"Here we go..."
"I mean," I said quickly, hoping if I got in there fast enough I could distract them from how rude I'd been, "I'm happy to pay for mine."
"Rox, it's just a sandwich," Elliot said patiently, in the manner of one talking to an obstinate child.
"Yes, my sandwich," I explained, glaring at him despite our truce.
I felt a tug on the receipt in my hand and turned to see Jonah reaching over and trying to get it back.
"Look, how about if I pay and then anyone unhappy with the billing arrangements pays me back if they really feel they have to?" He said, using the sort of patient voice one uses on the insanely unreasonable.
God, it was always like this! You tried to take responsibility for your own expenses, as any adult should do, and people looked down on you like you were some sort of spoilsport.
"Fine," I said ungraciously, surrendering the receipt and immediately fishing my wallet out of my bag.
By the time the waitress had been summoned back over and given Jonah's credit card, I'd deposited the exact amount of money I owed on the table in front of him. He made a show of his shaking his head, but he put the money into his own wallet and I was satisfied.
A short time after that, Elliot and I stood awkwardly to one side whilst Abi and Jonah bid their lengthy farewells to each other, even though they were planning on meeting up again that night anyway. I tried to not even look at Elliot. Something about just standing there in broad daylight, without anything specific to argue with him about, felt more uncomfortable than our whole interaction after we'd had our drunken one night stand. Maybe he felt the same, or maybe the terms of our truce still held, because he made no attempt to talk to me and it was with great relief we both welcomed our friends back from the land of the lip-locked.
"So , what did you think of Elliot?" I asked as I linked arms with Abi and finally drew her away from her boyfriend. I didn't consider that I'd pretty much stolen the line she would have had reserved for after lunch, I so wanted to know her impression of the guy she'd heard so much about through me.
"Well..." she bit her lip as we started walking down the pavement back to our room, and my shoulders slumped.
"You liked him, didn't you?" I said flatly.
"Not for what he's like with you," she responded loyally and I gave her arm an appreciative squeeze.
"It's alright," I said nobly. "He's your boyfriend's best friend; you're allowed to like him, even if he is a ridiculous excuse of a human being."
"Oh come on, Rox." Abi hitched her bag up her shoulder and looked kind of exasperated. "I don't buy that he's that bad. You have too much self-respect to sleep with someone who was truly awful, no matter how drunk you were."
Was that true? I really hoped it was because, to be honest, I was still struggling with myself over the 'having sex with someone I didn't like' thing. The way Abi put it gave me an opportunity to view the situation in a slightly different light and I allowed myself a moment to reflect. Maybe it wasn't about having sex with someone I didn't like, maybe it was about me having sex with someone who I at least knew wasn't a racist or a bigot or a deliberate duck murderer.
"Fine," I said heavily, sending a quick look over my shoulder to make sure that Elliot wasn't close enough to have heard my admission. "I'll admit that it's unlikely he'll drag you into an alleyway and kill you."
Abi snorted with laughter before her grey eyes turned serious and she said, "You know, when he was talking to me he was fine. He was interested in my art and he even said some nice things about you."
I stumbled at this sudden revelation and, shielding my eyes from the sun with my hand, looked across at her to demand, "Like what?"
"Maybe nice isn't the right word," she backtracked, obviously slightly put off by my intensity, "it was more fond , I guess. I asked about growing up with you and he said that it'd been fun mucking about and
"I mean," I said quickly, hoping if I got in there fast enough I could distract them from how rude I'd been, "I'm happy to pay for mine."
"Rox, it's just a sandwich," Elliot said patiently, in the manner of one talking to an obstinate child.
"Yes, my sandwich," I explained, glaring at him despite our truce.
I felt a tug on the receipt in my hand and turned to see Jonah reaching over and trying to get it back.
"Look, how about if I pay and then anyone unhappy with the billing arrangements pays me back if they really feel they have to?" He said, using the sort of patient voice one uses on the insanely unreasonable.
God, it was always like this! You tried to take responsibility for your own expenses, as any adult should do, and people looked down on you like you were some sort of spoilsport.
"Fine," I said ungraciously, surrendering the receipt and immediately fishing my wallet out of my bag.
By the time the waitress had been summoned back over and given Jonah's credit card, I'd deposited the exact amount of money I owed on the table in front of him. He made a show of his shaking his head, but he put the money into his own wallet and I was satisfied.
A short time after that, Elliot and I stood awkwardly to one side whilst Abi and Jonah bid their lengthy farewells to each other, even though they were planning on meeting up again that night anyway. I tried to not even look at Elliot. Something about just standing there in broad daylight, without anything specific to argue with him about, felt more uncomfortable than our whole interaction after we'd had our drunken one night stand. Maybe he felt the same, or maybe the terms of our truce still held, because he made no attempt to talk to me and it was with great relief we both welcomed our friends back from the land of the lip-locked.
"So , what did you think of Elliot?" I asked as I linked arms with Abi and finally drew her away from her boyfriend. I didn't consider that I'd pretty much stolen the line she would have had reserved for after lunch, I so wanted to know her impression of the guy she'd heard so much about through me.
"Well..." she bit her lip as we started walking down the pavement back to our room, and my shoulders slumped.
"You liked him, didn't you?" I said flatly.
"Not for what he's like with you," she responded loyally and I gave her arm an appreciative squeeze.
"It's alright," I said nobly. "He's your boyfriend's best friend; you're allowed to like him, even if he is a ridiculous excuse of a human being."
"Oh come on, Rox." Abi hitched her bag up her shoulder and looked kind of exasperated. "I don't buy that he's that bad. You have too much self-respect to sleep with someone who was truly awful, no matter how drunk you were."
Was that true? I really hoped it was because, to be honest, I was still struggling with myself over the 'having sex with someone I didn't like' thing. The way Abi put it gave me an opportunity to view the situation in a slightly different light and I allowed myself a moment to reflect. Maybe it wasn't about having sex with someone I didn't like, maybe it was about me having sex with someone who I at least knew wasn't a racist or a bigot or a deliberate duck murderer.
"Fine," I said heavily, sending a quick look over my shoulder to make sure that Elliot wasn't close enough to have heard my admission. "I'll admit that it's unlikely he'll drag you into an alleyway and kill you."
Abi snorted with laughter before her grey eyes turned serious and she said, "You know, when he was talking to me he was fine. He was interested in my art and he even said some nice things about you."
I stumbled at this sudden revelation and, shielding my eyes from the sun with my hand, looked across at her to demand, "Like what?"
"Maybe nice isn't the right word," she backtracked, obviously slightly put off by my intensity, "it was more fond , I guess. I asked about growing up with you and he said that it'd been fun mucking about and
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