the hour. It’s beautiful. Magical.
Andy grins, his eyes sparkling as he looks at me.
“What?” I ask suspiciously. “Have I got bird poo in my hair?”
“No!” he laughs. “No, I’m just—I’m really glad you came, Rosie.”
I smile as I hook my arm through his, a warm feeling flooding through me despite the icy cold.
“So am I.”
We finally arrive, exhausted and rosy-cheeked, at Casey’s apartment, and I feel like I’m in an episode of Friends —except it’s actually about half the size of Monica’s apartment, and looks out on the brick wall of the neighboring building.
“Welcome!” Casey grins, slinging a tea towel over his shoulder. “Make yourselves at home—Lola, shift!”
“Two minutes!” the petite blond girl begs, her eyes glued to her laptop. “It’s almost finished! Hi, guys—sorry—nice to meet ya!”
“Guys, meet Lola—waitress extraordinaire and hopeless TV addict.” Casey rolls his eyes. “Can’t pry her away from her sitcoms—even to do the washing up!”
“It’s your turn!” she protests good-naturedly.
Sitcoms. Kitty .
“You can watch online?” I scan the screen urgently. “What’s this one?”
“They’re all the same!” Casey groans. “Coupla guys, coupla girls, awful jokes and lots of canned laughter …”
Lola sticks out her tongue. “They’re live audiences, actually .”
“Seen one, seen ’em all!” Casey grabs the computer, and Lola shrieks.
“You do it, you die—Brad’s new boss is about to come in and find him dressed as a gigolo! But he doesn’t realize she actually has a crush on him and thinks—”
“Well, fancy that,” Casey says seriously. “Just how credible and believable and downright—ow!” he laughs as Lola hits him. “You can catch up later—it’s New Year’s Eve!”
“All right, already!” Lola grins, grabbing her jacket and turning to me. “What’re you guys doing tonight?”
“Yeah, d’you wanna come to the bar?” Casey hits his head. “D’oh! You’re not twenty-one, are ya?”
Andy hurls a cushion at him.
“You’re coming to Times Square with us, though, right?” Lola asks.
“Actually, I’m pretty knackered.” I yawn.
“But it’s only seven-thirty!” Lola protests.
“Yeah,” Andy says. “But that’s half past midnight at home. We’ve already celebrated New Year!”
I smile. We toasted each other with mugs of hot chocolate in a little café before calling home.
“Happy New Year, sweetheart!” Nana had cried above the noise of Sarah’s house party. “Don’t waste a single minute of it!”
I glance at Lola’s laptop. I don’t intend to.
“Then celebrate twice !” Lola insists. “Come on, you can’t miss the ball drop!”
“Babe, they’ve been on a transatlantic flight, they’re jet-lagged, and they stink !” Casey holds his nose theatrically, and I laugh.
“Well, just call us if you wanna meet up.” Lola smiles. “Or we might see you there?”
“Yeah—you and two million others!” Casey laughs. “Have fun, guys—see ya later!” The door slams behind them, leaving us in sudden silence, a siren wailing somewhere in the distance.
“Well!” Andy grins. “It’s been quite a day!”
I smile at him. “It certainly has.”
“I’m going to take a shower.” He grabs his rucksack. “Casey’s right, I reek!”
I wait until I hear the water running, then I pick up the laptop. My fingers trembling, I type For Richer, For Poorer into the search engine, and immediately the theme tune blares loudly. I grab the headphones and plug them in quickly, holding my breath as I listen down the hall.
The sound of running water is joined by Andy’s loud off-key singing. I sigh with relief and turn back to the screen.
The latest episode starts playing and I watch as two impossibly good-looking guys comically struggle to coax a kitten down from a fire escape. I wait impatiently, nervously, my eyes flicking over the rest of the webpage.
Episode Guide — Catch
Andy grins, his eyes sparkling as he looks at me.
“What?” I ask suspiciously. “Have I got bird poo in my hair?”
“No!” he laughs. “No, I’m just—I’m really glad you came, Rosie.”
I smile as I hook my arm through his, a warm feeling flooding through me despite the icy cold.
“So am I.”
We finally arrive, exhausted and rosy-cheeked, at Casey’s apartment, and I feel like I’m in an episode of Friends —except it’s actually about half the size of Monica’s apartment, and looks out on the brick wall of the neighboring building.
“Welcome!” Casey grins, slinging a tea towel over his shoulder. “Make yourselves at home—Lola, shift!”
“Two minutes!” the petite blond girl begs, her eyes glued to her laptop. “It’s almost finished! Hi, guys—sorry—nice to meet ya!”
“Guys, meet Lola—waitress extraordinaire and hopeless TV addict.” Casey rolls his eyes. “Can’t pry her away from her sitcoms—even to do the washing up!”
“It’s your turn!” she protests good-naturedly.
Sitcoms. Kitty .
“You can watch online?” I scan the screen urgently. “What’s this one?”
“They’re all the same!” Casey groans. “Coupla guys, coupla girls, awful jokes and lots of canned laughter …”
Lola sticks out her tongue. “They’re live audiences, actually .”
“Seen one, seen ’em all!” Casey grabs the computer, and Lola shrieks.
“You do it, you die—Brad’s new boss is about to come in and find him dressed as a gigolo! But he doesn’t realize she actually has a crush on him and thinks—”
“Well, fancy that,” Casey says seriously. “Just how credible and believable and downright—ow!” he laughs as Lola hits him. “You can catch up later—it’s New Year’s Eve!”
“All right, already!” Lola grins, grabbing her jacket and turning to me. “What’re you guys doing tonight?”
“Yeah, d’you wanna come to the bar?” Casey hits his head. “D’oh! You’re not twenty-one, are ya?”
Andy hurls a cushion at him.
“You’re coming to Times Square with us, though, right?” Lola asks.
“Actually, I’m pretty knackered.” I yawn.
“But it’s only seven-thirty!” Lola protests.
“Yeah,” Andy says. “But that’s half past midnight at home. We’ve already celebrated New Year!”
I smile. We toasted each other with mugs of hot chocolate in a little café before calling home.
“Happy New Year, sweetheart!” Nana had cried above the noise of Sarah’s house party. “Don’t waste a single minute of it!”
I glance at Lola’s laptop. I don’t intend to.
“Then celebrate twice !” Lola insists. “Come on, you can’t miss the ball drop!”
“Babe, they’ve been on a transatlantic flight, they’re jet-lagged, and they stink !” Casey holds his nose theatrically, and I laugh.
“Well, just call us if you wanna meet up.” Lola smiles. “Or we might see you there?”
“Yeah—you and two million others!” Casey laughs. “Have fun, guys—see ya later!” The door slams behind them, leaving us in sudden silence, a siren wailing somewhere in the distance.
“Well!” Andy grins. “It’s been quite a day!”
I smile at him. “It certainly has.”
“I’m going to take a shower.” He grabs his rucksack. “Casey’s right, I reek!”
I wait until I hear the water running, then I pick up the laptop. My fingers trembling, I type For Richer, For Poorer into the search engine, and immediately the theme tune blares loudly. I grab the headphones and plug them in quickly, holding my breath as I listen down the hall.
The sound of running water is joined by Andy’s loud off-key singing. I sigh with relief and turn back to the screen.
The latest episode starts playing and I watch as two impossibly good-looking guys comically struggle to coax a kitten down from a fire escape. I wait impatiently, nervously, my eyes flicking over the rest of the webpage.
Episode Guide — Catch
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