Page 43 of Take a Chance on Greece

‘He wasAlrightAndreas.’

‘Ouch,’ said Alexis.

‘That sounds harsh. He was a perfectly decent guy, but just not the guy for me.’ I turned to face Alexis, my stomach contracting with nerves. This was it. ‘In fact, I think I might be done with the whole Awesome Andreas search. The boat trip got a bit dicey, and it made me realise that life’s too short to waste time following the wrong path, or keeping quiet when I should speak out. You see, the thing is, I have met someone awesome in Kefalonia, and I care for him a great deal, but his name isn’t Andreas.’

It was hard to read Alexis’s expression in the gloaming, but I thought I heard a sharp intake of breath. What would his reaction be when I came out and said it? Did I dare carry on? I thought about all I’d been through in the past few weeks, all the brave steps I’d taken since I’d walked out on Jim and chosen a new direction in life. Having achieved so much, I couldn’t fall at this hurdle. And it might not turn out to be a hurdle at all. I took hold of Alexis’s hand, finding courage in the warmth of his palm against mine.

‘Alexis, you’re the guy I can’t stop thinking about. You’re kind, caring, gorgeous inside and out, you love books, you go out of your way to help random strangers like me, and basically I think you’re awesome.’ No going back now. ‘And I was wondering if you would like to go to Eleni’s dinner tomorrow night with me? Not as friends – although I hope we’ll always be friends whatever happens – but as someone even more special, my date.’

My heart was pounding so much when I asked the question, I worried that passers-by would hear it too. I’d put everything on the line. Now it was up to him. The silence seemed to stretch out forever as I waited for Alexis’s answer. I was torn between dread and optimism. I knew that however he answered, he’d be kind. But I really didn’t want to be on the receiving end of the sort of kindness which involved, ‘Thank you, but…’ If Alexis said no to my invitation, I didn’t know what I would do. It would be a wound I wasn’t sure I would recover from.

I peered through the dusk, trying to make out his reaction. Did he feel the same way? Was he happy? Or was he trying to think of a way of letting me down gently, overwhelmed by my praise, and embarrassed that he wasn’t able to reciprocate?

‘Are you sure?’ he asked eventually, his words soft and hesitant.

My insides twisted with half fear, half hope.

‘I’m very sure. I’ve never been so sure of anything. In fact, I don’t know why it took me so long to see what was staring me right in the face from the moment I met you in the bookshop. I like you. I like you a lot.’ If truth be known, I almost wanted to use another L word, but I didn’t want to overwhelm him, or make him feel pressured.

Still, he hesitated, and the fear started to outweigh the hope. This was a moment which would define our whole future. Although I felt like I’d known him forever, I couldn’t anticipate what his response would be. What would I do if he said no? It would change everything between us. Even if we both pretended that we could carry on as friends, this conversation would always be hovering in the atmosphere, tainting every interaction with awkwardness on his side, and unbearable loss on mine. The green shoots of everything that I’d been building here in Kefalonia would wither and die, and I would have to start over somewhere new, because the thought of being here and not having Alexis as part of my life was too painful to contemplate. Maybe I should have waited, held back until I was sure of his answer, kept to the safe option. But I had taken a chance on Greece, and I had to take this chance too. I swallowed, my mouth dry with nerves.

Then Alexis reached for my other hand with his and the noise from our surroundings shifted into nothingness as I focused on what he was about to say.

‘Yes. Yes, that would make me very happy. I like you too. A lot,’ he echoed my words. ‘Since the moment we first met, in fact. I would love to be your partner for Eleni’s dinner.’

His first ‘yes’ was hesitant, but the second was more confident, and by the end of his speech, his voice was certain. It was still hard to see his features properly in the shadows, but I could tell that he was smiling.

I found myself laughing with sheer relief. In all the date invitations I’d issued since I returned to Greece, I’d never been so nervous. But I realised now that none of them had mattered so much to me.

Alexis shuffled up so we were side by side and put his arm around me. I rested my head against his shoulder and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. I could hear the thudding of his heart in his chest as we snuggled together watching the lights from the boats in the harbour dancing on the dark water.

‘I never imagined this would be the outcome when I set out on my Awesome Andreas quest,’ I said. ‘I feel like the whole thing was leading me to this moment, that everyone I’ve met along the way helped play a part in me coming to this realisation. Does that make sense?’

It was probably not very tactful of me to bring up the dates I’d been on over the last couple of weeks, but when I was with Alexis, I felt safe to speak my mind, to be completely myself and not worry about the reaction.

‘It’s all part of life’s journey,’ he replied simply. ‘I am glad that we are together here now.’

Then my quiet sense of contentment was spoilt by a sudden realisation. ‘Oh no, we can’t go to Eleni’s dinner together.’

Alexis’s arm stiffened. ‘What’s the matter?’ he asked.

‘What about Andreas? Andreas Rouvas – you know, the guy that Eleni was going to invite for me to meet. I still want to go with you, of course, but how are we going to solve that? It would be the height of bad manners to uninvite him, and I don’t want him to think he’s got a chance with me, when I’ve only got eyes for you. I mean he probably wouldn’t be interested in me anyway, but what if he is? Oh, this is really awkward.’ I was gabbling again.

Alexis chuckled. ‘I think it will be alright. He won’t mind.’ He sounded supremely relaxed about the whole idea.

‘You say that, but it’s still really bad to get him to turn up expecting a blind date with me, only to find out that I’m there with someone else.’

‘Andreas Rouvas is ninety-two and has remained happily single throughout his life. While of course I think he would be a fool not to fall for you, perhaps we should accept in this situation that I have a biased viewpoint because I like you, and that actually it’s safe to assume that he will not change the habit of a lifetime and fall for you.’

I could tell Alexis was trying not to laugh, but I was confused.

‘He’s ninety-two? Then why was Eleni trying to set me up with him?’

Alexis cleared his throat. ‘Ah, well I think that could have something to do with the fact that Eleni is what you might call a hopeless romantic.’

‘There’s hopeless romantic, and then there’s just hopeless. If Andreas Rouvas has not been interested in a relationship at any point in his ninety-two years, why would she think he’d change now? And I’m sure he’s lovely and everything, and while older gentlemen have their attractions, he’s perhaps a littletooold for me. I mean, he could be my great-grandfather at that age.’

‘I haven’t explained properly. Eleni is a hopeless romantic and I think she was trying to set you and me up. Do you remember that she teased me about how often I was visiting the hotel? It is not my usual habit, and she knew that. She could see straight through what I was doing. I’ll admit that I was finding excuses to stop by so I could see you. Eleni and I have been friends for many years, and she’s always enjoyed playing matchmaker. This way she looked like she was supporting your Andreas search, but actually she was arranging it so that we would spend the evening together.’

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