First Date

“You ready then?” Finn asks as he sticks his head around the doorframe of my bedroom looking me up and down before giving me a thumbs up.

“Um…” I smooth my hands down my jeans and pluck at the hem of my oversized top. Nerves course through me. It’s stupid, I know, but I’m going on a date. With Jackson. A date that he had invited me on the moment he boarded the plane back to England.

“I don’t know how to do this, Finn!” The exasperation in my voice earns a chuckle from Finn who stands there looking smug. “I know how to flirt, I know how to fuck, I know how to creep out in the wee hours of the morning. I just haven’t got a bloody clue what I’m supposed to do on a date… like a proper date.”

“Relax, Kit Kat,” Finn says with a sigh. “Like we talked about… He picks you up, you go watch some movie, snog a bit and then come home.” He laughs at the pout that has appeared on my face. “Seriously though, Kat, just go out and have a nice afternoon, okay?”

“Fine.” With a last glance at my reflection, I concede that I look as good I as can for my afternoon date with Jackson. My jeans hug me in all the right places, and the silky turquoise material of my top clings and enhances my, ahem, assets. Taking a final deep breath to steady my nerves, I quickly shove my feet into a pair of comfy flats and make my way to the living room where Jackson is lounging on the sofa like he lives here. I still can’t believe that he has come straight from the airport.

“Hey,” I greet him as I grab my bag off the side. “You ready?”

“You look beautiful,” Jackson tells me and I struggle to calm the blush creeping up my cheeks. His grace and the ease with which he moves never cease to amaze me. One moment he’s sat down and the next his arms have wound around me, and he’s planting a gentle kiss on my cheekbone.

The blush is now threatening to take over my face as the butterflies in my belly whoosh through me. How is it that this man can make me lose all sense of composure?

“I’ll be back before eight,” I say to Finn who has plonked himself down on the sofa. We’ve got a hen party in, so I know things are going to be pretty hectic later, and I don’t want to leave the guys short-staffed.

“No worries.” Finn nods and smiles. “Now off you guys go!” He waves us off as I grab Jackson’s hand and pull him towards the front door. As we wind our way back through the building and across the road to the cinema, Jackson catches me up on his trip to L.A. and the crazy lady he ended up sitting next to on his flight back who insisted on telling him the whole plot to Fifty Shades of Grey whilst she was sat there watching it. The story has me cackling with laughter as I can just imagine Jackson’s face and how he would have tried to maintain his composure and be polite.

“So, here’s a secret… I’ve never been on an actual date before,” I say to Jackson as we finally settle into our seats.

“Say what now?” Jackson looks at me incredulously.

I fidget with the straw of my drink as I try to get my thoughts straight. “Well, I was a bit of a nerd at school so never had a boyfriend, then at university, I was too busy getting to grips with my mum’s death and looking after Soph to do anything more than the occasional one-night stand. I met Garry once the bar was opened so I was always working evenings and he didn’t see the point of going out when we could eat and drink for free. I went to the occasional work do with him, but that was pretty much it.”

Jackson swears under his breath and suddenly turns his whole body towards me. I’m so busy avoiding his eyes that I don’t notice him move so that he’s now standing in front of me. Tilting my head to look up at him, he stares down at me with a solemn expression and takes my hand. “Kat, you deserve so much more than the shit hand you have been dealt.” With that, he places a gentle kiss on my nose before moving to sit back down in his chair never once letting go of my hand.

I can’t help the flutter of butterflies that take off at Jackson’s words. I try not to feel sorry for myself, there’s no point dwelling on a past that I can’t change, but all the same, it’s nice for someone else to point out the fact that my life has not exactly been a bed of roses. That and every other cliché I can think of.

The movie is good, a comedy that has us laughing in all the right places. It’s nice to kick back and relax with a great big bag of popcorn and an array of sweets; when I couldn’t decide what I wanted, Jackson bought one of everything. But as the movie ends we agree that we need some real food to compensate for consuming enough sugar to put a diabetic into a coma.

We eventually end up in Itsu when I tell Jackson that I have a craving for sushi. As I munch on my spicy tuna rolls, Jackson regales me with stories from the band’s tour to Japan and the first time he tried sashimi. Tears of laughter roll down my face as he tells me that he insisted that the chef cook it because his mum told him to never eat raw fish.

“I mean, I was like, twenty. We were in this posh restaurant, and people were already giving us looks because of the way we were dressed, and there I am being a whiny little fucker and insisting that I was somehow going to die if I ate this tiny bit of raw fish.”

Wiping away a tear, I smirk. “You survived your brush with death then?”

“Yeah. I gave it a proper go later in the trip when the guys full-on called me out on being ridiculous. Discovered I actually bloody love the stuff.” Jackson pops another gyoza dumpling into his mouth with a grin, and I experience a rush of affection for him when he smiles at me like that.

Time seems to fly by as the conversation rolls naturally from topic to topic until a glance at my watch tells me that I need to start work in half an hour. It’s with great reluctance that we indulge in a chaste kiss goodbye before I head back across the bridge to crack on with what I know is going to be a manic evening. I have only gone a few yards though when Jackson calls my name.

“You didn’t tell me that Chase came to see you last week.” Jackson is staring at his phone. His tone is far from accusatory yet I bristle all the same.

“I forgot all about it,” I respond trying to keep my tone even. “Had a lot of other stuff going on. Look, I have to go but I will talk to you later. Okay?”

“Fine.” Jackson turns and walks away from me and I want to kick myself but right now I don’t have time to dwell on whatever is going through Jackson’s head when I have a job to get to.