Immediate reply. Shit. Didn’t expect this. U mean now?

Yes, she typed. You know somewhere?

Thirty seconds and he’d sent her the address of a hotel bar a few blocks away. Followed by, I’ll be there in half an hour, then a minute later, Thank you so much for this

When she opened the door five minutes later, she felt awful at how genuinely relieved Jules looked to see her.

‘God, Lena, I—’

‘I was sleeping. Heavily. I’ve been having family drama and haven’t slept much.’

‘I just wish you’d let me know. I thought, because of the—the, you know, the thing—I thought you might have …’

‘I’m fine, as you can see. But just on my way out.’ It had been hard to dress quickly in a way that was appropriate for a fancy city bar but wouldn’t indicate to Josh that he was worth any effort whatsoever. She’d gone with black work pants, black V-neck t-shirt, black high-heeled sandals. Unwashed hair in ponytail, no eye make-up, slick of true red lippie.

Jules nodded, fake smiled. ‘Of course, of course. Have fun! Make sure you check your pigeonhole, though, hey? You know what admin’s like!’

‘Will do,’ Lena said, smiling back as though she was exactly what she claimed to be: someone who was finally well rested, someone who was fine.

The east lawn was busy with people enjoying the late afternoon sun and relative lack of smoke haze. Some studying, but most talking in small groups, or lying on their backs, looking at their phones. Lena passed the spot where Josh had kissed her and she’d believed for the first time that she might get to live the life she’d dreamt of. She was struck with the thought that all these people were contemplating their own possibilities. Every one of them at the start of a story they hoped was a romantic comedy or an inspirational biopic about triumphing over adversity. At the very least a gritty realist arthouse film about finding your place and not selling out. None of them anticipated being the centre of a grubby and maudlin melodrama. Or, for that matter, a low-budget porno.

She wished the best for all of them, these sun-blanketed strangers. Genuinely, wholeheartedly, she put her remaining hopeless romantic energy behind all their stories. Go well, be happy, prove that dreams come true.

‘You don’t want to be checking that out,’ someone said from within a cluster of golden light.

‘Shhh. You’re so loud.’

‘I’m just trying to warn you, man. Could fill a swimming pool with the amount of cum that’s been spilt on that one.’

WILL

WILL