Rusty by G. A. Watson - HTML preview

Chapter 30

The following evening was my evening at college.  As lessons were from 6:30 to 8:30, I’d got into the habit of going to a café after work and then going onto my course.  To go home first seemed pointless as I would have to turn around immediately to go out again.  Since Rainbow’s End had opened, I’d been going there.  They closed around 5:30 which gave me just enough time in case I needed to do any shopping.

Rainbow’s End was deserted when I arrived and Sean joined me at my table as I drank my coffee and ate some delicious carrot cake.  Apparently he made all the cakes himself, after the shop closed.  A few minutes before closing time he turned the sign to ‘Closed’ and locked the door.  And then he asked if I was free on Saturday.  I’d not had a date for months, years even, and now I’d been asked out twice in a little over 24 hours by two different men.  I liked both of them, for different reasons.  I didn’t feel I was ‘going out’ with Oliver, not yet, and I did like Sean.  I told him I hadn’t anything specific planned. He sighed with relief.  The tea shop was particularly busy on a Saturday, he told me, and he was short staffed.  He had advertised for help and was interviewing on Friday but he would be so grateful if I could help out.  From 9:30 to 4:30.  He wouldn’t be able to pay much, but I could keep whatever tips I earned.

It was obvious that he had seen my reaction was not overly favourable.  This wasn’t what I’d expected when he asked if I was free.  I had assumed he meant in the evening; assumed he was asking me out.  It seemed I’d completely misunderstood.  I didn’t want to let him see my confusion, but my face told him the truth.  “And, as a special thank you for helping me out I’d like to take you out for a drink, a meal even, and perhaps onto a nightclub.”  A broad grin spread across his face.  I wasn’t sure if the offer of an evening out had been planned all along or was a spur of the moment decision as an inducement to help out during the day.  At that stage I didn’t really care.  I agreed to help him out and promised him the evening would be expensive, to make up for the lousy pay.  It was then time to do a bit of shopping and decorate a ‘Teenager in bed’ birthday cake for Jane’s nephew.  He never rose from his bed before noon at the weekend and she wanted something that represented his favourite pastime.