CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DATE 5: Charlie the Courageous
Ever wondered how long it takes to develop major regrets about a date you’ve agreed to go on? I can tell you that it is precisely four hours and eighteen minutes.
Four hours and eighteen minutes ago, I was feeling happy-ish about this weekend. I’d got my outfits sorted (borrowed from Mila) and I’d chosen earrings to match. I’d blocked all fears about the type of guy I’d be meeting from my mind. I’d painted my nails and was standing at King’s Cross with a book bag filled with treats for the journey. Ahead of me stretched a blissful four hours, in which I’d probably spend an hour admiring the new photos from Switzerland and the London sunset I’ve added to my website, an hour catching up on that drama everyone’s banging on about, an hour eating snacks and an hour putting on some date make-up. It sounded perfect!
Only, I quickly established that the wifi was down, my snacks took all of seven minutes to eat and every single item of make-up I own can be on my face in under fifteen mins. All in, this led to my busy mind’s worse nightmare. . . nothing to do but think.
Maje regrets about this weekend. WTF am I doing?I message the group Whatsapp Mum set up straight after our chat the other day. She’s called itJasmine’s love lifeand added the heart-eyes emoji at the end, which is both cuteandmaking me despair a bit.
You’re going to Edinburgh for a break and a date.Mila likes to state the obvious.
Yes exactly. Edinburgh is far and I’ve never been before and surely this is not a sensible move? What if he’s a murderer?
He’s Tiger’s nephew, Jasmine. He’s a trainee architect, which is why he couldn’t afford to come down to London to see you. And don’t be so ridiculous.That one was Mum.
You tell her, Linda! Now go have fun.
Humph.Just when I’m wondering if I can jump off at the next stop and hitch a ride back to London, the tannoy announces that our final destination is coming up and all too soon I’m stretching my legs out on Edinburgh soil.
I once read that it only takes you seven seconds to make your mind up on a date. SEVEN SECONDS. That means that you know if there’s any potential before you’ve even ordered a drink. I couldn’t tell you if Charlie and I will be jumping into his bed later on tonight but he is definitely easy on the eye. He looks like a sexy librarian. . . dark hair falling over his eyes, glasses framing his face and very impressive eyebrows. He came to meet me at the station and handed me a bunch of flowers, which was so incredibly sweet that I had to struggle not to waffle on about how I haven’t had flowers from a boy in forever.
Right now I’m surreptitiously licking at the ice cream melting its way down the cone and onto my fingers. ‘This is awkward.’
‘Mine’s doing exactly the same,’ Charlie replies, waving sticky fingers at me.
‘No!’ I laugh. ‘Though bonus points to you for being a messy eater.’
‘I’m already into bonus points? That’s an impressive start if I do say so myself,’ he grins, eyes lighting up.
‘What I meant was, this trip is awkward. I spent a good portion of the train journey panicking that you’d think I was desperate for coming all the way up to Edinburgh for a date with a man I’d never even met before.’
‘You did? Because I spent this morning freaking out that you’d think I was weird for wanting to go on a date set up by my uncle and your mum.’
‘Oh hell yes, that too.’
‘Wait,so you do think I’m weird?’ he asks, handing me a tissue as the rum ’n’ raisin gets out of hand.
I think about this for a minute. ‘Actually no.’
‘That pause before you answered really was reassuring,’ Charlie takes a bite of his cone.
‘Honestly, I worried you’d be really into all the things my mum likes – like naked yoga and pickling – which are fine for mums but not so much for dates, you know?’
‘And now?’
‘I’m very relieved,’ I grin as we walk over a bridge in this beautiful city.
‘Me too. I thought you might step off the train in a jumper you’d knitted for yourself using hemp.’
‘Ohmygod, that’s exactly what I said you’d be like!’
‘Ah, so we do have things in common. I’ve got some things in mind for us for the rest of the afternoon, if you fancy it?’
I tell you what I do fancy, and that’s the hot geek I’ve come to meet. Cute date. Beauts city. Let’s go, weekend!
Our whistle stop tour of Edinburgh has so far including a stampede through the castle, a gawp at some stunning old architecture and a climb up so many steep streets that I’ll probably wake up with the ass of a Kardashian tomorrow morning. Now we’re at a crossroads.
