the X factor

“So how did it go?”

“What?” We've just been ice-skating and mostly I'm marvelling at not breaking anything. You know, bones, fingers, bread...okay, unlikely on ice.

“Your date! You know, the guy who’s been flirting with you? The one who’s held a candle for you for the last ten years? I mean, ten years!”

“It was very nice, thanks” which, admittedly, is a measured response but then I have sort-of known this guy for ten years. And what I know about this man makes me not entirely sure about him. He's a player.

“And?” demands N, a woman once known (by me) as the woman who doesn’t date but who, since I disappeared off the blog-cliff-face, has gotten herself into a very serious relationship with a lovely man thank-you-very-much. I realise N needs a new nickname. (And I may need a new hat.) I'll think on that.

“It went well” I continue, “We went for dinner, talked, laughed, drank wine, shared stories, you know...”

“Great, sounds good soo..?”

“Soo," I throw back at her, "he wanted to get his train back to Brighton. And we called it an early night. And he went home” I know this is a red rag to a dating bull.

“Oh. Did you arrange to meet up again?”

“No.” Case closed, I think.

“What do you mean you didn’t arrange to meet again..?” she’s officially incredulous like I've ripped up a rule book or something.

“Well, I figured, in an era of modern communications, there wasn’t a mad rush?” I can hear a trickle of defensiveness in my own voice. "Its not all corsets, dance-cards and watering the horses these days"

She pulls a face. I have no idea if she’s wincing at me, him, my joke or the boots she hired, which are one size too small.

“Have you heard from him?” She's still wincing to make her point. I don't think its the boots. I nod.

"A text"

“Good, and what did it say?”

“Err, thanks for a lovely evening...?”

“Hmm. Doesn’t sound great. Sounds formal,” she’s mulling this over “Any kisses? On the message, any kisses?”

“Err, yes”

“How many? Cos, you know, one doesn’t count - not these days." Touche.

I check. Its amazing to me that I have to check. I wonder if I like him that much.

"Three"

“Good, good, so you haven’t put him off…”