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‘I usually go for sarcastic girls who can’t stand up straight, but you are making me think I should review my search criteria.’ This made her smile. ‘Do you want me to get you some water?’ he asked, and she nodded, feeling suddenly dizzy. When he returned, she thanked him and took a swig from the paper cup he handed her as he muttered, ‘Ganymede at your service.’
‘What did you say?’ she asked.
‘Nothing.’ He shook his head.
‘You said Ganymede, water bearer to the gods. I’m flattered.’
Audrey only knew the reference because it was one of the star stories her father had told her. Ganymede was Zeus’s cup bearer and, so the story goes, Zeus had honoured him for his service by placing him among the stars as the constellation of Aquarius. Though Audrey had never ended up studying astronomy in a formal way, it didn’t mean she’d given up her interest in the stars.
‘You know your Greek mythology?’ Josh said, with raised eyebrows.
‘I know my constellations.’
Some inner, sober part of Audrey wanted to quiz him further, to ask him what other Greek mythology he knew, but she was unnerved by Josh’s sober gaze, his unflinching eye contact. ‘Why are you looking at me like that, Ganymede?’
‘I’m wondering what’s so appealing about this guy you were kissing,’ he said, his face softening to something less challenging. ‘The one who urinates in wine bottles and has a back-to-front musical note tattooed on his neck.’
Audrey shrugged. She had no idea. ‘He’s a good kisser.’
‘You don’t have to be a dick to be a good kisser,’ Josh said, dropping his eyes to her lips. They shared a moment, then. Not a whole moment, she looked away before it could be, but it was the start of something, and it made Audrey’s stomach do a backflip. Or maybe that was just her bladder putting pressure on her stomach. Josh was about to say something else when the queue moved, the loo was finally free, and Audrey darted in. When she came out, she nodded an awkward goodbye to Josh. Then she did a quick tour of the room topping up other people’s drinks, before going to find her date, who was spraying beer at the neighbour’s cat in the garden.
The fourth time she met Josh was in Oxford Street. Audrey was rushing to a meeting with an image library she was freelancing for. He stopped her mid-stride as they crossed paths on the pavement.
‘Audrey,’ he said, with a huge, white smile.
‘Hey.’ She gave him a dazed look, unable to place him out of context.
‘You don’t remember me, do you?’ he asked, his eyes sparking in amusement. All she could think of was Ganymede, but surely that wasn’t his name.
‘Yes, yes, sorry, my head was somewhere else. James, Paul’s friend. How are you?’
‘Josh,’ he said, shaking his head.
Josh! That was it, she knew it was a J. ‘I did know that,’ she said.
‘We’ve only met three times, but you know, it’s fine.’
He said it lightly, but Audrey was immediately defensive.
‘We haven’t met three times, and sorry if it takes me a second when I see you out of context while running to a meeting.’
‘Don’t let me keep you,’ he said, holding up his hands and turning to go. Something about the hand gesture irritated Audrey: his tone and the implication of the type of person she was.
‘Hey, you don’t need to be a dick about it.’
‘I’m not trying to be.’ He laughed. ‘I just don’t want to keep you from your important meeting. See you around, Audrey.’
He walked on, and Audrey turned to chase after him.
‘Hey, look, I’m not one of those people who never remembers people’s names, okay? Honestly, I was just in another world, plus I think I was pretty wasted when we met before.’
‘I’m not having a go at you,’ he said, still walking, eyes ahead, but there was the hint of a smile on his lips again. ‘I’m completely irrelevant to your life, why would you remember me.’
‘Wow, with the attitude,’ said Audrey, falling into step beside him. ‘What makes you think you’re so irrelevant to me?’
‘I don’t know. You make a point of never saying more than two words to me. And you do that thing where you look over my shoulder, checking whether there’s someone more interesting to talk to.’
‘What, all of two times?’ she said with growing indignation. ‘And I do not do that shoulder thing, I hate it when people do that shoulder thing. I needed the loo – I was probably looking to see if the loo was free.’ As she struggled to keep pace with him, she noticed how fresh-faced and healthy Josh looked, how warm and sparkling his eyes were.
‘Until next time, Audrey,’ he said, giving her a wave and a nod as he turned to cross the street. She watched his broad back and his thick brown hair disappear into the crowd and felt herself inexplicably riled by the encounter.
She never forgot his name after that.
