Minding Amy

"You expect me to drink Moet through a straw?" Amy shook her head at the idea of it.

"Uhu."

"Isn't that some sort of crime?"

"Wait and see. It was the sexiest drink I ever had. You'll love it. Here."

Amy took the bottle Janine thrust in her hand and they tried to find a safe spot to offload the corks.

"What now?" Amy exclaimed as the bubbles began to froth.

Janine popped a straw into her bottle. It bobbed up and down, almost flying back out. She gestured at Amy to hold on tight and take a sip. "Quickly."

"Wow," she gasped, as the bubbles frothed into her mouth and the chilled champagne fizzed against the back of her throat. "That is sexy."

Janine winked at her approvingly.

"Told you so. It comes with best of luck for this evening."

"Thanks, and thanks for humoring me on this project." The Ghost Hunter project was outside the remit of her job, but Janine had been supportive and encouraging about it.

"No problem," she replied. "You’ve covered for me often enough."

It was true, she did cover for her, but that was usually when Janine dashed off on a mercy mission to help her sister manage her brood of kids.

"It's not that I'm looking to move, I just want to vary the workload a bit from time to time."

"I know, and it's not such a bad idea." Janine looked thoughtful. "I might give it a try myself sometime."

"If I get the go-ahead I'm hoping to get a bunch of work done for it over this weekend, but, even so, it might take a few of my days out of the office."

Janine nodded. "We've got most of the copy for the next edition, you go and have your little adventure. Speaking of which, have you ever had a blind date before?" She swizzled the straw in her bottle.

"Nope, you?"

"Yeah, once."

"What was he like?"

Janine slurped at her Moet before responding. "Don't ask," she replied. She grimaced and shook her head in distaste.

Amy began to giggle. Janine’s expression said it all. "Quasimodo?"

"Nah," she replied, deadpan. "His evil twin."

"Janine!"

"Hey, your guy must be okay, with a voice that sexy."

She shrugged it off, but Amy could see Janine was laughing at the idea of it, the cheeky Madam. She shook her head. What the hell—it was already too late to back out.

* * * *

An hour later Amy tottered up to The Frock and Jacket, cursing under her breath. It sure had turned out to be a bad day to break in her new heels, but she hadn't known she'd be going on a blind date when she put them on that morning. Thankfully Roger had suggested the nearest pub to her office.

The street hummed with traffic, the river of slow-moving cars interspersed with London's trademark red double-decker buses. On the pavements, crowds bustled past, either out on the town or homeward bound at the end of the working day. The city shimmered with midsummer heat. For Amy it was at its most vibrant, alive with tourists and the city dwellers enjoying the rare, sultry weather. She glanced up at the stained glass windows of the pub. She could see figures moving inside. Like most traditional pubs near the heart of the city it would be getting busy with the after-work crowd. She looked at the heavy oak swing door and braced herself.

"What the hell am I doing here?" she murmured to herself as she made her way through the entrance hall. At college she had dated easily, never seriously, but she always had the option of a male companion if she wanted the company, or the sex. Since then she'd pretty much made her career her partner, sacrificing her love life for the sake of her job. She'd had a couple of brief holiday affairs, relationships she enjoyed but carefully kept separate from her everyday life, and yet now she was embarking on a blind date.