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did you do, before…?” He trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence; “ before the organisation I work for took away your livelihood and began aggressively vetting you like you’re some sort of terrorist threat?”
    Nadia sighed. “Oh God! I’ve been jumping from work visa to student visa and back to work visa for so long, my CV is a total headache. I feel like I really have done it all. From working at an accountancy firm to working in a chippie…”
    “A chippie? Did you just try for a really British-sounding job to look good on your application?” Alex teased.

    “No, that would be the time I worked at the box office in the Royal Albert Hall,” Nadia laughed. “And anyway, now I volunteer in the Clapham Oxfam.” She shrugged. “I don’t get paid, but at least I don’t come home smelling like vinegar. Mothballs instead.”
    “There's always a silver lining, huh?”
    “I like to think so.” The pair smiled at one another again. And Alex felt the thought as it arrived – this was the right moment to let Nadia know that he’d been a part of her application process.
    “You know, it’s really weird, but…"
    “Hey, we’re moving on,” interrupted a dark-haired someone, placing her palms on the table between them, angling her body towards Nadia and Holly and ignoring Alex; she already had her handbag on her shoulder, ready to go.
    Holly looked up at her friend. “Where are you going?” she asked.
    “Not sure. We were just going to walk down the high street and take a look at what’s going on,” the newcomer answered. “Maybe Bison?”
    “Hey, do you guys fancy coming to Bison & Bird?” Nadia asked the table.
    Lila beamed. “I love their cocktails,” she answered, eagerly. “They’ve got one that tastes like Love Hearts.” Holly and Nadia’s friend gave Nadia a sideways look.
    “Caro, this is Lila – and her boyfriend, Rory – and her, er, Alex,” Nadia introduced on cue.
    “Nice to meet you,” Caro said, politely but dismissively. “Good quizzing,” she congratulated, before turning back to Nadia. “Are you coming?”
    In response Nadia looked at Alex, expectantly; she really did want them to come, he realised. And why shouldn’t he go? It wasn't as if he had big plans for this evening. Besides, it felt very much as though the universe was telling him that he and Nadia Osipova were meant to be friends. He opened his mouth to accept.
    “Another time maybe, girls?” Rory answered before he could. “We haven’t partaken of a tray of shots yet. Apparently it’s only a tenner here!” Nadia looked back at Alex, as if he might countermand Rory.

    “Yeah, another time,” he echoed.
    “Okay.” Nadia rose to her feet, her expression slightly disappointed. “I suppose an eight-quid cocktail can’t compete with a tray of discount shots,” she granted.
    Holly stood too, seeing off the last dregs of her glass of wine as she did. “Great meeting you guys.” She smiled at them, teeth extra white against her red wine-stained lips. “Thanks for being excellent quiz-team companions.”
    “We should do it again,” Nadia said, sincerely, as she zipped up her bag, still looking at Alex as if she was expecting him to say something.
    “See you around,” Rory said cheerfully. And then, just as quickly and randomly as she’d entered his life, Nadia waved at him and left it.

Chapter 3
    Alex
    The fourth Jagerbomb was sitting rather sourly in Alex’s stomach. Across the table, Rory had his face pressed into the space between Lila’s neck and shoulder, making her giggle and squirm against him. The PDA between them always got worse when they’d been drinking; Alex looked away.
    The chair that Nadia had been sitting on had long been pinched by an opportunistic bar patron, dragged off to another table, but the empty space there remained, looming large between him and his friends, who – quite frankly – wouldn’t exactly be missing him if he had gone to Bison & Bird after all. As