Sam, November 2011
"What do you think he's going to be like?" Veronica asked me as we sat in the upmarket, Italian restaurant, waiting for Hamish and Sven to arrive. They were already 10 minutes late and the longer we waited the more curious Veronica became. She was like an excited puppy, watching every patron that entered the restaurant, ready to pounce.
"Well if he's anything like the other lads Hamish dated then he may need an activity pack to keep him entertained while the adults talk." I joke, looking over at the kids across from us who are occupied with their colouring books and find-a-words.
"Stop it, Sven is nothing like the others, he's a business man, not a party boy." She swats my arm playfully and gives me a look that tells me to take this more seriously.
"So I shouldn't direct him towards the kids menu?" I tease her, picking up the menu and browsing over the options they have. "Look, they serve a bowl of meatballs, he could eat those while he searches for the big words in the puzzle."
"I hope he blows you away with how sophisticated and mature he really is." She says in her whimsical voice that tells me she's already formed an imaginary version of this man in her head.
"When he's done blowing Hamish that is." I chuckle, checking my phone for the time. "Seriously, where are they?"
"You know what it's like when you first start dating and you get caught up in the lust." She says, running her hand over my shirt, her eyes become hooded and I know exactly what she wants. I lean in close to her ear, not wanting the people around us to hear.
"I have a taste for something that is not on the menu, something pink and moist that I can run my tongue over." Her breathing hitches as I describe what I want to do to her, what I know she wants. "We could just sneak off to the bathroom and..."
I'm interrupted by the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat and pull away from Veronica so fast. I look up to find Hamish, dressed in classy, dark purple, crushed velvet suit with white shirt and lilac tie, standing next to a tall, tan, muscular blonde haired, blue eyed man, dressed in a grey suit, navy blue shirt with a simple, black tie, not at all the party goer I had been expecting.
"Are we interrupting something important?" Hamish asks, a grand smile spreading across his face. There's no way he heard what I whispered to Veronica but the glint in his eye tells me he has a fair idea of the context.
"Sam was just telling me about the off menu specials." Veronica says, her face becoming flustered so she grabs a napkin to fan herself with. "It's warm in here, they must have the heat cranked up high."
The tanned man, who I assume is Sven, grabs a glass from the middle of the table and fills it with iced. cold water from the pitcher, passing it to Veronica. He hasn't even opened his mouth yet but already he's solidified a great first impression of a being an upstanding gentleman.
"Hi, I'm Sam." I introduce myself, holding out my hand to the man who shakes it firmly. "And this gorgeous creature is my girlfriend, Veronica."
"Good evening to you both, I'm Sven." The man introduces himself in a strong Swedish accent, giving a polite nod to Veronica as the two me take their seats across from us. "It's nice to be able to put faces to people I've heard so much about."
Hamish very rarely speaks poorly of anyone so I can trust that if he has talked about Veronica and I it would all be in a positive manner.
"He talks about us." Veronica says to me with a girlish giggle.
"Veronica, my darling, you're my best friend, of course I talk about you." Hamish chuckles. "This is why I wanted you two to meet Sven, because you're both so important to me and well Sven is my..."
