‘Espresso martinis and three baby Guinness?’ The waiter appeared with the drinks I’d ordered, thirty seconds after the last person left.
Kat looked up at him in wonder, and then across at me. ‘How are you always one step ahead?’
I smiled. ‘A little debrief cocktail, now that everyone has gone.’
‘Love it,’ Sara said, taking a mouthful of her martini, then coughing in shock. ‘It’s strong.’
‘Yes, wedoneed a debrief, don’t we? You first, Abi – how did your date with Stu go the other night?’ Kat asked.
‘Which one is Stu, again?’ Sara frowned. ‘I can’t keep up.’
‘The one I’ve been chatting to on Tinder for a couple of weeks,’ I replied. ‘It was fine. He looked like his photo, I know – absolute shocker – and for a bonus point, he was genuinely 6 ft tall.’ I pulled out my phone to show them both. Stu was a giant Labrador of a man. Tall, wide and blond, with freckly muscles and a posh, affable laugh. He’d given off strong farmer vibes, in his jeans and checked shirt, and looked like he’d know how to wrestle a sheep. ‘We went to Gordon’s Wine Bar, for a cheeky bottle of red. It was fun but he didn’t set my world on fire, you know? Maybe 7 out of 10. Your classic nice guy.’
‘Nothing wrong with a nice guy,’ Sara said. ‘Mark has been nice-guy-ing me into bed for the last three years.’ That was very true. Sara and Mark were two sides of the same coin with their matching red hair, freckled faces, and obsession with sailing. They’d met on a race around the Isle of Wight and been an instant match. So much so, that Mark had already consulted with me and Kat on engagement rings, and we were just waiting for him to pop the bloody question. It was constant torture keeping it a secret.
‘Mark is so much more than a nice guy. Stu just didn’t do it for me, I can’t put my finger on why.’
‘They never do though, Abs,’ Kat said, with a sympathetic look. ‘Are you going to go on a second date this century, do you think? Or at least get further than agoodbyekiss?’
‘Well… I have got some gossip to share, as it happens.’ Sara and Kat eyed each other, supping their martinis with glee. ‘You know I went on that spa day at The Langham?’
‘Don’t remind me, you lucky cow!’ Sara groaned.
‘Sounds like heaven,’ Kat chipped in.
‘I can’t lie – it was – and that wasbeforethis happened.’
They both leant forward.
‘I’d been pretty much on my own in there all day and it was home time, but I’d gone cold, so I stopped off in the sauna on my way back to the changing rooms. You know, to warm up.’
I had their full attention.
‘Yesss?’ Sara said, with an eyebrow.
‘And I met this guy in there called Pete.’
‘In the sauna?’ Kat asked, withtwoeyebrows.
‘Yes. He was staying at the hotel on business, and you know how these things can go sometimes.’
‘No. I have no idea how these things can go. Nothing has ever gone anywhere for me in a sauna,’ Sara said. ‘I can only manage about three minutes in one, with my asthma, let alone do anything else.’
‘Well, we ended up having a bit more than a sauna for a bit longer than three minutes and then a few drinks in the hotel bar.’
Kat and Sara’s eyes were shining as they clutched each other’s hands.
‘…and then I stayed with him overnight.’
They both screamed.
‘Whattt???’ Kat laughed.
‘Outrageous behaviour, Abi!’ Sara said, with a wicked smile.
I laughed. ‘It caught me off guard as well to be honest. I’m not really a one-night-stand type of girl, as you know, but he was so gorgeous, I couldn’t resist.’
‘Did you get a photo?’ Kat asked, her eyes on stalks, as I shook my head.
