The Dating Game Read online

  Placing their drinks on the table, Anton sat down opposite her, moving the cocktail menu out of the way, so it no longer blocked their view of each other.

  ‘So,’ he said.

  ‘So,’ she emulated him.

  ‘Feel strange?’

  ‘A little.’

  ‘Relax. Is this your first date with the agency?’

  ‘Yes. Can you tell?’

  ‘Can I be honest?’

  Gill nodded.

  ‘You seem a little terrified.’

  Gill laughed. ‘I probably am. I’m sure without cause.’

  ‘We’re just two people having a drink, getting to know each other,’ he said softly.

  She liked his voice, which was both soothing and sexy. It had to be said, foreign accents did add a certain je ne sais quoi to a potential date.

  She began to relax as he asked her questions about herself. She wondered if it were his first date arranged by the agency. She thought not. He was too at ease, confident, but not arrogant, not smooth. His manners were impeccable. Before long, and after Gill had chosen from the cocktail menu, he unfolded his long legs from the chair he was sitting in and went to fetch them more drinks.

  Once she relaxed, Gill made a joke about her drinking vodka and him being the Russian. He laughed and explained the reason he didn’t drink vodka was because the vodka found in Scotland was nowhere near as good as that which they really drank in Russia. She opted for a Cosmopolitan whilst Anton ordered another Poinsettia. He offered Gill a taste and it had seemed over-cautious to refuse. It was lovely – a mix of champagne, Cointreau and cranberry juice. She found it a strange choice for a man, but she liked that he didn’t conform.

  The date was going well, Gill thought. She wondered if Anton thought so, too. She had heard horror stories, of girls on blind dates who thought it was going swimmingly, only to discover that their date had not actually gone to the toilet but instead legged it to the car park, leaving them stranded. She really hoped that wasn’t the case with Anton.

  Gill asked him about his work. He still travelled back and forth to Vladivostok, as well as St Petersburg, Minsk and Nizhniy Novgorod, liaising with other institutes involved in the research programme of which he was a part. It sounded very interesting, although he couldn’t go into detail, as a lot of the research was cutting edge and thus top secret. She told him she worked in Recruitment, but made a point of not giving him the name of her company, and he didn’t press her. Nowadays though she realised, most information could be found on the internet anyway.

  Gill studied his body language and tried equally to be conscious of her own.

  Anton watched Gill as she bent over to pick up her bag, as Greensleeves blasted from it. At least she didn’t have one of those designer bags, he thought. Anton disliked women who were overly interested in labels, perhaps because he wasn’t remotely interested in fashion.

  As Anton surveyed Gill, he concluded she was pretty, not gorgeous, but very attractive; tall for a woman, which helped, given his own height. He’d put six feet three on his profile. Some women liked tall men, but few liked really tall men. It wouldn’t be the first time he had been more than a foot taller than his date. At least that wasn’t the case with Gill. He found her friendly, interesting and interested. Anton was far from a chatterbox, but could chat happily with someone when they had something interesting to say, and which held his attention. His low boredom threshold meant he was averse to small-talk, so he was glad that Gill was intelligent enough to understand about his work. Surprisingly, it turned out she had studied Engineering. Not many women did that, he thought. Not in the UK. In Russia of course, it was much more common, along with many women becoming scientists.

  Anton liked how Gill’s hair fell in waves over her shoulders. He had a thing for women with long hair. Don’t all men? he wondered. It was so feminine.

  ‘I’m really sorry about that,’ Gill apologised. ‘I thought I’d put it on silent. I thought I was switching it off, but I must have hit Answer, when I was trying to take it out of my bag. It was a client,’ Gill looked embarrassed. Not good form to take calls during a date. She hoped he didn’t hold it against her.

  ‘Don’t worry about it, really,’ Anton waved his hand in a gesture indicating it was already forgotten. ‘Would you like another drink?’ he asked, eyeing Gill’s empty glass.

  Gill looked at his half-full glass and was ready to say no, afraid he might think her a lush, when Anton suddenly picked up his glass and drained the remainder of its contents. Smiling at her, he said, ‘So what would you like?’

  For a moment she didn’t know whether he was subtly referring to something else or if he was simply asking her again if she wanted another drink. Cute if he was going for the double entendre, and a little sexy. She blushed at the thought. They were on their third drink; surely a good sign.

  Bravely she said, ‘Whatever you’re having.’

  Surprised, but pleased she thought, Anton said, ‘OK, leave it to me. I know just the thing.’

  When he returned, he declared, ‘Mango Siberian Sunrise,’ and urged Gill to take a sip.

  ‘Mmm. That’s lovely. What’s in it?’

  ‘Russian Standard Original Vodka, lime juice, sugar and mango,’ Anton rattled off.

  ‘It’s very refreshing,’ Gill said.

  Just like you, thought Anton, hoping he would have the opportunity to see her again.

  As they sat talking companionably, both a little on edge, as neither was exactly sure of how the other felt, they discussed a multitude of topics. They were amazed at how much they had in common; including both being workaholics and chocoholics.

  ‘Snickers for me,’ laughed Anton.

  ‘Flake,’ said Gill. ‘Can you excuse me a second? I’m just going to go to the Ladies’.’

  ‘Of course,’ Anton said. It would give him a few minutes to work on what to say and do at the end of the evening. He liked her, but he knew not to move things ahead too quickly. He didn’t want to scare her off. He sensed she liked him, too. But this was only her first date through the agency. She was bound to have many more. His instincts were divided. Try to secure a second date, let her know just how much he liked her, before anyone else muscled in, or take it slowly? He debated this whilst he awaited her return.

  ‘Debbie, it’s me,’ said Gill. She had washed her hands and was standing to one side of the washbasins. Luckily there was no one else in the toilets at the time, so she was able to chat freely.

  ‘How’s it going? Need rescuing?’

  ‘No, not at all. He’s lovely, gorgeous too.’

  ‘Excellent,’ said Debbie, who then conveyed this to the others. ‘Lisa and Angela have given the thumbs up to that,’ she said.

  ‘What’s that, Lisa?’ Debbie asked.

  ‘Oh, Lisa says it’s about time too,’ Debbie relayed down the phone.

  ‘Tell her ha bloody ha.’

  ‘So, are you going somewhere else after here?’

  ‘I don’t know. What should I do if he suggests it?’

  ‘Well, what do you want to do? What do you want to happen?’ Debbie asked her.

  ‘Well, I’m not going to sleep with him, if that’s what you’re asking.’

  ‘I know you well enough to know you wouldn’t do that on a first date, for various reasons, not least that I would kill you. I don’t care how much you might be gagging for it, ahem, sorry, I mean, I don’t care how long a drought you’ve had, you can wait beyond the first date. Or it will be the last date.’

  ‘I know, I know and to be honest, although I really like him, I haven’t jumped ahead to that part in my head yet, anyway.’

  ‘Well, just do what you feel like. But make sure if you go on anywhere afterwards, that you let me know where it is. Personally, I wouldn’t, and would wait to see if he asks for another date.’

  ‘OK,’ said Gill, trying to take in everything Debbie was saying, simultaneously trying to work out what to do, should the matter arise.

  ‘G
ood luck, love.’

  ‘Thanks. Call you tomorrow,’ and she hung up. After checking her face and hair briefly, Gill sped back upstairs, aware she had been gone a little longer than she’d intended and hoping he was still there.

  He was, and a broad smile broke out across his face as he saw her return.

  ‘Will we finish these then go?’ Anton asked. Gill’s face must have fallen a little, before she recovered herself enough to shield her feelings.

  ‘I need to get the train back to Stirling. I couldn’t drive here, as I wanted to be able to have a few drinks and relax.’ Showing her his watch, he said, ‘It’s ten twenty already.’

  ‘Is it?’ Gill could scarcely believe it. She didn’t realise they’d been yakking away for more than three hours.

  ‘Yes, “time flies when you’re enjoying yourself,” I believe the saying goes.’

  He smiled directly at her and she noticed that he had very white teeth, one of which was a little crooked. It added even more to his charm.

  ‘How are you getting home?’ he wanted to know.

  ‘Oh, I’ll grab a taxi.’

  ‘Then I’ll walk with you to the taxi rank, before I get my train.’

  Gill almost said he didn’t need to do that, but thought better of it, as it was a nice gesture on his part, and she needed to learn to accept behaviour like this graciously.

  They finished their drinks and Anton helped Gill put on her jacket. Chivalrous - tick. She could get used to this. She hoped it wasn’t all an act. But no, she pushed those thoughts from her mind. He seemed genuine enough. As they walked the few hundred metres towards Queen St Station, Anton stopped suddenly and said, ‘Can I ask you something?’

  ‘Of course,’ Gill said, wondering if he was going to ask if he could kiss her.

  ‘Can we see each other again?’

  Gill’s heart leapt, then plummeted, then leapt again. ‘I’d like that,’ she said, smiling warmly at him.

  ‘Excellent. I have one more question.’

  Gill looked at him quizzically. Perhaps he would ask her to go to Stirling next time, as he had made the effort to come to Glasgow on this occasion.

  ‘May I kiss you?’

  Gill gazed up into his smiling face and nodded. Resting his hands lightly on Gill’s arms, Anton bent down and kissed Gill very softly on the lips. His touch was so light, Gill initially wondered if he had kissed her. He kissed her twice more, each time gently and without opening his lips.

  When they parted, he said, ‘That was as nice as I thought it would be. We should get you a taxi,’ and they walked the remaining few metres to the taxi rank.

  As they waited their turn in the taxi rank, Gill could still taste him on her lips; still feel the heat of him. Her body had responded effortlessly when he kissed her. She had wanted more. But it was nice that he had shown some self-restraint, she convinced herself.

  ‘Are you free on Thursday?’ Anton asked.

  Gill knew she was, but made a show of checking the calendar on her phone. The girls had taught her something after all.

  ‘Looks like it,’ she said.

  ‘Can I surprise you?’ he asked.

  She hoped he wasn’t going to turn up naked, although on second thoughts, maybe that wasn’t such a terrible idea!

  ‘Can I trust you?’ she asked, teasing him slightly.

  ‘You can trust me,’ he said.

  ‘Then, it’s a yes.’

  ‘I’ll be in touch then, about where to meet, but it will probably be around seven again. Is that OK?’

  ‘That’s fine.’

  Just then the next available taxi pulled up. Anton opened the door for her. She climbed in, and once she had turned around, he pecked her on the cheek, before following that up with another little kiss on the lips.

  ‘I had a really good time tonight. See you Thursday.’

  ‘Me too, until Thursday.’

  Anton backed out of the taxi, the door closed and the taxi rolled away along Duke St, before turning towards the south side of the city.

  Anton waved and watched the taxi disappear into the distance. Turning, he walked back into the station.

  The next train was due in fifteen minutes. Anton sat on one of the benches, trying to block out the noise of the occasional drunk person stumbling past, shouting obscenities. The station was relatively busy and the vast semi-circular roof above him conducted the noise of his fellow passengers remarkably well. Taking out his iPod from his inside jacket pocket, he slipped the buds into his ears and selected Stravinsky’s Romance. He was in the mood for something light and romantic. Who said romance was dead? Apparently women always wanted romance, but what about men? He wanted nothing more than to find someone he really liked and which could eventually develop into love, someone he could spend time with. He wasn’t so naïve that he thought Gill could be the one to fulfil that role. They needed to get to know each other first. That could continue on Thursday. He would surprise her and see how it went. If they decided to have another date after that, then she could choose. The important thing was she had said yes to Thursday. He liked that. She hadn’t made him wait, hadn’t played hard to get, she’d simply checked her diary. He hated game playing. It was difficult enough dating someone, without all the mind games. Anton thought he was a pretty open person. He could also be very direct and occasionally a bit blunt. But he would never intentionally hurt anyone’s feelings.

  He removed his ear buds, as he heard the tannoy ring out, ‘The train now arriving at platform one…’

  That was his train. Anton took out his travel pass from his pocket, slipped his ticket through the machine and went through the barrier.

  Luckily he managed to nab a seat with a table. As he stared out of the window, he remembered how Gill’s hair had smelled of coconut. Her perfume was floral, but sensual. As the train drew out of the station, Anton’s thoughts remained with Gill and would do so for the duration of his forty minutes journey back to Stirling.

  Chapter Eleven

  Tuesday 6th September

  Next morning Gill overslept. She had slept remarkably well, but she must have forgotten to set the alarm on her phone. Picking up her mobile, she scowled at it, as if the obnoxious, beeping noise were its fault, instead of hers. Her e-mail alert pinged. Well, it would have to wait. She hated being late. Gill ran around like a mad thing, foregoing coffee, in order to arrive at the office at the originally planned time. She had meetings this morning, both in and out of the office. She needed to impress the new client, too, she remembered. At least she had had the presence of mind to finalise her preparations for her meeting before she went out on her date last night.

  Fortunately there was very little traffic on the roads that morning and she made up some of her lost time. Arriving at the office, the first thing she did was switch on the kettle, even before she plugged in her laptop. She’d feel better after a caffeine hit.

  Laptop on, coffee mug in hand, she checked through her personal e-mails before starting the morning’s work. Charlie Prentice. Well, it was about time. Taking a sip of her coffee and swearing as it was too hot and burned the roof of her mouth, she clicked open the e-mail.

  ‘Hi Gill. Sorry couldn’t get in touch sooner. Away rock climbing, only just got back. Had a long weekend. No reception to get e-mails. When would you like to meet up? Friday’s out I’m afraid, as I have a stag do. Apart from that any other night this week is OK for me. Charlie.’

  Well, he did have a reasonable enough excuse for not contacting her earlier. She would forgive him for that. But was he assuming that asking her on Tuesday, she would be free at such short notice? That was a tad presumptuous. Anyway, she was already going out on Thursday with Anton. Then chiding herself that she shouldn’t be putting all her eggs in one basket so soon, she tried to think when she could meet Charlie. If he was out on Friday at a stag do, he would be unlikely to be up to going out on Saturday lunchtime. She’d suggest Sunday afternoon.

  ‘Nice to hear from you, Charlie,’ Gill beg
an. ‘I’m afraid I’m busy this week. What about Sunday lunchtime for a drink? Gill.’

  There, short and to the point. Let’s see if he would be happy to see her at the weekend.

  Gill scrolled through the rest of her e-mails, responding to as many as she could, then came across one from Anton.

  ‘Gill, I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed meeting you, and our kiss…See you on Thursday, Anton.’

  Gill smiled to herself, remembering that fleeting kiss, which had held the promise of something more.

  She’d just about reached the end of her e-mails, when she saw one from Caroline.

  ‘Gill, hope your date went well last night. I have two more profiles for you. Please see attached.’

  Gill clicked on the attachment.

  Candidate Profile

  Name: Gary Kelly

  Age: 47

  Lives: Renfrewshire

  Occupation: Engineer (oil & gas)

  Qualifications: BEng

  Height: 5’ 11’

  Marital status: Divorced, no children

  Smoker: N

  Interests: Formula One, dining out, socialising, photography, reading the classics

  Further information: Originally from Northamptonshire, I have lived in Scotland for ten years.

  Looking to meet: A fun, sexy woman who likes to spoil and be spoiled by her partner. Also needs to be able to accept that, as an engineer on the rigs, I have odd shift patterns and be willing to work around that.