It Could Only be You

Episode 8: Graft On

In the dressing room the next morning, Daphs is in the midst of her morning routine when Lottie and Hope come up and join her. "Morning, babe," Lottie says. "You were just the girl I wanted to see."

Daphs smiles brightly. "Here I am!"

"Fab," Lottie smiles before her expression turns to one of cool concern. "Listen, babes, you couldn't join me for a chat out on the terrace? I wanna talk to you about something I noticed yesterday."

Daphs feels a flicker of dread, but calmly answers, "Oh, sure, no problem."

"Is this a closed chat or can anyone join in?" Hope asks, already putting down her make-up bag.

Lottie looks doubtful for a seconds before she says, "I suppose it should be fine."

The girls make their way onto the terrace. Hope and Daphs sit with a cushion on their laps as Lottie does without. The sun is beaming into their little box, baking them like they're in an oven.

"Daphs, I don't want you to feel ganged up or that, so I just want you to know that what I'm saying comes from love," Lottie begins wisely.

Daphs sits up, keen, but cautious.

"You've made it known to us all that Bobby is your number one, he is the boy in here that you want to couple up with," Lottie goes on, using her hands for emphasis, "but obviously a number of the boys have not got the memo. Rocco, for one, but I'm not here to talk about him."

"Are we talking about Noah and Daphs?" Hope interrupts.

"Actually, I wasn't going to talk about Noah at all," Lottie says irritably. "I wanted to talk about Gary. I'm going to ask you straight out here, Daphs, are you interested in Gary?"

Daphs takes a breath before she answers. "He's a lovely boy, obviously, and if Bobby wasn't here, I might have thought about it, but I'm not interested in Gary that way at all."

"Okay," Lottie replies calmly. "It's just that there are girls in here who are, and his attention is wandering to you so much that they can't get a look in. So, again – I'm not having a go – but if you wouldn't mind sitting Gary down for a chat and explaining to him that he's wasting his time with you."

Daphs nods. "That's fair," she says, though has a niggling thought that maybe it isn't.

Lottie smiles, satisfied. "I believe you had something to say about Noah, Hope?"

Hope lobs her cushion to the side and squarely faces Daphs. "I've noticed you paying Noah the kind of attention that it sounds like Gary wants, and I want you to know that he's not interested."

"Shouldn't he be having this talk with Daphs?" Lottie says, unimpressed. "If it is how he feels."

"He thinks she's harmless, but I'm not as convinced. Look at her, Lottie, she's got Bobby eating out the palm of her hand but she's still letting Rocco and Gary chase her around like they have a chance."

"If you're bringing up the fact that I do speak to Gary and Noah, then, yeah, I'll hold my hands up to that," Daphs says with her first sliver of annoyance. "They're cool guys, and so are Rahim and Bobby, and I want to get to know them all like I have you girls. Like, I don't see why we can't be friends with the boys we aren't coupled up with."

Hope takes a deep breath. "Daphs, I get the feeling that you want to be more than friends with Noah."

"Maybe she just likes to wind you up because you get so aggy when she so much as farts in his direction," Lottie suggests.