“You run?”
“I love running and keeping fit in general. Not overly keen on the gym, I prefer to be outside.”
He was watching me a little too closely. “Wow, my last girlfriend was allergic to the outdoors. Not that I think you’re my girlfriend,” he added quickly, his eyes widening.
“It’s okay,” I replied, laughing.
It was way, way too early for anything like that. I didn’t even know if I liked him yet. Sure, he was handsome and at work we’d had a laugh but good looking and a giggle wasn’t enough. I needed a connection.
“You said you came here for picnics with your family, have you always lived here then?”
“Yep, I was born in the house my parents are still in. A bit boring really.”
“It’s not boring. If you find somewhere you love why would you want to move? Do you have your own place?”
He nodded. “Moved out three months ago.”
“How’s that going for ya?”
“It’s different. I like my space but not having to do my own washing!”
His mum still did his washing?
“Parents tend not to want to clean your house for you, huh.”
He shook his head. “What about you?”
“Still with the parents, at least until I finish uni.”
“How long do you have left?”
“Another year. I like it but I can’t wait to be done with education.”
We reached a picnic spot with wooden tables and plenty of grass for if you wanted to sit on a blanket. I let Rhys choose as this was something he used to do. He went to the table furthest away from the few people dotted around.
“I got sandwiches, pasta, chicken, fruit, chocolate, and juice.” He opened the basket and laid the food out.
I sat down. “This looks great, Rhys.”
He looked up as he poured us a glass of juice. “I hope you like it.” He took the seat opposite me. “So what’s the plan once uni’s finished?”
“Well, I want to be an event organiser. I’ve not decided if that’s weddings or general. There are plenty of hotels and venues around I could apply to if I choose weddings but not so much with general so I’d be looking at starting something up myself.”
“Yeah? Being your own boss would be great.”
“It would. A bit scary straight out of uni though, so I might see if I can get a little experience then maybe go on my own after a year or two. My course covers managing a business but it’s quite a big leap.”
“You’ll be great at that. You can get us organised at work in two seconds flat. I’ve lost count of the amount of times you’ve solved a problem before I’ve even processed what’s going on.”
Yeah, I was great at organising events and problem solving for other people. It was myself that I still struggled with.
“I love it but it’s one thing taking on staff of six, a big corporate event or someone’s wedding…”
“You’ll be fine.”
“What about you? What’s your grand plan?” I asked, tucking into a cheese sandwich.
He shrugged. “Now there’s a question. I have no idea. Still not figured that one out. It’s frustrating seeing my friends going off doing what they want and achieving something when I’m still working at the little pub I’ve been at since I was eighteen.”
How old was he? I’d put him no older than twenty-four.
“Plenty of people still don’t know what they want to do. You’ve got time to figure it out.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” He shrugged. “Would be nice to have even the smallest idea, though.”
“This is really good,” I said, changing the subject. I couldn’t identify with that, I’d had a plan since I was about thirteen. I knew what I wanted to do and what I wanted my life to be. He probably had the better idea though, if you didn’t plan you couldn’t be disappointed.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it. When you didn’t agree to the date straight off I was worried you didn’t want to.”
“Sorry about that. I’ve not done this since Jace and it was just a little strange to begin with.”
He winced and I saw him practically kick himself. “I’m sorry, Chloe, I should’ve thought.”
I took a sip of the juice. “No, it’s fine, no need to apologise. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t ready or didn’t want to be.”
We fell into a slightly awkward silence. My dead boyfriend was always going to be a tough subject, no matter what the situation.
The sun broke through the clouds and I looked up, raising my arms. “I better get a tan this year,” I said almost absentmindedly.
“You’re already tanned,” he replied.