The last thing in the world Chloe wanted was to have a discussion about why she wanted to cover her body with an oversized T-shirt and a pair of pyjama shorts. He was right. She did usually sleep naked, and he was right, there was a reason she didn’t want to tonight. The whole evening had felt so exposing, like she was being stripped, that she wanted to cover her body up. Perhaps it didn’t make much sense. Rav would almost certainly think it didn’t.

‘I think I’m getting my period,’ she said, her face pressed into the pillow.

‘Oh. Okay.’

They lay in silence, the fuzzy blackness getting lighter as Chloe’s eyes adjusted to the darkness and the orange lights from the world outside lit the room away from peaceful dark.

‘Max thinks he might have some work for me,’ said Rav, facing away from her.

Chloe’s stomach churned. The oil and acid from the meal crept up her throat, stinging her soft palate. ‘That’s great. I know that’s what you were hoping would happen.’

Rav turned over and landed a kiss on Chloe’s neck. ‘I love you.’

Chloe swallowed. ‘I love you, too.’

11

Then

The morning after Zadie slept in their room Chloe woke up to find her gone. The bed had been made, which made her a little sad, a sign that Zadie clearly didn’t consider this to be home. But she had left a note – ‘Thank you for the wine, you are the biggest babe!!’ – on the back of an envelope, with lots of kisses and a wonky heart. Chloe smiled at it, then inwardly scolded herself for being weird. She was acting as if Zadie was a boy she had a crush on, not a new friend. She’d known girls at school who would get ‘girl crushes’ on sixth-formers, usually someone sporty or big into drama. But she’d never been like that. She didn’t want to be like that. Zadie wasn’t a sixth-former who was impressive because she had a car and a boyfriend, she told herself. She was a friend. An equal.