‘Oh really, is that what you’re thinking?’ He waggles his eyebrows and there is a bit of me, a lot of me, that is loving this flirtation. The man is con-fi-dent! Then he sharply changes his tone. ‘Mind you, you’d need three jobs just to cover the fees here alone.’
It’s true. The lido is a little expensive but so worth it if you are a daily swimmer like me.
‘See, I have no choice. If I want to sauna in style, I have to assassinate two or three people a month.’
‘Hm, must be tough. I guess I’m ridiculously lucky in that case.’
‘Oh yeah, you don’t need to kill people to get in?’ I’m itching to ask what he does professionally but seeing as it’s never a question I answer honestly it seems a bit unfair to enquire.
‘No, I mean, again this sounds like something I shouldn’t admit to...’ he says and I start to giggle. I cannot even begin to imagine what else he may share. ‘But seeing as you heard worse last week, I am not ashamed... all right, I’m slightly ashamed... that at the ripe old age of thirty, my parents signed their membership over to my sister and me whilst they are travelling for six months. They’re doing a world tour to celebrate their fortieth wedding anniversary and because they’ve been members for years, they were allowed to transfer membership to us until they get back.’
‘Okay,’ I nod nonchalantly, but does this mean hissisterwas who he was with last week? What a win.
Just be bold, ask, the door is open.
‘So was it your sister you were meeting here last week?’ I say, trying not to let my interest shape my tone too much.
‘Yep, Cassie, she’s a few years younger than me and I don’t get to see her as much as I’d like so it was a bit of a treat to spend some time with her. That’s why I hot-footed it out the door when she appeared.’
‘Ahh, I see. That was kind of the lido to transfer the membership over. I suppose you can bring your partner as a guest?’ Outrageous fishing expedition right there but now I knew that he wasn’t dating the woman I’d seen him withandthat he wasn’t going to be a member here for life, I am even more interested than before.
Plus we’ve been sat here talking for a while and at no point yet have I spotted anything scarily off with his personality and, let’s face it, I am a professional. So far l have discovered he is a very sexually attractive man, has a sense of humour that is akin to my own and values close family bonds. If my reading is right and he is single and not looking for anything serious, he could be very tempting indeed.
He smirks at me, as if he knows exactly what I am asking.
‘Right, I could, I suppose –’ he draws out the word, his eyes dancing with mischief, and I find that I can’t pull my own eyes away ‘– but I am very much single, now and um –’ he pauses ‘– for the foreseeable future.’
That’s an odd way to finish that sentence, but he is quite clearly letting me know that he is free, available and has no intention of forming a relationship in his immediate future.
This is good. Do I dare break my sacrosanct lido rule here? For the first time ever, it seems safe. I am constantly telling my clients that confidence is attractive, that there is nothing,nothingfoolish about putting yourself out there and asking for a date. The very worst that can happen is a knock-back but the majority of people are immensely flattered to be asked and often quite relieved that they aren’t the ones having to do the asking. I believe in what I say and usually have no problem putting it into action.
But right now, I’m not feeling fully on my game. There’s something about sitting in nothing but a swimsuit that strips you back. My hair is scraped into a tight bun for swimming, I am make-up free, my swimsuit is functional, plain black. It gets me through the water efficiently and is the only item in my wardrobe deliberately picked to be as sexless as possible.
I am completely without any of my normal power tools.
I dig down deep. What have I to lose here?
‘Well, in that case –’ I try and give him my most seductive glance and lean in ‘– you know I don’t even know your name and I do know quite a lot of things about you at this point.’
He leans back and looks at me measuringly. I see a glimmer in his eyes that says he knows what’s coming. He doesn’t look unreceptive, but I can feel my tummy flipping as if it is full of jumping beans.
‘You do. You’re right, that seems kind of wrong. I’m Jay.’ He leans forward and reaches his hand out and we keep our eyes on each other. I move towards him and shake his hand, and the strength of his grip, the way his sinews ripple, makes me feel a little faint.
‘Lily.’ I manage to name myself without melting into a lust-caused puddle.
‘Pleased to meet you, Lily.’
‘The pleasure is all mine, Jay.’ Urgghh! I sound like some kind of sleazy Bond Villain, welcoming him to my lair. I may as well steeple my fingers, bouncing them off each other, and crouch over like Mr Burns at his most scheming. I burst out laughing at myself. ‘I’m sorry that sounded so sleazy.’
‘Haha, it definitely would have if I had said it,’ he admitted. ‘You’re off the hook though, and honestly I’m interested to see where you go next.’
‘Ah well, that I can reveal.’ Bollocks to my lido policy, this man is fine with what I am about to suggest, it’s oozing out of every pore. Not only was I practically weaned onCosmopolitanarticles but I am an expert on this sort of thing, an actual professor. And so far this man has created a bond of intimacy on our first meeting and now assures me he is single and keen to hear what my possibly sleazy suggestion is going to be. I am golden here, all the signs are pointing at go. I take a deep breath, nerves mingling with anticipation. ‘I was wondering if you fancied going for a drink one night?’
Chapter Nine
Jay
Lily sits across from me at the very top of the sauna, waiting for my answer. She has the most amazing eyes. They spark with a mischief that I find ridiculously attractive, that speak to her character. There is a long-standing lido joke – I didn’t recognise you with your clothes on – which Malcolm and Sue say every time they bump into someone outside of the pool. But sitting here with Lily I really like the fact that we are getting to know each other, striking up a friendship without the normal social indicators you would use to prejudge somebody – dress, presentation and so forth. It makes it feel like you are getting to know a person rather than just what they are trying to represent.
