Kope caught my eye from across the table and we both looked away.
“Let’s do something fun together while arsey-Astaroth is gone!” Marna grabbed my arm, redirecting my attention. “Let’s get our nails done!”
I could never tell Veronica. She’d combust if she knew I’d cheated on her with Marna.
“You ladies should enjoy this time.” Kopano sounded weary. “I will go to the hotel.”
“Ah, Kope, I’m sorry!” Marna laughed. “Men get their nails buffed, too, you know.”
He stood. “I could use an early night to bed.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. “We could do something else.” I knew how he felt—jet lag was setting in—but I was too excited to sleep yet.
“I am certain.” He headed for the door, bowing his head at us.
“I’ll come by to see you in the morning before you leave,” Marna promised. “Text me your hotel info.”
His eyes looked weary when he gave a small nod and turned to go, and it made something inside me seize up with sadness.
When he left, Marna sent me a meaningful look and I nodded. We’d talk. We grabbed our purses, but Ginger still sat, staring off, deep in thought.
“You coming, Gin?” Marna asked.
But Ginger looked at me. “You say it’s safe tonight?”
“Yeah.” I told her about Dad’s intel, and how they’d let me know if danger arose.
“You two go,” Ginger said. “I think I’ll have a night to myself.”
The mother bear was letting the cub out of her sight. Shocking.
Marna looked completely taken aback. “If you’re quite sure . . .”
Ginger nodded absently and waved us off, already falling into relaxation mode, getting up and plopping herself on the couch with a remote. Marna shrugged and linked her arm through mine, leading me out of the flat with a skip in her step.
“Don’t go back to the hotel tonight,” Marna pleaded. “Stay here with me!”
“Okay,” I agreed, and we chatted the whole way to the salon.
After manicures, pedicures, and pub baskets of fish and chips, we started making our way through the night crowd to the hotel so I could get my stuff. I pulled my jacket closed as the fall breeze kicked up and we passed a pub playing live music.
“I could totally live in England,” I said.
Marna took my arm again. “You would totes love it here.”
We walked quietly for a minute.
“What do you think is going on with Kai?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No idea. We were all shaken up after the summit, but him worst of all. Maybe he’s going through a rebellious stage.”
“I don’t want him to do anything stupid,” I whispered.
“I know. He’s just testing the boundaries, but I’m sure he’s fine. Don’t worry, ’kay?” She squeezed my arm and I squeezed back.
We retrieved my bag from the hotel and took the Tube back to Marna’s place.
“What’s it been like to travel with Kope?” she asked as we ascended from the Tube at her stop.
“It’s been great. He’s actually talked to me some. He was awesome in Syria. You should have seen him.”
We sidestepped around a street violinist. He wound a string of sad, whimsical notes through the air, and I tossed a few bills in his open case.
“He likes you, you know,” Marna said.
For one confused second I imagined she was talking about the violinist. When I realized she meant Kope, my heart sank. “We’re friends. That’s all I want.”
“Okay,” she said quietly. “I understand.”
But I felt the need to explain. “Sometimes I forget how he is,” I said. “And I touch him, like I’d do with Jay or Blake. But it’s weird. He gets all tense, and then I feel bad. Does that ever happen to you?”
She grinned at me. “No. But that’s because he doesn’t fancy me. I imagine he’s got a bit of pent-up sexual aggression that he’d just love to—”
“Marna!” I squealed, bumping her hip with mine.
“Okay, okay, I’ll stop.”
When we got back to her flat, Ginger was in her room, talking animatedly. Marna mouthed “Blake” to me, and Ginger must have heard us come in because she got really quiet.
Marna and I stayed up talking late into the night.
In a moment of seriousness, she brought up Jay.
“I owe you an apology for that night, New Year’s Eve. It was convenient to work on Jay when the whisperers showed, but you should know it was more than that.” Marna picked at the covers. “He was so sweet to me, so real, and so cute. I wanted to kiss him. Honestly. He’s the only boy I’ve ever fancied like that.”
“It’s okay,” I told her. I’d long since let go of any ill feelings about that night, and I’d always wondered what she really thought of him.
I told her everything—about how Jay and Veronica had eventually reconciled and become a couple, and how I didn’t know if they’d be able to make it through the college transition. Veronica seemed bored and unhappy these days.