‘We could climb Arthur’s Seat,’ suggests my date.
‘That sounds fun! Where is it?’
Charlie points to a looming megalith in the distance.
‘Um,how long will that take?’ I ask, butt cheeks already twinging.
‘A couple of hours,’ says Charlie. ‘Or, option two, we could go try some whisky.’
You bet your ass my mouth is on fire. It feels like I’ve just swallowed two burning lumps of charcoal as they make their way down my oesophagus. I’m in a bar in Scotland with a man who is relishing his whisky – Charlie’s cradling his tumbler and talking about wood and oak – but I can’t pretend I’m enjoying this hellfire beverage.
The conversation, on the other hand, is going SO well! I’ve just given Charlie a very brief round-up of my dating history and now he’s telling me about his ex (in the kind of way that makes me feel a part of his life, not like he’s still obsessed with her, thankfully).
‘We were away with friends for the New Year when we decided that it wasn’t working, which was tough,’ he’s saying. Every so often he takes his glasses off and cleans them on a napkin, which I find adorable. ‘We were from the same friendship group initially and so as well as dealing with the breakup, we were worried about what effect it would have on our group.’
‘In what way?’
‘Well, even though it was a friendly split we didn’t really want to be seeing lots of each other at the start. You know how it is, you just need time to readjust. And we didn’t want our mates to feel like they had to choose between us. That was actually one of the reasons why it took us so long to admit our feelings for each other in the first place.’
Gulp. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to get Ben out of my head.
‘Are you glad you did, though?’
‘Ohfor sure, I have no regrets. And things are so much easier now. Are you okay?’ I realise my face is still scrunched up. ‘Sorry. I hope you don’t think I’m talking about my ex too much. We are one hundred per cent just friends again now.’
‘No, not at all.’ I’m actually smitten with how open and honest he’s being. ‘It’s interesting to hear your story. Also, now that I think about it, most of the guys I’ve dated haven’t had much experience with long term relationships.’
‘Oh really? Relationships can be the best.’
This guy is SO cute! He loves relationships! He’s not afraid to be honest on a date! The more we chat, the more I want to get to know Charlie. He has interesting stories to tell and he wants to hear mine, too. Feeling bold, I say, ‘I’m so glad I came up to Edinburgh. This is way out of my comfort zone but I’m having a great time.’
‘I’m having a lot of fun too. You’re awesome to hang out with.’
‘Am I? Because I just spat a tiny bit of whisky back into the tumbler.’
‘Yeah, I saw. Shall we maybe get you a different drink?’
‘Oh please god yes. This stuff is so strong! I think you need to be a proper adult to like neat whisky and I’m not there yet. Though sometimes I take my coffee black and don’t even wince.’
‘I like to browse the cheese counter in my local deli,’ offers Charlie.
‘I have a home interiors mood board on Pinterest even though I am so far from being able to spend £40 on a cushion.’
‘I’ve started to appreciate blossom,’ he laughs.
‘I can only understand half of what teenagers say.’
‘Give me a spreadsheet and I will be able to input some very basic maths.’
‘Oohfancy, I’m not there yet,’ I hoot. ‘But I did attempt a tiny bit of code the other day and didn’t cry.’
‘Impressive. I just tried Radio Six for the first time.’
‘I own two types of olive oil, one for cooking and one for salads.’
‘I prefer Earl Grey to English Breakfast.’
‘Oh no. Now you’ve gone too far,’ I say, leaning back in mock horror. My date is beaming back at me and I love how I can ramble on to Charlie without feeling the tiniest bit self-conscious. I bet he wouldn’t give a monkeys if I confessed that I don’t own one single set of matching lingerie, a secret I used to keep for as long as possible from my old type. Not that Charlie is going to see my undies tonight, you guys. I’m still in the regrowth stage from bloody Heart-Shaped-Bikini-Wax gate and there is no way on earth I’m going to sharethatsituation with anyone other than that Hot Tom blip a while back. Particularly someone who I fancy.
