Finally / Jesse Lingard

Part 3

"Hello, are you Katie?" A soft voice asks, I turn around and see a middle-aged man in a suit, his hair flecked with grey.
Great. Thanks Joel. Setting me up with someone old enough to be my dad.

"Oh, hi. Yes I am Katie."

"Oh good, there is a young gentleman waiting for you. Let me take you to the table."

Relieved is an understatement.

I follow the man to the table, and my nerves begin to heighten. I have no idea what to expect or even who to expect.

I arrive at the table. A smile arises on the boys face as I approach the table.

"I thought you weren't coming." He says, relief evident in his voice.

"Oh sorry, I was waiting at the front. Liv wouldn't tell me who I was meeting so I didn't know who to look out for." I say as I sit down.

I scan his face. He has deep brown eyes and a cheeky smile. Joel knew my type well.

"So you know nothing about me?" He says with a wide grin emerging on his face.

"Nope. Not even your name."I say, hinting for some sort of introduction.

"Oh, yh. I'm Jesse. It's Katie right?"

"Yeah, nice to meet you Jesse." I say smiling at him.

"I am surprised you turned up." Jesse says.

"Why?" I ask confused.

"Me and Joel have this prank war going on. And when he showed me a picture of you I was like nope can't be true. No one as beautiful could be single right?"

My cheeks flush red. His smile widens.

"But I couldn't just not turn up in case he wasn't pranking me. I'm well happy I turned up." He finishes.

"I am happy you did too" I smile at him, "So how do you know Joel, do you work with him scouting players?"

Jesse begins to chuckle.

"Something like that." He responds, "what do you do?"

"Well I am a youtuber, but I also sing on the side at like weddings and stuff."

"Oh wow, I've hit the jackpot here haven't I? Gorgeous and talented."

He's such a flirt - but I'm enjoying it.

We spoke alittle more about my videos and then ordered some food.

"So how do you know Joel?" Jesse asks as he cuts into his food.

"Well I met him at a club one night, and he asked me out on a date. After that date I wasn't feeling it at all like we got on really well but I think the problem was I only fancied him when I was drunk. So I set him up with Liv. 4 years later they're still going strong." I say proudly.

"Oh,do you wanna drink?" He says laughing and jokingly picking up the alcohol menu.

"Thankfully, no alcohol is needed on this date. I'll stick with my lemonade." I say laughing.

"Good to hear." He says with a cheeky wink. Butterflies fill my belly. Oh god, I think I fancy him.

"Tell me more about your job." I say, realising we've spent so much time speaking about me.

"Well, I don't work directly with Joel. Like for the same club, Man United, but I actually play the football." He says cautiously.

"Oh. I'm quite disappointed. I asked for a plumber."

"A plumber?" He says laughing, "Well I can think of a few chat up lines that are definitely not first date appropriate."

I roll my eyes, "men."

He chuckles.

"So you play football?" I ask, trying to get him to talk more about himself.

"Yeah, I don't normally tell girls if they don't already know who I am. I think it puts them off as footballers have a bad reputation or people just hear money."

"I understand that, being a Youtuber you get alot of smaller channels trying to use you for views and there's so many labels you automatically get just because you post a video."

"So, it dont put you off me? Joel did mention you're not the biggest football fan."

"That's true, I hate football and everything associated, but you might be an exception." I say, he looks down.

"Oh Stop it, you're making me blush." He jokes, "So are you up for a second date?"

"Hmm I will have to check my schedule." I say.

"Well I'm very busy for the next few months training for the world cup and then actually doing the world cup, but I'm sure I can set some time aside for you before I go." He says smiling.

"Oh so you're quite good at football then" I say surprised.

"Yh I guess so." He says smiling.

"Well then, it'd be rude not to see you again, wouldn't it?"

"VERY very rude." He says cheekily.

"Well how about I give you my number and you can text me if you have a gap in your schedule?"

"Sounds like a plan." He says with a wide grin.

Oh wow, I am in love.