needed to do this more often. Get out there. Remember the life beyond work and pre-school breakfasts, homework, snot noses, nutritious suppers and all the other stuff they did day in, day out.
So when Jen was on the dance floor again and Eve was at the bar, ordering more drinks and taking in the scene, that was when Joseph had walked up to her and started talking.
About what, it was strangely hard to remember. They had joked about their drinks and the dancing ... oh, God knows.
Her looking at this handsome, handsome face as he distractedly pushed back locks of hair and smiled lots, a wide-open, disarming smile she couldn't help but smile back at.
As the conversation went on, she noticed Jen pointedly staying away, so as not to interrupt them, but it took a while for Eve to realize what this was about.
'So who are you here with tonight?' she'd asked.
'My mates,' Joseph had answered. 'If you look casually over your right shoulder, you will see a group of morons waving and cheering me on. That's who I'm here with tonight.'
So she'd looked and sure enough, a tableful of lads about 15 feet away started shouting and giving her the thumbs-up sign.
'So why are you over here talking to me?' She wasn't being flirtatious, she was genuinely curious.
'Because I really wanted to and they dared me.'
'Oh.'
Oh... Oh! This was about flirting and chatting up and maybe even snogging and dating and things she had barely thought about – let alone done for a long, long time. He was interested ... in her!! She'd looked at this young man properly then. Broad shoulders, the low-hipped jeans which bagged over bright blue trainers, the olive tan hands, face and long fingers with smooth, round nails. She had a vision of small wood-brown nipples on a hairless chest and felt . . . alive, alert – and suddenly nervous. He was absolutely lovely. Their eyes kept meeting and holding. His dark, liquid brown, hers an unfathomable steel grey, he thought.
'It's really corny,' he'd said as they'd grinned at each other, both frantic to think of something incredibly interesting to say next, 'but would you like to go outside to chat? It's quieter and maybe there are stars ... or at least streetlights.'
She'd laughed at this, but just a little because the thud, thud, thud in her heart was so loud she could hardly hear him over it.
Once they'd stepped out of the club onto the back street pavement it felt weird and very cold. The air was frosty and their words made clouds. He smiled a bit shyly at her now and they just looked at each other for a breath-holdingly long time.
'Do I look a lot older than I did in there?' she'd blurted out.
'A bit – but that's making me feel shy, not putting me off . . . or anything ... I mean ... I don't ... I didn't . . .' he'd petered out, embarrassed.
'How old are you?' she'd asked, hugging her bare arms tightly around her and trying to stop her teeth chattering.
'Twenty-two.'
'Ah! Well, that makes me ten years older than you, which is maybe a bit scary,' she'd told him, wondering if he was going to rush back inside.
'You know, it could be fun. We probably shouldn't even think about it,' he'd said encouragingly and leaned just slightly towards her, coming closer without actually moving.
It was a pivotal moment: should she just laugh this off and turn back into the club, which is what she thought she was about to do, or should she allow herself just a little bit of . . . what? Fun? Daring? Experiment? She thought of Jen's words to her earlier in the evening: 'You're turning into such a boring old drudge, Eve. Lighten up!'
So she hesitated for just a little moment between turning or staying, turning or staying, and then she moved, stepping towards the soft mouth that bumped down onto hers. Thud, thud, thud – she'd never felt so wired in her life. She couldn't breathe, could barely stand up, knew she was going to have to surface for air from this long, gasping underwater kiss.
'You're lovely,' he said when they
Lynn Donovan, Dineen Miller