Page 70 of Five Things I Love About You

‘Are you asking me out on a date?’ I say, trying for coy. Perhaps if I make it a bit more obvious that I’m interested in him, he might reciprocate.

‘Would you like me to be asking you on a date?’

I look down at my feet then meet his eyes. He doesn’t look away. ‘I’d like that very much.’ I hold his gaze a bit longer. Something flares between us, then is gone again, and he leans over, pecks me on the cheek, and says, ‘Right, well. See you tomorrow, for our date. Night, Miranda.’

‘Night, Jay.’

I watch as he walks away, his limp less pronounced now, Alan trotting along beside him. He stops at the gate, turns and waves, then is gone, leaving me wondering how I’m going to ignite the flame.

23

A roar fills my ears. Jay’s mouth is against my ear and he’s trying to say something to me, but it’s impossible to hear the words over the wall of sound. His breath tickles my skin and I turn my face and let my lips press against his. They’re warm and soft and my body tingles with desire.

I look away, out across a sea of people, all dressed in blue. We’re at a game of some sort. Football, maybe? It’s hard to tell. I’m about to turn my gaze towards the pitch to find out, when Jay snakes his arm round my waist and points at something with his other arm; a huge screen across the other side of the stadium, and I squint at it, try to make out what he’s showing me. It’s blue as well, and I stare at it for ages until it starts to shimmer and fragment, a siren starts up, so loud it pounds my eardrums and then the background fades and the noise recedes and then…

And then I’m back in bed, the glow of my phone lighting the room as it vibrates with the alarm beside me.

I reach over to switch it off, and let out a long breath, trying to get my heart rate to return to normal.

24

Last night’s dream has left me feeling disorientated. Maybe it’s because I’ve actually met Jay now, so I’m surprised to still be having the dreams at all.

Maybe it’s that not being able to see his face clearly in my dreams is even more frustrating than ever.

Or perhaps it’s because the way I feel about him in my dream doesn’t quite match the reality yet. The electricity is still flying between us during our nocturnal trysts. Yet in real life, things feel less… sparky.

I push the doubts away and remind myself it’s still very early days. We’ve only known each other a matter of days.

Which means a lot is resting on this evening, and our first proper ‘date’. I’m nervous.

I dress carefully. I want to make the right impression, make him fall for me, realise he can’t live without me. I’m not sure red lipstick and a fitted skirt holds all that power, but it’s a start.

The door buzzer makes me jump. He’s here.

I tousle my hair, slip on my heeled boots, and head down the stairs. I can see Jay’s outline through the bevelled glass of the front door and feel my belly tighten. I hope he doesn’t notice the curled-up carpet and the discarded leaflets that litter the hallway – or at least I hope he doesn’t judge me for them. I can’t help thinking about how neat and tidy his home was, and I vow to find out more about that this evening. Surely there’s got to be a reason for someone to be as pin-neat as that?

I pull the door open with a smile.

‘Oh!’ I can’t see much of Jay at all, because he’s hidden behind an enormous bouquet of flowers – lilies and roses and sprays of gypsophila dancing wildly in the breeze. His face pokes round the side and he gives me a grin.

‘This may have been an ambitiously large bunch of flowers, but I wanted to impress you,’ he says, pushing them towards me.

‘Wow, thank you.’ I take them from him and shuffle awkwardly round in the small space. ‘Let me just run up and put them in some water and I’ll be right back down.’

I leave him standing on the doorstep and race back inside, fill the kitchen sink with water and dump the entire lot into it. They really are beautiful, and I breathe in the scent deeply. Nobody has bought me flowers for years – I can’t actually remember the last time – and it feels like a good omen.

I re-lock the door and run down to find Jay sitting on the small brick wall outside the building. He stands as I approach and I notice the bruise on his face has turned from purple to a delightful mix of yellow and green, and his arm is no longer in the sling.

‘You’re on the mend I see,’ I say, pointing at his free arm. He glances down as if surprised.

‘Sort of. I didn’t want to be covered in bandages on our first date so I took the executive decision to dump it.’

‘I hope you’re not in pain just for me.’

‘I’m dosed up on painkillers so I’ll be fine.’ He holds his elbow out. ‘Shall we?’

I hook my arm through his and let him walk me to a taxi which is waiting a little further along the road.

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