‘That was all Natalie,’ I fib. It’s suddenly dawned on me that I’m now on adatewith Zach wearing a baggy jumper and faded leggings, the look completed by a pair of once white Birkenstocks. He sips at his beer, listening intently to the quiz master as we try to catch up, and I realise it doesn’t matter.
‘Not to brag, but I am really quite good at quizzes,’ Zach catches my eye.
‘Well then I’m very glad you’re back on my team,’ I grin, grabbing his hand as Janet, the gravelly voiced quiz-master welcomes us back into the game.
Rock Climbing
Zach
I’ve fallen into classic Zach mode of overthinking the crap out of things as I drive around to Alice’s house but I know it’s just down to nerves. Will it go back to feeling like us again, or will we be treading carefully around each other? It feels like so long since we last had a proper fun date. One that hasn’t ended in one of us being ill, or breaking up or having an awkward conversation, that is. Today I am desperate to make things right between us.
I ring the doorbell and wait.
‘Hey,’ she smiles.
‘Hey,’ I reply, deciding to go in for a kiss right when she leans up to kiss my cheek, so I end up brushing my mouth on her chin instead.
Stop being awkward, Zach.
I shake my head.
‘Shall we try that again?’ she suggests.
This time we’re in sync, sharing a soft kiss on her doorstep. I take a deep breath, feeling comforted by the scent of her shampoo. We stay there for a while, arms wrapped around each other, enjoying the feeling of being together again.
‘Want to come in?’
‘I’d love that.’ I’m chuffed to see my artwork still hanging above her fireplace as we walk through the house.
‘You didn’t chuck that on a bonfire after the last disastrous few dates, then?’ I say, feeling bold.
‘Nah,’ laughs Alice. ‘Figured I could sell it to fund my doughnut obsession instead.’
‘Ouch,’ I grin, bolstered by the fact that we’ve easily fallen back into our stride. ‘Now we’re going to have to do something about your outfit before we leave for our R date.’
‘What’s wrong with it?’ asks Alice, looking down at her blue dress. I recognise it from our bookshop date back in the very early days of us.
‘Nothing, you look beautiful, but it might not be practical enough for what I have in mind today.’
‘Practical?’ Alice raises an eyebrow. ‘Does that explain why you’re dressed like you’re about to do a HIIT class?’
‘Exactly. Think sportswear.’
‘I’ll go and get changed then,’ she groans, looking at me suspiciously.
Alice is giving me that you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me look again. After she changed into her lilac yoga outfit we drove out to the Peaks and now we’re at our date destination, a twenty minute walk from the car park. She’s craning her neck up towards the top of a crag, hands shading her eyes against the morning sun.
‘Dare I ask why you’ve brought me to this giant rockface?’ Her eyes flit to the mat I’m carrying on my back. ‘Or why you’ve carried a mattress all this way. My only hope is that it’s so we can spend the day having sex in the great outdoors.’
‘That’s your only hope?’
‘Sounds good though, doesn’t it?’
‘Well, yeah, definitely.’ In fact, now she’s made that suggestion I’m struggling to think of anything else. ‘Though I’m not sure they’d approve?’ I nod towards a couple in their fifties who’ve just turned up and are setting up camp at the next rocky outcrop.
‘Spoilsport,’ she tuts. ‘So what are we doing?’
‘We’re going rock climbing. After all that’s happened lately, I think we both feel like we could work on our trust issues and I thought this could be perfect way to give it a go. I want to show you that I’ve got you, Alice.’
