‘Wow, twice in one afternoon. What have you been feeding him?’ Alice has shot up from our spot on the grass, stepping away from the scent of Tiny’s butt and wrinkling her nose. Can’t blame her.
‘Bloody Raff,’ I huff. ‘He did this last time I dog-sat. Gave Tiny loads of food before he left so now he’s all, um … you know. Raff has a hard time accepting that I’m thirty-two years old and fully capable of looking after his beloved dog. It doesn’t matter that I have gainful employment and a house of my own, I will always be a little kid to him.’
‘Aw, that’s kind of sad.’
‘Nah, that’s just him being a big brother. He’s been looking after me all his life and it’s kind of hard-wired now. Speaking of which, we should probably head back and get this mutt in the tub before long.’
‘He is filthy,’ Alice laughs as Tiny finds another patch of mud to roll in.
‘This is quite an intense work-out,’ Alice puffs, folding over and resting her hands on her knees. ‘I’m pretty sure we’ve got our steps in for the day already. Not that I check my steps any more. I read once that 10,000 steps a day is what you should aim for, which is a lot, and for a while I ended up doing laps of my house before bed to make sure I hit the target.’
‘That’s commitment.’
‘I know! So now I try not to look because no one wants to be running up and down their stairs ten times before bed. It was a very sweaty time for me.’
I laugh. ‘So you’re competitive, huh?’
‘Very,’ she nods. ‘Race you to that tree?’
And she’s off.
Tiny is thrilled. He bounds along in pursuit.
‘You win, you win,’ I hold my hands up as I pull up next to her.
Alice beams. ‘How about you? Competitive too?’
‘With myself, yes. I always want to do the best I can at work, and I try and smash my own PBs when I’m running or climbing.’
‘You’re full of surprises, Zach. I had you down as the kind of guy who survived on black coffee and eggs, and maybe spent his spare time reading intense literature or listening to some old records on your vintage record player.’
‘Why’s that? Because I’m an artist?’
‘Well, yeah,’ she admits, looking sheepish.
‘It sounds like you have seriously stereotyped me,’ I reply with a stern look. To be honest, I’m just happy she’s been thinking about me full stop.
‘And yet here we are getting sunshine and fresh air!’ She teases.
‘You make it sound like you thought I was a vampire or something,’ I laugh.
‘Not quite a vampire but definitely a fan of intense films and maybe, like, jazz?’
‘You’re killing me here! First you take down my art and now you’re making sweeping assumptions about my character. I mean, I know I wear a lot of black but …’
‘I’m sorry,’ Alice grins, reaching her fingers around my bicep. ‘I’m sort of teasing. You do strike me as a bit of an enigma, though. Brooding and a bit intense but also into sunshine and Point Romances.’
‘I was hoping you’d forget about my teenage literary choices.’
‘Never,’ she laughs. ‘It’s all part of your charm.’
She thinks I’m charming? My heart starts beating faster and I can already feel myself getting carried away.
‘So you’re pleased you came, then?’ I ask.
‘Very,’ she smiles.
My next sentence tumbles out before I have a chance to check myself.
