off a wall this morning and almost broke his ankle. Luckily, we just needed to ice it, and the swelling went down, but he gave us a scare there for a minute.”
“Sounds stressful. You feeling okay?”
“I’m fine. Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t cure.”
“Well, I decided to delay my dinner so that we could eat together. I ordered Thai green curry.”
“Perfect. Shall we start the episode? I’m oddly curious to see what Miss Hale and Mr Thornton get up to next,” Neil said.
“Let’s do it,” I replied with a grin.
We ate quietly and watched the episode for about ten minutes before I said, “You know, I have this online friend. She lives in Surrey, I think. Her name’s Alice. Pretty sure she works in IT, but she’s also a huge Greenforest gamer. She’s a redhead, too, if that’s what you’re into.”
“If that’s what I’m …” Neil said, sounding like he’d only been half-listening. Somehow, I felt like he was even more into North and South than I was, which only caused the fondness I already felt for him to expand.
“I just feel like you should widen your horizons,” I went on. “You know, Annabelle’s not the only woman in the world.”
He let out a heavy sigh. I had our call minimized, but I saw him run a hand down his face in the tiny square in the corner of my screen. “So, this is your angle now,” he said.
“What angle?” I asked, feigning innocence. “I don’t have an angle.”
“You’ve set your mind against Annabelle and are now trying to interest me in this Alice person as a distraction.”
“Neil, I’m only looking out for you—”
“Well, you don’t need to. I’m perfectly capable of looking out for myself.”
“Are you, though?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I blew out a heavy breath, nerves building. I hadn’t intended on telling Neil about my visit to Annabelle’s gym, but maybe he needed to hear it. Maybe he needed a cold splash of reality. “Pause the episode for a second. I need to tell you something.”
Neil frowned and did as I requested. I paused the episode, too, then sent him an anxious look through the screen. “What’s going on? Why do you have that weird look on your face?”
I bit my lip, then blurted, “I did a bad thing.”
“What did you do?”
“Remember how I mentioned checking out Annabelle’s social media?” I asked, tucking some hair behind my ear. Neil nodded. “Well, I noticed she works at a gym that’s only a ten-minute bus journey from my flat. So, I thought I’d go check her out in person.”
Neil stared at me, eyes wide with horror. “Please tell me you didn’t talk to her.”
“Of course, I didn’t talk to her. I merely observed.”
At this, he seemed to relax a little, but he still looked perturbed. “And what did you observe?”
“Not a lot, honestly.”
“Okay, well, please don’t ever do that again,” Neil said, exhaling in relief.
“It’s just that—”
Neil’s eyes flashed to mine. “What?”
“I may have seen her and one of her co-workers making fun of two overweight women while they were working out. I’m not one-hundred percent certain, but it seemed like Annabelle was laughing at them.”
His frown returned. “I can’t imagine Annabelle doing something like that.”
“Yes, but you hardly know her, not in person. For all you know, she could be the one catfishing you into believing she’s a nice lady when in reality she’s the type who—"
“Can we not talk about this until I get back to London?” Neil interrupted gruffly, and I fell silent. “I just want to enjoy watching this show with you because honestly, I’ve been looking forward to it all day. Let’s leave Annabelle out of the conversation for the time being.”
“Oh.” I was taken aback, blinking as I asked, “You’ve really been looking forward to this all day?”
Neil sighed again. “Yes, I have. It’s come as a great surprise to me, but I actually enjoy your company, Afric.”
I fell silent again. I had no words, which was a rare occurrence for me. A warm, tingling sensation took up residence in my chest. Finally, I whispered, “Neil.”
“Yes?”
“I enjoy your company, too.” A pause. “And I’m sorry for spying on Annabelle. I won’t do it again.”
In the small square in the corner of my screen, I saw his lips twitch in a smile. “I’m glad to hear it.” A pause. “Now, can you be quiet? I’m about to press play, and I’m sick of you talking through all the good bits.”