Page 68 of It Was Always You

Jess x

A smell of burning wafted through the air, and Adam dashed into the kitchen to check his pizza. Realising that the burning smell was just some dripped cheese, he took a large swig of his beer. Shit! That’s quick! Tomorrow? Better message Lil. He dashed back into the lounge and clicked to open a new message.

Hi, Lil! Guess what? She replied! The Jessica one, I mean. She wants to meet tomorrow! Aarrgh! What should I do? Should I go? If so, what do you think I should wear? She has suggested Benito’s at Straiton, so it’s casual dress normally. Shit, I wish you were here to advise me. Not sure I can do this without your help, Lil!

Adders xx

He knew she wouldn’t respond right away, and it bothered him. He couldn’t leave Jessica hanging in the air wondering if he wanted to meet. He reread her message and decided to take the plunge.

Hi, Jess. Thanks for getting back to me so quick. I would love to meet you at Benito’s tomorrow night, yes. Seven thirty it is. I’ll be the short fat balding man ;-) Only kidding. See you tomorrow.

Adam :-)

Nervously munching on his pizza, he turned on the TV and scrolled to the channel where he could watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show; it reminded him of the giggles he’d had with Eve and Lily when they had been to see the show live. He couldn’t concentrate, however. He kept glancing at the phone screen, waiting for at least one of the girls to reply to his message. Lil was probably out getting drunk with Mack the cameraman and Jess… well, maybe Jess was picking outfits for her girls’ holiday. His phone pinged to tell him a new message had arrived.

Lily.

Adders, just bloody reply to her and set it up! You dufus! You don’t need me there to do this, Adam. You’re a grown man! Accept it and embrace it. She sounds nice. Wear your jeans and your navy shirt with a white T-shirt underneath. You always look nice in that outfit. But seriously you’ll be fine! BTW try to remember her name this time!

Lily xx

Next came a confirmation from Jessica. She would be there. Seven thirty. Tomorrow. Adam wondered if he had made the right decision.

Only time will tell, I guess.

On Sunday evening, he donned the outfit Lily had suggested and set off. He arrived at Straiton ten minutes early and sat in the car feeling rather conspicuous. People walked past him while he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and kept checking his watch. One of these days, he would replace the broken dashboard clock.

He glanced over at Benito’s and saw a small-framed woman standing outside. That’s her. He remembered thinking she was pretty the night before, but twenty-four hours was a long time. He couldn’t tell a lot from where he was, but his stomach lurched at the thought of the night being crap and not having Lily here to rescue him. He should’ve arranged for her to ring him with a get-out. But then again, she was busy in Germany.

He climbed out of his car and made his way towards the woman. She was rather tiny, he’d forgotten just how tiny.

She smiled when she saw him approaching and pointed at him questioningly. ‘Adam?’

He smiled at her as warmly as he could manage. ‘Jessica.’

She held out her hand to him. ‘Please, call me Jess. All my friends do.’

He shook her hand. ‘You can still call me Adam… my friends call me it because well… it’s quite hard to shorten Adam, I suppose… I’ll stop talking now.’ Heat rushed to his cheeks. Ugh, nob. Jessica seemed to be trying her best not to giggle at him. She was very pretty and he liked her instantly.

Clearing his throat, he opened the door for her. ‘So, are we eating or just having coffee or something, seeing as we’re both driving?’

‘Well, I’m starving, so food is good.’

He smiled. She must not find me repugnant then. Good start. ‘Great. I’m hungry, too. I only had a pastry for lunch.’

‘At least you had lunch! I only managed a cup of coffee.’

They stood in the doorway waiting to be seated. ‘How come?’

‘Oh, I’ve been helping my sister move into a flat with her boyfriend today.’

‘Right… right… how old is your sister?’

‘She’s twenty-one. But they were childhood sweethearts so…’

They were shown to a secluded, romantic table towards the back of the restaurant. He pulled out her chair and she thanked him, smiling sweetly. The waiter came over and reeled off a list of specials and handed them menus and a wine list. They both shook their heads at the wine list.

Adam liked that.