by L.H. Cosway
“I’m not putting on a ballgown, let alone in Trafalgar Square of all places.”
“I’m not asking you to, though if you did, you’d look amazing, but that’s beside the point. Selfie taking in public requires confidence and a zero-shits-given attitude. And both of those are things you could do with having more of, especially if you want to impress Annabelle.”
At the mention of Annabelle, I stiffened, spotting James, Michaela, and Callum walking towards me. “Listen, I’ll think about it, but I’m making no promises. I have to go now.”
“I look forward to tomorrow’s photo,” Afric said, a smile in her voice.
“Hey, I haven’t agreed—”
“Can’t hear you. The signal’s breaking up.” With that, she hung up. I shook my head. Why was I even humouring her? I was busy pondering this question when I realised Michaela was right next to me, a curious expression on her face.
“Okay, am I going mad, or did I just hear Afric’s voice on the other end of that phone call?” she asked.
“Pretty sure you’re going mad,” I said, shoving the phone in my pocket. Luckily, Leanne was on the other side of the park, waving me over. “Oh, looks like I’m wanted,” I said and quickly departed, though I sensed my co-worker’s suspicion as I walked away.
7.
Afric
“Okay, folks, I think you’re all gonna love this, especially those of you who have a soft spot for nostalgia,” I said as I started my evening stream. “I’ve decided that from henceforth, Fridays are now vintage themed, which means every Friday, I’ll be playing something from the nineties. I’ve managed to get my hands on a second-hand Sega Mega Drive, alongside a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog. Yes, that’s right. Get ready for some dancing with your gameplay because the soundtrack for this has some absolute bops on it!”
I fired up the game, the old-school “SEGA” theme tune filling my headphones. Sonic was one of the first games I’d ever played. My parents were too cheap to fork out for a new console, so I had to resort to playing my eldest brother’s beat-up old Sega when all my friends at school had Nintendos.
The music for Green Hill Zone came on, and I began humming along and bobbing my head as the little blue cartoon hedgehog ran across the 2D scenery, diligently collecting gold rings and bonus points.
Just like always, the comments began to roll in. I cast them a cursory glance, grinning when I spotted one that said, You need to make up lyrics to this music. I’m still laughing at your interpretation of Friends in Low Places.
And another.
Omg! What a blast from the past. I’m a 90’s kid so this is right up my alley.
Then there were the usual few unpleasant ones.
This game is shit. Turning off stream.
Show us your tits.
U r soooo ugly.
Negative comments like these were par for the course. My tough skin was primed for them. Still, when I was having a bad day or feeling particularly low, they sometimes managed to sneak past my defences. Today wasn’t one of those days. I was feeling good about myself, so the negative comments had no effect. Instead, I focused on the positive ones.
RosieTheLibrarian: This looks so fun! I think I might need to find a second-hand Sega for myself.
The name gave me pause. Neil had said that his sister was called Rosie, and it was certainly possible that she was a librarian. A small grin touched my lips as I gave her a shoutout.
“RosieTheLibrarian, if you live in London, you should try hitting up N1 Games on Baron Street. They’ll be able to sort you out.”
She wrote another comment.
RosieTheLibrarian: Thanks, I’ll try that!
I smiled to myself, wondering how Neil was doing over in New York. I’d requested he send me daily selfies, but since our phone call yesterday, I had yet to receive one. Then again, I was a few hours ahead of him.
Two hours later, I finished out my stream and headed into the kitchen to grab some dinner. The living area was empty, but I could hear Sarita and Mabel giggling over something in Sarita’s bedroom. They were probably cosied up in bed together watching funny videos.
As I poured some pasta into a pot, an uncommon feeling struck me. I almost felt … jealous of them. Every so often, a jolt of loneliness would hit me, and I’d contemplate re-entering the dating scene. Then I’d remember how much I enjoyed my sanity and think better of it.
Ever since Dev and I broke up, I went out to clubs or used Tinder to find a hook-up when the need arose. But what if I was missing out? What if there was some perfect man out there just waiting for me to find him while I was too busy having meaningless sex or sitting in my bedroom live streaming in my PJs?
When my food was ready, I sat down on the couch, scrolling through my phone as I ate. I was almost done eating when a message popped up from Neil, and I smiled. He’d sent a picture of himself standing in a park across the water from Manhattan, the iconic skyline in the background. Neil’s black-rimmed glasses sat perched on his nose, his white shirt buttoned all the way up, his hair neatly combed. He had an awkward grin on his face as he pointed a thumb over his shoulder to the skyscrapers behind him.
I swear he was too adorable for words. Also, his outfit was giving me serious Book of Mormon cast member vibes, and honestly? I wasn’t hating it. Seeing all those perfectly done-up buttons weirdly made my fingers itch to rip them open.
Last week, when Neil had accompanied me to the gaming sphere and we’d bumped into Dev, I’d been shocked (and a little bit thrilled) when he put his arm around my waist and pretended to be my new boyfriend. It was a kindness I hadn’t expected from him, and his closeness when he put his arm around me was a reminder of how much I’d been missing physical contact.
I pushed the thought aside and brought my attention back to my phone. Yesterday, when I’d requested a picture of the shoot and Neil sent me a selfie instead, I just about died from how cute he was. He could be uptight, but there was a refreshing lack of pretension about him that was incredibly endearing.
What do you think? He asked in a text under the picture.
Afric: Good effort. I give you a B+. Your smile isn’t as confident as I’d like it to be, though. I want to see those pearly whites!
Neil: Guess I’ll have to try harder tomorrow.
Afric: I guess you will ;-)
Neil: We’re about to go eat pizza at some place close to the hotel. What are you up to?
Afric: I just finished streaming for the day and ate a lacklustre bowl of pasta for dinner. I’d kill for some New York pizza. Very jealous of you right now.
Neil: Shall I send you a picture? Or would that be rubbing it in too much?
Afric: Send one. I can lick the phone screen and pretend it works like the flavoured wallpaper in Willy Wonka.
Neil: Please do not lick your phone screen. Studies have shown they have more germs than a toilet bowl.
Afric: Pfft. Germs are good for you. My parents let me go around licking everything when I was a kid, and I rarely ever got sick.
Neil: Please stop texting me about licking things.
Afric: Okay, fine. Wouldn’t want you getting all hot under that perfectly buttoned-up collar.
Neil: I assure you the opposite is true.
Afric: The gentleman doth protest too much.
Neil: I’m going now. Have a good night.
Afric: You, too! And don’t forget I want another selfie tomorrow.
Neil: We’ll see.
I put my phone down, a weird sensation in my chest. I had one of those odd feelings, like I could text with Neil for hours, just chatting about random, ordinary stuff.
With him still at the forefront of my mind, I went into my bedroom and opened my laptop. I hadn’t had a chance to do a deep dive on Annabelle yet, and there was no time like the present.
I typed her full name “Annabelle Carlino” into the search bar, and she came up right away. Hmm, she was very pretty. I could see why Neil was smitten. Annabelle had long, straight red hair and looked
to be medium height. Her feed was of the fitness/inspirational persuasion, with lots of goal-setting quotes and photos of her working out in the gym. The woman had a fantastic body, like Ripley from Aliens. She and Leanne were similar in that regard. It seemed Neil had a type, and that type was sporty, super buff ladies.
Aside from my fondness for leisurewear, I wasn’t buff or sporty at all. I’d always been too lazy to fully embrace regular exercise. Oh, well. At least my joints wouldn’t get worn down by the time I was thirty. You had to look on the bright side.
There were a few girlfriends in her pictures, all of them pretty and fit like her. Her profile stated she was a personal trainer, which explained why she was at the gym all the time. I looked up the place where she worked and found it wasn’t too far from my flat.
A crazy idea struck.
I could sign-up for a free pass and check her out in the flesh. See what kind of person Miss Annabelle was in real life. I entertained the thought for a few minutes. Annabelle might not be the perfect angel Neil imagined her to be, but I wasn’t going to discover the truth from a selectively curated social media grid. I had to see how she acted in real life. Doing some sleuthing could be fun. Then again, if Neil found out, he’d likely burst the blood vessel I had a knack for getting pumping in his forehead.
Unable to make a clear choice, I decided to sleep on it and decide for certain in the morning.
Neil
I shoved my phone in my pocket, unable to rid the visual of Afric licking my neck from my brain. Where the hell had that come from? Tingles skittered down my back at the imagery. I wasn’t sure what was going on with me lately, but somehow the content of our texts had caused my mind to wander to an unexpectedly sexy place.
And now, the image refused to leave.
It had clearly been way too long since I last had sex. Yes, that was why I was suddenly having erotic thoughts about Afric of all people. Not that she wasn’t attractive in her own unique way, but she certainly wasn’t my type.
We’d just reached the pizza place when my phone buzzed. I pulled it out, expecting another teasing message from Afric. Instead, I found a DM from Annabelle.
Hey stranger! How’s everything going with filming the new season? I’m so jealous you get to be in New York right now. x.
I scanned the message before doing something I’d never done to her before; I left her on read. I felt awful, but I just couldn’t interact with her right now. My head was too messed up, and pretending to be Callum was beginning to take its toll on me. I didn’t want to do it anymore, but unfortunately, it was a part of my job. And yes, okay, what Afric said to me about Annabelle pursuing Callum when he was in a relationship with Leanne had been bothering me a lot. I’d tried reasoning it out, telling myself she might not even know they were together, but the more I thought about it, the more unlikely that explanation seemed.
To be honest, I didn’t know how to feel about her anymore.
I decided not to think about the whole thing until I returned to London. There was way too much work to be done over here, and I didn’t have the headspace for anything else.
“You okay, Neil?” Leanne asked as she approached me.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah, I’m just a little tired. Still adjusting to the time difference.”
“It’s rough, isn’t it,” she said with a sympathetic smile. “On our last trip, it took forever for my body clock to adjust.” She held out a slice of pizza. “Here, I got you a slice with vegan cheese since I know you can’t eat dairy.”
“Thanks,” I replied as I took the slice, touched by her thoughtfulness. I was so hungry I’d intended on eating the normal cheese, but at least this way, I could avoid a sick stomach later tonight.
I sat down at a table for two, and Leanne joined me. The rest of the cast and crew were sitting at tables nearby. We ate in silence for a minute or two before Leanne commented, “I saw you taking pictures of yourself earlier. What was that about? Have you started a new social media feed I’m not aware of or something?”
A small measure of embarrassment pinched at me as I cleared my throat. “No, uh, a friend back home challenged me to take a selfie every day while I’m here and send them to her. She thinks it’s a good confidence-building exercise.”
Leanne’s mouth curved into a smile. “She?”
“Yes, I have a female friend. Is that so shocking?”
“Of course not. Don’t be silly. At least now I know the reason why I’ve caught you grinning at your phone so often lately.”
“I haven’t been grinning at my phone,” I protested.
Leanne threw her hands up. “Okay, my mistake. You weren’t grinning. Maybe you were gurning, and I was just standing too far away to tell.”
“Funny,” I deadpanned.
We ate the rest of our pizza in quiet, but what she said stuck with me. Had I been grinning at my phone? I guess texting with Afric could be kind of amusing sometimes.
When we got back to the hotel, I took a long, hot shower then crawled into bed. The following day was a blur of activity. I barely had a chance to grab a bite to eat, never mind take a selfie for Afric. I was reminded of this when I got back to the hotel, called for some room service, and found a message on my phone.
Afric: It’s 10 p.m. here, and still no picture. Have you chickened out on me?
Neil: Work was crazy today. I didn’t have time.
Afric: Sounds a lot like an excuse.
Neil: No, seriously. It was mayhem. I’ll send you two selfies tomorrow to make up for it.
Afric: Okay, I suppose I can allow for that. I hope you’re not working too hard! I’m about to call it a night and watch an episode of North and South before bed.
Neil: North and South?
Afric: It’s an old period drama Michaela’s been on at me to watch. She swears it’s one of her favourites.
Neil: Well, my co-assistant has good taste, so I’m sure it’s worth a watch.
Afric: Hey! Why don’t you watch it with me? We can sync up our screens on Netflix.
I stared at her text, unsure of how to respond, when there was a knock on my door announcing the arrival of my room service order. I went to grab it, tipped the porter, then set it on the table next to the bed. I pondered Afric’s offer again and thought maybe it would be nice to watch a show together, even if it was only virtually. I’d always found hotel rooms particularly lonely. It was one of the main reasons I didn’t always enjoy travelling. I picked up my phone and shot off a text.
Neil: Sure. My dinner just arrived, so I need something to watch while I eat anyway.
Afric: Great! Log in to your Netflix account and pull the first episode up. I’ll do the same, and then I’ll send through a video call link.
I changed into a T-shirt and some lounge pants before getting comfortable on the bed with my food and laptop. A minute later, Afric’s video call link came through, and her face appeared on my screen.
“Hey, you!” she said with a smile. “Oh, you look so cosy and tired in that big hotel bed. What are you eating?”
She craned her neck to see what was on my plate, and I couldn’t help my small grin. “Just a chicken salad and some potato wedges.”
“Is that sweet chili dip?” she asked, eyeing my plate. “I love sweet chili. Great, now I’m hungry. Can you wait a minute while I go grab some snacks?”
I chuckled. “Sure.”
A minute or two later, she was back with a bag of Doritos. “Okay, now I’m ready,” she said, climbing under her duvet. We made sure to both press play at the exact same moment before settling in to watch the episode. It was one of those BBC period dramas, but I hadn’t seen it before. The main character was a woman, Margaret Hale, who had moved from a picturesque country town in the south of England to an industrial town in the north called Milton. She makes the acquaintance of the owner of the local cotton mill, Mr Thornton, and they strike up an antagonistic relationship.
“Okay, I was sceptical at first, but I’m totally into
this. Mr Thornton is an absolute ride,” Afric said a little while into the episode.
“Mr Thornton is a what?” I asked, bemused.
“He’s a ride. It means I’d gladly bang his brains out,” she clarified.
I quickly pushed thoughts of Afric banging some actor’s brains out from my head. “Isn’t he the same guy who plays a dwarf in The Hobbit?”
“Yes, and if I were Smaug, he could plunder my treasure cave all night long.”
I almost choked on a sip of water. Then I laughed. I laughed so hard it hurt my stomach. Afric was chuckling, too.
“Technically, it was a treasure mountain,” I pointed out.
“Even better. He can mount my treasure mountain anytime.”
I shook my head, unable to disguise my amusement. “Okay, I need to stop encouraging you. Let’s just watch the episode, shall we?” I said once I finally gathered my composure.
“By all means,” she said, a smile in her voice.
Later, during a particularly intense scene between Margaret and Mr Thornton, Afric let out a long sigh. “The way he looks at her. I want that,” she said longingly.
“I’m not sure people look at each other that way anymore. We’re all too busy looking at our phones and laptops,” I replied.
“Wouldn’t you look at Annabelle that way if you ever met her in person?” she queried.
Her question caused me to stiffen. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“I was checking out her pictures on social media today,” Afric went on.
I stiffened further. “You were?”
“Don’t be so concerned. I wasn’t stalking her or anything. I just wanted to get a feel for the kind of person she is. She seems really into health and fitness.”
I ran a hand down my face, suddenly feeling more tired than I’d been in a while. “She is. She likes parkour, too. That’s why she’s so obsessed with the show.”