Kelly rinsed her cup then held her hand out for Nicole’s. The more Kelly thought about it, the more of what Nicole said made sense. Ashleigh certainly had withdrawn, but then again that could be put down to the tension in the room.

Where had Craig been that night anyway? What effect had the tryst had on their relationship? If Ashleigh was plagued by guilt it wouldn’t be doing them any favours.

“If you’re right, and it was Ashleigh, I feel I owe her an apology.”

Just as she was about to bite into a banana, Nicole lowered her hand and narrowed her gaze. “I’ve said it before and I’m going to say it again. I don’t see what possible good can come of approaching her. You need to chalk it up to experience and put it behind you.”

It was an experience Kelly didn’t intend to ever repeat. Scarred for life, she doubted she’d ever slip into a dark room again with the intentions of having sex.

Chapter 8

Determined to get the inevitable over with, Kelly picked up her phone. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips when her call went to voicemail.

Hello, this is Paula. I can’t come to the phone right now. However, your call is important to me so please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

The formal tone of Paula’s message, something that used to turn Kelly on, grated on her nerves. More proof it was time to end things.

Beep.

“Hi, it’s me. I’m hoping we can catch up later today. Clear the air.” Surely, she didn’t need to elaborate as to why. “So yeah, call me when you’re free.”

Kelly disconnected the call, feeling more nervous than before. She didn’t want to stew in her own juices and go over and over what she’d say to Paula. Chances were, no matter how much she rehearsed her speech, the words would abandon her once they were face to face.

It wouldn’t be the first time she’d lost her train of thought once Paula put her two cents worth in. Kelly picked up her phone, tapped her finger on her leg then put it down again. Deciding fuck it, she picked it back up and tapped out a text message.

Last night you became very ugly in my eyes. I can’t possibly date someone who doesn’t respect my best friend, or worse, me! You should’ve told Colette to shut her mouth and swallow her brown tongue instead of berating me. You suck, have a happy life.

Feeling somewhat better, and a tad amused, Kelly held her finger on the delete key.

When her phone rang, Kelly almost dropped it as if she’d been burnt. That would teach her for entertaining the idea of sending such a juvenile text.