Later he told me there was a picture of her on his boss’s desk and he knew perfectly well who she was. The man can’t help but self-sabotage.
‘So what’s the job?’
‘It’s hosting a party night at a club in Mayfair.’
Oh, dear God. My expression must say everything.
‘What? I’ll get to meet fun people and party the night away and get paid. It’s my dream job. If it goes well, I’ll get to host a few more. Opening night is in two weeks. Oh, this could be a good way to get us all back together.’
‘In a club?’
‘Why not?’ Ben asks.
‘I was thinking more along the lines of neutral ground. Restaurant? Pub?’
‘Where you’ll make me drink tonic water all night.’
‘I won’t make you. But I will shoot you looks if you overdo it.’
‘I won’t overdo it. I want Aurora to think I’m a better person. I am a better person.’
‘OK. Prove it then.’
‘Maybe you’re right about a restaurant or pub. Maybe we shouldn’t meet in the club,’ he says.
‘Yeah, maybe not,’ I reply distractedly as I man up and text Liv. It’s like pulling a plaster off, this. Just got to do it and launch straight in.
Hi Liv, how are you? I know it’s been a while since we spoke properly. But I wondered how you were, and if you wanted to grab a coffee or a drink together sometime. Be nice to catch up. Ollie x
I hit send, hoping Liv doesn’t try to read something between the lines that isn’t there. I also don’t want to mention Ben or a reunion at this point, because I think that’ll scare her off.
Clearing the air with Liv might be wise.
If only for my peace of mind. And hers. I’d like to occupy a friendship space again with Liv instead of this nothing-space we’re currently in, our messages having fizzled out.
It’s nice that Aury wants to be in Ben’s life in some format.
I should want that with Liv too, and in some ways I do. I want to know she’s doing all right.
Hi, she replies. OK, let’s meet.