‘So, did you know about Simi’s… book?’ Jemima said over the beep of the closing doors.

‘I did,’ said Meagan, slowly pulling herself from her funk. ‘Did you see the Terry pages?’

‘Yeah, what was that about? There were more pictures of him than Keanu.’

‘Did I ever tell you about the time Simi stalked a guy at college…?’ Meagan said.

Chapter 16

Jemima

It was an hour since Meagan had left but Jemima was still sitting by her open window waiting for her bedroom to stop spinning. Whilst Meagan’s hollow legs enabled her to drink like a rugby player, Jemima had reached her upper limit way sooner. As she forced down one more gulp of water before bed, her mind was working overtime. All day she’d been deliberating over her book but Meagan’s recollection of Simi’s college obsession had unwittingly thrown Jemima a lifeline. She was intrigued by what Beverly might be like if she had the same compulsive past. Jemima closed her window and pulled out her notebook, scribbling down what she could remember. She winced at the thought of Terry sitting Simi down, asking her to leave him alone. That must have been mortifying but the fact that he’d brought along a witness… Ouch. Ideas cascaded as Jemima then imagined a young, innocent Beverly back in college, deeply in love with a boy who would never reciprocate. She envisioned the secret love letters Beverly would write but never send, her desires, her vulnerability. How, Jemima wondered, had Meagan got Simi to confess such personal information? This had never once come up in the ten years she’d known Simi. Jemima knew how. Meagan had an unnerving ability to extract information – from anyone. Jemima paused. That trait was ideal for her increasingly complex heroine. Also, what if, just like Meagan with Parker, Beverly had loved once but never again, now burying her vulnerability under a tough veneer? The tipping point for Meagan had been when Parker had decided to stay with his wife. She’d been utterly crushed and, when she recovered, a new Meagan had risen up from the ashes – a Meagan with a plan, a Meagan who relied on no one, a Meagan who was brittle…

‘Oh my god,’ Jemima whispered.

Hadn’t that been the exact word Eve had used to describe what Beverly had become? Jemima was onto something. More info on Parker would help galvanise this, setting up how her leading lady had become the woman she is today. But, thought Jemima, that intensity would now have to be offset with humour. She grinned as she recalled the many quips and stories Meagan had shared over the years. A particular favourite that had left Jemima and Simi howling was how Meagan often described Todd’s manhood as a clenched fist. She’d said going down on him was like ‘being in the ring with Anthony Joshua’, and how after three minutes she’d half-expected to hear a bell. Previously, Beverly had been painfully serious but with this humour she would now be able to laugh at herself in a way Jemima had never allowed her to. A smile spread across her face. Regardless of how unsuccessful they’d been at getting dates, the game itself was proving to be a great vehicle for getting the girls to open up. It was giving Jemima the material she so desperately needed. If they continued, she might even have a chance of finishing her book within the deadline. Excitement bubbled at the thought of crossing that elusive finish line and handing in a final draft. As inspiration coursed through her, she opened her laptop and began to type.