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‘Okay, right. So, Sabine, and yes, I would love to have kids someday.’
‘Sabine?’
‘I asked your middle name, so you also get to know mine. You’ve got the full set now.’
‘An honour and a privilege. Jenevieve Sabine Berkley. Suits you.’
‘If you say so,’ Jen replied with a wiggle of her head. ‘What’s your opener?’
‘I’m almost too nervous to look.’ Holly slowly turned over the card and breathed a sigh of relief. ‘How old were you when you first kissed someone?’
‘Fourteen. Boy called Lee. You?’
‘Fifteen – his name was also Lee. Same boy?’ she jested.
‘Depends; how old are you?’
‘Thirty.’ She’d still not told Jen it had been her birthday. She didn’t want her to think she was weird for not mentioning it at the time, but that night had been about letting loose, getting to know the woman she was fake-dating. Not outing herself as a massive Billy Nae Mates.
‘Well, not unless your first kiss was with a—’ Jen paused as she did the math, counting on her fingers. ‘—twenty-one year old.’
Holly wrinkled her nose. ‘Definitely not. And what about the one that counts? How old were you when you first kissed a girl?’
Jen’s eyes turned wistful, like she was replaying the memory. Did she look like that when she thought about the kisses they’d shared? ‘Sixteen. Her name was Caroline. Spoiler: we didn’t last long and broke up before we even really got started.’
‘Aw, I was hoping for a happy ending. Marriage, few kids, maybe a dog.’
‘Sorry to disappoint. What about you? And it better not have been Caroline. Although, I always wondered who she left me for,’ Jen replied, chuckling as she sipped her prosecco.
‘You’re safe – her name was Ella. I was nineteen. Guess I was a late bloomer, so to speak.’
‘For any particular reason?’
Her answer came as a shrug. ‘I’m just very picky about who I kiss.’
‘I’ll consider myself part of an elite crew, then.’ There was that wicked glint again, the one that got Holly’s insides all tied up so she didn’t know up from down. Time for a distraction. ‘Aren’t we supposed to be eating while we do this?’
‘Aw, yeah, shit. Sorry, Taylor’s Deli, forgot about the food. What about some tunes, too? Set the mood.’
‘Sure – what do you fancy?’ Holly made light work of getting to the right screen on her phone, her fingers hovering over the search bar, forever at Jen’s beck and call.
‘I spied a Lovefest playlist earlier. How about that? Seems topical.’
Oh no.That playlist was never intended to see the light of day. It might as well be titledSongs That Make Me Think About Shagging Jen Berkley.Her blood had run cold when Jen had pressed play on her last listen earlier. The universe had thrown a lifeline though, leaving only the bridge and one chorus to MUNA’s classic anthem. If Jen listened to the entire two hours and twenty minutes of Holly’s lovelorn mix there would be no such luck. The first song was about falling for a friend and it was the most subtle of the lot. She was going to think Holly was a complete psycho.Shit. Holly. You’ve not said anything. Speak!Her jaw was frozen, her eyes a screensaver as her brain rebooted. Wires finally reconnected, she managed to blurt out: ‘You won’t like it.’
‘How do you know?’
‘You didn’t know any of the bands I listed earlier. Wouldn’t you rather listen to stuff you know?’
‘If tonight is all about getting to know you, I’d like to give it a bash.’
FUCK.There was no way out of this. ‘Okay, cool.’ Holly hit play, turning the volume as unsuspiciously low as possible.
‘Okay, my turn,’ Jen said, her plate now peppered with pickings from the hamper. Holly gulped as Jen leaned over, clicking the volume up. ‘Sorry, couldn’t hear it over here. Right, when was the last time you felt most yourself?’
Holly thought, tuning out the music, lest she wanted to rival Jen’s usually blushing cheeks. ‘Do you want an honest answer?’
‘Only if you’re comfortable saying it.’
