Out of The Blue Read Online Free PDF Page B

done a few night walks so he’ll have a better idea of when and where to go.”
    “Great. I’m looking forward to it.”
    I was surprised again by her enthusiasm.
    “So, how many people are in your surveying team?” she questioned.  
    “Er, seven, not including me. Mike, who you’ve met of course, then there’s Andy and Lucy who work for us permanently on the landscaping side of it, too. The other four are self-employed and we hire them for the surveying part of projects.”  
    We were quiet while we finished our food. I racked my brains for something to say. I hadn’t been on a date in quite some time, not that this was a date but I felt very out of practice on the small-talk front. Realising I was overcomplicating the issue, there was one question I had for her. I pushed away my plate and launched my attack. “So, when I first met you all you did was yawn; was I really that boring?”  
    Jamie almost choked on her drink as her cheeks coloured with embarrassment. “Uhh, no, not at all. I can explain that. My next door neighbours are students and the night before our meeting in Manchester they decided to have a big party. It must have been an end of year party or something, I don’t know, but it was very loud and very long.”
    “I see.” I suppressed a giggle as I remembered the hours of student partying I had made unhappy neighbours endure. 
    “Then I had to drive for two hours to the meeting, even though there were three of us there. My boss and his mate travelled together as they had to get back, leaving me to go on my own.”
    “Bastards!”
    “Exactly, so it wasn’t you at all. I thought you were very good actually, very informative.”
    “Umm, I’ll let you off, I guess.”               
    The band was just starting to set up in front of the window. Realising Jamie wouldn’t get a good view from her seat, I moved along, making room for her next to me. I looked at her profile as she watched the band playing. Her hair was artistically disarranged; it made me want to run my hands through it, to feel its softness between my fingers. She looked incredibly relaxed, leaning back in the pew as she focused on the musicians in front of us, very different to this morning with her somewhat unexpected but justified rage. The music was good but loud, making conversation impossible. I covered my mouth, trying to restrict a yawn as much as possible, considering our earlier conversation, but I was pretty exhausted. The fresh air and hard work of the last few days had taken its toll. At the next break in the music I planned to broach the subject of leaving. I spoke softly next to her ear.
    “Jamie, I need to get going while I can still make it back to the hotel under my own steam.”
    As she turned I saw a brief, lazy smile on her lips before she spoke. “Sure, you must be tired.”   
     
    I hadn’t noticed the rain at all while we were inside. Luckily, it was only spitting as we walked back down the Shambles, both lost in our own worlds, although I was contemplating ways in which we could repeat the evening’s events without arguing first. As the rain started falling harder I pulled my jacket up to cover my head and we ran for the cover of the nearest archway to wait it out, hoping it would pass or at least ease up.
    “Whereabouts do you live from here?” I enquired.
    “Not far from the Hilton actually.”
    Realising it had let up a little, we continued to my hotel with our coats over our heads. In less than five minutes I could see the entrance to the hotel. I led us inside to escape the weather, pulled off my coat and assessed the damage to us both. We were both sopping wet from the waist down.
    “I’ll order you a taxi. You can’t walk home in this.”
    “It’s not far. It’s only a few minutes’ walk,” Jamie tried to protest.
    “You’ll get soaked. No, I’ll get you a taxi.” I walked across to the reception desk to order a taxi. “Should only be a few minutes,” I