Page 28 of One Hot Summer

Sarah had opted to wear her floral maxi dress, with her hair down, bouncing off of her sun-kissed shoulders as she strutted in her stilettos. There was a group of men in their early twenties by the bar, making the most of the two-for-one drinks offer. They all looked up as she walked in, smiling at her as she removed her sunglasses. She wondered if one of them might be Nigel, her first dating app suitor, but none of them advanced towards her. She decided to wait at the bar and order herself a small glass of wine, when a tap on her shoulder stopped her.

“Oh, I don’t need a table just yet,” she told the very young waiter. “I’m waiting for someone, so I’ll hang by the bar until he gets here.”

“Sarah?” the young man said to her. “It’s me, Nigel.” His braces sparkled under the chandelier light and his black bow tie sat slightly wonkily against his white, creased shirt.

Sarah thought this must be a wind-up. That Jenny had arranged this as a joke. It had to be. Nigel’s profile photo had depicted a normal enough guy in a suit, seated at a computer desk, holding a tumbler with what looked like a shot of whisky in it. Very suave and mature. The man standing in front of her did not look like he was old enough to legally drink alcohol.

“Our table is over there, by the window,” he panted excitedly. Sarah looked to the group of guys by the bar, hoping they would notice a damsel in distress and save her, but they had now been joined by a group of twenty-something girls and were no longer interested in her. They were sipping their cocktails and laughing together without a care in the world, and with no concern for Sarah at all.

Sarah followed her date, feeling like a childminder. He ran ahead and gallantly pulled out her chair for her, which she quietly thanked him for, secretly wishing it wasn’t a table by the big window, but rather one at the back where no one could see her.

“So,” Sarah began. “Nigel, I have to be honest, you’re not what I was expecting.”

He blushed and smiled broadly, clearly taking it as a compliment.

“How old are you?” she asked. She knew she sounded blunt, but she wasn’t happy.

“I’m twenty-two. I know my profile says thirty-two. I need to change it.”

“Yes, you do. And, just guessing now, but I suppose you’re not a creative director at a web design company?”

“Well…” A waitress appeared before he could answer, with a plate of sandwiches, nibbles and cakes. Sarah was confused because they hadn’t ordered anything to eat yet. “I hope you don’t mind,” Nigel said, seeing her obvious confusion. “I thought it would be nice to share an afternoon tea. I know women like that. I saw it on TikTok.”

“Ah, I’m not familiar with TikTok.”

“Oh you should get it,” he insisted. “It’s ace.”

Sarah moved her attention to the food, which she thought looked very nice. She wondered if concentrating on the food would make this date more bearable.

“There are two glasses of prosecco included per person,” the waitress said. “But as it is a special occasion,” she winked at Sarah, “I’ll just bring you a bottle.”

The waitress sauntered away.

“Special occasion?” Sarah asked. “Why did she say it was a special occasion?”

“Well, when I booked here, I said it was our first romantic meeting,” he made a sound which could only be described as a nervous giggle or a snort, “and I wanted it to be extra special.”

She felt so embarrassed. It was time to bring out the big guns. She had rescued Jenny many times, having to take the fake emergency phone call, even if it was not convenient at the time. It was a duty. Now, it was time for Jenny to return the favour.

Sarah’s phone was in her bag. She reached in and discreetly typed out the infamous text message and sent it. It would not be long until she was saved and could make a swift exit to the train station just down the road. She didn’t want to just run out. Nigel was very young, and she didn’t want to upset him.

The waitress had managed to compose herself long enough to bring over the bottle of prosecco and two glasses, however the tears of laughter were still in her eyes.

“Here you are,” she said, gleefully. “Is there anything else we can get you to make your time with us more memorable?”

“No,” Sarah said quickly. “This is memorable enough, thank you.”

Sarah poured herself a glass of prosecco and wondered what was taking Jenny so long to call her back. She quickly typed out another message.

“So, I don’t know if you recognised my name, or saw this on my profile, but I’m a bit of a celebrity around here,” Nigel said, waiting for Sarah to ask him to elaborate. She stayed quiet, but he continued anyway. “I run my own blog. It’s very popular. My last one got two hundred hits!”

“Oh yeah?” She picked up her glass, her eyes glancing to her bag, impatiently waiting for the sound of her phone ringing. “What do you write about?” She glanced down at her Apple watch too, willing it to light up with a message, but nothing happened. She sipped her prosecco. It tasted like fizzy, sour water.

“It’s a sex blog.”

“Sorry, a what?” She wiped some prosecco from her chin as she stifled a laugh.

“A sex blog. I write about my personal experiences. It has a huge following.” His hand gesture as he uttered the word ‘huge’ made Sarah want to laugh even more. “So, just a heads-up, I am up for anything.” He smiled, licking his lips. “I mean anything.”

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