MORNING SERIAL
‘COURSE it’s okay or I wouldn’t have asked.’ He gave me a cheeky smile again. So down to earth.
He didn’t only return with drinks, though. He was holding a little tray of two glasses and a platter of snacks: brie, cheddar, crackers, olives, bread and balsamic vinegar.
‘Just a little something for us to share,’ he smiled.
My stomach suddenly felt quite hungry after dance.
Theo leaned his long body forward, pulled the coffee table into the centre of the room and sat cross-legged on the floor to one side of it. He started to dig in, using a napkin to wipe his mouth and fingertips between bites. I remembered how much I loved seeing people enjoy their food. Frederick used to be the best for that.
‘Aren’t you gonna join me? Must be hungry after all that dance, right?’ He pulled a cushion from the peacock chair and slid it along the floor for me to sit opposite him.
This is more perfect than I could have imagined. What on earth had I been panicking about? It was one of those moments you had to take a step back from and think, ‘Is this really happening? Is this really happening to me?’ I couldn’t have pictured any of it an hour before.
‘I can never get enough of nibbles. Can you?’ He looked so endearing as he chewed, and so relaxed that it relaxed me too. ‘Couldn’t stop eating when I was in Italy,’ he said. ‘Everywhere I went, I was ordering a little dish of something.’
‘You’ve been to Italy?’ I asked. I would have loved to go, and Paris one day. Mam and Dad had been to Paris once.
‘Oh, a billion times. You name one of those Italian cities and I’ve been there.’
That explained the bookshelf full of travel guides. I bet he could speak a few languages too. I felt self-conscious again because I’d only ever travelled from the ivory house, to school, ballet, town and back. That was my world. How small of me, how ridiculous.
‘So, I’ve got to ask, what is it you love most about ballet?’ He made sure to look up at me as he popped an olive into his mouth.
It was a big question, and I hadn’t been asked it before.
Unspeakable Beauty by Georgia Carys Williams is published by Parthian at £10.99. parthianbooks.com
CONTINUES TOMORROW