Am I something different?
I grin like an idiot. ‘Yeah, it’s been fun. And incredibly informative.’
‘You enjoying all the facts then?’
I nod. ‘Yeah, I hate to break it to you, but I’m a bit of a nerd.’
‘I did suspect that was the case, like. But you’re all right for a nerd.’
‘Why, thank you.’ I gaze at a projection of a man hammering a nail in the ship. ‘Someone in our family worked on theTitanic, you know.’
‘No way! What did he do?’
I point at the projection. ‘That. He was a riveter.’
‘So…’ Paul looks at me seriously. ‘Do you think it was his fault it sank?’
‘Oh my God!’ I nearly choke laughing and he joins in.
‘You’re good to hang out with,’ he says, and my head spins.
‘Who, me?’
Smooth.
‘Of course. You’re good craic.’
I drum my fingers on the rail of the car. ‘Cheers, you too.’
The silence between us feels comfortable then. Well, it’s not entirely silent. The voice of the narration is really loud and the sound effects of hammering are bouncing all around us, but this is nice. For the rest of the ride I let myself daydream that we’re together. A couple on a date, totally normal and comfortable with ourselves. Maybe people would look at us and think we’re cute. Wewouldbe cute.
I steal one more smile with Paul as the ride comes to an end, but then we hear Cormac shouting at us and he shifts to make space between us, breaking the spell. Meg has an eyebrow raised. I shake my head the tiniest bit, then we climb off the ride and back to reality.
‘What you all doing later?’ says Cormac.
‘No plans.’ Paul looks sideways at me. ‘Well, meeting Ellen after this, actually.’ My stomach drops. ‘But we could have a meet-up at mine later, if you’re up for it?’
I’m up for it.
Meg clears her throat and we share a look. ‘Oh, sorry. We’re going to develop some photos, right?’
‘Oh yeah. Big exciting night for us,’ she says.
Cormac throws an arm around us both. ‘Come on. You know I dig your whole arty, studious vibe but, like, also wise the fuck up and come out tonight.’
I feel Paul’s eyes on me.
‘Maybe after we get the photos done?’ I say.
Meg pats my arm. ‘You’re the boss.’
‘Nice one,’ says Paul. ‘I’ll let Ellen know.’ He turns away to text her and the bubble of the last hour bursts. I can’t believe I let myself get carried away like that. It’s time for boundaries. I take out my phone and message Ben.
That chat was fun…
Or at least time for a different distraction.
‘You OK?’ mouths Meg.
