His eyes light up as he spots the waiter walking over towards us, our first two cocktails perched on his tray. Before he arrives, Nigel quickly pushes the menu back towards me.
‘Pick your second drink. We’ve clearly got lots to get into.’
. . .a change of plan
I tap my key card against the sensor and slump against the door as I wait impatiently for the beep. I want to be off my feet. I want to be out of this dress. I want to decompress from a day of non-stop socialising. The beep finally sounds and I turn the handle, pushing at the door with the entirety of my body weight.
‘You’re back early.’
I startle at the sight of Noah, peacefully folding clothes cross-legged on his bed.
‘Was the date that bad?’ he asks, trying to hide his glee.
‘The date was lovely, actually. But we are definitely just meant to be friends,’ I say.
I make my way to my bed and turn to find him gawking at me.
‘But it wasNigel! Perfect Nigel from uni, who felt likefate!’ He gasps in shock, clutching his hand to his chest.
I roll my eyes at the melodrama and force back the laugh that threatens to leave my mouth. It’s funny how sure I was that Nigel was this big sign, and how quickly I took that sign and threw it back at the boy across from me.
‘Perfect Nigel and I are pretty perfect friends and today proved that once and for all.’
He sits up straighter, his smile dropping. ‘Perfectfriends? More perfect than you and me?’
My lip curls at his worry. ‘You have a real jealous streak,’ I say jokingly.
‘Only for you.’ He says this too quickly.
I feel my heart hop and immediately look away in panic. I need him to leave. I need him to be out of my space so I can start my self-imposed feeling-cleansing ritual.
‘You should be leaving for your date soon, right? Love you and all, but after today I need to be horizontal and non-verbal with no one around to judge me,’ I say.
His expression shifts, the once engaged happiness falling to something far more neutral. I lean closer.
‘She cancelled.’ He tries to say it lightly, but the words fall like lead to the floor.
‘Oh.’
I try to match his tone but as he looks over, I can tell he caught the pity in that single syllable. He shrugs.
‘It’s fine, I barely knew her.’
But his nonchalance doesn’t fool me one bit. He was excited. I could tell by the way his eyes lit up when he was describing the date to me. It made me sick.
‘Did she have a good reason?’ I ask.
His eyes drop yet again. ‘I was a little late by the time I got back from dropping you off. She waited twenty minutes and decided that was enough. Didn’t see her messages till I got there myself.’
My heart sinks. ‘I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have got you involved. This wasmymission, not yours, and now I’ve messed things up...’
He shrugs dejectedly. ‘Don’t apologise, I involved myself. I just should have managed my time better.’
‘But if I hadn’t ended up outside the city...’ I don’t even know what to say.
‘Ilikedour little adventure. It is fine; I barely knew her. Plus, it gave me plenty of time to return the scooter and avoid a pretty hefty fine,’ he says.
I glance across the room and spot picnic supplies spilling from his open backpack. He’d been shopping and planning. He wasdefinitely excited, as much as he seems to want to hide it now. And it’s all my fault for sweeping him up into my nonsense when he’s supposed to be focusing on his own task at hand. My stomach stirs at the notion. Misplaced feelings aside, I have to fix this or at least boost his mood a little.
