1. Ellie.
“Liza, hi, how’s it going,” the handsome blond asked as we climbed in the back of the car. It was so new that the seatbelts were still fastened in the back and that new car smell drifted throughout.
I shifted uncomfortably in my dress. Liza let me borrow it, saying that none of my wardrobe was suitable for where we were going to eat. The dress she selected for me, however, felt tight in all the wrong places and I couldn’t help but pull at the hem to try and drag it down from its dangerous position just beneath my butt. The last thing I wanted to do was flash anyone.
“Jeremy!” Liza exclaimed, leaning forward and kissing the blond in the passenger seat before getting buckled in.
“Hi, I’m Ellie,” I waved, a little awkwardly, into the front.
The driver turned around and my eyes were immediately drawn to the stubble covered jawline.
“Matt,” he waved back with a smile. His eyes crinkled as he did so.
I smiled, a little taken aback. I thought this was meant to be a double date?
I threw a confused look at Liza who does a very good job of pretending not to notice.
Matty. That was what she’d been saying earlier. Not Maddy. She knew. I even asked what she was like. Why the hell would she set me up with a guy?
We drove through the city and I stared, hard, out the window. I watched the rain pitter down in a thin haze and bit my tongue to stop from bursting. I’m sure Matt is a perfectly nice guy but I’m just not interested. I would have to let him down, gently, at the restaurant. Then, maybe, I could hightail it back home, pull off this horrific, too tight dress and curl up on the couch with takeout and an episode of trash TV.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t realise we were leaving the city until we were crossing the bridge and heading for the suburbs.
Crap. No chance of getting back home without at least two busses. Or an insane taxi fee that I really couldn’t afford.
“Uh, where are we going for dinner?” I asked, breaking the silence.
“Oh, a great little restaurant, you’ll love it, Ella,” Jeremy said.
“Ellie.” I corrected.
“Oh,” he shrugged before immediately diving into the cuisine – French fusion, apparently – and the reviews – glowing. It sounded interesting, and I harboured suspicions that he was hamming it up a little. I don’t know why, just the general way he spoke about the place. I got the impression that he hammed everything up. He had the vibe of someone you would find visiting one of those wine shops where even the cheapest bottle is way out of your price range. Which is exactly where Liza met him, while she was giving the tasting class.
“And, have you been before, Matt?” I asked when Jeremy finally let up for breath. I seriously couldn’t see what Liza saw in him.
“Nope, it’s new to me,” he glanced into the mirror, making eye contact with me, eyes crinkling again.
Christ, he was looking forward to this. He didn’t seem like a bad guy, in the half an hour I’d known him for. And he seemed like a good driver, which was always a plus. I was going to have to let him down really gently.
We pulled into a small car park, the French fusion restaurant lit up with tasteful floor lights mounted into the pavement. It seemed classy. Matt cut the engine and we sat, hearing the rain pitter-patter off the car.
“Can you get my chair out the back?” He asked Jeremy, who hopped out the car and popped open the boot. I heard him rummaging around.
I sent another quizzical look Liza’s way. This time she had the decency to look somewhat apologetic. She bit her bottom lip and shrugged slightly, tipping her hands in the air.
I caught Matt watching me in the rear-view mirror, no eye crinkles to be found. His gaze stony and hard.
I couldn’t help my eyebrows raising as I watched Jeremy walk round the side of the car pushing a wheelchair.
Christ. Liza’s not only set me up with a guy, she’s set me up with a disabled guy. No matter what I do I’m going to look like an asshole. Christ. There’s no way I could walk out now. I’m going to have to suffer through an utterly humiliating dinner.
Liza hopped out the car, hooking her arm around Jeremy’s and avoided making eye contact with me. They slowly wandered to the restaurant. I got out, shutting the door with a little too much force. Matt glanced over at me, an annoyed look on his face. He transferred into the chair, pulling his legs into place on the footplate and slamming the door closed, hard.
I waited for him by the car, pulling at the hem of my skirt.
“Uhm,”
“It’s fine,” he sighed through clenched teeth. He pushed against the wheels and set off across the carpark, leaving me to traipse after him.
Great.
We’re seated outside, in a small courtyard under a porch held up by pillars, creepers crawling up them and fairy lights draped around. In the middle of the courtyard there was a fountain which splashed pleasantly in the background. The waitress told us that it was meant to be a lucky fountain, you just had to toss a coin in it. I had my doubts, but Liza and Jeremy seemed taken.
As much as the rain was falling, it wasn’t cold or damp and we were sheltered from the sleety rain beneath the porch. It was probably better than sitting inside, anyway. The inside was very small, I had my concerns about how Matt would fit through if our table was at the back of the restaurant. I guess Matt did too because he questioned Jeremy about the reservation quite unkindly, but Jeremy just brushed him off, all his attention on Liza and the teeny-tiny dress she was wearing. Frankly, it made me sick. I can’t stand public displays of affection, especially not the sickening sleezy-love I was being exposed to.
We didn’t even have a chance to sit down before I grabbed Liza by the elbow and all but shoved her in the direction of the bathroom.
“What the hell are you doing?” I spat once we were behind the bathroom door.
“What?” She asked, feigning innocence.
“Don’t fucking what me. You know fair well that I’ve not got the slightest interest in men and, oh, I don’t know, maybe you should have mentioned he’s in a wheelchair at some point before we arrived.” I hissed, crossing my arms tightly across my chest. I felt genuinely ridiculous for ever feeling excited for this night out.
“Oh, don’t be like that, Ellie! He’s a nice guy, he’s an entrepreneur, he’s got tonnes of money, look at his car. Jeremy wanted another date but he didn’t want Matt to feel left out. Come on, Ellie, you know how down you’ve been since Tammi… Please just do this tonight, for me? Please?” She grabbed my arms and gave me a little shake.
“Liza, I don’t need a second-rate date to get over Tammi. And I don’t know that I can be any clearer. I’m gay, I don’t date men. Do you know what a fucking awkward situation you’ve put me in?”
“I know, and I’m sorry, really, I am. But Jeremy wouldn’t have agreed to another date if I didn’t find someone for Matt, he’s a really good friend like that, and I really wanted to see him again. Can’t you just pretend? For one night?”
I huffed.
“I’ll do anything you want, please, just stay. I’ll… I’ll clean the apartment for a month!” She exclaimed.
I thought for a moment.
“Six.”
“Three,” she smiled, hopefully, shaking me a little more. I let my arms drop to my sides and sighed.
“Fine. But you’re getting me the fanciest bottle of wine from your work and I’m having it all to myself to make up for this.”
“Deal,” she grinned and hugged me tightly, pecking me on the cheek, “you’re the best!”
I doubted that but followed her, begrudgingly, back to the table anyway.
I watched Jeremy’s eye hungrily trace Liza’s path as she sat down. It was the same look a tiger has before it pounces. For his part, Matt stared down at the menu, purposefully not looking at me.
Thankfully, we ordered quickly and I had a glass of prosecco to keep me company while Liza and Jeremy flirted and pawed heavily at each other. I don’t think they would have noticed if I’d grown a second head, they were so focussed on each other. Matt, for his part, sat silently, staring at a point on the wall behind me and sipping his beer.
The rain stopped shortly after we finished our starters, and Liza and Jeremy took the opportunity to go and look at the infamous lucky fountain up close. Jeremy invited us but Matt quickly declined. I definitely didn’t want to third wheel so I shook my head and sipped my prosecco, watching the two lovebirds wander over to the water feature. I could hear Liza laughing in the high pitched way she does when she’s trying to get a guy in bed. Sickening.
“What did she offer to get you to stay?” Matt asked, breaking the silence.
