One Perfect Summer

this woman – his mother, of all people.
    We still have quite an audience and she turns around and addresses everyone in a booming voice. ‘We’ll continue. For those of you who didn’t hear those last two questions, I’ll read them again: Which band plays the song over the opening credits of The Royle Family ?’
    I look at Joe, my face still flushed with embarrassment. He stares back at me, mortified.
    ‘Joe! Get back to work.’
    This time it’s his dad doing the barking. Joe turns away, but not before I see the apology in his eyes.
    ‘Let’s get out of here,’ Mum snaps, collecting her things.
    ‘No,’ I put my hand on her arm.
    ‘Why not?’ she asks in disbelief.
    ‘I don’t want to look like I’m running away.’
    She regards me for a long moment before grudgingly picking up her wine glass and taking a sip. ‘Alright, we’ll finish our drinks first.’
    In all honesty, I do want to leave. Even Joe, with all his gorgeousness, isn’t enough of a reason to keep me here. Surely if anything can put a girl off a guy, it’s his family.
    I’m too embarrassed to walk out of the pub while the quiz is in full swing, but as soon as it’s over and the background noise pipes up again, we make an exit. I daren’t say goodbye to Joe with his parents around, but luckily he’s serving a customer at our end of the bar and he glances up and makes eye contact as we start to walk past.
    ‘We’re off,’ I say.
    He indicates the outside door and gives me a meaningful look before mouthing: ‘Wait.’
    I nod and go to the door.
    ‘I’ll be with you in a minute,’ I say to Mum as she heads for the car.
    She raises her eyebrows, but doesn’t comment as she walks off.
    I shift from foot to foot for a moment, and then Joe appears. He gently takes my arm and guides me around to the side of the building, and even with all the embarrassment I’ve endured over the last half an hour, my heart pounds at the unexpectedness of his touch.
    He turns to face me in the darkness. ‘I’m sorry about that. They’re a nightmare!’
    ‘Don’t worry about it,’ I mumble.
    ‘I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to give Corfe Castle a miss.’
    ‘No,’ I say quickly. ‘I still want to go.’ Awkward pause. ‘If you do . . .’
    ‘Of course I do!’ He stares at me directly. ‘Fuck this,’ he says suddenly, roughly shoving his hair away from his face. ‘I can’t stand this for much longer.’ He looks off to the dark hills and the sea in the distance. ‘Anyway,’ he says abruptly, briefly touching his fingers to my arm. ‘What time shall we go? Eleven?’
    ‘Sure,’ I reply.
    ‘I’ll see you then.’ He backs away. ‘Meet me up the hill.’
    ‘Okay.’
    After he’s gone I check my feelings. Crush back in force. Even his freakishly evil parents haven’t put me off him.

 
    ‘I’ll get these,’ Joe says as we approach the ticket booth at Swanage station.
    ‘No, I’ve got money.’
    ‘Forget it, I’m paying.’
    So this is a date!
    ‘You’ll never be able to afford to buy a car at this rate,’ I tell him with a smile that fades when I realise he may well have done this trip with other girls.
    ‘It’s the least I can do after last night,’ he replies, moving forward.
    ‘Have you done this trip much before?’ I ask awkwardly.
    ‘No, first time.’
    I don’t know why I should be relieved – even if he hasn’t taken another girl on this train, he will have had girlfriends in the past. Lots of them, if his looks are anything to go by.
    The steam train is already waiting at the station and Dyson bounds forward, pulling hard against the leash in Joe’s hand.
    ‘Steady, boy,’ Joe says to him in a low voice. ‘He hates being on this thing.’ He indicates the leash.
    I was a bit surprised when I turned up this morning to see Joe waiting on the hill with Dyson in tow. I wasn’t expecting we’d have company of the canine kind. Not that I mind. I get the feeling Joe is a ‘love me, love my dog’ kind of guy. I don’t think I’d stand a chance with him if I couldn’t bear his pooch.
    I look up at the rusty beams overhead and the old-fashioned signage flanking the platform. I feel like I’ve been transported to another era as we board the train and sit opposite each other, a wooden table separating us.
    I’ve tied my hair into a loose ponytail as it’s quite hot today, and I’m wearing cream shorts and a pale pink T-shirt. I may like indie and Emo boys, but I wouldn’t choose their