slipping away with the infinite discretion of an experienced bar worker.
Jack reached for an olive but knocked over the barrel of toothpicks in his haste. ‘Jesus Christ, I’m nervous,’ he muttered. After hurriedly putting them back in their pot, he glanced up at Zoe, turning his glass round and round in his hands. ‘Hold on, can we go back a bit, to these feelings you’re having. These are … good feelings? Bad feelings?’
‘Good. They’re good feelings. But I don’t know anything about you, I’ve known you less than a month and I don’t understand how this works.’
‘Zoe,’ he said gently. ‘I’m not going to talk you into having a relationship with me.’
‘I know. I don’t want you to.’ She sipped her drink. ‘Oh my god, this is amazing.’
‘I told you.’
‘Seriously. How does she do that?’
‘I wish I knew – she won’t tell me.’
Zoe took another sip. ‘Jesus. And no, you don’t have to talk me into anything. I definitely don’t want you to.’ She took a deep breath. ‘But I just … I want it on record that I am freaked out by this. Even if it seems wonderful, I don’t know what to do with it. And that’s even more terrifying. That I might … break it, or something.’
‘Then how about we start again? Let’s have this as a proper, formal date – you ask questions about me, I ask questions about you, we drink more cocktails, I reveal the most embarrassing misadventures from my schooldays, you reveal how completely perfect you are—’
‘Don’t,’ she interrupted. ‘I like the rest of it, but let’s not pretend either of us is perfect. Those kinds of discoveries are the stuff I’m afraid of. Realising too late that the person you’re with isn’t the person you’ve held them up to be. So let’s realise it now.’
‘Fine. Absolutely. You are a typical flawed human, who may just, after lots of questions and conversations and misunderstandings and cocktails, turn out to be perfect for me.’ Jack smiled at her again. ‘And vice versa.’
Zoe shrugged and took another sip. ‘Ok. Why not. Let’s start at the beginning. Surname?’
Jack smiled at her.
They went to their separate beds that night, and after their next date at the weekend. That date saw them talking over dinner about school and family. Jack did have some excellent misadventures to recount, many of them involving his oldest friend, Iffy, whom Jack had promised to introduce to Zoe as soon as she was ready. Zoe promised Jack could meet her sisters as soon as she thought he was ready. They discussed work plans, ambitions, favourite books, favourite drinks, loathed film stars, good shoes, emergency hangover breakfasts, pets they’d never had, songs that made them cry, TV that made them laugh. They never seemed to run out of breath, even when the maître d’ had to interrupt them to serve them their bill, as the restaurant was closing. Another great date.
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