‘Thank you.’ Jake slipped his phone back in his pocket. ‘So now I just wait, I guess. Lola and Tristan have booked me for the end of May.’
‘That’s awesome news! Have you chosen your shots for the exhibition at Freya’s gallery?’
Jake laughed. ‘I’ve been trying to! But striking the right balance is harder than I thought it’d be. There’s so many. I’ve been agonising over it for the last couple of days.’
‘Maybe you need a new eye?’ Effie suggested as she fished one of the melted marshmallows out of her drink, sighing with happiness as she popped it into her mouth. ‘My favourite bit. What?’ Effie asked. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
‘You’re so cute when you get to your marshmallows,’ he said with a smile.
Effie’s face flushed.
‘But also, you’re right, you haven’t seen all my photos. Do you want to come over later and help me decide?’
‘Me? I don’t know anything about what makes a good photo,’ she protested.
‘I just need a second opinion. I’ll cook for you. I make a great Thai curry.’
‘Ooh that’s one of my favourites.’
‘So that’s a yes?’
Effie finished her drink ‘It is a yes.’
Chapter Thirty-Two
Effie agonised over what to wear for her date with Jake. Hang on, it wasn’t a date. Was it? Probably better not to treat it as one, she decided, as she compared two of her favourite tops before choosing the comfiest. After all, Jake had seen her fresh from the sea, hair wild and wrapped in an old towel, so did it matter what she wore? No. Also, he was still lacking commitment to staying in Polcarrow. Plus, there was the small matter of him being on a break from Tara. She really didn’t want to have to mend her heart when he decided to carry on chasing new horizons. Friends, she reminded herself, pushing down the bubbles of happiness that always rose up when she thought of him.
Effie slipped on her shoes, took the bottle of wine she’d had chilling in her fridge and let herself out of the flat. The evening light lay low and slumberous across the sea as she made her way round to the back of Lola’s café and up the staircase to Jake’s flat. She paused before knocking on the door. Music was turned down and her heart rate leapt as footsteps made their way over to the door. Jake pulled it open.
‘Good evening.’ A smile spread across his face.
‘Good evening,’ Effie said, a sudden shyness taking over as she stood on the threshold of his home. Even though Jake had been in her flat, setting foot in his felt strangely intimate, as if it could reveal a whole new layer of him. ‘I brought this.’ She offered the wine.
‘Brilliant, come in.’ Jake pulled the door back and made space for her.
Effie stepped inside and removed her shoes, despite Jake telling her she didn’t need to. ‘I feel weird wearing my outdoor shoes in the house,’ she told him, ‘Anyway, if I end up on your sofa, I like to tuck myself up.’
Jake gave her a look as he processed her long explanation. Their eyes caught and it was as if all the air was sucked from the room.
‘Sorry, I’m sure you didn’t need to know all that,’ she said as she cast her eyes around the small, sparsely furnished flat.
It dawned on her that she wasn’t going to uncover anything new about Jake from his living space. The décor didn’t give away much of his personality, but the lack of belongings screamed a lack of permanence. Effie’s heart sank. She’d tried to kid herself that he’d choose Polcarrow, and maybe even choose her, but the emptiness of his flat was a sobering truth. Out on the seafront when the sea breeze wrapped their worlds together, anything felt possible, but standing in the stark reality of Jake’s flat, Effie realised he had been honest when he said he might just be passing through. She had to believe him, not her hopes.
‘No, I like hearing all these little bits from you,’ he said. ‘Do you want a glass of this now?’ He signalled to the wine. ‘Or with dinner?’
‘Maybe a little now,’ she said, hoping it’d soothe her nerves.
Jake disappeared into the kitchen and Effie made her way over to the window with the sea view. She watched the gulls strutting on the harbour wall before turning around to study the living room. Jake had made some effort to create a cosy ambience. A red throw over the arm of the sofa, a couple of matching cushions arranged neatly, a coffee table with a lone plant in the middle. Gentle music wafted from the sound system and the lamps were on low. A couple of candles flickered on the half-filled bookshelves. Effie crossed over to them. There were a few sudoku puzzle books, some photography journals and a games console. Jake returned and passed her a glass of wine.
‘Cheers.’ He held his out to her. ‘I’m embarrassed there’s no actual books there.’
‘Cheers.’ Effie chinked her glass against his and then took a sip. It was sharp and crisp, exactly how she liked her wine. She took a longer swallow. ‘I’m not judging.’ She winked. ‘You’ve really not been here long, have you?’
‘Yeah, it is a bit sparse,’ Jake laughed. ‘A couple of months now. My parents weren’t exactly expecting Jase or me to ever move home and you know, living at home at thirty doesn’t feel very cool. I was sleeping on the sofa feeling like an intruder when I heard this flat was going free. Did you know Angelo used to live here?’
‘Really?’
‘Yep. When he arrived last summer, fleeing some drama back in London.’
