A Girl Like You

‘So, did you break his heart?’ replies Robert, ignoring my shaving comment. I notice again how green and steady his eyes are. He really nails the whole self-assured eye contact thing.

‘I don’t think so. We had nothing to say to each other.’ I sigh. ‘My second date in my whole life was a dweeb. And the first was a fucknuckle.’

‘You now think Bam-Bou Paulie was a fucknuckle?’ says Robert in surprise, his eyes lighting up in amusement.

‘I’m always more discerning in retrospect.’

‘Aren’t we all, Abigail darling?’

‘I’m not your darling. You clearly just broke your darling’s heart.’

‘Oh, no grief, please . . . she flew here from Milan. I didn’t ask her to. Fucking nightmare.’

‘I expect you led her on,’ I say.

‘I did not,’ he says defensively, running his hands through his hair. ‘I never do, I always say “this is just casual” and then before you know it, it’s where-is-this-going, what-am-I, and what-do-you-take-me-for . . .’

‘How awful it must be when the easy sex starts asking hard questions.’

‘Quite. I admit, it got a little too serious with Antonia . . . I mean, that’s been going on for months. My bad.’

I snort with laughter.

‘But the rest of the time, I’m totally honest that I am not looking for, uh, anything, and I end it within a month. I mean, that doesn’t make me a bad guy, does it?’

‘You’re such a cliché.’

‘How amusing, because you’re not at all. Newly single girl, late 20s, trying to bag a boyfriend . . .’

‘Shut up. And I’m not trying to “bag a boyfriend”. I’m just trying to survive singledom and make up for lost time.’

‘I’ve given you a few tips. You’ll be fine.’

‘Tonight was easy,’ I admit. ‘I had no problem walking out. I felt totally in control.’

‘Of course, Christ, you should always feel in control,’ says Robert in surprise.

I take out my notebook and write Stay in control on the list. Robert watches me with a bemused look on his face. As I look up our eyes meet, and I raise an eyebrow at him.

‘Nice dress by the way. It suits you.’

‘But what if I meet someone I like?’ I don’t want to talk about my dress, I want to talk about my dating.

‘Then you see them as much as you want. Whatever blows your hair back. The point is, you’re calling the shots.’

I hear my phone beep from my bag. ‘Ooh! Text,’ I say excitedly, reaching for my bag. ‘It’s the guy I met at The Cow on Sunday! Skinny Jeans guy!’

‘What’s he say?’ he asks, trying to read my tiny phone screen. ‘I haven’t seen a Nokia like that since Britney was a virgin.’

‘I like this phone, why change?’ I say, and clear my throat. ‘Ahem! He says . . . Princess Malbec Of The Cow. I need a recommendation for a wine bar. You seem like the boozy type who’d know somewhere good. Any ideas?’ I make an excited-grin face at Robert. ‘What should I reply?’

‘Well, what do you want to say?’

‘Well, I’m going to ask where he lives, and then what area he wants to go to. That will help me narrow it down, right? And then I’m going to tell him I’m most certainly not the boozy type, thank you very much . . .’

‘No, no, no. Don’t jump, don’t be serious, don’t respond to every point, it’s too anxious. And don’t ask so many questions. You’re in control, remember?’

‘OK,’ I say, and take a long drink of wine. I like the way that Robert doesn’t make me feel too stupid for not knowing this stuff. ‘Like . . . umm . . . Are you asking me out? Before I recommend anything, I want to know which area, and when . . .’

‘No, no, that’s still jumping.’

I bury my face in my hands and squeal. ‘This is hard! I can’t play this game . . .’

‘You keep saying that, but you seem to be learning quite fast,’ says Robert drily.

I peer at him through my fingers. ‘What would you say, then . . .?’

‘I’d wait for a bit, then say something like: I’m flattered to be your drinker of choice. Mention my name at Negozio Classica on Portobello Road and they’ll look after you.’

‘That’s so arrogant! And I’ve never even heard of that place. And shouldn’t I say what time?’

‘Arrogance is good. Keeps him on his toes. Let him take care of the details. Don’t be obvious. It’s needy.’

‘But . . .’

‘Send it.’

I obediently tap it in, reading aloud as I go, and press ‘send’ before I can think about it. Goodbye little text. God speed.

‘Tell me more about Antonia.’

Robert sighs and rubs his eyes. ‘I met her in Croatia last summer. She’s beautiful. And crazy . . . We had a hedonistic week drinking and sleeping and swimming all day, staying on her dad’s boat . . .’

‘Seriously. What happened?’

‘That’s exactly what happened,’ he says in surprise.

Wow. That’s unlike any holiday I’ve ever had. Peter and I went on a boat trip off the coast of Majorca once, but Peter was seasick and I got a headache and we were only out for six hours, anyway. Then he went to bed and I lay by the hotel pool and watched other people having a good holiday. God! Enough about Peter.

I pause, as a dark-haired girl in a tiny black dress and huge black boots walks past us to the bar. She’s trying to give Robert some intense eye contact as she passes, but – unusually – he’s oblivious.

‘Do women always just present themselves to you on a scent-spritzed platter?’

‘Sorry?’

‘Nothing. So, you fell in lust with her, then what?’

He shrugs. ‘We’ve been stealing weekends together here and there, but it was never going to last, was it? She lives in Milan, for God’s sake . . .’ He shakes his head. ‘I’m surprised she’s surprised, if you know what I mean.’