Page 25 of Be More Octopus

Em was just glad he thought there would be a next time.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The sun was setting, and the pub garden was starting to empty by the time they arrived.

'Inside or out?' Jack asked.

'It's still so hot. I'd prefer to be in the fresh air. I'll grab a table.' Em found a picnic table with a sea view while Jack went inside to order drinks and get a menu. She felt the tension in her shoulders fade as she watched the sun sink towards the horizon.

A deep voice snapped her back to reality. 'What's a pretty girl like you doing on your own on a Saturday night?' Or that's what she thought he'd said - it was impossible to be 100% sure as the words were very slurred.

A sunburnt man in his mid-twenties sat down next to Em, clutching the remains of a pint of beer. She guessed it was far from his first pint of the day. There was a cockiness about him that reminded her of Connor but with a South London accent.

'I'm waiting for my friend to come back from the bar.' Em said. Pity you didn't use that line on Connor all those years ago.

'I've heard that before,' he edged nearer to her, blatantly looking down her top. Em believed him. Even sober, he wouldn't have scored highly on the desirability scale.

'Please leave me alone.' She turned away, picking up her phone, trying to ignore him, but he moved closer until their thighs touched. The feel of his hot, sweaty flesh made her cringe. The overwhelming smell of stale beer wasn't appealing either. Em slid away from him to the end of the bench.

'I asked you to go away,' she said loudly so the rest of the people in the garden could hear.

'Come on, Si. Leave her alone.' Another man approached him, presumably a friend. But Si defiantly sat there staring at her.

'I don't give up that easy, sweetheart. What will it take to get you to come home with me?'

'She's not coming home with you.' Jack was back. He put their drinks down on the table.

Si stood up and squared up to him. 'And who the fuck are you?'

'The man she is coming home with.' Jack didn't seem intimidated by Si being about 4 inches taller and twice his width.

'Oh yeah.' Si lurched drunkenly at Jack, looking like he was about to punch him. But he soon found himself sprawling on the floor after Jack made some martial art style moves that caught him on his outstretched arm and knocked him off balance.

There was an appreciative 'ooh' from the rest of the pubgoers. Two of the onlookers grabbed their phones, ready to video any further action.

Si's friend picked him up off the ground. 'Come on, mate. Let's get out of here.' Si seemed keen to comply.

'How was I to know she was going out with Stan Fucking Lee?' Em heard Si say as they weaved their way towards the car park.

Lucy's research hadn't revealed anything about Jack having self-defence skills. Em looked at him, gobsmacked.

Jack grinned at her. 'Appalling, isn't it - confusing Stan Lee with Bruce Lee.'

'It wasn't that that surprised me.'

'I don't have my head stuck in books all day,' he said, sitting beside her. 'I do Taekwondo in my spare time. I thought it might come in useful living in London. I never thought I'd need it in rural Devon.'

Em and Jack were walking back up the lane after a dinner of perfectly cooked steak and chips and a helpful discussion about his portrait. Jack was slightly ahead, lighting the way with the torch on his phone.

Em was thoughtful, looking at his profile backlit by the narrow torch beam. Why does he put up with you?

Jack turned to look at her. 'You're quiet. Is anything wrong?'

'I was just thinking that you must be fed up of rescuing me.'

'No!' Jack seemed genuinely surprised. 'I'm happy to be useful. That's what friends are for. It's not as if you play the damsel in distress card. You're always independently trying to resolve whatever crisis is happening. You never ask for help.'

'Thanks, but it seems a bit of a one-way friendship.'