“Am I? Yeah… OK, I’ve… um… got something to tell you.”
However discreet he tried to be, his smile gave it all away.
“So, who is he?” Laia asked, scooping a dollop of the eggplant dip they were sharing for a starter onto a fresh piece of homemade flatbread she had just dipped in olive oil. Dídac was silent, not quite sure what or how much to say.
“Come on, Didi, we have no secrets.” She popped the bread into her mouth, chewed slowly and then swallowed. “That Zaalouk is heaven! Do we?”
“No… just someone I met… You don’t know him.”
“So… what’s he like?”
The smile broadened across Dídac’s face.
“Quite… how to describe him? He’s quite… very assertive. Well built… dark and… hairy…” He was aware of trying to throw a spanner into the workings of Laia’s mind.
“Right… not your normal type.”
“No, I suppose not.”
Dídac felt guilty for deceiving Laia like this, but he could hardly spill the beans when Kim had told him specifically not to.
“What does he do? Where did you meet him?”
“He’s a… I met him… on an app.”
“I thought you deleted all your apps after that last fuck-up.”
“Yeah… not all… I downloaded one again.” Despite being a brilliant actor, Dídac was really crap at lying. “He’s an engineer.”
“What branch?”
“I dunno. What do you mean?” Did engineers even have branches?
“Does he build highways, vacuum cleaners, or microchips?”
“Honestly, no idea. We didn’t talk that much about his job.”
“Too busy fucking?”
“Something like that.”
“Well, I hope this isn’t going to go pear-shaped like the otherones….”
“Laia! You’re supposed to be supporting me!”
“I am, Didi. I just want you to make the right decision this time. Don’t just go for someone because you like shagging him.”
“Thanks a lot. This feels like a real confidence session. What do you want for mains?”
“I think I’ll go for the raw meat… What do they call it, Steak Tartar?”
“Ha ha, very funny! And that’s not even Moroccan. How about the lamb tagine?”
“OK, so what’s his name?”
Dídac studied his menu.
“Didi, are you saying you can’t even remember his name?”
