‘Just go up to him and introduce yourself,’ Georgia whispered.
‘In front of our parents? Are you having a laugh?’
They left a little later and Georgia repeated her suggestion.
‘Would you infiltrate a group of that size and introduce yourself?’ I asked.
‘No. Far too intimidating.’
‘Then why would you expect me to do it?’
‘Fair point. But what if he leaves without you even saying hello?’
That thought actually made me feel a little nauseous, but what could I do? What if I walked up to the group and it turned out that the woman was his wife or girlfriend? Or what if his wife or girlfriend wasn’t there but one of the men was related to her? Or what if there wasn’t a wife or girlfriend but he wasn’t interested in me, only smiling at me because I was smiling at him and it was the polite thing to do?
My group got smaller, as did his, but it was still too scary to walk up to his table. I nipped to the toilets and hoped that, if he was interested, he’d do the same and we could speak in the corridor. I even hung around for a couple of minutes but there was no sign of him. Returning to my friends, my heart sank as I spotted one of the bar staff clearing the empty glasses from his table. He’d gone and I’d lost my opportunity.
It was past nine but, with it being mid-week and everyone having work the next day, nobody was up for a late night. The last of our group finished their drinks and said goodbye, leaving Georgia, Mark and me to pack up my gifts while one of the staff wrapped the remnants of my birthday cake in some foil.
‘We’ll drop you home,’ Mark said.
‘No need. It’s out of your way and, besides, I could do with the fresh air.’
‘But you have stuff to carry,’ Georgia protested.
‘A gift bag, a balloon and some cake. I think I can manage. In fact…’ I removed the soft elephant from the bag, placed the balloon weight at the bottom, added my cake package to it, and rested Edgar the elephant on the top. ‘Now I only have one bag.’
‘Okay, I’ll let you off. At least it isn’t dark yet.’
‘Benefit of being born on the longest day of the year.’ I hugged my sister and Mark, thanking them for organising an amazing evening and pulling me out of my slump.
We headed outside together. Mark had parked in front of the nearby village hall so I placed the bag by my feet and waited on the corner to wave them off. I picked up the bag once more but the addition of the balloon weight and the cake had evidently been too heavy for the ribbon handles and they ripped through the paper. I cursed under my breath as the bag dropped to the ground and Edgar the elephant made a bid for freedom, rolling away from me.
I reached out for it and stopped as a voice said, ‘Here, let me.’
Heart pounding, I looked up into a pair of stunning green eyes and that dazzling smile.
‘I thought you’d gone,’ I said, my voice sounding husky.
‘I had, but I forgot something so I came back.’
‘Oh! I didn’t see anything on your table but they might have it behind the bar.’
That smile! It was doing the funniest things to my insides, making them feel like golden syrup being swirled around with a spoon.
‘It wasn’t an item,’ he said. ‘It was…’ He still had Edgar in his hands and was squidging him as though he was nervous. ‘I’m not very good at stuff like this. I erm… the thing I forgot… it was, erm… It was you. I mean, to say hello to you.’ He held Edgar over his face. ‘God! That sounded so much better in my head. Sorry.’
I placed my hands over his and lowered them and the elephant, touched by his show of vulnerability.
‘I think you’re doing a pretty good job at it, actually. Was it just the hello you forgot? Because hi.’
His smile returned. ‘Hi. I forgot an introduction too. I’m Flynn.’
‘Mel. Good to meet you. So that’s a hello and an introduction. Anything else?’
‘To ask if you’d like to go out for a drink with me sometime.’
‘I’d like that a lot. And as it’s still early and we’re stood right next to a pub, I’m thinkingsometimecould be now. What do you reckon?’
