Page 46 of What Happens in Dubai

I began to tell him about the clinic, my nursing, my friends and our unexpected trip to Dubai. He was a great listener. Every so often, he drew his hands to the top of the table and squeezed mine. I asked him about himself and he revealed how he was married for three years to a girl he met at school. As he worked abroad, they grew separately as people and fell out of love. He had been single for almost two years now. His honesty about his situation and his warmth towards me felt real. There was no second-guessing his intentions, no girl code I had to follow, just meaningful chat. Maybe it was because he was so new to the dating scene, or perhaps it was because he was genuinely a nice guy, but I couldn’t help feeling comfortable with him.

‘So, tell me about dating? Have you had many since the split?’ I slurped my drink, keeping eye contact with the attractive man.

‘Well … hmm … I had Tinder,briefly. I had lunch with one girl in Dubai, but nothinghappenedhappened.’ He blushed as he opened up.

‘So, nothing’s happenedhappenedsince the split, Cameron?’ I was intrigued, hoping we were using the same code for sex.

‘Well … I was in Brazil, and I sort of dated a dancer for a couple of weeks. Something happenedhappenedthere, but not since then,’ he chuckled.

‘Wow,’ I gasped. ‘A Brazilian dancer! Congratulations!’ I was fascinated yet utterly intimidated as I imagined a half-naked, six-packed belly dancer grinding her perfect puss all over my new man’s beard.

Cameron shrugged, seeming a little flustered. ‘I suppose I had to tick it off the bucket list.’

I joined in with his awkward laugh, and we drank some more of our hot chocolates.

‘What about you? What’s your story?’ he asked.

‘Well, I suppose I’ve been single for a while,’ I said. I suddenly felt a stab of anxiety thinking about Tom. I tried to put him to the back of my mind but seeing him so recently made me feel sick. ‘So, I dated a guy, fell in love, fell out of love and have been partial to a Tinder date or two recently!’ I played down the fact that I was a serial shagger since we split, who’dalsohad her fair share of South Americans exploring her jungle.

‘So, you could teach me a thing or two about dating?’ he asked.

‘I would love to.’ We paused and stared into one another’s eyes; I could feel my clit throb, desperate to get to know Cameron. ‘If only you were staying a bit longer, eh.’

Cameron agreed and raised his eyebrows.

‘God, it’s so annoying, but I’ve had this trip booked for a while now. Depending on how it goes, I might be finished sooner. I mean, I could always try to fly by Glasgow on the way back to Dubai. Meet for another coffee?’

‘Really? Wow, yes! I mean, of course, I’d really like that,’ I gushed.

‘You could take my number, and we could chat? Try cross paths?’ He shrugged his shoulders, looking nervous.

‘Hey, are you asking to be my new pen pal?’ I joked, biting my lip at the hot sexy gentleman facing me.

He grinned and put his hands to his mouth jokingly.

‘You know, I think I might be!’

We continued our chat effortlessly and exchanged numbers. The moments zoomed by so swiftly, and I dreaded each time Cameron glanced at his watch because I knew it was almost time for him to leave.

He stood up and groaned after what turned out to be almost an hour-long chat.

‘I need to go. I don’t want to, but I really need to go!’

‘I know,yes,you do. I can’t believe how random today has been.’ I shook my head.

‘Come here.’ Cameron stepped towards my seat, and as I stood up, I gazed into his chocolate eyes. His flawless smile glistened through his dark brown beard, and he looked so sexy. Cameron pulled me in, and we hugged for a few seconds. I heard his heart pound heavily in his chest, and I felt the soft touch of his kiss against the top of my head. I grinned against his chest, feeling almost euphoric as he squeezed his body close to mine. He smelled of masculinity, and when I was wrapped in his arms, I didn’t want him to let me go. I felt so comfortable with him, like I had always known him.

Cameron’s head moved towards my ear, and he whispered, ‘Maybe you could lay off the Tinder dates and let me work something out about coming back?’

I glanced up at him in total surprise.

‘I’m sure I could do that,’ I said, and we broke free from our hug.

He seemed pleased with my reply, as he couldn’t take his eyes off me.

‘Goodbye then, Zara. I’ll text you.’

‘OK, speak soon. Safe flight.’ I shuffled backwards, not wanting to break eye contact with my latest crush until he entered the check-in terminal. I immediately felt pumped.What a glorious day!

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