‘Ella, what the fuck?’ Tilda leaned back against the wall, flattening her palms on it as if for support.
‘I…we…’ I started, but Tom didn’t let me fluster for long.
‘We’re seeing each other,’ he said. ‘She was afraid to tell you.’
‘I’m not surprised,’ said Tilda, finding her feet again. ‘You silly bitch.’
‘No sillier than you,’ I retorted. ‘Or aren’t you here to try and get back with him?’
‘I’m…no, of course not…’ But her shifty eyes gave her away. She looked up at Tom, her chin high. ‘So this is why you haven’t called lately? No need for a friend with benefits any more, eh? Well, fuck you. Fuck you both.’
She shoved me aside and clattered down the stairs.
I wasn’t sure whether to direct my jaw-drop at her or Tom.
‘You…you and her have been sleeping together?’ I said.
He was sheepish, looking away and fidgeting with his keys.
‘On an ad hoc basis,’ he said. ‘No strings.’
‘No strings for you, but she doesn’t seem to have seen it that way.’
He sighed.
‘Come in, will you? No need to give the neighbours a floor show.’
I hesitated.
‘I don’t think I should,’ I said, although my body raged at me for turning down this opportunity for gorgeous, all-night-long sex with the other body it wanted so badly.
‘Oh, Ella, don’t,’ he moaned. ‘Don’t be like this.’
‘How should I be? She’s my best friend, Tom. I can’t…if I have to choose…I can’t…oh, God. I’m going after her.’
I tore down the stairs, haring after her lone figure as it strode across the car park towards the quay.
‘Tilda, wait!’
She upped her pace, but maintained a dignified walk, so I caught up with her before too long. The quayside was windy and cold, with no reflections on the water except the dark clouds overhead.
‘Get lost,’ she said, once I drew level with her.
‘No,’ I replied. ‘We have to talk about this.’
‘What, so you can give me lies and lame excuses? What’s the point?’
‘Listen, I had no idea you and he were still…’
She stopped and stared at me, her face hostile beneath her hood.
‘So why lie about it, then, El? Why not tell me?’
The wind whipped my hair into my mouth. On the corner of the residential blocks, light spilled on to the pavement from a ground-floor bar. It looked quiet, a little way off the main city drag.
‘Look, it’s too cold to talk out here. Shall we go in there? Let me buy you a drink.’
For a moment, I thought Tilda would turn me down, but eventually she said, ‘I’ll get my own, thanks.’