Page 48 of Just Like That

Though I suspected this was the case, I was still keen to hear him say it. I also find his awkwardness quite adorable.

‘No regrets here either.’ I place my hand on his in illustration of this and he looks more relieved than I would have expected. ‘I actually nearly messaged you through social media at the weekend but then I chickened out.’

‘Don’t feel bad. I was exactly the same.’

‘You were?’

‘Yes. It made me feel like I was twelve years old again.’ He screws up his nose ashamedly at this admission.

‘Well, there was no sign of that twelve-year-old boy last Thursday.’ I nudge him in the ribs cheekily.

‘That is true.’ He scoffs and his faces reddens slightly. ‘Must have been the “now or never” chat Lauren gave me – which on reflection didn’t have quite the urgency she made it out to have. Plus, I have an admission to make on that front.’

‘Which is?’

‘I may have knocked back some vodka before running after you out of the park.’

I erupt with laughter. ‘So that’s where the sudden boldness came from. There was me thinking it was some Hollywood-level gesture borne out of your overwhelming need to kiss me.’

This time Nick turns beetroot and tries to hide his discomfort by glugging at his coffee. Unfortunately, this results in him scalding his mouth and crying out in pain.

‘I’m sorry.’ My hand flies to my mouth and I reach out to him in concern. ‘I was just teasing you.’

‘It’s fine. I’m fine.’ He tries to wave the situation away, and in doing so, dislodges the lid on his coffee cup, causing the roasting hot contents to slop onto his thigh. This time he lets out a kind of manly yelp.

‘Oh my goodness, Nick. Are you OK?’ I hurriedly dig in my bag to find some clean tissues, then dab at his leg with them hopelessly.

‘I’m fine, honestly. And there’s no need for that. These overalls have been covered in a lot worse.’

‘Of course.’ I stop dabbing and look at him with big regretful eyes. ‘I am sorry though.’

‘For what? Making a joke?’ He sets his now almost empty coffee cup aside on the bench. ‘Am I such a “grumpy grouch” that you feel the need to apologise for lightening the mood?’

‘No.I feel the need to apologise for you scalding yourself – twice – because of me trying to keep the mood light. We might need to complete a health and safety risk assessment if we’re going to keep this up. Anyway, you were telling me about the vodka. Where did that come from?’

‘I’ll let you guess.’

‘Lauren? No, Serge.’

‘Spot on.’ Nick nods. ‘Much as I wanted to act on things, I was making my usual excuses to avoid having to put myself out there, and Serge overheard. He pulled out a hip flask and told me to “get it down me”.’

‘Which you did.’

‘Yes, then I retched for a bit and thought I was going to be sick, before Lauren gave me some chewing gum to mask the taste and I eventually took off after you.’

‘So romantic.’ I giggle.

He shrugs and gives me a weak smile. ‘I aim to please.’

‘Well, the bit I experienced was romantic, and if you’re OK with it, I’d like a rerun.’

‘What, same again this Thursday? I guess I can do that, but don’t be expecting it weekly. That would be taking the piss,’ he quips.

‘I was just referring to the kiss.’ I bite my lip in anticipation, as Nick assumes a look of borderline panic – perhaps at the thought of making the first move on command and vodka free. ‘OK, allow me.’

Having gravitated closer to each other during this exchange, all I have to do is put down my coffee and take Nick’s from him – to avoid any further incidents – then I slip my arms around his neck and pull him into a deep kiss that’s fizzing with longing. He responds hungrily, and before I realise what’s happening, we’re getting quite frisky and carried away, my whole body tingling with desire.

Suddenly, there’s a loud thumping noise and we jolt apart. Following the sound, we turn and find to our horror that we have an audience. Lauren, the man who runs the park’s ticket office and another female staff member I don’t recognise are all glued to the window overlooking the car park, hammering on it, while laughing and making thumbs-up gestures at us.

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