Sidequest for Love by L.H. Cosway

I was having, shall we say, nefarious thoughts.

Nefarious thoughts that were urging me to ensure Neil and Annabelle never met at all.

I’d find him a nice girl. Someone worthy of him. After all, I knew lots of great gamer ladies online who would eat Neil right up like a scoop of double chocolate chip ice cream with sprinkles on top. If she didn’t live an ocean away, I might’ve even considered introducing him to Yellowshoes. My girl was beautiful and had a cracking sense of humour.

Annabelle and Mr Muscles left, and I wound things down on the treadmill. I wiped down the machine, dabbed the sweat from my brow, and took a long gulp of water. I walked by the two ladies on the ellipticals, gave them a wink, and told them they were looking fab. They both chuckled and shook their heads at me as I headed for the showers.

I was on the bus on my way home when two new messages came in from Neil. The first showed him standing with the Statue of Liberty behind him. The second was him on Fifth Avenue, surrounded by pedestrians, the road full of those recognisable yellow taxis.

Looking good, I replied.

I never realised the skill required to take a decent selfie, especially in a city as crowded as this one, he sent back.

You’ll be a pro by the time your trip is over, I promised.

Later that night, I ordered Thai food in preparation for my video call with Neil. I changed into my PJs and had everything set up before I sent him a text.

Afric: I’m about to call you!

Neil: Go ahead. I’m ready.

I grinned as I sent through the call. Seriously, I loved this new arrangement. I enjoyed annoying him by swooning over Mr Thornton and making lewd comments about what I’d let him do to me.

The call connected and Neil appeared on my screen. He wore a long-sleeved T-shirt, his hair a little rumpled, eyes tired. From what Michaela had told me, their work trips tended to be very demanding. Neil was likely exhausted after a long day running around after all those reality TV stars.

“Hey!” I said. “What did you order from room service today? Inquiring minds would like to know.”

He held up his plate to show me. “I treated myself to a steak. Callum fell 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?”