I nod. ‘Greeks are all about the new year, right?’

She freezes with the mug halfway to her lips. ‘How did you know my mum’s Greek?’

Oh God. This is a minefield.

‘Erm … just another guess,’ I stammer. ‘You kind of … look Greek?’

Which is true, to be fair. She narrows her eyes at me. ‘Are you sure you haven’t been stalking me on Myspace, Not-Naked Ben?’

The mention of Myspace makes me laugh out loud. If I ever doubted that I am genuinely in 2005, here is the conclusive proof.

‘So, what about you?’ she asks. ‘What are you up to for Christmas? At home with your mum and dad?’

‘Well, I …’ I have to stop suddenly, because the thought of Mum almost makes me choke up. But I take a deep breath and manage to keep it together. ‘My mum goes mad for Christmas, so it’ll be the full whack – turkey, all the trimmings, tinsel everywhere …’

‘What about your dad? Is he into it too?’

I shrug. ‘He’s not really in the picture, actually.’

She looks down at the duvet. ‘Oh. Right. Sorry.’

I shake my head. ‘No, don’t be. I mean … hopefully, some day, that might change.’

She looks at me fondly, and then yawns again. As she stretches, a few more curls escape and tumble gently around her shoulders.

God, she looks amazing.

‘I feel knackered suddenly,’ she says quietly.

And this time I can’t stop myself. I move in to kiss her again. She leans forward to meet me, and we’re locked into each other once more, kissing hungrily, her hands on the back of my neck, my hands tangled in her long black curls.

And then she breaks away.

‘Ben, I don’t know if I want to … you know?’ she says. ‘We’ve only just met …’

‘Yeah, no, of course! Of course not. I mean, if you want to head back …’

She shakes her head. ‘I don’t want to go.’

She pulls me gently towards her, and we both lean back slowly until our heads are resting on my squashy foam pillow. For a while, we just lie there, fully clothed, on top of the duvet in my tiny single bed, looking into each other’s eyes and smiling. And then I shift round and wrap my arm around her, so that her head is resting on my chest. Her hand finds mine and our fingers interlock. She lets out a tired, contented sigh. And despite all the madness and chaos that this day has brought, I feel totally at peace. Calm and happy and in control. Like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.

‘Almost midnight,’ Daff mumbles.