Derek seems to relax a little and, feeling a wave of embarrassment when he looks down at my hands on his arms, I carefully pull them away, following as he steps past me into the lodge.

"Well, it was... kind of a weird trip," I admit, stomach twisting at the memory. "We accidentally got on the same tram as his ex-roommate Baz, who definitely doesn't like me much and either absolutely hates Simon or is in love with him, I can't tell. And the whole day was cut short when Simon went off. We left before lunch."

I know it's stupid to have been disappointed about that day and probably even stupider to have asked Derek to come up with me this time given that I know he's already gone. But it had been a nice excuse to hang out with him outside of Semele's and I couldn't get the idea out of my head once it was in there. "Don't worry, I'll have plenty of other first times," I tell him, forcing myself not to shy away from the double entendre.