He gave that little chuckle and another glance, this time accompanied by a smile, ‘Yeah, sorry about that. I panicked. And you were just… there.’
‘Much to her displeasure.’
‘She’ll get over it.’
‘Not until she gets over you. Or under you. Probably both.’
He gave a little head-shake.
I grinned. ‘Bloody hell, Charlie. You saw her, right? Most blokes would be tripping over themselves to get that sort of attention.’
‘She’s not my type.’
‘Does it matter? I don’t think she’s looking for a long-term thing here.’
‘Of course it matters. And she might not be, but I am.’
‘Oh.’ I pondered on that for a bit. ‘So, you wouldn’t have a one-night stand?’
A small sigh escaped his lips. ‘It’s a good job I know you’re just nosy. You ought to be careful though. Some people might think you’re offering.’ He slid a glance to me momentarily, before switching his eyes back to the road.
‘Yes, but you know I’m not.’
Charlie gave a nod as we rolled to a stop at a red light. ‘I take it you’re feeling a little better.’
I held up my hand and made a side to side tilting motion, indicating that things could easily go either way.
‘It’s just that most people aren’t all that talkative when they’re hungover.’ The light changed and he pulled away. He didn’t rev or floor it, but the burbling engine and throaty exhaust still caused a few pedestrians to glance round and cast their eyes over the sleek machine. ‘You appear to be the exception.’
‘Are you thinking back to a time when your Sunday mornings were peaceful and easy?’ I said, picking up on his comment yesterday about his Saturday afternoons.
He smiled, his eyes fixed on the road.
‘Yes.’
I tilted my head at him. ‘And?’
‘And they were quieter,’ he said.
I made a mock-offended huff noise and looked out of the window.
‘Quieter. But much more dull.’
I didn’t turn my head but my smile got wider.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked as Charlie took the turn for the marina. ‘I thought we were going for this magical hangover breakfast cure. I sincerely hope you’re not expecting me to cook it for you in this state.’
Charlie laughed. ‘No. I most certainly wasn’t. I just thought you might like to change clothes. Then we can go and find some food.’
‘Ahh. You can be really sweet when you want to be, can’t you?’
Charlie looked across at me as we waited at the next set of lights. Below us to the left, the marina stretched out, and beyond it the sea. Sharp darts of sunlight flashed on the masts and the sea beckoned, blue and inviting.
‘When I want to be?’
‘Figure of speech. You’re actually always sweet.’
‘Great. We’re back to sweet again.’
