Page 59 of Is She Really Going Out with Him?
Walking down the cobbled street, I burst into tears. That was so awful.Hewas so awful. They say never meet your heroes; you probably shouldn’t date them either. The man just finished a three-hour play; obviously he had no interest in getting to know me. He just liked a photo he found of me online and assumed I’d be willing. I made the mistake of thinking I knew him because his face was so familiar.
At home, when Kelly asks how the evening went, I brush her off with a broad “Disappointing” and an exaggerated yawn. I pay her an extra thirty quid for the nitconvenience, then go upstairs to put one of the treatments on my head. Soaking in a too-hot bath, I try to scald away the memory of Ryan’s hands.
Replaying the conversation in my head, I wonder, if I’d acted differently, could the evening have gone another way? If I hadn’t mentioned Faye Carraway, if I’d been less uptight. Could there have been a scenario where I’d havewantedto go back to his hotel room? No, I don’t think so. From the second we met, I felt something off about him, a darkness.
Rigorously combing through my hair with a nit comb, I find nothing. I do not have nits, though my scalding bath can’t wash away the skin-crawling feeling. As I dry myself in silence, my phone pings with a message. Will. He’s sent me a screenshot of an online dating profile: “Tiffany.” She’s twenty-five and has poker-straight dark hair, eyebrows that are artfully drawn, and a face that looks familiar.
Will Havers
She’s hardly Ryan Stirling but still technically a celebrity…
Now I recognize her; she’s the daughter of a famous footballer who starred inCelebrity Love Island. He must have gotten access to the exclusive dating app he was telling me about.
Will Havers
I told her my rival columnist was on a date with an A-lister, and she was my best chance to compete. The things I do to keep up with you, Appleby.
I want to reply, but then he might ask me how things went with Ryan.
Will Havers
You’re probably still out with RS. I’ll stop distracting you.
I leave it for a few minutes, then I remember I did promise to text him after my date. I’ll need to say something.
Anna Appleby
I’d rather have spent the evening with Tiffany. Ryan Stirling = sleaze bag
I’ve hardly pressed send before Will is calling me.Why is he calling me?
“What happened?” he asks as soon as I answer, his voice full of concern.
“It’s fine, he’s just a tool. I left after twenty minutes.”
“I’d heard he was.” Will’s voice is so warm and familiar, now I’m glad that he called. “I’m sorry, I should have warned you. What did he do?”
“He thought I was a fan who was just there to…well, you know,” I sigh.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” He sounds so sincere, so full of concern, that my voice breaks as I say, “No, it’s fine.”
“Do you want me to come over?” Will asks.
“No, honestly, I’m okay.”
“I could go heckle his play? Write up a bad review?”
This makes me laugh. “No, I’m just nursing a bruised ego.” I pause. “He said I looked older than my byline photo.” I let out a dramatic sigh.
“Then he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. You’re the most beautiful woman I know.” The compliment takes me by surprise. I don’t know what to say, but I feel my face break into an enormous smile and a warm feeling settling in my chest.
“That’s definitely not true but thank you for being nice.”
There’s a pause on the line.
“I’m not being nice,” he says, and it sends a dart of pleasure through me.
“Night, Will.”
