Page 69 of Oar Than Friends

‘Coming from the girl who’s handling human entrails most days.’

‘Sometimes I write essays.’ She grinned back, ‘I’m just jealous you get to spend most of your day lying in bed reading. That’s where I’d rather be.’

I rested my knife and fork down, and slowly leaned forward, ‘You’d rather be in bed with me, Katey girl?’

To her credit, she didn’t even try to hide her blush this time. Just wore it like a badge of pride and continued eating in silence. Every time she looked up at me I’d raise my eyebrow waiting for her answer and she’d blush even more, which only made me laugh harder.

‘How else am I going to become Britain’s best-known classicist?’

She put her fork down and leaned back. ‘Is that your plan, then?’

‘I dunno. I haven’t figured it out yet. I’ll probably do a PhD to buy me some time, then decide.’

‘A PhD at Oxford?’

‘Yep, then I can still row,’ I nodded. ‘What are you laughing at?’

‘I’ve never met anyone who decided to do a PhD just to buy them time.’

I grinned back at her. ‘Well I’m not going into politics, that’s for sure.’

She didn’t reply, just smiled at me and picked up her fork again, and we continued eating in silence, occasionally catching each other’s gaze as we did.

I nudged her leg as the waiter removed our plates once we’d finally finished. My plate was clean while all that was left on hers was a small crust of pastry. ‘Now, pies … I think there’s only apple, unless you want to try a blackberry crumble and custard?’

‘Ugh,’ she groaned loudly, her hands pressing against her waist, ‘I can’t. If I eat any more I’ll be sick. How about next time we start with dessert?’

‘That sounds good to me, Yankee Doodle. You have yourself a deal.’ I didn’t add that anything which included a next time with her would always sound good to me. Instead, I asked for the bill.

It was placed on the table, and she reached for it before I could stop her.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Checking it.’

‘Why?’

‘To see if it’s correct, and to see what the split is.’

If I looked down my jaw would have been on the floor. Never, in all my time dating, had anyone tried to pay for themselves. Didn’t matter whether it was lunch or dinner or just drinks. It was always assumed I’d pay because I had the money.

I knew how fortunate I was. I was fully aware I had enough in a trust for me to never have to work a day in my life, and it was one of the reasons I trained so hard. I never wanted anyone to be able to say I’d bought my way in life, or fallen back on my parents.

Every time I crossed the finish line, every medal I earned was done through blood, sweat and too many shed tears to count. It was one thing money couldn’t buy.

But I couldn’t hide my money, and while my friends didn’t treat me any differently because of it, a girl had never offered to pay. Now Kate had I wasn’t sure how to feel about it, and I wasn’t entirely sure what it meant.

Maybe I hadn’t been clear enough that this was a date. Maybe that kiss hadn’t been good enough.

No, not possible. I stood by that kiss.

Maybe it was an American thing.

As far as I was concerned, we were coming to the end of the first date I’d ever really looked forward to, and over my dead body were we going to split the bill like colleagues on a business lunch.

I whipped it out of her fingers. ‘Absolutely not.’

Her neck craned back and her arms crossed over her chest like I’d dared challenge the rules of America or feminism or whatever slight I’d made towards something.But I wasn’t budging, and I knew for a fact I could be as stubborn as her.

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