Page 16 of The Gin Lover's Guide to Dating

‘Well done you.’ Aaron plonks himself down on the chair opposite, as if answering with more than one sentence is an invitation to join me.

Company is definitely the last thing I want right now; I’m unsure what to do. Since he has failed to pick up on my reluctance to engage with him, I consider just being honest and asking him to leave me alone. But I can’t do that. It’s Aaron. The man who saved me from falling down the slippery slope back to Ridgemore estate all those years ago.

The now pounding thunder and lightning outside, torrential rain battering the shopfronts, and bins and other debris being blown down the street all make escape a non-option. We sit and look at each other mutely for a few moments. Then I have an idea.

‘Do you have the time?’ I ask Aaron.

He looks at his watch.

‘It’s five-forty.’

‘Already? He’s late!Again.’

‘Who’s late?’

‘Dylan. He’s always turning up way past the time we agree to meet.’

I look expectantly at Aaron, thinking he’ll make his excuses and go. For all he knows Dylan is my built-like-a-brick-shithouse boyfriend who doesn’t at all appreciate other people speaking to his woman.

‘Is that the same Dylan you just told to get lost?’

‘Um… maybe.’ I feel my cheeks flush, realising he heard me.

‘If he’s late,’ says Aaron, ‘then I’ll keep you company till he arrives. I don’t need to be in work for a bit and there’s no point in going anywhere in that weather.’

I look at Aaron in desperation. Is he kidding me? Now I’m going to be stuck here for hell knows how long, making crap chat and waiting for a friend who’s never going to arrive. Come on, Liv, you know how to get out of a situation like this. You managed this stuff all the time at work.

But you’re not that hotshot professional anymore, are you? You’re unemployed and unemployable.

The familiar voice goads me with new rhetoric. I shake my head, in a bid to banish it from my mind.

‘So, you were saying,’ Aaron prompts me, ‘PR and communications. Where do you work now?’

‘I… err… I’m in between jobs.’

There. That should put him off.

‘You mean, you’re unemployed?’ Aaron cocks his head to the side, as if to examine this odd species he’s stumbled across.

‘Yes.’ My voice is flat; I look at the floor. ‘I guess that’s what I mean.’

‘Liv. How? You were one of the best employees I ever had. So sharp. Such a good worker.’

‘Don’t know. I don’t really want to talk about it.’ I’m beside myself with humiliation, unable to even look Aaron in the eye.

‘That’s not an option.’ Aaron starts to get up, and for a moment, I optimistically think he might leave. ‘I’ll get us some refills and then you can tell me what’s been going on. Let’s see if I can help.’

‘But I don’t want—’

‘Liv. Don’t argue.’ Aaron silences me. ‘You were a good worker, but you were always so prickly.’

‘Dylan’s going to be here any—’

Aaron looks at me appraisingly. ‘Liv. I know you’re not meeting anyone. Do you think I’m that gullible?’

I’m shocked into silence. I’m also immediately transported back a decade to a time when I was hanging on by a shoestring financially, terrified I was going to have to pack in uni and go home. He may be blunt and awkward, but it was Aaron who helped me out of that hole. This is like déjà vu. And, much as I’d rather chew my own arm off than accept charity from him again, if he helped me then, maybe, by some miracle, he can help me again. It’s not like I have any other options.

While Aaron’s up at the counter, I have a bit of wobble at the idea of having to bare everything. I consider doing a runner – electrical storm or not. But before I know it, Aaron’s back with a tray of hot drinks. He puts it down on the table and places another cappuccino in front of me. I cast aside the cold one I haven’t touched and take a comforting sip of the hot drink. The bitterness of the coffee combined with the sweetness of the froth is surprisingly satisfying – and makes me realise I’m starving after having eaten nothing all day. Despite my clothes still being damp and my feet freezing, it has the instant effect of warming me through.

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