style="font-size:15px;"> ‘And how is that exactly?’ I said coolly, which took a considerable amount of effort.
‘I know this is going to sound odd, you know, after everything that happened back there with Josh but…’ Zac’s voice trailed off.
‘But?’ I prompted, not wanting to give him the chance to talk himself out of whatever he’d intended to say. In my peripheral vision, I saw him turn his head to face me.
‘Right. Um… Please don’t take this the wrong way.’
‘OK,’ I said, trying to move things along.
‘How would you feel about coming out with me?’
‘Out? With you?’
‘Just as friends,’ he added, in an effort to clarify his motives.
‘What would your girlfriend say?’ I asked, shooting him a knowing look.
‘I don’t have one.’
‘What?’ My foot slipped off the accelerator and I stalled the car. ‘How come? Since when?’
Zac humoured me by not commenting—or pleading to be let out—so I gunned the engine to keep us moving and pretended it never happened. ‘She dumped me. Not long after I met you actually.’
‘No way?’ I almost stalled again and had to scramble to regain control over myself as much as the car. ‘What did you do?’
‘Hey!’ He crossed his arms over his chest. ‘I didn’t do anything, thank you very much.’
‘Then why?’
Zac sighed. ‘It just wasn’t to be, she was hung up on somebody else.’
‘Ouch, that’s a bummer.’
‘Yeah.’ His voice held sadness and resignation, matched by his frown, but then his tone brightened. ‘But it does leave me with a spare ticket for tonight if you fancy it?’
‘A ticket for what? I’m guessing you’re not talking football.’
‘No. It’s tickets for a jazz club.’
‘Nice.’ My eyebrows were at risk of whiplash the way they were up and down like yo-yos. ‘Why me though, Zac? You must have your pick of girls.’
‘Ha! If you say so,’ he said. ‘But even if I did, they might mistake it for a date.’
‘And that’s not what this is? A date, I mean.’
‘God, no,’ he blurted. ‘My head’s a mess so the last thing I want right now is another girlfriend. It’s just two friends, like I said, going out to celebrate.’
‘What am I supposed to be celebrating?’
‘Ah, of course, you wouldn’t know. Well…’ He paused for dramatic effect. ‘Today just so happens to be my birthday.’
‘Oh I see. Then I guess I should wish you a happy birthday?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘Happy birthday, Zac.’
‘Thank you, Alice.’
‘And you’re sure you want to go with me tonight, even after what you saw today?’
‘Sure, why not? If nothing else, it’ll give us something to talk about,’ he said, matter-of-factly. ‘By the way, that’s my road coming up on the left so can you hurry up and make up your mind? It would be a shame to waste valuable time driving around the block when we could be getting ready.’
‘You’d really make me keep driving?’
‘Either that or stage a sit-in.’
‘Fine.’ I made the left turn. ‘Which house is yours?’
‘The one with the Land Rover in the driveway.’
‘I see it,’ I said, following the direction of his finger.
‘So what’s it to be?’ Zac asked, swivelling in his seat to face me. He certainly seemed keen. What was the worst that could happen? I’d already dipped my toe into the murky waters of friendship and I genuinely enjoyed his company.
‘I suppose it would be rude of me to turn you down on your birthday?’
‘You suppose correctly,’ he said, sounding serious.
‘OK, fine.’ I brought the car to a halt outside his house and turned to face him. ‘I’ll go out with you, Zac, but only because it’s a special occasion.’
‘Yes!’ he hissed, totally over-exaggerating it. ‘If we’re quick enough, we should be able to grab dinner first if you fancy it?’
‘Works for me.’
‘Excellent.’ Zac unclipped his seatbelt and reached for the door handle but then stopped. ‘How should we do this? Do you want to go on home and get ready and I’ll pick you up from there or—’
‘Go on home?’ I turned on the sad puppy eyes, desperately trying to keep a straight face. ‘You mean you don’t like what I’m wearing?’
Zac’s bright smile slipped, as I’d hoped, and I could practically see the cogs whirring as he tried to extract his foot from his mouth. ‘Well, er…it’s not to my particular taste,’ he said, recovering fast. ‘I could never pull it off despite my great legs and I really don’t have the cleavage for it.’
‘Is that so?’
‘More to the point, I don’t fancy getting into any fights tonight yet with you in that outfit I’d have no choice but to fend off a load of other men to protect your honour.’
‘My honour?’ I pressed my lips together but failed to hold back the harsh laugh. ‘I’m afraid you’re a couple of years too late to protect that,’ I spluttered. ‘You can relax though, I was only kidding about getting ready.’
‘Are you sure?’ he asked.
‘I’m sure.’
‘Honestly, you don’t have to change on my account.’
Now that I wasn’t so sure about.
‘No, really.’ I shifted in my seat. ‘This outfit has served its purpose.’
‘Ah.’ A hooded look fell over his eyes until he blinked it away. ‘So shall I come and pick you up?’
‘No, don’t be daft. I’m miles out of the way. Why don’t I come back here as soon as I’m ready since I can’t have a drink anyway?’
‘Sounds great. I’ll see you soon then?’ A hint of uncertainty crept into his voice, suggesting he had insecurities of his own to contend with.
