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‘Cool. I hope we can actually hang out properly now.’ He glances at my dress and adds, ‘You look nice.’
The sun must dip behind the clouds for a moment, because the briefest shadow passes over Finn’s face.
Our friend in the hi-vis jacket shouts above the din, ‘Everyone, you can go back inside! Everything’s safe—this was just a drill. Please move in single file and,’ her narrowed eyes find Finn and me, ‘do not block the entryways.’
‘I’m gonna quickly say hi to these guys, and then we can head back in,’ Jacob says, before jogging over to a group of people a few metres away.
‘I might stay out here for a bit longer.’ Finn watches a pigeon with ratty wings and a mangled foot hop along the pavement. ‘Make friends with the locals.’ Just as I start to get off the wall, he touches my arm with the lightest possible contact. It still burns, somehow. ‘Hey. Be yourself for him. Please.’
He looks at me, and I might be clothed now, but the way his eyes bore into mine, I may as well be naked.
‘Maybe. I’ll see you next week.’ I adjust my dress, fixing the neckline that’s skewed to one side. ‘Fully clothed, I hope.’
He makes a strangled sound that I assume is a yes.
After a trip to the bathroom where I added all necessary layers of underwear, I find myself sitting in the leisure centre’s café with Jacob; all fluorescent lights and vinyl tabletops and polystyrene cupsI feel guilty about using.
‘If you didn’t want to have this coffee with me, you could’ve just said.’ Jacob nurses a green tea in his Keep Cup with a smile. ‘After everything you’ve told me about yourself, I should’ve known that going on a date where we stay still the whole time wasn’t going to be your vibe.’
‘Actually, uh, I have a confession to make.’ I take a deep breath. ‘Funny story. To be honest, I’m not into climbing. I’d never even tried it until today. I was worried you’d turn me down if I mentioned it.’
I brace myself for his response.
‘That’s so sweet, Ava.’Sweet. That’s a first. He sips his tea and reaches out to grab the hand that’s not clutching my coffee, his gaze intense. ‘You wanted to impress me?’
‘Something like that. Sorry I lied about it.’
‘Seriously, no worries. Guess this means I’ll just have to teach you.’ It’s not exactly what I expected, but it’s better than him being annoyed. ‘Right. Where were we?’
Jacob tells me about a climb he did in Switzerland that changed his life, and Ioohandaahin all the right places, my customer-service experience coming in handy. He talks about the Alpine camp they stayed at, shows me photos of the views from the top of the mountain, describes the avalanche his group only just missed, and by all accounts, it’s an interesting story.
But all I can think about is the fact that the unflappable Finn O’Callaghan isn’t quite so unflappable after all.
28
I can read you like a fucking book
A V A
Jacob convinced me tojoin him for a second date at the climbing wall under the guise of it being a “do-over”. With my newly adopted mantra to be more amenable, I agreed. And to be perfectly, divinely honest? I hated it just as much as I expected to. But Jacob thinks I’m charming and hasn’t stopped talking about the “little white lie” I told him to get him to like me.
This is, so far, a success. I don’t feel like my head is imploding when I’m around him. I don’t feel nauseating butterflies in my stomach when he looks at me. Aside from the effort of pretending I’m nicer than I actually am, it’s easy. Uncomplicated.
But today, maybe I’ll hear a little less about climbing and a little more about, well, anything. Because at last, it’s my turn to decide what we do. I drop him a text to confirm what time we’re meeting, and, for probably the first time ever, Finn finds me smiling to myself at work.
‘You’re in a good mood,’ he accuses, his own face lighting up when he sees me.
‘Just excited for my date with Jacob later,’ I reply. His smilefalters for a fraction of a second, but it’s back before I even blink. ‘I remembered you suggesting we alternate between activities both of us are interested in. I’ve wanted to go pottery painting for ages, so I found a deal on Groupon for a class.’
‘I’m sure it’ll be fun,’ he says, leaning against the counter. ‘I, for one, am impossiblyexcited to see you do karaoke at the party tomorrow.’
‘I will not be doing karaoke,’ I argue, starting a coffee for him without finding out what he wants.
He cocks his head. ‘We’ll see.’
This party’s been hovering in the background for months, and I’m almost surprised it’s come at last. Things have changed since Josie first told me about it. One of those things is standing in front of me, the other is at the other end of a text. ‘I’m considering inviting Jacob too.’
Finn blinks a few times and then takes his glasses off to clean them, not looking at me as he says, ‘You want him to meet your friends and family so soon?’
