Amanda Roberts - Shimmer

I sighed, and opened my mouth to protest but I was immediately ‘shushed’. As the waiter put two glasses down in front of us, but before he’d had a chance to fill them, I suddenly blurted out, ‘One of the dancers is completely gorgeous and I have chatted to him a bit and he seems quite flirty, but honestly I don’t want you to get your hopes up because nothing will happen, and I can totally tell that Matt thinks he’s a bit of an idiot too.’ Finally, I exhaled.

‘Woah, woah, woah!’ The barman stopped pouring, immediately. ‘No, not you Lorenzo! Amanda, you. Calm down. Breathe. I only wanted a bit of gossip. Please, rewind. Who’s the dancer and who is this Matt and why do you care so much about his opinion anyway?’

The barman moved to pour the second glass, trying very, very hard to pretend he wasn’t listening. I could see his smirk, and suddenly felt self-conscious discussing the show in public.

‘The less said about Lars the better—’

‘So he’s called Lars?’

‘Yes, but I don’t think we should talk about this here …’ I rolled my eyes towards the barman to try and convey my anxiety to Julia.

‘Oh Lorenzo won’t mind, will he?’ The barman winked at us.

‘I ’ear too mach in this jab to remember eet all, the gassip.’

‘Seriously, forget you heard anything ,’ I replied.

‘Okay, okay, let’s forget about Mr L. Who’s this Matt then? Is he any better?’

‘Oh Matt, he’s lovely.’ I broke into a grin. ‘He’s a real honey. He’s totally helped me this first week, really shown me how things are run, been someone I can talk to, that sort of thing.’

‘Sounds cute.’

‘Yeah, he’s great.’ I paused.

‘Ri-ight …’

‘Oh no, nothing like that. Nothing at all. He’s not boyfriend material.’

‘You’re sure? How do you know?’

‘Yes, of course, we just work together. And anyway – he’s not a dancer. Seriously, it’s not even that he’s not a professional dancer. He doesn’t even dance at weddings. I think he’s one of those guys who even at their most drunk can only manage a little bit of swaying.’

‘Just checking. You seemed to go a little misty-eyed just then.’ I felt the heat rising in my cheeks, as I began to blush.

‘It’s probably the booze,’ I said swiftly, raising my glass to hers. But I knew Julia wasn’t going to press the issue, as she knew how much going out with a guy who could dance meant to me. Obviously I knew that a girl like me couldn’t demand a Jared Murillo kind of guy, but as dancing was so important to me I had always maintained that I couldn’t get serious with someone who was not relaxed on a dance floor. My romantic ambitions weren’t as high as those couples who performed scenes from Dirty Dancing at their weddings, but I was not going to compromise on a bloke who wouldn’t even dance with me at someone else’s wedding. I didn’t want to be the girl dancing with her friends while her boyfriend nursed a bottle of beer and talked about the football on the sidelines. I wanted someone who would be relaxed, hold me properly and then offer to dance with one of the doddering aunties. For me, that was charm, confidence and chivalry.

‘Yes, probably is the booze then.’ Did I see Julia wink at Lorenzo at that point, or was I imagining it? Either way, I didn’t want to encourage them so I looked down at my watch. It was much later than I had realised.

‘Oh my goodness, I’ve got to get back. I’m taking Natalie and Lloyd out for dinner tonight and we haven’t even decided where we’re going.’

‘How come?’

‘Urgh, I’m staying with them. It’s my final chunk of news.’

‘Oh, urgh. Natalie’s an absolute doll, I can’t say enough good things about her, but those two are loved UP. I can imagine being in their palace of perfection could get to a girl after a while.’

I remembered what Julia’s room had been like at university – the messiest I had ever seen. Clothes, plates, books heaped everywhere. It was a wonder to us all that someone as glamorous as her could regularly appear from a room like that. If anyone would understand the pressure of living with Natalie and Lloyd, it would be her.

‘It’s just not really working out.’ I sipped the rest of my drink, and reached for the hook beneath the bar with my bag on it. ‘No real reason, just two sisters under one roof. I think Natalie wants her own space and I—’

‘Don’t have anywhere else to go?’

‘Exactly.’

‘Yes, you do.’

‘Er, no I don’t.’

‘What I mean is, I might be able to help.’

‘Seriously?’

‘Yes, my friend, Allegra. Remember her? She did Italian with me? She’s half Italian, now living in London?’

‘Yeah, I think so.’ I really hoped that she wasn’t talking about the girl I thought she was.

‘Well, she’s living in Shepherd’s Bush now, just moved in. Only she was supposed to be moving in with an Italian friend who decided at the last minute that she was too homesick and wanted to go back. They’d signed the contracts and everything, so now Allegra’s frantically trying to find a flatmate. I think the other girl said she’d cover a month or so but after that Allegra’s on her own.’

‘What’s the catch?’

‘There is no catch! Stop being so doom-laden. Maybe, just maybe, it might work out?’

‘You know what, maybe you’re right.’ I smiled and picked up the bill that Lorenzo had placed in front of us. I noticed that the two proseccos were not listed.

‘Excuse me, Loren—’

‘Shsh!’ he said, with a wink. ‘You take-a care, ladies.’

‘That was so lovely of him,’ I said, looping my arm through Julia’s as we walked out onto the street, having settled up.

‘He’s a doll,’ she said. ‘He’s been keeping an eye on me since I was fifteen.’

‘Sweet. I could do with someone like that. Although Matt has been lovely this week.’

‘He sounds great.’ Julia gave me a nudge in the ribs. I giggled.

‘You’re evil.’

‘No, I’m not. I’m amazing.’

‘I know. It’s been such a treat to see you.’ We were now approaching the tube, where I knew we’d be heading in different directions.

‘Listen, I’m going to call Allegra now. Promise you’ll get in touch with her?’

‘Of course. If I can’t be your flatmate any more, I might as well take the next best thing.’

‘Ha! I miss you, babe, even in Milan.’

‘Yeah right …’

‘It’s true. Keep in touch. Let me know how it pans out. All of it.’

‘Oh you’ll hear about it all.’

‘Yeay!’ We hugged, and descended into the tube on separate escalators.

As my carriage rumbled under the river, I sat fiddling with the strap of my bag, wondering if there really was a chance that this flatmate master plan could work out.

The answer was waiting for me when I left the tube station and felt my phone buzz in my pocket.

Already spoken to Allegra. If you’re up for it, text her asap. She’s seeing people this week for the room.

I replied immediately, then sent a quick text to the number that Julia had attached. By the time I reached home I was already feeling positive about where ‘home’ might soon be.

Natalie was snuggled up on the sofa when I walked in, and Lloyd was nowhere to be seen. Natalie looked over her shoulder at me as I stood by the doorway to the sitting room.

‘Hey sis,’ said Natalie.

‘Hey sis,’ I replied.

‘All good?’

‘Yeah, I went to see Julia, she was unexpectedly in town.’

‘Lovely stuff. She well?’

‘Yeah, great.’ I drew breath. I was dreading what I was going to say next. ‘Listen, do you guys know where you want to go for dinner tonight?’