Page 71 of Hot to Go

‘You what now?’ I ask.

‘You give us three things about yourself, two of them are true and one is a lie and then we have to guess which one’s the lie,’ he says, rubbing his hands.

There’s a group of about six to seven kids here, all waiting. Suzie laughs and looks over at me. ‘Well, I am twenty-six. I’m an Aquarius and I learned to speak French from my childhood friend who happens to be Timothée Chalamet,’ she says, earnestly. The children all roll their eyes and giggle.

‘I think the idea is that the lie is marginally believable…’ I tell her. She laughs, tilting back her head.

‘Well, I am twenty-eight, I once fractured my wrist in two places after an incident with a mechanical bull. I have a brother called Maximus.’

The children all sit there, trying to work it out. ‘Why were you on a mechanical bull, Sir?’ someone asks. ‘Like one of them bucking bronco things?’

‘Yes.’

‘But why? Are you a cowboy?’

‘Yes. But I gave up the Wild West to come to London and teach you neeks Spanish.’

They all laugh whilst Suzie looks at me, trying to work it all out. ‘It’s the Maximus thing, I reckon,’ she guesses.

I shake my head. ‘I’m twenty-seven. My dad was a big fan of the filmGladiator. We just call him Max now though.’

She smiles.

‘WhatGladiators, like that show where they wear the leotards and have the muscles?’ someone asks. How have we let them all down so badly? Again, not my department. ‘What’s your real name, Sir?’

‘Charlie. And Miss is…’

‘Suzie.’

It’s like we’ve told these kids our passwords.

‘What about a middle name?’

I smile. ‘It’s also a bit random. It’s Rafe. But spelt like Ralph.’

‘Like the boy fromLord of the Flies?’ a lad asks. English department representing well here.

‘Yes but no. On their first date, my parents went to see a film calledThe English Patientand they named me after one of the actors in that film.’

Suzie stops for a moment when I say that out loud, and I wonder if she’s thinking back to what she said on the airplane. That was a coincidence, right? She looks over at me, smiling.

‘Are you both single then?’ Lola asks.

‘That’s a very personal question, Lola,’ I reply.

‘¿Estás casado, señor?’ she asks again. I now feel obliged to answer because she has asked me in Spanish.

‘Sí,’ I watch Suzie stop for a minute. ‘Mi esposa es Camilla Cabello,’ I answer. They all moan. ‘You all laughed when Miss said Timothée Chalamet taught her French.’ I see Suzie smiling, taking another sip of her drink. ‘Anyways, enough about us because I think we should all be asking Lola how it’s going with Josh.’

That corner of the rooftop all cheer teasingly, pushing Lola’s shoulders. I hate to shift the focus on to her but I need to avoid the awkwardness of talking about marriage and relationships with Suzie in the vicinity.

‘Sir, that’s a very personal question,’ Lola says. ‘I can’t believe you.’

‘I know Josh,’ Suzie adds. ‘I teach him French. He’s lovely. Are you two a thing? How long has it been going on?’

‘We’ve been talking for about three months.’

‘That’s quite a long time,’ I add. ‘Do you really like him?’

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