We were greeted effusively by an attractive Greek man of about forty-something, so not the only ones there, but the only patrons. He signalled that we should take seats at a table outside where we could continue to take in the view. We gathered around a long table as he took our orders for soft drinks and iced coffee, or ‘Nes’ as the locals call it. I knew Nes was just Nescafé coffee granules, sugar, water and a bit of condensed milk frothed up and served to tourists for four euros a pop. It was a total rip-off, so I ordered a Coke No Sugar instead. Before the drinks arrived, Josh excused himself to take photos, and I caught myself watching him go.

‘Having a fun day?’ asked Hannah from the seat next to mine. Was I imagining the pointedness of her question, or was she was just being friendly? I looked down the table to where the two couples were talking about Paris. Gary and Marie were going there on their next trip. They seemed pretty caught up in their discussion, so I figured it was a safe enough time to talk things through with Hannah.

‘Oh, for sure.’ Our drinks arrived, and our host arranged them around the table, remembering precisely who ordered what. ‘You?’

‘What’s not to love?’ she replied, as she fiddled with her straw and took a sip of her iced coffee.

‘Right? I mean the sun’s out, the views are epic.’ I looked out at the one we were enjoying. Then I lowered my voice. ‘Duncan’s history lessons are quite, uh …’

She smiled back at me conspiratorially. ‘Creative? That the word you’re looking for?’

I was winning her back. ‘Exactly. I can’t imagine how badly I would have been crucified on my tours had I spouted such creative histories.’ I looked over at Duncan, who was oblivious to our conversation. I was glad considering I was pretty much using him to get back in Hannah’s good graces. ‘How’s your scooter?’

‘It seems fine. I’m loving riding on these roads; you really get to lean into the curves, you know?’

‘Totally. Although truth be told, Josh is not the best rider.’ Great. Now I’m throwing Josh under the bus to score points.

‘Oh?’

‘Yeah, I mean it’s mostly okay, but there have been a few times when I was worried that we’d slide off the road into the gravel.’

‘Why?’

‘Well, he’s not very experienced – this is his first time riding a scooter – so he sometimes takes the corners a little too sharply. More than once today I’ve thought that shorts were a bad option.’ She looked at me quizzically. ‘Because if I come off the scooter, I’m going to have serious gravel rash.’