Page 25 of When We Were Young

‘I forgot. You’re the expert at this,’ he said, relinquishing the knife.

She was as close as you can get without touching. Warmth radiated from her.

‘I was hoping to get the night off,’ she joked. She sliced a wedge and ran it around the rim of the glass. ‘Gives a nicezingwhen you sip.’

‘Aidan said you’re a student,’ he said, passing the gin. ‘What are you studying?’

She unscrewed the cap, poured them both a generous shot. ‘I just started an art foundation course in London.’

‘Oh cool. How’s it going?’

‘I love it.’ She topped the drinks up with tonic.

‘You must have been on a different course when I used to see you at the station, then?’

‘I was doing A levels back then – art, graphics, and English Lit.’

‘You had a lot of yellow feathers.’

‘I did! I caused chaos in the station that day, but then so did you…’ She held a glass out to him, her eyes on his, a little jolt of electricity as her fingers brushed his.

He lifted the glass to his lips, took a sip. Her persistent gaze flustered him for a moment before he realised she was simply waiting for his verdict on the drink.

‘And there’s the zing!’ he noted.

She sipped her drink and ran her tongue over her bottom lip. ‘Good, right?’

Will was suddenly hot. ‘Very good.’ But he hated gin – he only had one because she was. ‘So, what were you doing with all those feathers?’

‘Oh, they were for a piece inspired by the Greek goddess of dawn. She has these golden wings and a tiara, so I used jewels and feathers. I wanted it to be strong and feminine at the same time – a sort of tribute to my grandmother. God, that sounds pretentious…’ Even in the dim light, he could see her cheeks flush.

‘Not at all. It sounds amazing. I’d love to see your work.’

‘Maybe you can? I need to move a sculpture from one campus to another for an exhibition, but it’s too big to fit in a car. Aidan said you might help with your van?’

‘Of course. Anytime.’

‘Thank you.’ She touched his shoulder. Her hand was there for half a second, but he could still feel it.

‘Shall we sit?’

She nodded and followed him into the sitting room.

The dog was lying on the floor in front of the Christmas tree. He raised his head and thumped his tail on the carpet. Emily sat beside him and scratched his ears. Will joined them on the floor, leaning his back against the sofa, legs outstretched.

‘Can you draw something for me?’ he asked.

She smiled and frowned at the same time. ‘Why?’

‘I just want to see how good you are. See what all the fuss is about.’

‘What shall I draw?’

‘I don’t know – something small.’

She chewed the inside of her cheek. ‘I’ll need a pen and paper.’

He went to the kitchen and came back with a pen and torn-off page of a small notepad he found in a drawer.