Gary rested his hands on the bar and forced himself to actually meet her eyes this time, rather than glancing at her face in short, panicked bursts like a man afraid of direct sunlight.

“Look,” he said, keeping his voice steady, “I should probably apologise for earlier.”

She didn’t respond immediately. She just waited. Calm. Patient. The way professionals did when they knew rushing someone only made things worse.

“I wasn’t trying to mess you around,” Gary continued. “I just… don’t handle pain very well. Or embarrassment. Or situations where those two things overlap in public.”

She tilted her head slightly, considering him.

“That’s most people,” she said.

“Yeah,” Gary replied. “I just seem to combine denial, bad timing, and optimism into one powerful strategy.”

She snorted quietly despite herself.

Gary exhaled, encouraged. “I shouldn’t have joked it off. That was on me. I do that when I’m uncomfortable. I try to turn everything into a bit because stopping to deal with it feels worse.”

She nodded slowly. “I noticed.”

“That’s fair,” Gary said. “I deserved that.”

They stood there for a moment, the low hum of the pub filling the space between them. Glasses clinked. Someone laughed nearby. Life carried on, indifferent but not hostile.

“Why come back?” she asked finally.

Gary didn’t answer straight away. He could have made a joke. He could have deflected. Instead, he shrugged carefully.

“Because going home felt worse,” he said. “And because I didn’t want this to end like that.”

Her expression softened, just slightly.

“Sit down,” she said. “Before you fall over again.”

Gary smiled, careful not to move his jaw too much.

Sit and reset properly → Page 31

Thank her and bow out on a better note → Page 40