She burst out laughing. ‘What an offer!’ she chuckled. ‘What an incredibly audacious offer! Is this how you seduced Veronica back in the day?’

‘I’m only half kidding,’ he said. ‘Obviously I don’t play Scrabble on the first date.’

‘And there it is,’ Penny said.

‘What?’

‘The d-word.’

‘Do you object to my offer?’ he asked. ‘I just wanted to put it out there because I don’t want there to be any confusion. I like to shoot straight. Best way.’

Penny pulled her hat down further over her ears and glanced out to the view, as if that would have her answer. She’d not really thought about dating – Havingley had evoked a lot of emotions in her, but aside from the odd self-partnered session, her sexuality had definitely been lying dormant. Really, she’d thought of this year as something she just had to survive. Thriving hadn’t occurred to her. But, she didn’t see why she couldn’t date. Didn’t she deserve a bit of flirting? Plus Thomas was away a lot, he’d said. He was basically asking her if she’d consider a fling, which fit in with her own Havingley aims and objectives, really: low-commitment, make the most of it, don’t get too attached.

‘Go on then,’ she said, deciding in the moment that she was open to being flung. ‘Since it’s nearly Christmas.’

‘Cool,’ Thomas replied. ‘Well. Put your number in here,’ he said, handing her his phone, ‘and I’ll call you later.’

‘Okay,’ Penny said, pleased, and she didn’t so much walk home as float. It felt good to have a date. To have something else to daydream about beyond till systems and food orders and that prick.

I might even wage war with this hair growing down my thighs, she mused.

A date!

When she got back to the pub she said to Charlie, ‘That guy from school – the one with the Gucci joggers who had that loud lunch – do you remember?’

‘Thomas Eddlington. The one you called a playboy?’ Charlie said.

‘Yeah.’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘I just saw him, and he asked me out.’

‘What?! You went out for air and came back with a boyfriend? Go, you!’

‘Do you think he’s a playboy?’

Charlie shrugged. ‘Maybe he’s a playboy with hidden depths,’ they said, to which they both burst out laughing. Funnily enough, though, his being a playboy felt like a perfect fling-worthy fit.

‘I suppose I’ll find out.’

‘Well, be sure to report back,’ Charlie sniggered, before shaking their head and saying, ‘Thomas Eddlington. Okay, then …’

Penny shrugged. ‘Nobody is more surprised than me,’ she said, and then, ‘Oh crap – the staff meeting. Can you find me a chair to stand on?’