Friends Reunited: The First Date

Stephen stared at her and shook his head. "Wow! That's a lot of work!" he said.

"Diabetes IS a lot of work, living with it is a full time job. You have to do courses to learn about how to manage it and look after yourself because you are responsible for keeping yourself alive. If I don't do this," she indicated to her insulin pump. "I die. So..." she shrugged. "Welcome to life with chronic illness, you haven't even scratched the surface." she joked. "I dare say you would understand a bit more than the general public, being a chef and a PT and understanding about nutritional values and stuff." she said genuinely, patting his leg.

"Fair play to you, Sadie." he nodded in admiration. "I know what my homework is now!" he smirked. "Is there anything you can't eat or are allergic to?" he asked.

"Not because of my diabetes. The nutritional advice these days is eat a normal, healthy, balanced diet just like anyone else. With the carb counting regime it's more flexible because you have a better gauge on how certain foods impact your blood sugar or how to deliver your insulin. The pump makes it easier too." she said. Stephen nodded. "Sorry, that didn't answer your question!" she got flustered. "I can't have any alcohol at all because of my lack of pancreas and I just don't like the taste of anything aniseed flavoured anymore because of a horrible experience when I was in hospital. Anything else is good though. I'm not fussy and I like trying different foods." she said, smiling at him.

"That's good to know." he smiled back. "Do you want another drink?" he asked. She nodded. The waiter walked past and Stephen called him over and ordered another soft drink. "What would you like, Sadie?" he asked, turning to her.

"Could I have a cup of tea please? Is that weird?" she asked, awkwardly. Stephen and the waiter both sighed a laugh letting her know that wasn't weird. "Oh good, thank you." she smiled. "I'll just nip to the toilet." she said to Stephen when the waiter left.

Her tea was waiting on the table when she returned. "Do you like teas?" she asked. He nodded. "I have this one at home that tastes like biscuits. I'll bring you some next time." she said with an excited smile.

Stephen raised his eyebrows and gazed at her with a fondness in his eyes, pleased she wanted to spend more time with him. He wanted to test the water further. "Next time, eh?" He tipped his head.

Sadie's eyes darted towards his face to see him trying to hide a smug smirk. "Or I have no problem avoiding you for the rest of our lives until one of us dies." She said flatly. Stephen shook his head and laughed while he nudged her leg gently with his knee.

"So, back to 2003..." Stephen said. Sadie hummed in agreement and smiled shyly, dipping her head and looking up at him cautiously. "By the time I finally plucked up the courage to decide to ask you out, during one of our brief checkout chats, you told me you were leaving to go to university in a few months so I thought I'd better not ask, save face and just get over it!" he said, looking down at her. "And then I met Jodie." he said blankly.

Sadie's forehead creased and her bottom lip stuck out in sadness as she turned towards him. "Awwww! Stephen!" she said quietly, rubbing her hand on his chest.

"What was stopping you from asking me? If you liked me that much!" he asked.

She shrugged. "I dunno...I didn't think you liked me like that and then I heard you were seeing someone and I thought since I was going to uni..." she shrugged. "Talk about a missed connection!" she laughed.

"Well, aren't we here now?" he asked with a nervous laugh. Sadie nodded and smiled fondly. They gazed at each other and Stephen put his arm around her waist and leaned in to kiss her. Her lips were soft and she kissed him almost hesitantly at first. They gently kissed then maintained eye contact before kissing gently again. He slowly introduced his tongue into her mouth and her left hand instinctively rested on his left thigh. She matched his caresses with her tongue against his in a long, slow rhythm before they broke their kiss and gazed at each other. Stephen watched as she bit her bottom lip to hide a shy smile. Her lips were plump with the friction from his beard.

"Do you know what's weird?" she asked softly as they gazed at each other still holding each other close.

"What?" asked Stephen, his heart racing while he tried to read her expression.

"That wasn't weird." she said slowly and quietly. "For me!" she added quickly, remembering herself. "Maybe it was weird for you?" she said urgently, sitting back and lifting her hand from his thigh.

Stephen resisted her movement by holding her reassuringly in his arm. "No, it wasn't weird for me either." he said, trying to sound calm and confident. She looked at him with a vulnerability in her eyes and he shook his head to reassure her. "Give me a hug." he said softly, leaning down and wrapping his arms round her waist to allow her to slide her arms round his neck. They hugged tightly. "Relax!" he said as they pulled away. "Your shoulders are so tense. I can sort that out for you..." he tailed off when he noticed her shocked expression. "I mean cos it's my job." he said with a chuckle that felt nervous in the sudden awkward atmosphere. "Ok, now it feels weird." he said.

She shook her head and her hands at him apologetically. "I don't know why it does now. Sorry, Steve. I don't want it to. Can we rewind 30 seconds?" she laughed nervously. He leaned in and kissed her firmly but softly, holding her body in his left arm and her face with his right hand. He felt her breathe in deeply and he stopped and opened his eyes.

She gazed at him and smiled fondly, nodding as he mouthed "OK?" at her and smiled. He looked around at the surrounding tables. "Next topic?" he asked, sliding his hand down her left thigh as he held his arm round her and let her relax into his embrace. She leaned against his body and he felt her sigh and relax. He lifted his drink from the table with his right hand.

"Do you miss being a chef?" she asked.

He tilted his head, considering his answer while he sipped his drink. "Ahh yeah, some bits of it. I don't miss working for some absolute bastards of head chefs or working splits but I miss the opportunities I got to go places and I miss cooking for someone. It's not the same cooking for yourself." he said.

"You could cook for me!" she smiled.

"I could cook for you!" He nodded and smiled softly. "Yeah?" he asked. She nodded. "What would you like me to cook?... Actually, what's your favourite...no, wait...what's your death row request?" he asked.

"Ooohh good question! Easy! Roast, stuffed pork fillet with apple sauce - home made," she said, pointing to emphasise the words 'home made'. He held out his arms showing that was a given. "Dauphinoise potatoes and broccoli. Then rhubarb crumble & custard for dessert." she said with a wide smile. "What about you?"

"Oh that's proper, old school dinner. A woman after my own heart." he said. "Mine would probably be Christmas dinner. Turkey, ham, stuffing, roasties, veg, cranberry sauce, the lot!" he said. "For dessert... an espresso Martini!" They both hummed in agreement at the same time and then laughed.

"Do you miss not...speaking English...?" he asked, chuckling at his phrasing.

Sadie laughed but nodded. "I do, you know. The idea of my lost potential haunts me." she said in a light tone. Stephen's eyes widened and he looked at her, stunned. "It's the truth." she shrugged. "Everyone has things they regret or 'what ifs' and I don't usually because I believe the choices I've made in life were the right ones for me at the time I made them and it's thanks to that I'm here now." she said, looking at him. He nodded. "What I can't accept is this one 'what might've been', just this one thing that I had no warning or control over and is the most defining change in the course of my entire life." she said.

"Because it changed everything and you had no option to pursue what you'd originally planned?" he asked. She nodded and hummed in agreement as her brow furrowed in thought. "You did try to make it work, a good few times by the sounds of it." he said. "Life kept putting out the buffers to keep you from it though. Do you believe in things being meant to be?" he asked. She nodded and smiled a thoughtful smile. He shrugged his shoulders and smirked.

"If I was granted a wish though, I'd wish to be able to see what life would've been like if I hadn't been ill at that time." she said.

"You're certainly determined!" Stephen chuckled.

"Stubborn!" she joked.

"Wilful, let's say!" he poked out his tongue, his teeth clamping it in a smile. She sighed and he grasped her in his arm and squeezed her against him. "You're made of strong stuff, Sadie."

"Do you still sing?" he asked.

"Funny you should ask that!" she said, raising her eyebrows. "I didn't sing for maybe 10 years and I missed it terribly, especially after I was ill. I joined a local choir about 2 years ago and I love it. I was delighted to find out I can still sing." she giggled. "I find it very uplifting, very theraputic. Definitely good for the mental health."

"That's great! You were always a great singer at school. Remember all the musicals and shows you did?" he asked with a smile. She nodded. "That's how I feel about running in a way as well, it's helped me a lot in different ways. The others in the running club I'm in are great too."

"That's good. It makes a difference! Do you still sing?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, just tinkering about with the guitars every now and then." he said. "They're displayed in my living room like they're my job but I just didn't have anywhere else to put them." he chuckled.

"Where are you living now?" she asked. "Still in the flat above the sweet shop?"

"Christ no! I had to leave there cos they were refurbishing the row of shops. It was for the best cos I was a fucking mess by the end, after Jodie and Nathaniel left and all that shit." he said with a sigh. "I moved in with my mum for a while cos I was just drinking too much, to be honest with you. I nearly lost my job cos I was so depressed." he said cautiously, looking at her to see a caring empathy in her face. "Mum saved the day. She bullied me into applying for a job in London and that's when all sorts of opportunities happened. I've worked all over the world since then, thanks to putting in that one job application." he smiled fondly.

"That sounds tough. I'm glad you had your mum to support you and bully you!" she smiled. Stephen sighed a laugh and nodded. "What brought you back here?" she asked.

"I wanted a bit more stability and I felt like I was getting too old for the uncertainty of the chef life!" he joked. "20 years later and I felt like I had all these professional achievements but nothing else. I was in Australia and my visa was gonna run out so I had to decide 'do I stay and accept this 5 year contract or do something else'?" he shrugged. "Mum wasn't well, and my sister had had a baby...so I came home. It was a no brainer." he said.

"No regrets or 'what ifs' or what might've beens?" she asked with a smirk.

"None! Retrained as a PT and studied part-time while cheffing at a hotel in the city centre, got into running and bought a flat on the river bank." He said.

"Stephen Willis I'm impressed! I'm loving your ambition! And I bet you've got a nice view from your flat!" she said with a genuine warmth and smile.

"Ehhh...depends which corner of the window you're straining to look out but yeah, sort of!" he laughed. "And thank you."

"Last orders folks!" the waiter shouted.

"Fuck, is it that time already?!" Stephen exclaimed, looking at his phone. "I'm getting up at 5:30am in the morning to run a 10k." he chuckled.

"No you're not!" Sadie teased, nudging him.

"Yeah, I swear to God I am!" he said. "I've got my number and everything in the car, I'll show you!" he exclaimed.

"Oh my God, Steve! You're gonna be wrecked. Why didn't you say?" she asked.

"It'll be alright. I've been on soft drinks all night. Time flies, we've had a lot to catch up on!" he smiled fondly. "So, which do you prefer - mini golf or bowling?" he asked.

She frowned, confused at the sudden change of topic. "I like both though I'm not great at either. It's been a few years since I've done them and..." she started.

"Sadie?" Stephen interrupted flatly. She looked at him. "I'm asking you out on another date." he said matter-of-factly. "Remember...'next time'?" he teased. Sadie blushed and put her hand over her mouth and she smiled. She started giggling and Stephen laughed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and squeezing her to him. "I'm not sure how much more obvious I can be here? I really like you and I would like to go out and do stuff...like bowling or mini golf or whatever you like." he said in a jovial tone, amused at her oblivion. "What do you say?" He asked.

"Yes, I feel the same and I would really like that." She said smiling shyly as he gazed at her fondly and a smile teased his lips "Ehhh bowling?" she asked.

He nodded defiantly once. "Bowling it is. Do you want another drink before we go?" he asked, pointing at her empty tea cup. She shook her head. "Shall we call it a night?" he asked.

"I think we'd better since you need your beauty sleep!" she teased.

They walked back to the car and Stephen drove Sadie home. "Thank you for a lovely evening, I really enjoyed it." she said with a shy smile as they sat in Steve's car outside Sadie's house.

"You're welcome. It was good to see you." he said warmly. "I enjoyed it too." he smiled. "Would it be OK if I called you tomorrow?" he asked. Sadie was pleasantly surprised, someone who wanted to talk on the phone in this day and age. She nodded, leaned over towards him and they kissed in a long, lingering kiss. They gazed at each other for a moment, the orange glare from the street lights through the window casting strange shapes on their faces.

"Good night Steve." Sadie said in a warm voice. "Text me to let me know you're home OK." she said.

He nodded firmly once. "Good night Sadie." he replied as she got out of the car. He waited until she was safely inside her house before he drove off. Twenty minutes later he sent her a text. "Home. Sleep tight. x"

Sadie smiled to herself. She couldn't wait to hear his voice again. She was so giddy that she could hardly sleep. She tossed and turned for most of the night. Finally she drifted off and woke up a couple of hours later. She looked at her phone and realised it was 5:15am. "Good luck today. x" she texted him.

"Thanks, I'll need it." he replied immediately. "I've been awake all night too x"

Sadie giggled to herself, glad it wasn't just her.