Dylan puts his paddle down and takes one last swig of beer, catching my eye triumphantly.
‘We should probably go,’ he says. ‘See you soon, Pickle. Zach.’
I’m still hot from the game, patches of sweat blooming under my T-shirt and my head swirling with the effects of the beer.
Alice has sat back down at our table, her arms folded across her chest.
‘What was that all about?’ she asks.
In my hot, drunken, angry state I find myself unable to find the words to ease her worries and I already hate myself for it.
‘He’s obviously in love with you,’ I say.
‘What?’ She almost laughs at that and I find myself getting more het up.
‘Please don’t laugh at me. Dylan’s done enough of that already. I’ve spent the whole night feeling like the dork at school being rounded on by the popular kid.’
‘Dylan isnotin love with me,’ she says firmly. ‘I’m really sorry that you’ve felt awkward tonight Zach, I never want to make you feel that way. You have been acting weird, though …’
I try to sort through my swirling thoughts.
‘Why did you tell him about Clara?’ I ask eventually.
‘Why wouldn’t I? He’s my best mate and I needed some advice.’
‘I get that, it’s just that now he obviously hates me.’
‘He doesn’t hate you!’
‘He made it his mission to put me on the spot this evening. I invited him out tonight because I wanted to show you that I was making an effort with him and he’s gone out of his way to make me feel like a dick.’
‘I don’t think that’s true.’
‘That’s how I see it. I thought it was pretty rude when he turned up late and you just shrugged it off like it wasn’t a problem.’
‘Oh my god, why are we arguing about Dylan’s poor time keeping?’ Alice shoots her hands up, exasperated. ‘He’s always been like that, Zach. And it’s not really that big of a deal is it?’
‘It’s not just that. He thinks I’m dangerous, Alice. What the hell? He’s clearly made assumptions about me that aren’t fair. Yes, I made mistakes in the past but I would never deliberately, knowingly, hurt anyone. That’s not who I am. But Dylan doesn’t see that. I understand that he’s protective of you, I just wish you’d thought twice before telling him about my past because now he’s got a reason to make you question things.’
‘It’s not my fault that your last relationship was a huge mess, Zach,’ Alice says, and I feel myself recoil. That stung.
‘I’m just saying …’
‘That I shouldn’t talk to my friends about you?’
‘Well, no …’
‘Because they have been by my side for my entire life and I trust them implicitly.’
‘Well then I’m fucked then, aren’t I? Because Dylan has already made his mind up about me.’
‘And what about you? Seems like you’ve made your mind up about him, too. He’s never on time and you don’t like that. He’s confident and it seems to me like he makes you feel insecure. And he’s protective of me and you don’t like that.’ Alice is listing the problems on her fingers and my head is spinning.
This is spiralling out of control, fast.
‘I felt backed into a corner by him and it would have been nice to have your support.’
Alice shakes her head. ‘I don’t know what to say to that. I thought I was supporting you but that’s clearly not the case. You know, I’ve always avoided relationships because I don’t want this kind of drama in my life. I don’t want to be the person arguing with my boyfriend in a public. I don’t want to feel angry and hurt and confused.’
