‘Surfing on flimsy bits of polystyrene, salt water up your nose…’ said Alex, laughing. ‘Oh, the memories!’
‘Oh yes! Especially squeezing yourself into wetsuits you’ve long since outgrown.… in fact, when Ollie and I were really small, mum and dad refused to buy us new ones for years, so we had to slip carrier bags over our feet to reduce the friction and wrench ourselves in!’ Lucy remembered. ‘Such a palaver!’
‘What does Ollie do?’ Alex asked.
‘Oh, he’s sort of an eternal backpacker, really. He’s in Australia at the moment. He was doing some work on a cattle ranch last I heard, but really he just wants any excuse to avoid coming home and joining the “real” world. He’s still surfing mad; though I’m sure he doesn’t need a wetsuit over there! What about your family?’ enquired Lucy.
‘Well, there’s my father, Michael, the self-titled sommelier, and my mother, Lillian… she gave up banking to become a housewife, I’ve got two older sisters, Sarah and Isabel,’ explained Alex. ‘Sarah is the oldest at forty-two, she’s married to Nat and they have two children, a boy and a girl. Isabel is the middle child and she’s thirty-nine, she’s got a daughter too and is married to a guy called Nick. And I’m the youngest, clearly lettingeveryonedown by not being marriedorhaving procreated yet!’ screeched Alex mischievously, clearly mimicking his mother.
‘Tell me about it! An unmarried daughter and a son living on the other side of the world… I’m sure my parents think we’ve got some kind of conspiracy theory against them having grandkids at all!’ Lucy rolled her eyes.
‘I propose a toast. To the reprobate offspring who have thus far failed to reproduce!’ announced Alex.
‘Hear, hear!’ concurred Lucy as their glasses met, chiming. Lucy hoped that Alex was in the same category as her, wanting to have children but waiting for the right person to come along before starting a family. She stopped herself short of asking him directly, for fear of sounding deranged.
For dessert they shared a lavender crème brûlée with two glasses of golden, syrupy pudding wine and Alex told her about his nephew and two nieces, whom he clearly adored. Lucy took this as a positive sign. He said that he loved buying them presents and always chose the most annoying ones with the special effects and noises, toys that were strictly banned when Uncle Alex was not around as they drove his sisters to distraction but definitely gave him huge brownie points from the kids.
Much later, realizing that they were the last table there and that the waiting staff were setting up for the next day’s lunch shift, Alex asked for the bill. He batted away Lucy’s hand as she offered to pay half, insisting that it should be his treat.
Wrapping their jackets around them, they stepped out into the coolness of the night, a swollen moon hovering above them as they made their way to the nearest tube station. Alex took hold of her hand and she enjoyed the reassuring presence of his palm against hers, smooth and warm.
As they approached the tube, Lucy said, ‘I’ve had such a great time tonight. Thank you so much.’
‘It’s been fun, hasn’t it?’ agreed Alex, stopping on the side of the dimly lit street and turning to face her.
Lucy was aware of the traffic whizzing past on the main road up ahead and was grateful that they were on a quiet street with no one to disturb them. She nodded in agreement, suddenly aware of how much taller he was than her. He stood in front of her, strong and steady, his brown eyes looking intently at her under thick black lashes.
Still holding her hands, he said, ‘I would very much like to see you again. Would that be okay with you?’
Lucy muttered, ‘I’d love to,’ sure beyond certainty that he must be able to hear her heart, which by now was hammering on her ribcage like a bird trying to escape from captivity.
He held her gaze and said, ‘Good,’ brushing her fringe away from her eyes, then he slowly lowered his face to hers. He grazed his lips gently against her mouth, cupping her chin in one hand as he did so. At the touch of his lips, Lucy’s stomach did a back flip; she felt as though she had been plugged into the mains as electricity shot through her. Noticing her reaction from the wide-eyed expression on her face, Alex smiled, and, holding her firmly with his free arm, he kissed her again, softly at first and then more passionately. Each tantalizing kiss dissolved into the next one; the spicy smell of his aftershave made her dizzy as he kissed her on and on. She thought she might collapse with longing. Eventually, she pulled away. Finding inner strength from god knows where, she steadied herself against his chest. Breathless, they grinned at each other and, without a word, walked hand in hand to the tube.
