Page 54 of He's the One

“Note to self. Next date has to be something Col has never done before, in a place he’s never been to before. Go for new, fresh, exciting.”

Col chuckled. “Is this a date?”

“No, not really. Not with where we’re heading. I’m going to think up something unforgettable for our first date. Though to be honest, all our encounters have been unforgettable. At our first meeting, you saved my life. Then we chose the same table to hide under.” Theo groaned. “Not quite true. I did follow you under there. Then we met in the woods, and had a Disney moment with Isla, until the arrival of the villain—Dick Dastardly.”

“Who’s Dick Dastardly?”

Theo gaped at him. “Look him up. He’s the cartoon villain in Wacky Races. He has a dog called Muttley. That’s what I call Darnley’s wife. She works in the gift shop.”

“Oh God.”

The pub wasn’t busy and they sat a table in the corner of the dining room.

“Then there was the date that wasn’t because you were too busy getting beaten up. And today, we’re on our way to somewhere that you wish you didn’t need to go to in order to see your brother who you wish was somewhere else. So next time, I’m going to find the best thing ever.” Theo sagged. “Now I’ve piled that pressure on myself, I’m going to stress out and you’re going to be disappointed.”

Col pressed his knee against Theo’s. “If you’re with me, I won’t be disappointed.”

“Now I can’t speak. Don’t say that’s a plus.”

Col chuckled. “I like your chatter. What do you want to eat?”

“You like my chatter? Ohhh.”

“Yes, I do.”

Theo scanned the menu. “Not chicken. Your photo was brilliant, by the way. You should have won. Did you have one in the other class as well?”

“Yes.”

“Which one?”

“The stag.”

“That was good too. That water vapour as it breathed out. Did you use a camera or your phone?”

“My phone.”

“Show me more?”

“Let’s order first.”

While they were waiting for their food to arrive, Col let him scroll through his pictures. Theo was still looking at them when the waitress came over with their drinks.

“You clearly like architecture,” Theo said. “The only people in your pictures are those standing in front of something interesting. You don’t even take selfies.”

“Why would I want pictures of me? I know what I look like. Buildings are my thing. Mostly the old ones but some modern constructions are amazing.”

“Do you understand architectural jargon?”

“To an extent. A lot of the time architects use words to impress. Materiality always makes me roll my eyes.”

“What does it mean?”

“Bricks and wood.”

Theo laughed.

“It’s easy to sound like you know what you’re talking about if you throw in words like methodology, spatiality, potentiality, let alone ones like trabeation, planar, enfilade, fenestration, stylobate.” Col smiled. “Why do you want to know if I can understand architecture-speak?”

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