The Fuzzy End of the Lollipop

The Fuzzy End of The Lollipop: Chapter Twelve

Sally bit the side of her thumb and fumbled around in her pocket for her phone. Tomas was now ten minutes late and she was beginning to think Maya might have been right. Maybe she had made a mistake by putting all her eggs in one basket but then again their first date had been so perfect. It could not be over, not yet.

He is probably just hungover, thought Sally as she checked her phone again. It was eleven o'clock on a Saturday morning and most of London was still tucked up in bed. Why had she been so stupid? Of course he was not going to turn up. Maya was the only person who got up this early but just as she was about to give up hope, a hand rested on her shoulder.

It was Tomas. Her insides squealed. She was still unbelievably attracted to him but as he brought his face closer to hers, she noticed he looked different. His outline no longer shimmered with the slow and sexy energy she had feasted on last time. Now, it slumped inward making her step backward like a cautious filly.

"Are you alright?" asked Tomas as he drew her closer to him.

"I am fine," Sally beamed awkwardly, "You alright?"

Tomas rubbed his forehead and laughed, "I am a bit tired."

"Oh, did you go out last night, then?" This was a rhetorical question. Of course, he had gone out last night but at least he had shown up. That meant something, right?

Tomas rubbed his face sheepishly, "Yeah, some of my friends came to visit me from Portugal, we went to a club in Hackney Wick."

Sally laughed and pushed open the cafe door. Of course, he had gone out. I mean if it wasn't for her change in lifestyle Sally would have probably done the same. It was fine, it didn't mean anything. She tried not to think about it but Tomas' hungover body frightened her. His electric energy no longer surged between them and his intense eye contact had been replaced with a watery squint.

Unsure of what to do, Sally became frantic. "Have you ever been here before? I never really go out in Whitechapel. All my friends live in the South. I go to Peckham a lot and Brixton. I usually go running around Peckham Common with friend Maya and then we go out for breakfast there. Have you ever been to Peckham? It's really cool, got some really cool places but I suppose East has got some cool places as well." Sally swallowed and tried to wait for him to say something but every time she paused, panic ran up her spine forcing her to Babbel on regardless of Tomas' pained expression.

She could not understand what was happening. It was as though they were speaking a different language or at least she was. She tried to mimic how she had acted last time when everything had seemed so natural but no matter how hard she tried she continued to ramble on and on. Thankfully, a waitress came to their table, giving her time to regroup.

"I will have summer fruit pancakes with extra strawberries please," said Sally, handing her menu back to the waitress.

"Just a coffee," muttered Tomas.

"Are you not hungry then?"

Tomas massaged his temples with the tips of his fingers, "No, I don't feel like eating."

"What time did you get back last night?"

"Not that late, what time are you working tonight?"

"Why have you got something on after this or are you planning on going straight to bed?"

Tomas laughed and rubbed at his forehead again, "Yeah, I will try to sleep a bit but I have another party tonight."

"Another one?" Sally scolded. "You are going to be destroyed by Monday."

Tomas smiled, "Maybe I should get a beer now, and just keep going,"

"You should," Sally agreed.

For a moment, Tomas looked shocked but then concealed it with a grin, "Of course you think that all you English are alcoholics." 

Sally blushed, why was she being such an idiot? His flippant remark had been a test and she had failed. What he wanted her to say was, "No, you can't have a beer. All you can have is a ginger ale and then go straight to bed." Or maybe he wanted her to be the bad girl, she could not be sure. Everything he said sounded as though he was hinting at something but she could not put her finger on it.

"I bet you went out last night though?" said Tomas, "I thought you loved going out."

"No, I go dancing on Fridays," said Sally, anxious to get away from the topic.

"So you did go out then?"

"No, it's not like that. It's like a class, you learn a routine."

"Oh," said Tomas, looking disappointed.

"It's really good," Sally continued, "I go with my friend Maya and her sister, I did not use to like it. It freaked me out, but now I love it, it's a laugh," Sally wanted him to know how much dancing had changed her. She wanted him to understand that it was important to her but he just nodded and took another sip of his coffee.

"So you don't go out on the weekends?"