Page 97 of The Gin Lover's Guide to Dating

‘I’m not.’ I take a beer from the fridge for Dylan and pour myself a large gin and tonic. ‘I’m officially unemployed – again.’

‘I thought when you said it was an emergency, you were gonna tell me you had writer’s block or some crap like that.’ Dylan seems even more anguished than Amir was.

‘I wish.’ I hand him the beer, plonk myself down miserably on the sofa beside him and take a big swig from my drink.

‘And Josh dumped you too.’ Dylan gives me sympathetic look. ‘That’s brutal.’

‘I wouldn’t say hedumpedme…’ I suddenly realise what I’m saying. ‘Yes, I guess he dumped me. But it’s totally my fault.’

‘Sorry, but I can’t disagree there.’ Dylan absently clunks his bottle neck against my glass. ‘I told you to ditch your online stalker. Josh is a top guy. You’ve blown it there, ya numpty.’

‘I know. I don’t need you to tell me that.’ I sigh. ‘But please stop calling Graham my stalker. He’s amazing. Incredible, actually.’

‘Whatever.’ Dylan shrugs. ‘So’s Josh.’

‘No, I mean it,’ I persist. ‘I’ve had a complete revelation.’

I fill him in on the previous night’s conversation and take my phone from my handbag to show him the message from Graham. He reads it slowly and intensely. Once he’s finished, he lets out a low whistle.

‘He’s good. I could never have put it like that. Smug bastard.’

‘Hey.’ I laugh and give him an affectionate push.

‘So, are you gonna finally meet him then?’ Dylan asks. ‘Like, if you’re that into him. You can’t just forever have a cyber boyfriend. That’s weird.’

‘I don’t know.’ I shrug, as I put my phone back in my handbag. ‘I told you before: he said that we couldn’t meet yet. I’m trying to respect that.’

‘Sod that.’ Dylan takes a swig of his beer. ‘Put the pressure on. He’ll cave if he thinks you’re getting too impatient.’

‘Hmm… OK… I’ll give that some thought.’ I raise a sceptical eyebrow at him. ‘I think maybe I’ve got more urgent things to sort out, don’t you? Like putting this place on the market before it’s taken out of my hands, quite literally.’

‘Any idea where you’re going to live?’ Dylan’s face turns serious with concern.

‘Nope.’

‘What about money, Squirt?’

‘Don’t even go there.’ I chew on my lip. ‘My best chance is to keep my focus on my blog, so I still have some income – it looks like it will grow. I was thinking I could just start going to different bars and get my material from them.’

‘Sounds like a decent plan,’ says Dylan. ‘Are your subscriber numbers still climbing?’

‘They are.’ I nod. ‘I’m hoping I’ll have better income this month, but I’m guessing it will still only be a few hundred at best. I need to sell this place and everything in it fast. Then I can assess where things are at. I can also try and get another bar job. But at this rate, I’m going to be in sheltered accommodation for a bit, at least.’

‘No way!’ Dylan looks alarmed. ‘That just can’t happen. I know you won’t want to hear this, but what about your mum? Could you not stay with her for a bit?’

‘Dylan, I haven’t spoken to my mum in years. There’s no way I’m going crawling back to her now. Not a chance. I’d rather sleep on the streets than spend even one night in that piss hole.’

‘Right, well…’ Dylan rubs his forehead. ‘There’s no way I’m gonna let you go into sheltered accommodation. You can couch surf at mine until you get sorted with something. And you can store your stuff in my room. My flatmates are just gonna have to deal with it.’

My instincts are screaming at me to stay independent and politely decline Dylan’s proposal, but I resolutely fight them off. I remember Aaron’s words about me being so stubborn and refusing offers of help – when everyone in life needs a bit of help at times.

‘OK, thanks, Dylan.’ I lean over and give him a hug. ‘That means a lot. I’ll make sure I’m out of your way quick as possible.’

‘No worries, Squirt.’ He ruffles my hair, causing me to duck out the way. ‘You’re like my wee sister. There’s no way I’m letting you go under. Actually… seeing as you’ve had this epiphany over your upbringing, how about you join me at the Broken Arms for a few drinks sometime soon? As I’ve said, the guys are always asking for you.’

I wrinkle my nose, my instincts having kicked into gear once again. Then I see the prove-you’re-not-a-snob-after-all look Dylan is giving me.

‘It’s not what you think,’ I protest. ‘It’s just… it’s been so long. I’m out of the loop. Everyone will be staring at me, judging me.’

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