Page 19 of The Gin Lover's Guide to Dating

‘That’s not fair,’ I protest. ‘I’ve applied for loads of jobs. I’ve just been unlucky. Aaron even said so himself.’

‘Yeah, you have.’ Dylan helps himself to a beer from the fridge. ‘All the more reason to take an opportunity when it’s offered to you. When you gonna wake up?’

‘Dylan, I can’t take a bar job.’ I slump on the couch and put my hands on my head in frustration. ‘It’s such a step back.’

‘Will you listen to yourself?’ Dylan shakes his head as he sits down. ‘If you’re not careful you’re gonna turn into a right snob – that’s if you haven’t already.’

‘Hey, that’s harsh!’ I feel wounded, my usual resilience letting me down once again. ‘I just mean I don’t want to undo all the hard work I put in to building my career.’

‘Sorry,’ Dylan mutters. ‘Obviously I didn’t mean that. But you really do need to wake up. You told me your pay-out on leaving your job wasn’t up to much. How are you affording all this?’

‘It’s fine. I’m fine.’ I start to redden.

‘Have you even looked at your finances?’

‘Well, no.’ I screw up my nose. ‘But I’ll be all right.’

‘Are you serious? You have no idea at all.’ Dylan’s face is incredulous once again.

‘I was going to take a look in the next few days. Aaron made me realise I should probably do that.’

‘Do it now.’

‘What? No. I’m not doing it now. Let’s just have a chilled evening.’ I close my eyes and start to massage my temples to labour the point. ‘It’s been a long day.’

‘I don’t care. You need to do it now,’ Dylan persists.

‘Dylan, no. You can’t throw instructions around like that. I’m going to—’

‘I don’t believe you.’ He takes a frustrated swig from his beer. ‘You’re in total denial. If you don’t do it now, while I’m here, you won’t do it at all. And you’ll only discover the mess you’re in when it’s too late.’

‘You sound like Aaron.’ I sit up and survey Dylan in irritation. ‘You two are—’

‘What? Caring about you? Trying to look out for you? Someone’s got to. ’Causeyou’renot doing a good job. Seriously. I’m not leaving till you’ve figured out where you’re at cash-flow-wise. If you don’t start now, I’ll take off my sweaty trainers and stick your face in them – just like I used to.’

‘Oh, Dylan, you are disgusting!’ I wail. ‘Fine! I’ll go and take a look if it will shut you up.’

‘Good decision.’ Dylan sits back on the couch, satisfied, and switches on Sky Sports. ‘I’ll be here when you’re done.’

Two hours later, I’m sitting at the large oak desk in my spare room, drowning in a sea of bills and credit card statements, my head in my hands once again.

This is so much worse than I thought. I realised I wouldn’t have an endless supply of cash to keep me going, but I thought it would last longer than this. I was still living on a salary for the first five weeks after leaving McArthur Cohen. So my pay-out has only actually been covering me financially for less than two months. I also thought I had way more savings, and I’ve completely overlooked a couple of credit cards, each with several hundred pounds on them. The true picture: I’m in the eye of a financial shitstorm, and the devastation is not far away.

‘How you getting on?’ Dylan appears at the door. ‘Football’s finished.’

‘Err… oh, fine. Yeah, it’s totally fine.’

I look up at him. He sees through me immediately.

‘What’s the damage?’ He sighs as he sits down on the dark blue sofa bed behind me. ‘And be honest. I don’t want any of your usual bullshit.’

I really don’t want to tell him. Saying the words out loud will make it all the more real, but I know I don’t have a choice.

‘Well… the summary is, if I keep spending at the rate I am currently, I have enough to cover this month and next, and then I’m out.’

Dylan lets out a low whistle. ‘That’s bad.’

‘Tell me about it.’

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