Page 86 of The One That I Want

His laughter stops abruptly.

‘Oh… I didn’t mean anything by that,’ he says, frowning.

I nod, faking another smile, then swallow the enormous lump lodged in my throat. Which is ridiculous. I’ve only just met this man and the thought of him dating half of London shouldn’t have this kind of impact on me. He’s notmine.

‘You’re actually thefirstfirst date I’ve been on in ages,’ he continues, ‘which is why I’m cocking this up so spectacularly.’

I look up, my mouth falling open. He grimaces at his faux pas, adding a shrug, and we both start shaking with laughter.

‘You are quite terrible at it,’ I say as our laughter subsides. ‘But at least you didn’t nearly get run over crossing the road.’

‘How do you know? I could have had a near-miss with a lorry before you were dropped off.’

‘Did you?’

‘No.’

‘So, we’re both rusty,’ I say, realising what I’m admitting.

‘Looks like it.’

The waiter comes over. ‘Can I start you off with something to drink?’ she asks.

Harrison and I both return to the menu. ‘Wine?’ he asks me.

‘Wine… Er, yes…’ I reply, quickly reading down the wine list. The waiter excuses herself to give us more time.

‘To be honest, I’m rubbish at choosing wine,’ says Harrison and (of course) I’m instantly reminded of Ewan, who isn’t.

‘Shall we go with the Pinot Grigio?’ I ask, referring to the first bottle on the list.

‘Perfect,’ he replies, ‘and dinner? What about the prix-fixe?’ he asks. ‘Though just two courses for me. I never eat dessert.’

Never?I think.

‘Sounds good,’ I lie, even though the dark chocolate tart would have gone down a treat. But there is no way I’m having dessert if he’s not. I shift in my seat, hoping I’ve done a decent job of masking my disappointment – it’s just a chocolate tart.

But what about all the desserts to come if you keep dating him?Bollocks, have I just set a no-dessert precedent?

Harrison catches the waiter’s attention, and we order the wine, then give our choices for starters and mains. When we’re alone again, I’m left wondering what to talk about.

‘So, your students had a recital today?’ I ask, latching onto something he said earlier.

‘Uh, yes. The ones I teach outside of school. You know I’m a secondary school teacher, right?’

I nod.

‘Well, my privates—’ He stops himself, a blush rising from his neck. ‘Wait, privatestudents, not my privates… Oh god.’ He runs a hand over the back of his neck. ‘Can I start again –withoutputting my foot in my mouth?’

I giggle. ‘You know, I gleaned from the context that “privates” meant private students and not your genitals. You did mention them when I got here. Oh! Not your genitals – yourstudents!’

I start sniggering and his eyes light up with mirth.

‘I knew what you meant,’ he says, chuckling. ‘I must be rubbing off on you already.’

‘Rubbing off on me,’ I say through breathless laughter and he joins in.

When the waiter returns with the wine, she clears her throat to get our attention, then show the bottle to Harrison, who tells her to show it to me, as I’m the one who chose it.

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