Chapter 52
Fifty-Two
ADDIE
Josh hadn’t stopped smiling since he swung by my office door to pick me up for our date.
He also had not stopped staring at me. He stared while we were pressed together like sardines on the tube. I could somehow feel that he was looking at me as we walked side by side to get from the station to the restaurant. He openly leered at me in the lift to get to the right floor.
And as we stepped into the restaurant that he had chosen, he stared at me with that too-wide smile, waiting for my reaction.
I knew where we were.
It was one of those skyline restaurants that bragged about having the best view of London.
And it did have one of the better ones.
I had seen it all before. Last month, Eli suggested we have a night out before I started my new job, and recommended this place.
Lucy immediately agreed because she wanted to get a proper feel for the interiors, as she thought it might help her get ideas for her most recent project.
Becky was never one to turn down a night out anymore, as her house was almost always empty, and once the twins said yes, the rest of the dominoes fell.
So, we came here. We filled an entire booth. We laughed a lot. We drank some interesting cocktails, both good and bad. We lucked out because we came on the last perfect summer’s day we had and got to watch the most breathtaking sunset take place across London.
We also ate some subpar food, and when we got home, Eli made late-night French toast that I would quite happily marry.
But Josh was clearly expecting a reaction from me, so I tried to convey wonder on my face.
His smile got even wider, so I must have achieved it.
He held my chair out for me when we got to our table, and as he settled in opposite me, his eyes roamed over my body. Again.
“I love this dress,” he said.
“Thanks. It’s literally just a piece of material.
” I shrugged. Despite what the magazines had told me growing up, I didn’t usually have much cause to take an outfit from day to evening.
However, this was one of the few items of clothing I owned that was casual enough to prevent a student asking me if I had some kind of plans later because I looked nicer than usual, yet also dressy enough that it could be worn on a first date.
“It’s a great piece of material. Although it’s a bit ruined by that hair tie on your arm,” he said. I think he was trying to make a joke, but it sounded more like he was telling me off.
My hand automatically went to the silk scrunchie settled on my bicep. “That’s where my scrunchies live unless they are in my hair, and as you can see, my hair is down.” I flicked my braids over my shoulder.
“No, I noticed. I just know some girls don’t want their outfits ruined by hair ties.”
“I really don’t think about it that much.”
I pulled it off my arm anyway.
“How long does that take to do?” Josh gestured at my hair.
“These took six hours. Done in two sessions.” A session that included a conversation that made me think this date was a good idea.
“And do they hurt?”
I held back my eye roll. “No, they’re not that tight.”
He studied my hair further. “Do you always have them in?”
“No. I take them out regularly. These will be in until the end of the year, then I won’t get them done again until the spring.”
“And what does your hair look like underneath all that?”
There was no holding back the eye roll this time.
“It’s shoulder-length and curly. Still dark brown.”
He finally stopped staring at my hair and locked in on my eyes.
That wasn’t better.
“And what about these eyes of yours?”
Fuck, this was going to be a long night.
The girls were all at Becky’s tonight.
I had no idea if they thought they were being subtle when they said that they would be there to finalise some things for the engagement party, because I was seeing right through them.
They were all in one place because they wanted to know how my date went.
I didn’t think they were prepared for me to get to Becky’s before eight-thirty.
“Fuck, you look like you could use a drink,” Lucy said the moment she opened the door.
“Please,” I said desperately as I stepped into the house.
We walked down the long hallway to the kitchen, where the rest of them were. Becky’s face lit up and then immediately fell when Lucy handed me a large glass of white wine. I took a long sip as I settled into a chair at the kitchen table.
“It went well then?” Clara asked, her voice thick with sarcasm.
“He asked if my eye colour was real!”
Becky’s face fell as she settled on a chair opposite me. “Oh, that’s…an inside thought that should stay inside.”
I nodded. “Right?! And then he tried to explain the importance of Shakespeare’s plays during the Elizabethan era.”
Lucy barked out a laugh. “Does he know what you do with your days?” she asked.
“I thought he did!”
“No, he does. It was one of the reasons I thought you two would get along. I even said as much to him,” Becky said, pouring a glass of wine of her own.
“That makes me feel so much better,” I drawled.
“Was there anything good about it?” Clara asked.
I thought about it. Really thought about it. “I mean, he was not unattractive to look at when he wasn’t talking. Which wasn’t often, to be honest.”
A silence fell.
“Fuck, Ads,” Becky scoffed as she broke it.
“Yeah. So I tried the dating thing, and it did not end well, which is exactly how I saw it going down. I haven’t even told you yet that he spent a lot of dinner just talking to my chest.”
“It’s because he found your eyes too alien,” Lucy interjected. I couldn’t help it, I laughed, and once I started, everyone else did.
Except for Rachel, who was standing in the corner of the kitchen, looking at me like a disappointed parent. I didn’t have it in me to deal with what she had to say about this.
“Let’s turn this night around. You can stay here tonight if you want. We can do a movie marathon!” Becky said. There was a look in her eyes that was almost desperate.
She didn’t want to be alone.
“Yeah, sure. Movie marathon sounds good.”
I ignored Rachel trying to get my attention as I pulled my phone out of my bag and sent Eli a text.
FYI, not going to be coming home tonight xx