During the day I found myself chatting to my friends Sarah and Fiona, and it turned out that Sarah had broken up with the American guy she'd been dating, and was looking forward to a drink with the girls to try and forget about the boy. As well, I'd been meaning to catch up with my friend Sara from Cambridge for ages, and she was supposed to meet up with her friend Rocky so I invited them both to come join me at the Lansdowne.
When I arrived, I found Fiona out in the hallway (she had just arrived) and Sara and Rocky in at the bar. The place was crowded as due to the cold weather nobody was making use of the outdoor space. So I got us all a bottle of champagne, and we clustered near the fireplace in the bar, which was a good out-of-the-way spot to stand.
As I talked to Sarah about her break-up, it was apparent that she was still quite hung up on this guy. And the more she talked about him, an American guy who she had a great time with when she was out with him, but who never spoke to her or made plans in the middle of the week in-between, I almost had to ask, "Were you dating the exact same guy I dated last year?" She showed me a text with his name, so it wasn't the same guy, but overall I was rather stunned at how much the pattern seemed the same. What is it about these boys who seem to like you so much on the dates themselves but then don't want to be bothered with you in-between?
Mostly it was just lots of standing around chatting to people, occasionally getting sectioned off by boys who wanted to talk to me but just doing the usual cocktail party circuit. I would have left sooner, but I wanted to be a good host to Sara and Rocky, as well as I had been hoping to catch up with Lotte, who I hadn't seen in some time.
Sara and Rocky finally left, and Lotte finally arrived with her fiancee at around 10:30 PM. We managed to retire with the boys to some chairs in the Adam Room, and get them to leave us alone for a bit to talk, although to be honest boys hitting on me kept irritatingly interrupting us.
Still, we managed to chat for a bit, and she did tell me some stories about the Tall South African, who is one of her oldest friends and the entire reason I know him. She seemed utterly delighted that the two of us have taken a shine to each other, as she was telling me stories about his ex-girlfriend, a girl she'd never really liked who she felt treated him badly. And so, knowing that the two of us are fond of each other...well she seemed positively gleeful, as I'm someone she approves of as being a genuinely nice person for the Tall South African.
I didn't want her to get the wrong idea about the two of us, and so told her "Even if we just end up as friends, I think we always will be." And so I told her a little bit more about the two of us, how we talk and how he'd stayed at mine the night after Sophie's party. "Wait, he was telling the truth in that text?" she exclaimed with surprise.
Damn, she hadn't realised that was the truth? I could have lied and gotten away with it? Surprised and tripped up by this realisation, I quickly assured her that we hadn't slept together, which only seemed to surprise her even more. "He went home with you and didn't sleep with you? Now that is VERY unusual!"
She did continue to insist that he was actually one of the most genuinely nice guys she knew, and seemed quite concerned that I believe her on that point. I really wish I could have talked to her more, but remember when I kept telling you about those annoying boys who kept interrupting? Too quickly, they put an end to our best attempts to have a private conversation. One guy kept telling me how lovely I was looking, and I kept trying to be polite and be gracious about it, even though he was getting on my nerves.
Irritated by this, and since it was getting late, when Lotte and her fiancee made a move to go home, I got up to join them. But of course, the irritating boys wanted to come too, and as we walked to the bus stop to catch the night bus, two of them kept insisting on holding my hands. I tried to stay closer to the less offensive one who didn't seem quite as drunk, taking him to be the safer option. And so I ended up with a giant group with me at the night bus stop and on the bus with me. The less offensive boy got off pretty quickly at Hyde Park Corner, while the more drunken one (who really seemed to be following me around as though I might take him home with me) stayed on with me, Lotte and her fiancee.
I really wish I could have stayed longer to talk with Lotte more, but the situation was getting bad, as I could tell that the drunken boy would get off with me and make a move if I didn't do something, so when the bus got to Knightsbridge, I waited until almost everyone was off the bus and then gave Lotte a quick peck and jumped off the bus just as the doors were closing. Even if the boy had wanted to follow me now, in his drunken state he wouldn't have quick enough reflexes to do so. Hence I was able to escape that awkward situation and catch the bus I wanted the rest of the way home.
However when I checked my phone, I realised that I had a message from the less offensive one: "Had a great night. Just realised I don't have your number. What do you say to dinner some time? X"
Damn. Why on earth did he not realise I was just using him as an excuse to stay away from the excessively drunken one? I can never complain that boys don't ask me out, but it's definitely not the boys I want!
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