Mummy's boy

part 5

After a couple of days,Dec had to accept that Ant wasn't going to call and he would just have to put it down to experience.

It had just been a drink and a dance with some random guy in a nightclub,so Dec vowed he wouldn't give his heart so easily in the future,but he couldn't help but be bitterly disappointed.

He had been driving himself crazy,checking his phone constantly,why hadn't he asked for Ants number too?still it was too late now,Ant obviously wasn't interested,so he just had to move on and forget about him.

He decided to make a point of actively looking for someone to be his next love,whether it was a man or a woman.His other job in a newsagents meant he met plenty of people anyway,so next time someone hot came in,or just nice and friendly,he would make a move,or at least think about making a move.

But first he had his date with Hannah to get out of the way.

It went ok,but Dec really wasn't feeling any spark,she was a nice girl...very talkative,but Dec couldn't imagine it going anywhere.

Hannah on the other hand seemed to be quite smitten with Dec,showering him with compliments,which actually made him feel pretty embarrassed.

He did however remember Pat's words about letting her down gently,so after the meal,he walked Hannah to the bus stop,where she looked at him expectantly,no doubt expecting a goodnight kiss,but Dec had to be honest with her.

"Thanks for a lovely evening" she smiled "and for dinner"

"You're very welcome" Dec replied.

Forever the gentleman,Dec had insisted on paying for everything and wouldn't even hear of Hannah contributing towards it.

"I had a really nice time" Hannah informed him,taking a step closer "we should do it again sometime"

"I had a nice time too Hannah" Dec nodded "but it's only fair that I'm honest with you...I don't see any future in it"

"Really?" Hannah exclaimed,obviously disappointed "but it went so well,we had a laugh didn't we?"

"Yeah,we did" Dec agreed "I'm sorry,my heart's just not in it,there's...um..."

"There's someone else?" Hannah frowned.

"Not exactly" Dec frowned "well,there is someone I like,but it doesn't look like that's happening anyway"

"But you still came on a date with me?" Hannah snapped "even though your mind is elsewhere and you strung me along?"

"I...I'm sorry" Dec stuttered,completely taken aback at her harsh reaction "I guess it was just to keep our Mams happy"

"Really?" Hannah asked in disbelief.

"Er...yeah" Dec nodded nervously "didn't you?"

"No Declan" Hannah scolded "I didn't come to keep my mother happy,I came because I thought we might get on and...you know,we might have turned out to be a match,my mother does not rule my love life"

"I'm sorry" Dec mumbled,not knowing what else to say,he had tried to let her down gently,but judging by her reaction,he might as well have shouted from the roof tops that he had absolutely no interest in her.

Dec breathed a visible sigh of relief when Hannah's bus pulled up.

"Bye then" Dec said as she climbed up the couple of steps onto the bus "it was nice to meet you"

"Bye" Hannah snapped and took her seat on the bus without a second glance back at Dec.

He felt incredibly guilty walking home,he should have been firmer with Anne when she'd set this date up,he knew it was unlikely he'd be interested in this girl,so he couldn't blame Hannah for being angry.