‘You’re not wrong there,’ I chuckle.
‘Maybe we need to spend some more time together, figure each other out a bit more.’
‘I think so. You’re both so important to me and I need you both to make an effort for my sake.’
‘Understood. I promise I won’t go into overdrive next time I see him, okay. Even I know I can be a bit much sometimes.’
‘Understatement of the year,’ I stage whisper.
‘All right! So, sounds like your birthday was good?’
‘Amazing,’ I grin, relieved to have spoken my mind to Dylan and eager to get things back to normal with us. ‘So, big news. Dad’s got a girlfriend!’
‘Good for Geoff! You get some!’
‘Um, can we not? I’m very happy for him but I don’t need to hear you encouraging my own father to “get some” thanks very much.’
Dylan laughs at that.
‘Seriously though, are you okay about it?’
‘Completely. It’s a really nice feeling to think that Dad has a companion. I’ve been worried about him being lonely. How about you?’
‘Yeah, you know me, all good in the hood.’
‘You defo can’t get away with saying that, Dyl. Listen, I’m going to be OOO for the next twenty-four hours.’
‘OOO? What’s that? Are you trying to tell me you’re spending the next twenty-four hours getting some too?’
‘It means Out Of Office, Grandad. As in, officially offline.’
‘I think we can all agree that the abbreviations have got out of hand now. What if I have an SOS? Abandoned by my best friend, FML.’
‘Har har. I’m going now.’
‘TBH IDK Alice, what’s a guy supposed to do IRL without you? LOL ROFL.’
‘You’re a fool. Speak to you soon, okay?’
Laughing, I hang up and then switch my phone off. Off!
Zach opens the front door just a fraction and peers out.
‘I wasn’t expecting you until later,’ he says, reaching out and pulling me inside before shutting the door. It’s quite dark in his hallway and I blink as my eyes adjust to the lack of light. Zach is wearing a pair of joggers and an old T-shirt covered in paint.
‘Surprise!’ I grin, enjoying the view of Zach off-duty. ‘Our date starts now. Unless you’re busy?’
‘I am actually,’ he says, flashing me that smile and leading me upstairs.
We sidestep an old rolled-up carpet on the landing and head up to the top floor. It’s much brighter up here, with natural light flooding through from the huge windows in the roof.
‘This has been a room of doom for too long. Full of my unfinished work, boxes of crap and cat wee-stained carpet thanks to the last owners. I ripped the carpet up when I finished work the other day and found these,’ he says, tapping the old wooden floorboards with his foot. ‘I’ve been working on it since.’
‘It looks incredible already.’
He grins. ‘Wanna help me finish the floor? Or do we need to be somewhere for our U date? Because I’m definitely going to need a shower first.’
‘Right here is where we need to be and hell yes I’d like to help. Do I get a go on that sander?’
