‘Hello,’ she replied, smiling. ‘I was worried you weren’t going to show.’
She’d been worried? Really? ‘Why?’ he asked. He wasn’t late.
‘I don’t know. I thought at first maybe you were ignoring me.’ Selena giggled nervously and turned back to her nearly empty drink.
Sid felt the knot in his stomach loosen a little. He wasn’t sure if it was a surge of self-confidence or his normal just-not-giving-much-of-a-fuck attitude returning, but he began to relax. ‘Yeah, sorry about that. It’s been pretty mad these last few weeks with all the am dram stuff.’
‘That sounds fun.’
Sid perched on the barstool next to Selena and his leg brushed hers as he climbed up, sending a shiver through him. ‘It was okay.’
‘Anyone I know in the group?’ Selena finished her drink.
‘Maybe. I can’t really say yet. We’re going to print a list in the paper this week. Would you like another drink?’ Sid asked. He needed one. The nerves in his tummy were biting again making him feel sick.
‘Yes, please.’ Selena turned to the barman who stood waiting to take their order. ‘I’ll have a glass of champagne, please.’ She turned back. ‘If that’s okay?’
‘Of course.’ Sid ordered a beer for himself and drank half of it. ‘Shall we find a table?’
Selena nodded and smiled before slipping elegantly from her stool and grabbing her coat. For a guy with no experience it seemed to be going pretty well so far. He hoped the rest of the night would too.
Selena led them to a table by the window and sat down. ‘Thanks for the champagne. Wine’s a bit of a killer for me and I don’t really like beer or spirits. Too many shots when I was at uni.’
‘On those one pound a shot nights?’ He laughed. ‘Yeah, me too. The Student Union’s got a lot to answer for.’
Selena angled in towards him. ‘Do you remember when that guy’s shoe ended up on the roof of Cooper Building and was there for the whole term?’
‘Oh, yeah.’ Sid smiled at the memory. Most of his uni days were a faded blur now, barely recalled. It was nice to talk about them with someone again. He’d been so happy then. ‘They never did find out who it was, did they?’
Selena laughed and shook her head. ‘I always imagined him hopping home that night all drunk and wobbly.’
Sid chuckled too.
‘I like your shirt,’ Selena offered and Sid blushed. He wasn’t used to receiving compliments on his clothes.
‘Thanks. Are you glad to be back in Greenley?’ he asked. Selena’s olive skin glowed in the sunlight shining through the window and her long dark hair reminded him of a chocolate waterfall.
‘Sort of. Obviously I wish it had worked out with my ex-boyfriend. I thought at one point we were going to get married, but it just wasn’t to be. I’m happy to be back for a while though.’ She ran a hand over her ponytail and pulled it around over her shoulder the ends resting on her cleavage.
Sid pictured her ex and in his mind, he looked like Harrison Ford playing Han Solo. Someone rugged and handsome. In short, nothing like him.
‘So what about you?’ Selena asked before taking a sip of her drink. She sounded genuinely interested and Sid’s nerves rose up once more, wanting to give her the right answers. ‘Did you come back straight from university?’
‘Yeah.’ Sid thought about mentioning his parents but didn’t. He didn’t want to ruin the mood. ‘I got a job on the paper then decided to stay. I’ve been with the Gazette ever since.’
‘Didn’t you ever want to work for a big paper or the BBC or something?’
‘No. Not really. I’d have to wear a suit then.’ Sid joked but it had taken all his self-control to wear one for the entirety of Elsie’s funeral. Thoughts of Lottie threatened to push in but he buried them. He hated the way his brain did that. ‘And I’d have to sit in a hot stuffy office. I think I’d miss the sea.’
Selena ran her fingers over the stem of her glass and her voice was all soft and dreamy. ‘That’s one of the things I missed most when I was up north. I love being by the sea and hearing the waves. Even though I could do without the seagulls waking me up at stupid o’clock in the morning.’
‘Definitely,’ agreed Sid, and he told her about the enormo-gull that had attacked him the other week. Hearing Selena laugh was like listening to his favourite record. A feeling of warmth flooded through him, and pride at having been the one to make her smile.
‘I’m surprised you survived,’ she replied, a hint of a laugh still in her voice. ‘There was one in town harassing pedestrians the other day. Some poor old man who was sat on the bench opposite the museum had to fight it off with his walking stick. I couldn’t stop laughing. You should have heard the names he was calling it.’
Sid grinned. ‘You’d be surprised at the wide vocabulary of the older generation.’
Selena laughed again and Sid watched her face as it filled with joy. ‘So what about you?’ he asked, unwilling to let the conversation fall into silence. ‘Any plans for a big career somewhere?’
‘No, not really.’ Selena kept her eyes on the glass as she shrugged. ‘I like what I do. It makes people happy. Do you live on your own?’
Sid tensed up. Did he look like one of those guys who had always lived on their own, all scruffy and untidy? Or worse, smell like it? He resisted the urge to try a surreptitious sniff of his shirt. ‘Umm, yeah. Yeah, I do.’
‘That’s nice. I’d kill for some space at the moment.’
He could understand but felt a tinge of sadness for something he’d never have again. He’d got on well with his parents and he missed them.
‘But I’m saving up,’ Selena continued, cheerfully. ‘So I should be able to rent somewhere within a few months.’ She looked up at him from under her impossibly long eyelashes and her dark brown eyes held him captivated. ‘Anyway, are you seeing anyone at the moment?’
Sid frowned. ‘Umm, no. No, I’m not.’ He thought about mentioning Lottie but what would he say? She wasn’t his girlfriend so what was the point of saying anything? He didn’t know much about girls but he knew they could get jealous. He’d read it in a copy of GQ at the doctor’s once. Sid swallowed the other half of his beer.
‘Thirsty?’ Selena joked.
He felt his cheeks burn. ‘It is quite hot today.’
Her face lightened. ‘We have been talking nonstop.’
They had, hadn’t they? He chanced at a look at his watch. They’d already been there for forty-five minutes. Wow. It only felt like five. In his mind he applauded himself at how well things were going and watched Selena smile back. He noticed her cheeks plumped up when she did and he wanted to stroke the smooth pink tinged skin. ‘Did you want another one?’
‘Yes, please, but I’ll need something to eat before I drink too much more or I’ll get tipsy. Even on this, I’m still a bit of a lightweight.’
Before Sid could worry about rejection he said, ‘We could eat here if you like?’ He glanced at the menu. He had no idea what a compote was but the odd smell he’d first encountered had gone away and he was sure he’d be able to find something suitable to eat. Every pub had a variation on a good old