‘I own – but also cool that you’re not too far. A fellow South Londoner is always a great thing. Also, if you’re not too far,maybe I should offer some kind of carpooling service haha!’ he offered, looking from Kofi to me. Neither of us laughed at first.
The silence stretched, heavy and expectant. Kofi shifted slightly, his expression unreadable. Realising the awkwardness, I forced out a small chuckle, the sound thin and unnatural, but at least it filled the space between us.
‘Yeah, I suppose that could be cool at some point!’ I eventually said, taking another sip of my drink to fill the silence. Mirroring my movements, Jeff also took a swig of his drink before eventually making his exit to the group next to us. ‘I’m going to chat to these guys for a bit and get to know everyone, but I’ll circle back to you guys soon! If you want another drink just let me know!’
‘Thanks, Mr Paulson,’ both Kofi and I said in unison.
‘Please, for you two, it’s Jeff,’ he reminded us.
Jeff made his way towards the other corner, leaving me and Kofi to stare at each other before bursting into laughter.
‘That was awkward, wasn’t it? Not him inviting himself to drive you to work!’ said Kofi between laughs. ‘I think he has a thing for you, Cass. I’ve seen him giving you the eye.’
‘I very much doubt that, to be honest,’ I replied, shaking my head. But did I truly doubt it? There was … something there, a tension humming beneath the surface. I decided that I wanted to just let it lie, untouched, unread.
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about, mate … and ANYWAY, when are you and Sade gonna hang?’ I answered quickly, wanting to change the subject. At that, Kofi grinned sheepishly and took out his phone.
‘We just set a date for this week actually; we’re doing a running club on Sunday.’
Kofi and Sade? Running club? He must have been referring to another Sade, because the Sade that I knew didn’t run.
‘Umm. Which Sade are you talking about? You mean you’regonna be listening to Sade, the eighties music band, while you’re out for a run, right?’ I corrected him, looking baffled. Kofi laughed in response, but it wasn’t a joke; Sade was one of the most unfit people I knew. If she could, she would Uber Eats a delivery driver to her fridge and back.
‘Ahh whatever, man! She said she’s a frequent runner so I thought doing a running club would be a cute first date – and then afterwards I was thinking that we’d go to a cafe for brunch, and then who knows?’
I stared at him, shocked yet incredibly entertained at this turn of events. I could not wait to bring this up with Sade later. Wanting to impress a guy on the first date, I could kind of understand – but flat out lying about something that I knew she hated? This could only end in tragedy.
‘And so … Sade told you that she ran? OK. Well, God bless, and I cannot wait to hear how it goes on Monday. I’ll absolutely be here for the update!’ I said eventually, giggling.
‘Oh, doesn’t she run?’ Kofi replied, quizzically.
Meanwhile I was fighting for my life not to crack a smirk. ‘Hey … the important thing is that you guys are going to get to know each other and hopefully have a wonderful time, innit? Happy for you! I’m glad that you’re with someone who actually likes you back; you absolutely deserve it. Iight, I’m gonna go and take a slash quickly.’
Kofi turned to look at me, confused.
‘What do you mean “with someone whoactuallylikes me back”? I don’t get it,’ he said, taking a sip of his drink.
Shit.The alcohol was making its way through me faster than I thought. Why couldn’t I shut the fuck up? Actually. ACTUALLY. Why did I use that word?
‘I’ll be right back – one sec!’ I shouted as I bolted it to the bathroom, phone in hand as I sent a text to Sade while deciding on how I was going to respond to Kofi when I got back:
RUNNING CLUB? Lmao. Girl.
Within a few seconds, Sade had replied with a meme gif of a man looking guilty and ‘shhh’ing the camera. I was now more excited for Sade’s and Kofi’s date than my own with Jericho. Speaking of which, I still needed to read his message.
After using the bathroom, I snuck into a little alcove by the bar and went into myOuiMeetapp. There in bold font was an unread message from Jericho. I felt my stomach knot up with anticipation as I opened the tab to read the following message:
Dearest Cassie,
I’m looking forward to seeing you this Saturday afternoon, and I hope your week is going well so far! I wanted to let you know I’ve created a short itinerary of sorts of what I think we could do. Look it over and see if you like what you see. Let me know if you have any reservations. If it’s too much, I’m happy to revise. J xx
2 p.m. – We’ll meet at the Watchhouse coffee shop on Hanover Street in Mayfair for a coffee
3 p.m. – I’ll take you to the newSquid GameEscape Room in Piccadilly
4 p.m. – We can then grab a bite to eat at Fortnum & Mason, before perusing the Waterstones next door where we can get to know each other even more. After that, I can drop you home, or near home if you don’t want me knowing where you live directly.
I reread the message several times, with a huge smile spreading across my face. This man had taken the time to really take into account my hobbies and likes/dislikes, and had come up with my idea of a perfect date. How the hell did he know thatI was a big fan of theSquid Gameshow and, more importantly, how was he able to get tickets?? I had put myself down on the waiting list for the escape-room experience months ago, due to the activity always selling out. I figured I could skip the bookshop browsing for now – I’d rather spend more time talking with him than getting lost in the shelves.
