It was a typical Friday morning in Sanditon and Esther had just got out of the shower having spent the morning at the gym when she heard her phone ringing. Clinging to her towel she ran over to it and answered.
"Charlotte?"
"Hi Esther."
"Are you OK?" Esther asked, wondering why Charlotte would be calling her when she was going to do her biggest performance ever at the O2 Arena tomorrow.
"Yes, fine thanks... I think."
"You think? Are you getting stage fright?"
"No, not that." Charlotte answered.
"Oh shit, sorry, I forgot, you had your date with Sidney last night." Esther said, suddenly remembering.
"Yes."
"How did it go?" Esther asked.
"Well 99% of it was wonderful, very romantic. Sidney took me to an exclusive jazz club and honestly I've never heard live music like it. I had goose bumps all night. And he'd organised this private dining room out the back – just the two us which was lit with candles. The food was great and he'd ordered a bottle of champagne to celebrate my degree results. Then we spent all evening dancing to the music."
"Sounds like he pulled out all the stops."
"Yes, he did."
"So why was only 99% of it wonderful? What happened to the other 1%?"
"Oh God Esther, I'm so embarrassed!"
"Why? What happened?"
"Well... it was late when we left the jazz club. We stayed until the end and it was well past midnight and... well we were in the taxi heading back to my hotel and..."
"And then you slept with him?" Esther suggested.
"Esther! This was our first date! Everyone knows you never have sex on the first date."
"But this wasn't your first date."
"Yes it was!"
"No – what about the gig? Or the surfing lessons?"
"They weren't dates." Charlotte responded adamantly.
"They were time alone just the two of you which is very much like a date." Esther stated.
"Fine, whatever. We can call last night the first official date."
"So if you didn't sleep with him, why are you embarrassed?"
"Because... well I fell asleep on him in the taxi." Charlotte replied.
"Oh."
"Yeah. He had to wake me up when we got to my hotel. And then I'm sure I came across as pretty delirious. I couldn't string a sentence together because I was so tired, so he practically carried me back to the hotel room."
"But he didn't stay..." Esther said.
"No."
"Did you want him to stay, I mean regardless of the fact this was the first official date?"
"Esther, whether I wanted him to stay or not it's not like anything would have happened, I was exhausted."
"You're not exhausted this morning..." Esther teased.
"Esther!" Charlotte admonished again. "You're supposed to be counselling me."
"What advice do you need?"
YOU ARE READING
Sanditon Melodies
Fiksi PenggemarSidney's train to Sanditon is delayed, and when it finally arrives, he is annoyed to find his reserved seat occupied. Who is this girl that has stolen his seat? And what is it about her that he finds so intriguing? Can he open himself up to the poss...
