Page 39 of The Fallback

‘But, yes,’ he continued. ‘It is really depressing and sometimes I really do understand why you’re not interested in the scene.’

Rosie felt her stomach lurch. Did he truly understand why she wasn’t interested in dating…? If so, then tonight was about to take an interesting turn.

‘It’s soul-destroying and exhausting, and sometimes I wonder whether I’ll ever meet anyone right for me. Especially,’ Mitch tipped his glass towards hers, causing the plastic flamingo to tilt perilously close to the rim, ‘when I’m sat here with you and it’s a much more fun way to spend an evening thananyother dates I have been on recently.’

Rosie felt her vision tunnel, the sounds of the bar echoed in her ears. Was this it, was this the moment to tell him? To finally confess why she didn’t want to date, to agree with him that, yes, this wasso much moreenjoyable than any other date she hadeverbeen on, too? What was the worst that could happen? He’d laugh at her? He’d look horrified? He would make his excuses and leave and that would be the end of their friendship? But perhaps he wouldn’t? She felt herself on top of a tall precipice staring down into uncertainty.

‘Mitch?’

Mitch swung round in his chair. Rosie’s vision righted itself and she saw stood next to Mitch the future she hadn’t wanted to see. It was petite, blonde and wearing vertiginous heels.

‘Maxine?’ Mitch asked. Rosie immediately saw the way his eyes softened, the way his arm went out to this girl, ushering her into the bubble that had been Rosie’s and Mitch’s until just now.

‘I’m so sorry I’m late,’ Maxine gushed. Rosie detected the trace of a northern accent in her voice. ‘I completely messed up, I was sat in a bar up the road, swearing at you, thinking you had stood me up.’

Mitch laughed loudly and genuinely. ‘And I was sat here doing the same. Not the swearing, though!’ he quickly added.

Maxine grinned at him. ‘It was only when I checked back through our messages again that I realised I was in the wrong place. I came as quickly as I could, I hoped you’d still be here.’

She put her arm on Mitch’s and gazed up at him. Rosie thought she might be sick.

‘I’m sorry, you are?’

Rosie realised that Maxine was now addressing her and that her tone had gone from warm and gushing to cold and dismissive. Mitch didn’t seem to notice the change.

‘Oh, this is just Rosie. She happened to be passing. She’s just a friend,’ Mitch said.

Rosie hopped off her stool. ‘And she’s just leaving,’ she said, picking up her bag and heading for the door, not even stopping to say a proper goodbye. Mitch could pay for her drink, he at least owed her that. Rosie turned to look back before stepping out into the street, hoping to catch Mitch’s eye, to see him smile at her, wave his hand in farewell, but Mitch was animatedly chatting to Maxine, who was already comfortably installed in Rosie’s still-warm seat.

ChapterEleven

NOW

Rosie tugged at her skirt and, not for the first time, regretted her choice of clothes. It was one of her favourite skirts but it was not designed for sitting elegantly on a bar stool and she was beginning to worry that half the patrons could see her knickers. And if they couldn’t right now then they surely would when she tried to get off the stool. Because inevitably, at some point, she would have to get down off this wretched stool.

Luckily, nobody seemed to be paying her any attention which was good news in terms of flashing her pants, but not such good news in terms of getting a drink; even the barman who she had tried to flag down three times now without success, was ignoring her. Her drink-ordering skills still needed a lot of work. Rosie looked at her watch again; she had arrived early but it was now looking dangerously as if Graham was going to be late.

They had been messaging for days; first on Tinder and then they had taken the leap of actually exchanging numbers, which made it feel so much more real, and, in the fickle world of online dating, meant they'd practically slept together already. Rosie was excited but nervous to meet him.

Just as the barman came towards her, she felt her phone buzz. Momentarily distracted, she reached into her bag only to see the barman pass her by and start serving the man to her left. Rosie groaned in frustration and looked down at her phone, presuming it would be a message from Graham telling her that he was cancelling. At least he was messaging her, she thought to herself, rather than just ghosting her. But the message wasn’t from Graham; it was from Mitch, which she wasn’t sure whether to take as a good sign or a bad one.

She and Mitch had reached a sort of uneasydétenteafter their argument at his flat the other evening. Rosie was still really angry (and jealous, if she was being honest) and she was sure that Mitch had been holding her at arm’s length ever since, probably confused by her behaviour. She knew that a lot of her excitement about tonight wasn’t really about Graham at all, but an attempt to get Mitch out of her head. And, although she would deny this to anyone who dared suggest such a thing, it might also be an attempt to compete with Mitch’s new relationship. From the little Mitch had said about Jenny, Rosie could tell it was different this time. And this made her unsettled.

Mitch’s message simply said good luck. She had finally admitted to him that she hadn’t actually yet met Graham despite what she had said in the heat of the moment in his flat. There were only so many secrets she could keep from Mitch, and in the pecking order of importance, this one fell below her other, bigger secret. His message was short and sweet and it made Rosie smile. He knew her well enough to realise that going on this date was a big deal for her.

Lost in typing a reply, she didn’t notice the gap open up at the bar next to her, or the man in the jacket step into it and look sideways at Rosie.

‘Rosie?’ he said, she looked up slightly startled.

‘Hi, er, yes?’ she replied, hopping straight off the stool, completely forgetting the constraints of her skirt. As she attempted to straighten it, she dropped her bag on the floor. Immediately the man bent to pick it up and handed it back to her, putting a hand on her arm to steady her as he did so.

‘Graham?’ she asked. The man smiled.

‘Yes!’ He looked at her for a moment. ‘I promise I wasn’t late,’ he went on after a pause, ‘I’d been looking around the bar for you but couldn't see you because of the crowd.’

Rosie found herself smiling back at him. For the first time ever she had met an individual who was actually better looking in real life than online. There was an awkward moment as they stood rather too close together at the crowded bar.

‘I actually booked us a table,’ Graham said, gesticulating behind him to the restaurant area, ‘but if you’d rather have drinks here, that’s fine, of course, whatever you would prefer.’

---