Page 57 of One Night in Edinburgh

‘You said you’re an Edinburgh girl…?’

‘Born and bred,’ I confirm, slightly puzzled at him asking me this.

‘Yet you had salt and vinegar on your chips, not salt and sauce. Is that a result of your family’s influence? Is salt and sauce beneath them?’

‘No.’ I shake my head. ‘They like to think chip shops are beneath them.’

Jamie laughs. ‘I should have anticipated that one. I can’t imagine your sister in a chippy.’

‘Not unless it’s a chippy that’s “Instagrammable”.’

‘You’re not a fan of social media by the sounds of things?’

‘No, I’m not a fan of my sister.’ I look at him, deadpan.

He laughs again. ‘I’m loving this east coast humour of yours.’

‘Is that what it is?’

‘I don’t know, maybe. It’s certainly different to what I’m used to. Anna’s got a bit of it, from what I remember, too. So, back to social media: I’m interested in your relationship with it.’

‘Oh, don’t worry, I’d pick you any day, and I never cheat,’ I quip.

‘Very good. I had that coming.’ He closes and latches his polystyrene tray, having finished his chips well ahead of me.

I puff my cheeks out in contemplation, giving Jamie’s question some proper thought. ‘I’m a bit middle of the road, I’d say. I’m not that into it – not in the way that Kayleigh and Anna are – but I am on Facebook and Instagram. I only really keep up with other people’s feeds, wish folk happy birthday, have the odd “to and fro” with people I know. Don’t post much myself. What about you?’

‘I’m not on any platforms. Came off them a while back, but you probably already know that, because apparently you searched high and low for me.’ He playfully steals a chip from my tray.

‘That’s true, I did.’ I chuckle and bat him away. ‘But I didn’t think I wasn’t finding you because you weren’t on social. I thought it was because I didn’t know your surname. There are a lot of Jamies in Edinburgh, some of whom – rather unhelpfully – don’t put photos of themselves on their profiles.’

‘I see.’

‘So, what is your surname then, Jamie? And I’m not asking so that I can stalk you online, I promise.’

My last comment causes Kayleigh’s message on the WhatsApp group to suddenly spring back into my mind. It distracts me and makes me fume all over again. Jamie immediately picks up on this change of mood.

‘You’re thinking about Kayleigh again, aren’t you?’

‘Yes, how did you know?’

He reaches up and tweaks my nose. ‘Because your nose is scrunched up and you have the same look on your face you had when you were reading her message. Do I need to up my game further to help you put her out of your mind altogether?’

‘Were you already doing that?’ I frown. ‘I didn’t notice.’

‘You weren’t meant to. You’re a hard one to get off topic once you’ve got a bee in your bonnet, you know.’

‘Funny you should say that, Connor said something very similar the other day.’

‘Clearly a wise man.’

Jamie takes my empty chip tray from me and pops it in a nearby bin along with his own.

‘So, what’s next?’ he asks, as I get to my feet.

‘Not had enough of me for one day?’ I flutter my eyelashes at him comically.

‘Definitely not. How about we go back to yours and watch a movie or something? I noticed you have a TV in your room.’

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