Page 59 of Five Years

Hannah linked her arm through Ariana’s. “Can I borrow you for a minute? I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“A surprise? My birthday isn’t until next week.” Ariana raised an eyebrow.

“I know, but I want you to have it now.”

“Sure, okay.”

“I . . .erm . . .I got you a card,” Leah blurted.

Shut up, you idiot.

“Really?” Ariana smiled—genuinely.

“Yeah, it’s over by the TV with the others.” Leah averted her gaze to the slice of chocolate cake on her plate.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Hannah pulled Ariana away, but her eyes stayed locked on Leah until she was out of view. Leah stabbed at the chocolate cake, muttering, “I got you a card. Urgh, what an idiot.”

“Is everything okay?” Grace appeared from nowhere—she had a habit of doing that.

“Yep.”

“Why are you talking to yourself?”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Yes. You’re not a ventriloquist. Also, what did that cake do to you?” Grace raised an eyebrow. Leah hadn’t noticed the force with which she’d been hacking the chocolate into tiny pieces.

“It was too delicious, so I assumed it was cursed.” Leah stuck her tongue out.

“Funny.” Grace rolled her eyes. “Where did Hannah just drag my sister to?”

“She’s got her a present, apparently.”

“Her birthday’s not until next week,” Grace repeated.

“That’s what Ariana said.”

“Huh.” Grace paused. Then her whole demeanour changed; her eyes widened. “Oh, shit!”

“What?” Leah set the plate of smashed cake onto the table.

“You don’t think—” Grace couldn’t finish.

“What, Grace?”

“You don’t think she’s going to ask her to marry her, do you?”

“Aren’t they already engaged?” Leah asked.

She was playing dumb—she knew they weren’t. Not officially. They’d been engaged the first time around, then split, and when they rekindled, they jumped straight back to ‘engaged’ status—but neither of them wore a ring. According to Grace, Hannah launched hers into Lake Michigan during a post-breakup boat trip aimed at helping her move on. Ariana refused to replace it after she found out.

Leah didn’t like to admit it, but she social-media-stalked Ariana and Hannah at least once a month. It used to be daily, then weekly, then bi-weekly, and eventually here she was—a new woman. Progress had been made, but she still liked to take a sneak peek for old times’ sake.

“No, they’ve not made it ‘official’ since they got back together.”