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‘And Si is the perfect guy to break you in,’ she replies.

‘You really are awful with expressions… and words in general,’ I dare to point out, because I’m a bit drunk.

‘You’re welcome,’ she says, kissing me on the cheek. Then she beckons Si over with her hand. ‘Go with him.’

She hooks her arm with Angie’s before the two of them walk away.

‘Is she okay?’ he asks me with a laugh. ‘She seems fun.’

‘Oh, yeah, she was just going on about horses,’ I reply. ‘Your friend is lucky she has a boyfriend, I think she was eyeing him up.’

I rub my arms, to warm myself up. It feels so much colder out here, after being in such a warm place.

‘Yeah, well, my friend is in the middle of a messy divorce, that’s why I’m out with him, to cheer him up,’ he tells me. ‘So, I bet your friend will have done him the world of good.’

We’ll see.

‘So, do you want to go home together?’ he asks.

I guess we’ll see about that too.

10

I’ve never really been a one-night stand kind of girl. Sure, I’ve always gone for the wrong guys, but I’m a romantic with a five-date (minimum) rule, which means I get to know a guy before he breaks my heart.

When it comes to men I am usually strong, but when it comes to peer pressure, and alcopops, I’m pretty weak.

My phone keeps pinging with notifications from the group chat I am in with Mel and Angie.

Mel

You’d better be going home with him, Lia. Get stuck in.

Angie

She hasn’t seen him in years, she hardly knows him. What if she ends up with chlamydia, or dead, or worse? It will be all your fault!

It’s like having the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. I’m impressed at Angie, being the voice of reason, but, wow, you’ve got to wonder what on earth she ranks as worse than chlamydia and death.

Mel

He’ll show her a good time. Lia, go for it.

Angie

Lia, I’d make him wait. Seriously.

‘Is everything okay?’ Si asks, nodding towards my phone. ‘That thing is going crazy.’

‘Oh, it’s fine, it’s nothing important,’ I reply, adjusting the uncomfortable taxi seatbelt.

I focus on the taxi windows misting at the edges, from the cold night outside, as I think about what I should do.

It’s hard to know who to listen to. Mel, my friend, or Angie, who doesn’t seem to like me that much, but seems to have my best interests at heart – at least tonight.

It could be the Kapops talking, but I do actually want to go home with Si. In theory. He’s handsome, funny and single – what more do I need to know? Apart from whether or not he has chlamydia, strangles women, ‘or worse’.

I suppose I could always change my mind, but I think I’ve made the right call.