business and own everything else. Very nice-looking too.’
‘Where are you meeting?’
‘He’s cooking me dinner at his.’
‘Oh Ju—’
Juliet had anticipated this and cut him off. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure I leave a trail in case he’s a serial killer. I’ll give you his full name and address and
ring you and Floz when I arrive.’
‘Do you have it now? I have a pen and paper handy.’
‘Okay, hang on.’ Juliet got her diary out of her handbag. ‘His name is Ralph Green and his address is ten, Riffington Place.’
‘Ten, Riffington Place . . . why does that ring a bell?’ mused Coco, scribbling it down.
‘Haven’t a clue, but he’s in the directory because I checked. If that makes you feel any better.’
‘This is so not sensible, going to someone’s house, you know,’ said Coco, his voice weighted with concern. ‘There you are telling me to meet a date somewhere safe and
then you go and walk into a spider’s parlour like a stupid fly.’
‘Yes, but I’m a damn big fly who you wouldn’t mess with. Plus I’ve got a good vibe about him. And it was Ralph who said that I should make sure a good friend knew where
I’m going.’
‘Well, okay then. But we’ll have a code and if you’re in any trouble at all when I ring to check on you, say the word . . .’ He thought hard. ‘Ripper.’
‘That’s going to be a bit obvious, isn’t it?’ laughed Juliet. ‘I’ll say “fab”, okay?’
‘I’m not happy, Ju.’
‘Bugger off, you big fairy. I’ll be fine.’
Juliet couldn’t wait until 7 p.m. She took a long lunch-hour and hit the shops because she was going to buy something clingy and gorgeous for tonight. Sex on a first – blind –
date wouldn’t be on the cards, but she and Ralph might get carried away and go a little down the foreplay path. Really it was a bit wanton of her going to his house, but she had no doubt that
he was a decent guy (she just hoped he wasn’t too decent). Plus Ralph had told her to make sure her friends knew exactly where she was. Or rather he had ‘written’ that
because they hadn’t actually spoken other than on MSN. But how could his voice be anything other than sultry, after looking at that profile picture?
She bought a short satiny shift dress in dark purple and colour-matching wedge shoes in suede. She rang Floz when she got back to the office to tell her about the date, as Floz had still –
unusually for her – been asleep when Juliet left for work.
‘Floz, I’ll be home at five-thirty on the dot and I need some serious time in the bathroom, so if you were thinking of having a bath, will you do me a favour and not?’
‘Of course,’ said Floz. ‘I’ll make sure the decks are clear for you. What’s he like? Where did you meet him? And where is he taking you?’
‘I found him on Singlebods,’ said Juliet, anticipating what would come next when she told Floz that she was going to dinner at his house. ‘And yes, I’ll be careful, and
yes, I’ll give you his address and phone number and I promise I won’t get murdered.’
‘Okay,’ said Floz, trying to sound a little bit more cheerful and positive than she felt. Because Juliet was at least doing the right thing in moving a cyber-relationship into real
life as soon as humanly possible. Cyber-relationships had the potential to wound just as much as real-life ones. Maybe more so because cyber-partners were tailor-made for each other, their faults
smoothed out by imaginations hell-bent on wanting to create the perfect being.
Coco rang Juliet mid-afternoon. He wasn’t in the best of moods.
‘Gideon hasn’t rung me.’
‘It’s only half-past two,’ chided Juliet. ‘Be patient.’
‘He said he would ring me and he hasn’t. I can’t understand it – we had a lovely night.’ Coco was almost in tears.
‘Chill, my love,’ said Juliet kindly. ‘He might be busy or driving. Go and do some work and put him out of your mind.’
‘Okay,’ said
‘Where are you meeting?’
‘He’s cooking me dinner at his.’
‘Oh Ju—’
Juliet had anticipated this and cut him off. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure I leave a trail in case he’s a serial killer. I’ll give you his full name and address and
ring you and Floz when I arrive.’
‘Do you have it now? I have a pen and paper handy.’
‘Okay, hang on.’ Juliet got her diary out of her handbag. ‘His name is Ralph Green and his address is ten, Riffington Place.’
‘Ten, Riffington Place . . . why does that ring a bell?’ mused Coco, scribbling it down.
‘Haven’t a clue, but he’s in the directory because I checked. If that makes you feel any better.’
‘This is so not sensible, going to someone’s house, you know,’ said Coco, his voice weighted with concern. ‘There you are telling me to meet a date somewhere safe and
then you go and walk into a spider’s parlour like a stupid fly.’
‘Yes, but I’m a damn big fly who you wouldn’t mess with. Plus I’ve got a good vibe about him. And it was Ralph who said that I should make sure a good friend knew where
I’m going.’
‘Well, okay then. But we’ll have a code and if you’re in any trouble at all when I ring to check on you, say the word . . .’ He thought hard. ‘Ripper.’
‘That’s going to be a bit obvious, isn’t it?’ laughed Juliet. ‘I’ll say “fab”, okay?’
‘I’m not happy, Ju.’
‘Bugger off, you big fairy. I’ll be fine.’
Juliet couldn’t wait until 7 p.m. She took a long lunch-hour and hit the shops because she was going to buy something clingy and gorgeous for tonight. Sex on a first – blind –
date wouldn’t be on the cards, but she and Ralph might get carried away and go a little down the foreplay path. Really it was a bit wanton of her going to his house, but she had no doubt that
he was a decent guy (she just hoped he wasn’t too decent). Plus Ralph had told her to make sure her friends knew exactly where she was. Or rather he had ‘written’ that
because they hadn’t actually spoken other than on MSN. But how could his voice be anything other than sultry, after looking at that profile picture?
She bought a short satiny shift dress in dark purple and colour-matching wedge shoes in suede. She rang Floz when she got back to the office to tell her about the date, as Floz had still –
unusually for her – been asleep when Juliet left for work.
‘Floz, I’ll be home at five-thirty on the dot and I need some serious time in the bathroom, so if you were thinking of having a bath, will you do me a favour and not?’
‘Of course,’ said Floz. ‘I’ll make sure the decks are clear for you. What’s he like? Where did you meet him? And where is he taking you?’
‘I found him on Singlebods,’ said Juliet, anticipating what would come next when she told Floz that she was going to dinner at his house. ‘And yes, I’ll be careful, and
yes, I’ll give you his address and phone number and I promise I won’t get murdered.’
‘Okay,’ said Floz, trying to sound a little bit more cheerful and positive than she felt. Because Juliet was at least doing the right thing in moving a cyber-relationship into real
life as soon as humanly possible. Cyber-relationships had the potential to wound just as much as real-life ones. Maybe more so because cyber-partners were tailor-made for each other, their faults
smoothed out by imaginations hell-bent on wanting to create the perfect being.
Coco rang Juliet mid-afternoon. He wasn’t in the best of moods.
‘Gideon hasn’t rung me.’
‘It’s only half-past two,’ chided Juliet. ‘Be patient.’
‘He said he would ring me and he hasn’t. I can’t understand it – we had a lovely night.’ Coco was almost in tears.
‘Chill, my love,’ said Juliet kindly. ‘He might be busy or driving. Go and do some work and put him out of your mind.’
‘Okay,’ said
Similar Books
