Elsie-Rae's got Double D's

the strongbow challenge

I didn't plan on ever going out with Will again, especially after that terrible date, and then unexpectedly meeting his parents and him meeting mine. My mum was proper on one that day after we'd arrived back at my house, she just wouldn't let it lie. She insisted that Will stay for breakfast, and asked question after question about what classes we took together at the gym. I wanted to tell her to get lost, but I couldn't, not after I'd embarrassed her in front of the neighbours, so I had to grin and bear it.

Life has a funny way of working though because Will turned up on my parent's doorstep four days after that first date. He'd brought Steph's dress back, and he'd even had it dry cleaned — you'd never know that I'd had a drink thrown over me or spilt kebab down the front or thrown up everywhere. And he had daffodils; they were my favourite flowers, I could hardly say no.

"Let me take you out again? For real this time," he asked.

Of course, I was going to say yes, and not just because I was desperate or because he was the only guy who'd shown the tiniest bit of interest in me. I said yes because despite the fact that he'd acted like an arrogant bellend when he was pretending to be Dallas when he was himself he was a nice guy. And I kinda felt obligated to, even after almost getting arrested, and the interrogation he'd faced from my mother in the kitchen, he still came and brought Steph's dress back. And did I mention that he brought me some flowers? I can't even remember the last time a guy brought me flowers.

In the past, I'd always had these expectations of an over the top fancy and extravagant date, but when he suggested this lovely little pub down by the river, I was more than happy. We sat for ages in the beer garden, talking and drinking pints of cider. An ice-cold drink on a hot summers day is my idea of heaven, and it was really taking effect I even suggested that we do the Strongbow Challenge — we all want to know who can down a pint of Strongbow the quickest, right? Needless to say, I won, but when I stood up, everything began to spin and I felt like I was either going to fall over or throw up, I needed to lie down.

"Are your parents home?" I asked him, "because my mum was in a right arsey mood this morning, and I don't think I could face her right now."

"You don't fancy meeting them again then?" he asked.

Well, to be honest, no I didn't want to meet them again. There was no doubt that Will's parents were weird. And I was still freaked out by the fact that they'd not only seen me nearly naked, but they'd also heard me having sex with their son. How could you ever face someone again after that?

"Relax, I know they can be over the top, but they're okay. And as for your question, no, they're not home. They won't be back until next week, do you want to come back to my place?" Will asked, putting his arm around me.

Now that he'd offered, I could hardly refuse, could I?

As I've already said, I didn't plan on going another date with Will, so I definitely didn't plan on waking up naked next to him again either.

"Look, this meant nothing, right?" I said to him when he handed me a cup of tea.

"Of course, it was just sex," he agreed. "I'm not looking for anything serious. I don't really do relationships."

I was pretty sure that Will said he'd spent the last six months pining for someone called Michelle, but whatever, who was I to judge? I'd spent months doing the same over Ben. Maybe he'd been hurt like I had, maybe that's what he meant when he said he didn't do relationships. Maybe Michelle had put him off being with someone, in the same way, Ben had affected me for so long. But I was over that bastard now.

"Yeah, same," I agreed breathing a sigh of relief. Deep down, I knew that I was, in fact, ready to find someone to be in a relationship with again, but I knew it wouldn't be with someone like Will. But at the same time, there was no reason that I couldn't enjoy his company. I was more relieved that I hadn't had a one night stand, there's nothing wrong with having one, I guess, but it's just not me.

"Why don't we just see how this goes?" he said sitting on the bed next to me. "Like we don't have to see each other all the time, we can just go out for drinks and be friends or whatever."

Will's suggestion sounded good, I liked drinking, and you need all the friends you can get in this world, so it was kind of win-win.

I knew the reality of this thing, whatever it was, is that we'd probably not see each other again more than once or twice. I'd go off to Magaluf for Sophie's hen-do, get very wasted and forget all about Will - who knows, if I was really lucky I might even find a cute guy to have a cheeky snog with. And Will would do the same; I was pretty sure that he'd soon forget about me too. It wouldn't take him long to find some other girl to take on shit dates, just as long as he didn't take her to the little pub by the river — that was our place! He could embarrass her in front of his parents, he could do whatever he liked with her, but he could not take her to that pub.

It wouldn't be long before we both went our separate ways, but everything would be okay. I was now fully equipped to deal with heartbreak, not that I would be heartbroken, it wasn't like I was in love with Will or anything.

No, there was only one person that I was loving these days, and that was myself. If there's one thing that I've learnt since being dumped it's that everything will turn out alright in the end. It might take a little bit of time, but eventually, you will be okay and getting dumped isn't the end of the world, but maybe, just maybe, it's the start of something that you never imagined possible. And you can take on any challenge thrown your way - except for the Strongbow Challenge, that's never a good idea.