‘It’s such an awesome tune,’ I said, looking down at my coffee. ‘My dad played it all the time when I was a kid.’ As I hummed along in my head, nostalgia flooded my body and became overwhelming. I bit the inside of my cheek. ‘It’s one of my favourites.’ I gulped down the tears that were constricting my throat.

I let out a long sigh. I locked eyes with Ben and smiled again, conscious he might be able to see the glint of tears welling in them. Who would pull away first? It was Ben. Shy, mysterious Ben, who allowed these fleeting moments of self-consciousness to seep through.

We sat for a few moments, perhaps even minutes. I was surprised at how easy the silences hung between us.

‘You know’ Ben began, as he picked up a piece of toast ‘You’ve met me at a junction in my life. I’m just trying to figure a few things out at the moment.’ He looked thoughtful as he took a bite.

‘Aren’t we all?’ I said as a thousand images of my past life flashed before my eyes.

The memories didn’t fully surface though. I had stored them safely where at times even I failed to reach them. There was plenty of time for us to find the skeletons in each other’s closets. I asked him, ‘So what instruments can you play?’

‘Pretty much anything I can get my hands on.’ He instantly seemed brighter when talking about music. I needed to see that side of him right now, not the despondency. ‘But mostly, bass guitar and drums. I gig with whatever bands I can. To be honest, I need to put myself out there more. I’m hoping next year will be a better year. But I’ve got a few things going on at the moment. Just trying to work some stuff out.’ He was rushing his words and rubbing his stubble as he spoke. Maybe telling me things he was anxious to get out; perhaps conscious he was sharing a lot of information at once. And yet again, I ignored my cue. I wasn’t ready to share any more of myself than I absolutely needed to.

‘Hopefully I can get some serious work soon. I’ve probably held myself back more than I should have done. More for my mum’s sake. My teens just kind of rolled into my twenties without me noticing. I feel I need to start doing something more with my life now, before it’s too late.’

‘Life is pretty fluid, not static, it’s just one big journey,’ I said, then realised the seriousness to my tone too late. Ben looked at me and I could feel my face flush. I knew if we kept going, that the questions would soon be turned on me. ‘I mean I love my job though, if I couldn’t get up and jump around every day I’d die!’ I said, probably with too much enthusiasm. Ben eyed me with a knowing look. Then he stood up and stretched, and I caught a glimpse of his midriff, the very skin I had touched last night. Ben looked down at me just as I was looking at him and his noisy stretch morphed into a laugh. I laughed back and relaxed again.