Chapter 10

After saying goodnight to Daisy, Adam looks at his phone. 5 messages from Marty.

First one: 'OMG!'

Second: 'Adam she is so gorgeous!'

Third: 'I can see what your children will look like!'

Fourth: 'Call me'

Fifth: 'Call me!'

Adam sighs and taps the phone and Marty answers.

"What's going on? Where have you been? Is Daisy there?"

"We went to a dance thing at this old people's home thing – it's a long story. Daisy's next door."

"Yeah, I kind of lost it when I saw that picture. It's like those commercials where beautiful people are doing beautiful things in beautiful locations. You look good next to her. She makes you look better. Seriously, you two have to get together. Is that happening? That should be happening."

Adam rubs his face. "She's not interested in me," he says, "not like that."

"I don't believe you. You're just doing what you always do. You like her though, right?"

"I had an anxiety attack. I'm such an idiot."

"Oh. That bad huh. Oh man, I'm giving you a mental hug. I'm hugging you, and you're just standing there putting up with it like you always do. But I'm doing it anyway."

"I have to go back and work with her now. I'm trying to figure out how that's going to be."

"You're looking at the worst case scenario. You're looking for problems. It's entirely possible that this could work out."

"Look, I'm going to sleep now. You can have your little fantasies, and I hope you enjoy them. Kiss Alex for me."

"OK night."

"Night."

He looks at his phone. He texts Daisy.

'It feels weird to be separated from you now'

He puts the phone down. Within two minutes, it lights up.

Daisy: 'It really does'

Adam: 'OK night'

Daisy: 'Goodnight'

Daisy has sat on the bed for ten minutes, trying to figure out the way she feels. She hasn't thought about Brad all day. That's not normal, she thinks. And now all she is thinking about is Adam. She remembers back to when she first met him, and thought he was some kind of obnoxious jock. And then when she realised he was annoyed by her, she started needling him. And he always bit back. And it became a kind of game. And now she is trying to figure out why she started playing that game, and why she kept playing it, and whether or not she knew how much she was enjoying it.

His text comes through. 'It feels weird to be separated from you now'

She types in 'I know', then erases that and types 'It really does'

After he texts her goodnight she feels horrified by the thought of clutching the phone all night, on the off-chance he'll text again. She turns the phone off.

They both sleep. Around nine the next morning they go to breakfast at a nearby café. Sitting across from him, Daisy, far from feeling uncomfortable, as she thought she would, starts smiling.

"What?" he says. "I look funny?"

"No. No more than usual." Her smile broadens.

"Stop it, it's creepy," he says, trying not to smile back. "Are you going to eat that?"

She looks down at it. "No."

"What's it like?" he asks, sticking a fork in it.

"It's OK," she says, "looks like you're going to eat it anyway." He does.

"When we go back to work," she says, "I don't want to go back to the way we were before."

"So, what, we're going to be nice to each other?"

"Well, normal," she says. "What do normal people do?"

"I don't know," he says.

"Well we can just, call a truce," she says.

"Well that's no fun," he says, leaning back in his chair with a mischievous glint in his eye.

Oh I see, thinks Daisy. You like the game too. And it's in her mind to just come out and say it, say 'we can't play this game any more because I've realised I'm completely in love with you and the whole game thing was about sublimating feelings I couldn't deal with'. But she can't risk it, and she doesn't say it. She just finishes her coffee and they get up to leave.