happened to your head? You didn’t tell me you were in hospital.”
“Apparently I was in an elevator accident, but I don’t remember anything.”
“What do you mean, you don’t remember anything?” She took another massive sip of the gooey green stuff and then held it up. “This is Frankie’s protein shake. Want to taste?” She thrust the drink towards me and I shook my head. “How much don’t you remember?”
“I remember almost nothing about anything,” I replied.
“What, like your name?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“No way. This is crazy.” She put the drink down and stepped closer to me. “Your age?”
“Nope.”
“Where you live?”
I shook my head again.
“Fuuuuuuck, that is seriously weird.”
“I know!” I agreed with her.
“Man, I’m sorry. I had no idea, or I wouldn’t have been so . . . wait, when I was joking about you and Noah having sex—”
“What?” Noah cut her off. “You were what?”
“Chill, I was just pulling her leg, you know. Like I always do.”
Noah rolled his eyes. “Yeah, your subtlety is well known.”
“Do you even remember sex?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No. I know what it is, obviously. But I don’t remember having it.”
“Waaaiiit!” Maxine held her hand up now. “You’re like a newborn virgin.”
“A . . . What!?” I gasped. “I . . . what? Well, that’s just . . . um . . .” For some reason, her words made me wildly uncomfortable, made my skin flush and prickle.
“Maxine!” Noah chided her now. “Not everyone is as comfortable with talking about—”
“Oh. Right. Sorry!” She held her hand up and then looked thoughtful for a while. “You know what, you should try and do as many things as possible, to figure out what you’re into.”
“I’ve been doing that. I’ve been making a list of the things I know about myself.”
“That’s great! I mean, in a way, it’s actually quite cool if you think about it. You get the chance to get to know yourself all over again.”
Her words made me stop. A real full stop as everything inside me zoned in and focused on her meaning. Was she right? That this was in some way an opportunity? Her words seemed to make Noah stop too. He looked over at me curiously, as if trying to gauge my reaction to what had just been said. I shrugged at them both. I was on the fence about it. I still would prefer it if I had my memory back and wasn’t bumbling through the world right now, remembering some things and forgetting others.
“Chocolate,” Noah suddenly said, breaking what was becoming an awkward silence as I was contemplating the fence I now felt like I was balancing on.
Maxine took a step back, looking uncomfortable for the first time since I’d met her. “What about it?”
“I know you have some,” Noah replied.
“NO! No, I don’t . . . no . . .” She tutted and her eyes flicked about the room.
“Uh . . . yes, you do. I know you do. In your cheat drawer.”
“What? Cheat drawer . . . psssst, what’s that? I don’t have one. Not me.”
Noah smiled at her now. “Yes, you do. I even know where it is.” Noah made a move and Maxine jumped in front of him. Noah laughed.
“You totally have a cheat drawer and I have seen you in it! Late at night, scrounging around. Busted!” He pointed at her and she gasped.
“Okay, fine! I have one. But you can’t tell anyone. It would ruin my reputation if they knew I ate chocolate late at night when no one is looking!” She looked at me and raised her brows, as if seeking sympathy or affirmation. I nodded back to her as if I knew exactly what she meant. Of course I didn’t. She sighed and then walked over to a drawer in the kitchen and pulled it open. I gazed into the drawer of wonder and marvel and then saw it.
“Kit Kat!” I said quickly. “Definitely Kit Kat, if you don’t mind.”
She reached into the drawer and pulled it out for me. “That’ll be two hundred calories. You can come work out with me tomorrow if you want. Frankie does this amazing butt and core workout, it’ll burn that right off. Or you can come to the gym with Noah and me in the morning?” She looked at Noah.
“Sure,” Noah said quickly. “Of course, if you want?”
“I have no idea whether I exercise or not,” I said, wondering if maybe I was a gym girl. I was slim, after all.