‘I’d like that,’ Dan said. ‘I’m not sure what weekends I’m down to work, though. Could you send me the date and I’ll have a look and let you know?’ If he got cold feet he could use work as an excuse. He didn’t think he would, though.
* * *
Dan slapped aftershave on and then laughed at himself in his bathroom mirror. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d shaved any time other than first thing in the morning. Normally, he took the view that if he was stubbly, he was stubbly.
Seeing Evie today felt special, though, like they were both acknowledging that they had a relationship and it could be going somewhere.
It was Wednesday evening, ten days since their cinema trip. They’d squeezed a coffee in, just outside Earl’s Court station, on Sunday morning, but other than that hadn’t managed to see each other, and they couldn’t find a weekend time that they were both free for the next week and a half. This evening, though, they were both free, and they’d planned to catch the end of the day at a funfair currently on Wimbledon Common, and then go for dinner at a nearby pub that Zubin had recommended.
Just over an hour later, they were wandering hand in hand around the funfair.
‘Okay,’ said Evie, ‘we don’t have much time, so we need to prioritise. Ilovedodgems and, if I’m honest, I’ll be disappointed if we don’t do them.’
Dan nodded. ‘Good call. I love a dodgem too. Also the shooting range.’
‘Okay. I’m rubbish but I don’t mind having a go.’
‘That’s good news for me. If I say so myself, I’m not bad, so I’ll be able to strut some macho impressing-the-ladies stuff.’
‘I will prepare to be duly impressed. Dodgems first? In case you win lots of stuff on the shooting range and it won’t fit in the cars with us?’
Fifteen minutes later, Evie had just rammed two teenage boys, hard, for the umpteenth time, and was cackling away like a woman possessed.
‘You’re ademonat the wheel,’ Dan said, impressed, as their cars bumped together and they were momentarily halted next to each other at the side.
‘I know,’ she said happily. ‘Honestly, I was never like this before I started driving in London, but now I’ve started I can’t stop. Next time I get in my actual car I’m going to have to remind myself that it isn’t a dodgem. Anyway. Move. You’re cramping my bumping style.’
At the end of their go, they got out of their cars, both staggering slightly.
‘That’s quite high impact,’ said Dan.
‘It is. Good job we’re just going to be standing still shooting now. Time to recover. You’ll have to show me how to do it.’ Evie smiled at him and he felt it right to his stomach. He put his hand out and she put hers into his. They fitted perfectly together, like a jigsaw.
They also fitted together perfectly when he stood behind Evie and reached round her to show her how to use the air rifle. She wriggled slightly against him as they adjusted her hold andGodthat felt – he hoped – like a promise of things to come tonight.
He really needed to get a grip, otherwise he’d literally be panting right here in the middle of a fairground.
He leaned down and planted a kiss on the back of her neck and she wriggled even more.
‘Porn,’ yelled one of the boys that Evie had been ramming on the dodgems. Fair enough.
‘Right,’ Dan said to Evie. ‘You ready?’
‘I think so. You go first, show me how it’s done.’
Dan did pretty well actually. Out of three shots he had two near misses and with the third won a mid-sized teddy, which Katie would definitely love.
‘Wow,’ said Evie. ‘You’re amazing.’ Dan tried really hard not to preen like a peacock. ‘Okay. My go.’ She screwed her face up adorably, took aim and, squeaking as she did so, fired, and then closed her eyes.
‘Evie!’ Dan said. ‘No way! Amazing.’ She’d won the biggest teddy they had, which was genuinely not much smaller than her.
She opened her eyes and started jumping up and down, saying, ‘Wow.’
The stall owner was looking part-annoyed, part-stunned. ‘That’s incredible,’ he said.
‘Talk about beginner’s luck,’ said Evie, when she’d finished jumping. ‘Okay, I’m going again.’
On her second attempt she hit the second biggest teddy and on her third attempt she didn’t bother with all the face-screwing-up and squeaking and just laughed and narrowed her eyes and shot the third biggest teddy.
