Page 20 of Take a Chance on Greece

He continued talking as he bustled around making the drinks, and the familiar sound of the boiling kettle and the clinking cutlery went some way to starting to settle my nerves.

‘The first thing I would say is that it is very unlikely that this Andreas is an axe murderer. I know of no such men on Kefalonia.’ He smiled. ‘But if it would make you feel better, you can tell me when and where you are meeting him, and I can look out for you. You have my number, and if you are not happy, you can send me a message and I will provide you an excuse to leave. I am sure this is something you had already thought of arranging with your girlfriends back at home, but as I am in the same town, it might make you feel happier knowing someone is nearby. Now, do you want milk in your tea?’

The tension which had been tightening its grip on my skull eased slightly.

‘I’m in your debt, Alexis. That is so kind of you.’ I was touched by his thoughtfulness and sensitivity in considering the extra worries facing women in particular when they put themselves out there in the dating world.

‘You are not in my debt. I will not have any feeling of obligation. Now, tell me more about this Andreas.’

I blushed, embarrassed to admit how little I knew about him. Once Alexis had heard how I’d approached a complete stranger online and proposed a date without knowing anything more than his name, he might retract his offer of support, believing me beyond help.

‘He runs a grocery shop,’ I said.

Was that a spark of recognition in Alexis’s eyes? I waited for him to say something, but he held his counsel.

‘Do you know him?’ I pressed. Anything more I could find out would be a bonus.

‘I cannot be sure,’ was all he would say. ‘I think it is better that you form your own opinions of the Andreases you meet, rather than arriving at your date with ideas already set.’

I couldn’t decide whether that was ominous or not.

Chapter Eleven

The day of my first Andreas date was sunny and even hotter than the previous day. I’d like to say I woke feeling refreshed from a good night’s sleep and full of excited anticipation. But the reality was that I’d spent most of the night tossing and turning as I rehearsed small talk from my new Greek phrasebook and debated whether I’d be better off fleeing the country and returning to my original life.

Thankfully the desire to run away all over again vanished with the darkness of the night, and as dawn rose, I decided to develop a positive mindset. That combined with enough makeup to cover the dark circles under my eyes should power me through.

I raced through the cleaning at my quickest rate yet, and even Yiota couldn’t find fault when she did an inspection at the end of my shift.

‘Perhaps dates are the way to make sure you finish on time,’ she said dryly as she confirmed that I’d completed my tasks for the day.

I raced back to my room and called the girls on FaceTime for an all-important outfit consultation and pep talk. As I hopped around in one of the hotel dressing gowns holding various clothing choices up to the camera, Kat got right to the point.

‘You’re not wearing those undies, are you?’

I pulled my dressing gown cord tighter so that I was no longer accidentally flashing my underwear to my friends.

‘They’re comfortable, they don’t give me VPL, and I have no intention of them being seen by anyone but myself,’ I retorted. It was the kind of underwear I wasn’t really conscious of wearing, which is how it should be. The last thing I wanted in the midst of first-date nerves was to be worrying about underwires digging in or a thong riding up where it shouldn’t.

Kat stuck her tongue out at me. ‘Why not give yourself the option? One glimpse at those granny pants is enough to shrivel up the passion of the horniest guy, let alone what they must do to your own feeling of fabulousness. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You’ve got to start with the foundations. A good set of underwear does wonders for the confidence. Even if you’re the only person to see it, just knowing you’ve got it on will make you walk taller and feel sexier. At least, that’s what I always find. Why don’t you wear the set you bought to distract Jim with?’

I really wished she hadn’t mentioned Jim’s name on today of all days. He was the last person I wanted to think about when I was already nervous enough about the prospect of going on a date.

‘I’ve thrown them out,’ I confessed. Another impetuous decision, and an expensive one. But they were tainted with unhappy and stressful memories so it was better that I was rid of them.

Kat put her head in her hands in mock despair.

‘Never mind the pants, what are you planning to wear over the underwear?’ asked Amira, gently pushing Kat out of the way so that she could get closer to the phone. ‘And how’s the tattoo healing by the way? Want me to take a look?’

‘Turn away, Kat, you’re not covered by the Hippocratic Oath,’ I warned, as I moved the phone round and half-pulled the back of my dressing gown down so I could let Amira inspect the tattoo through the reflection in the mirror.

‘Can you stand closer to the camera, babe, and lean forwards a bit?’

I heard Kat snorting in the background. ‘You sound like you’re directing her on some X-rated website.’

‘Shut up, Kat,’ Amira and I chorused.

‘Can you see it now?’ I asked.

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