‘Okay, Fast Breakers, we’ve got a table for you. Right this way,’ chirruped their waitress.

‘After you,’ said Lance gesturing for Jemima to go ahead.

She wasn’t as keen on chivalry as Meagan and Simi. However, given that fifteen minutes earlier Lance had sounded like a tone-deaf nitwit, the gesture was welcome. Jemima followed the waitress to their table.

‘So, tell me about yourself,’ Jemima asked as they squeezed onto their bench.

‘You mean apart from my razor-sharp wit?’

‘Now that was actually funny,’ said Jemima as she settled into the evening.

Over their bowls of sugary, multi-coloured hoops, their conversation took the standard first date twists and turns. There were the usual questions about siblings, a momentary detour into school days and a toe dipped into the political hotspots of the day. It was all pretty bearable, Jemima mused, as she grabbed a paper straw from the holder in the centre of their table and slurped up the milk at the bottom of her bowl. She’d forgotten just how good cereal milk tasted.

‘Thumbs up?’ Lance asked pushing away his bowl.

‘I’ve been pleasantly surprised.’

‘I saw your face when we first arrived,’ said Lance.

Jemima chuckled. ‘Yeah, it just reminded me of someone—’

‘Another date?’

‘Yes, I’m a cereal dater.’

Lance blanched at the pun then went in for a high-five. Jemima duly obliged, taking a small bow.

‘This is a really nice turn of events,’ said Lance, smiling at Jemima.

‘How so?’

‘Well, I would never have asked you out. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you’re lovely but if your mate hadn’t come up to me, this would not have happened. I haven’t dated for years,’ Lance said almost grimacing.

Jemima paused. Though she was ready to call it a night, her intrigue was now piqued. She knew her reasons for not wanting to date but what was his excuse? In the interests of her book, she would probe a little further. When she’d had enough she’d simply glare at the door in the way her mother did when she’d had enough of guests.

‘So, if dating’s not your thing, why did you say yes?’ she asked.

Lance grinned. ‘It was an experiment. Plus, your friend said you fancied me.’

‘An experiment? What type of experiment?’

‘I wanted to see if dating was as ghastly as I remembered then I saw you and thought…’ said Lance with a why-not shrug.

‘Riiiiiight,’ said Jemima, mirroring his shrug.

‘Being with someone means giving up too much. I’ve been married three times. I’m not making that mistake again,’ he said.

Jemima blinked at him. Married… three times? She couldn’t wait to hear what Simi thought they had in common.

‘Romance is just a temporary hormonal imbalance. You know what a brain scan of someone in love is identical to?’ Lance said.

Jemima shook her head not sure she wanted to know.

‘An addict,’ said Lance sitting back with a worldly-wise nod. ‘It’s all just chemicals. So now, the minute I get a whiff of it, I’m out of there. Not worth it.’