Chapter 6

The following morning, Simone woke up with a pounding headache. She had been tipsy the night before, not wasted, so it wasn’t exactly a hangover. The issue was that she had kept thinking about William, about their kiss, and everything that could follow said kiss… And sleep had thus evaded her until it was almost 4 am.

Thankfully, it was Saturday, and she didn’t have to go to work. Hell, if possible, she would rather avoid work and stay home for a week, but that wasn’t an option. Come Monday, she would have to go back.

Long gone was her bravado from last night, when she thought she wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. She now had one sole excuse to give William, and she could already picture herself as she told him that it was a mistake, that she had been drunk.

She remembered the texts that had followed the kiss, and a small smile broke onto her face despite her earlier resolutions, making her tiredness fade away slightly.

Naturally, the coffee she was drinking helped her greatly.

Simone was supposed to meet a good friend of hers for a late lunch, but she didn’t know whether that was a good idea. Colette didn’t know about her infatuation – if one may call it that – with her stepbrother. Hell, nobody knew. And that was exactly as it should be. She and William weren’t meant to be after all… There was no need to tarnish his reputation for a kiss that would be best categorized as a mistake.

“No,” she soon shook her head negatively, “I need to go out. I need to stop thinking about him. Nothing good will come out of staying cooped up here.”

Simone then remembered how courteous her date had been yesterday, and then the way he had leaned forward in the car, seemingly going for a prize that wasn’t his for the taking... She had naturally avoided his lips, not because she didn’t want to upset William, but because she wanted his taste to remain on her lips – which might be worse in a way.

Truth be told, mistake as it might be, the kiss was basically a dream come true.

She didn’t know what could have made William snap and kiss her passionately yesterday, but she knew she had dreamed of one such moment for a long time.

“Stop thinking about him,” she told herself sternly before focusing on her coffee, and scrolling through her feed on her phone.

Soon, Colette was calling her, and her greeting was as bubbly as her, “How are you doing today, love? Are you getting ready?”

Simone’s eyebrows shot up, “I thought we were supposed to meet up at 3 pm.”

“And it’s 1 pm already, love… Did someone rock your world yesterday at the party?” Her friend let out teasingly.

If only you knew, Simone let out mentally, and only chuckled nervously in response to her friend. She hadn’t paid attention to the time, and she now had to finish the rest of her coffee in haste.

“I would never misbehave in a business setting, and you know it,” Simone lied through her teeth, because she couldn’t possibly tell her friend of what had happened between her and William.

“Boo… You’re missing out on a lot of fun,” Colette’s giggles told Simone everything she needed to know. They might have not met for quite some time, but they kept in touch mostly via texts and memes.

“Am I?” She taunted in an unmistakably light tone of voice.

“You sure are,” Colette assured her, her tone full of conviction.

“You would know better,” it was Simone’s turn to tease her friend.

“Go get ready, and don’t be late.”

If there was something Colette hated, it was tardiness. She was such a boss woman, and despised having to waste time, avoiding it at all costs.

“Yes, madam,” Simone responded in a mock frightened tone of voice.

“Oh hush you… You know I hate people who are late,” she shot back.

“I know… I know,” Simone assured her, a smile stretching her lips.

** ** **

By 2 pm, Simone had taken a refreshing shower, had used the blow-dryer to give volume to her hair, and was soon fully dressed in a beautiful blue midi dress.

She didn’t have time for make-up and thus only applied a light pink gloss before heading out.

The restaurant she and Colette wanted to eat at was on the other side of the city, and she needed to take 2 buses to get there. Simone wasn’t much of a subway girl, because she felt like she would be losing a lot while gaining precious time. She liked to enjoy the scenery instead, as she went from place to place, and thus always planned accordingly.

The woman who sat next to her on the second bus was pregnant, and Simone smiled discreetly before looking out the window. She had always wanted a family of her own, a baby to care for, but for that she needed to find a suitable partner first. She couldn’t imagine herself as a single mother, and she didn’t want her baby to grow up without a father.

Though a modern woman, Simone would admit that she was traditional when it came to having a family.

Again, she was reminded of all the reasons why she and William could never be together, and heaved a sigh.

When the second bus came to a halt at her stop, she got off, and began to walk, enjoying the soft breeze as it hit her face. Before long, she reached the restaurant she was meant to have lunch at with her friend, and looked at her wristwatch anxiously.

“You were almost late, woman,” Colette’s voice soon rang out from nearby, and she lifted her gaze at once.

“That means I made it just on time,” Simone retorted cheekily.

Colette giggled and soon hugged her, before leading her into the restaurant where she had already taken a seat at a table near the window.

Simone felt a smile stretch her lips at the sight of the table’s tag which read 7… 7 was her lucky number, and Simone wished for better times, for something more in her life.