Page 76 of You Float My Boat

Luckily for me, I didn’t have to stretch my acting skills.

‘OMIGAWD.’

His smile spread from ear to ear, and given my mouth was still full, it took all my energy not to smile back.

‘It’s good right?’ he said, before picking up his sandwichwhole,and taking a massive bite.

I nodded and for a good two minutes, the pair of us watched each other eat in silence.

It wasn’t as weird as it sounds, because that’s when the rest of the queue had been allowed entry and the tiny space was now bustling and loud with chatter.

‘Why did you want to study English?’ he asked, after another giant mouthful.

Wiping my fingers with a paper napkin, I sat back in the chair. I wasn’t quite at the jeans unbuttoning stage yet, but I was close. ‘I love words. I love books. Books have been around in one form or another for thousands of years, and the thought of being able to read something written that long ago …’ I shrugged, for some reason downplaying my love for reading in case Charlie thought less of me, because that’s exactly what Hugo did. Well, not less of me but you know, like reading was a waste of time when you could be doing something else. Rowing, for example. ‘It’s kind of silly, but I feel like there’s a magic to it. Anyway, that’s why.’

‘That’s how I feel about physics,’ he grinned.

‘Really?’

‘Yeah, there’s something so pure about it,’ he nodded. ‘I guess Brooks missed out on the reading gene, huh? In fact, I’m not sure I’ve seen him with a book that’s not mandated by his class.’

‘Yeah. We’re so different. He’s smart, but his life has revolved around sport since he was little. Just like I wasnever very sporty, he’s never read for pleasure. Therefore, he thinks I live in my head,’ I chuckled, throwing out an eye roll for added effect, ‘and that I’m a drama queen.’

‘Then I’m in good company, he thinks I am too.’

‘Why are you a drama queen?’

He hesitated for a split second, and sipped his water. ‘Probably a story for another day.’

‘Well, at least you still have sport going for you too. Are you excited about the World Championships this summer?’

He nodded, his mouth too full of pork and apple to properly answer. Charlie was part of Team GB Rowing, alongside Oz, and the most important competition for them after the Boat Race this summer was the Rowing World Championships.

‘Mmm hmm,’ he answered, swallowing his mouthful. ‘Yes, the crew’s not been announced yet, but I should be selected if all goes well. There are a couple of guys from last year’s Team GB who are injured so the spaces have opened up. I’m feeling quietly confident that it might lend itself to a decent crew. We have some good juniors moving up.’

As he continued talking, I picked up another piece of my sandwich, realizing how totally relaxed I was in Charlie’s company. Even when we’d been rehearsing, there was always a tiny part of my brain reminding me of how close I was to him. But right now, sitting here with the world’s messiest lunch between us – it was almost like spending time with Stella.

Point being, it was easy. Charlie was easy. The onlynot-easy thing was coming to terms with the fact that spending time together like this – even without the first-date-style line of questioning – was doing nothing to help my crush.

Quite the opposite in fact.

It took another twenty minutes before we finally finished eating – or Charlie finished his, along with the rest of mine after I’d waved a white flag and admitted defeat. I drew the line at unbuttoning in front of Charlie and rolling to my next class.

I was almost tempted to go back to St Anne’s and change into leggings.

‘That was truly the best sandwich I’ve ever had,’ I told him.

‘Good enough to get out of bed for?’

‘Oooh,’ I grimaced, my nose scrunching up, ‘not sure I’d go that far.’

‘Tough crowd.’

I glanced down at our empty plates, only to find his fingers millimetres from mine, lined up middle to middle, index to index. I couldn’t tear my eyes away as his hand closed what little gap there was until the tips were brushing together. It was so soft that if I hadn’t witnessed it happening, I might not have known.

Stealth almost.

‘We should probably go. You don’t want to be late for class, and I have my session with Gordon I can’t miss.’

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