Page 70 of It Was Always You

She took a deep breath. ‘No, no, I think you’ve made it clear that it’s just friendship, but now you probably don’t want to see me again after this.’ She looked down at her lap. Just then the waiter brought their meals to the table.

When the waiter left, Jessica slowly lifted her gaze to meet Adam’s. ‘I’m right, aren’t I?’

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, then opened his eyes and smiled. ‘I can understand your trepidation, but I do like you, so can we just start over?’

A pretty smile spread across her face and she sighed. ‘Sure. I’d really like that.’

At the end of the evening, they agreed to see each other after Jess’s girls’ holiday to Málaga and then they parted ways with a weird handshake.

Adam arrived home, exhausted, at half eleven. Jessica was lovely but she clearly came with baggage. But then again so did he.

He flopped onto the sofa and checked WhatsApp. No messages. He thought about it for a moment, but then decided against telling Lily the ins and outs of the date. It’d feel strange telling her that he was grilled about his relationship with her. And no doubt she’d tell him to ‘get rid of the nosy bint’. And anyway, she’d be home the following Saturday, so he would have plenty to tell her then.

His phone chirped in his pocket. Opening the message, he smiled to himself.

Hi, Adam, it’s Jess. Wanted to apologise again for the Spanish Inquisition. Even though I discovered this evening that you are a Monty Python fan, I’m not sure you expected it ;-) See you next week. Xx

He chuckled to himself. Okay… pretty… sweet… matching baggage and a sense of humour, too. This felt rather good, after all.

Jessica spent a week away on her girls’ holiday but kept in touch with Adam the whole time. They had some long conversations on WhatsApp, and he wondered what on earth her friends must think as she lay there on a sun lounger with her phone permanently clutched in her hand.

Don’t they think it’s strange that you keep texting me? Isn’t it spoiling your holiday?

Not at all. They are rather intrigued about the man who has finally captured my attention :-) Jess

I’ll bet they are. What have you told them?

He was rather intrigued to know. There was a long pause until he received her reply. He had almost given up hope of an answer when his phone chirped.

Have told them that I think perhaps we could make a go of this. Is that TMI?

Adam’s breath caught. Was it too much info? It wasn’t really what he was expecting to hear. He didn’t really know what he thought or felt about her. Their first meeting had been quite intense, and while he did find her attractive, he hadn’t really considered where it was going. But he had asked the question, after all, so only he was to blame for opening that can of worms. He hit reply.

No, that’s fine. Look I have to go out. Will message you later. Try to have some fun with your friends!

It was a lie that he had to go out. Okay, time to let this thing breathe. Too much, too soon, perhaps. He threw his phone on the sofa and switched on the TV. She would be back at the weekend, but it would be too late for them to meet up, and so the next possible time for him to see Jessica would be over a week from now. Plenty of time to let her think about the implications of what she had said. Plenty of time for him to get his head around the idea that she clearly thought this was going somewhere.

No pressure. None. None at all. Hmm.

TRACK 29

‘LANDSLIDE’ (FLEETWOOD MAC)

October 2024

Jessica had contacted Adam on the Monday after she had arrived back in the UK from her holiday. She seemed keen to meet up with him again and they arranged a second date. Adam invited her to come for dinner. He had always enjoyed cooking and had wowed Eve on more than one occasion with his culinary delights. He felt confident that cooking Jessica a nice meal was a good plan. Also, he thought that being on his own turf might ease the anxiety he felt at seeing her again.

He liked Jess. She was pretty and had a nice enough figure, if a little thin. She was intelligent and they seemed to have a fair bit in common. The only stumbling block seemed to be Lily.

Jessica continued to ask a lot of questions about her, and his reassurances, while they seemed to work initially, had been failing a little in the build-up to the second date. Her questions had been less subtle and more frequent. Hence the anxiety. He didn’t feel like explaining his relationship with Lily to this woman every time they met. If a relationship became such hard work, then surely it wasn’t worth pursuing?

Everything was prepared. Jessica would be here at seven thirty, and so Adam ran up the stairs to shower and dress for her arrival. Now that he had thought about it more, he realised it felt strange inviting a woman here. It was something he hadn’t envisaged himself doing, but it felt like the best thing. He needed to be at home. Perhaps Eve would be there, in spirit, to give him strength.

He stopped, mid-scrub, as that particular errant thought preyed on his mind. What would Eve think of all this? Of course it was a moot point really, but what if she was still able to watch over him? Would she be angry? Upset? Would she feel betrayed that he was trying to move on with his life after only two years?

Sometimes he swore he could smell her perfume wafting by him, and he would close his eyes to capture the moment; to try to feel her presence. But these moments were fleeting. Clinging to a ghost was not how he wanted to spend his life. Eve was gone.

Just after seven thirty, the anticipated knock at the door came. He checked his reflection in the mirror over the fireplace. His hair was getting a little long and unruly but he kind of liked it. He had shaved and dressed in a grey T-shirt and jeans as Lily had suggested.