Page 52 of It Was Always You

She held her stomach and made a squeaking noise as she laughed. ‘A… a man! Oh shit, I need to pee.’ She scurried out and headed for the bathroom.

He was overreacting, but then again, she couldn’t really blame him. It was a little unfair of her to do this to him without his knowledge, never mind expecting him to go through with it. All that said, he had agreed, albeit reluctantly. Perhaps he was ready to get back in the saddle, so to speak. She was only in the country every few months now, and so she had to do something. She had come to terms with the fact, sort of, that she could never have him herself, but she wanted more than anything to see him happy. Maybe if she had some control over who he was happy with…

She returned to the bedroom where Adam sat on the bed. He was leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees. He was wearing black jeans and a black shirt, open at the neck. His grey jacket gave a smart image, but the lack of tie added a casual edge.

‘Right, you. Get on. She’ll be outside the pub at eight. I’ll call you at half past and if it’s a no go… Well, you know the drill.’ She had even recommended the place for them to meet at. In her own opinion she was a bloody good friend. It was a shame that Adam didn’t agree at that present moment.

Adam reluctantly walked towards the pub, cursing Lily under his breath. There was a woman waiting outside. As he approached her, he saw her eyes narrow and her lip curl.

Oh, great. That’s a bloody good start.

‘Are you Adam?’ she asked as he got closer.

‘Yes, I am. Milly?’

She smiled and held out her hand. ‘That’s me.’ She snorted. ‘I couldn’t see what you looked like until you were in front of me. I usually wear specs, but I didn’t put them on tonight. You know, I wanted to make a good impression.’ She snorted again.

He was a little befuddled. ‘Why? Is that because bespectacled people are all bad?’ he said dryly.

Milly snorted again and smacked his arm. ‘Oh, hilarious! I can see you’re going to keep me entertained.’

He forced a smile. She was quite pretty really. But there was no spark. And that snort… Well, that was akin to nails down a chalkboard. He held the door open for her. God, if you’re listening, please let Lily ring on time.

They walked inside but the place was busy so they ended up sitting on a couple of stools at the bar.

‘So, Adam, what do you do?’

Lily had told her exactly what he did for a living on the profile that she had created. Had Milly even bothered to read the damn thing?

He cleared his throat. ‘I teach English in high school.’

Another snort. ‘Oh, yes! Of course you do! Silly me.’ Good grief, she could give Peppa Pig a run for her money. ‘I hate kids, personally. Horrible little swines, they are.’

He felt like he was in hell. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. Great. Another twenty minutes to endure until Lily was due to ring.

‘Well, I’ll just go to the little girls’ room,’ Milly informed him. ‘I need to make room for the nice bottle of wine I’m sure you’ll be buying us.’ And yes, there it was… the snort… again.

He nodded frantically. ‘Well, I’m driving actually, but yes… yes, that’s fine… take your time.’ He smiled. Once she was gone, he grabbed his phone out and dialled Lily. She answered breezily after one ring.

He growled at her down the phone. ‘I’m going to kill you.’

‘Well, I hope this is Adam because if not, I’ll be reporting whoever you are to the police.’ She sniggered.

‘She’s gone to the toilet, so get me the feck out of here… now. I can’t spend another second in the company of this kid-hating porcine-impersonating woman!’

‘Yikes… that good, eh?’

‘She snorts, Lil. She snorts a lot.’ He could hear Lily laughing at the other end of the phone. It only served to make him more cross.

‘Oh dear, that doesn’t sound good, Adders.’

He glanced up and saw Milly making her way back to the bar, he had to think on his feet. ‘Oh no, what a shame. Of course, I’ll be right there.’ He feigned disappointment.

Lily sniggered. ‘Is she back?’

Glancing briefly up at his date he said, ‘Yes, yes, that’s right. Isn’t it terrible?’

Lily continued to laugh. ‘Has she snorted at you again yet?’