It’s 6.30pm on a Friday evening and I am sitting in The Candy Bar in London’s Soho district.
I’m with our couple in question, Cheryl & Sam.

Cheryl has been working all day, as Learning Resource Officer in a school. She’s not feeling too well so I try to order a Lemsip for her at the bar but settle for a Southern Comfort and lemonade instead.
Cheryl is smartly dressed in black slacks, blue shirt and black brogues. Her hair is ‘quiff’ styled with shaved back and sides.

Sam has been relaxing all day. She works and studies part-time.
Sam is drinking a Mojito with pink straws and is wearing jeans, jelly shoes and has a large slouchy scarf wrapped around her neck. She is sporting an all-over number one hair cut.

We exchange pleasantries and get down to business:

Sam:  I met Cheryl at work. I was new there.
I first remember meeting her one day whilst I was walking up the stairs, to what was my new office. I had a cup of coffee in one hand.
I had a document in my other hand and I dropped it. Cheryl was coming up the stairs behind me (I didn’t hear her!)
I bent down to pick up the document and she stopped to help me. We acknowledged each other talked a little. She said something cheesy like: ‘Mind yourself, be careful now’!
I think that was the first time that I actually saw Cheryl and I thought; Aw, she’s nice.

Cheryl: I actually watched your bum going up the stairs.

Sam: I didn’t know that! (exasperated)
I did wonder about her (sexuality), but I wasn’t sure.
As part of Cheryl’s job she had to take photos of new staff members, for ID badges. A few days later she came up to my office (she got to me pretty quick!) and asked if she could take photos of me and the other new people in my team.

Cheryl: At first Sam was very serious and I asked her to smile and she flashed a big one! She also posed for me! I thought, OK, we’ve got a feisty one here. She’s not shy!

Sam: We had a giggle and a little flirt together. I think we were sussing each other out. I was wondering if she was gay, and was pretty much sure that she was, but still, you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Cheryl used to have lunch with a group of colleagues, and then I was invited along too.
Soon we began to have lunch together every day. I like to think that we were seducing each other through food, or should I say Cheryl was seducing me through food?
She cottoned on quite quickly that I am someone who likes to eat. In the mornings we would talk lots and I mentioned that I hadn’t eaten anything.

Cheryl then started bringing breakfast to work for me. It would be croissants one day, eggs another, sometimes a full English! She’d cook this at home and then bring it in.

Cheryl: That’s something I was used to doing anyway. I’m not a fantastic eater but I love to see other people eat. If I see they are enjoying it then I will too, especially if we are sharing.
So, I thought; I could put an extra sausage in the frying pan or an extra egg.  I’d take four croissants instead of two; beans for the microwave and pancakes which we could toast.

Sam: We tended to have breakfast together but lunch was more of a communal thing. After a while it didn’t feel very communal.

Cheryl: It was obvious that Sam and I had a rapport. It showed. I think that had a lot to do with us being gay (although unconfirmed at the time). The banter between us was nice. Lunch times were great and became more interesting, to say the least.

At first I was quite curious about Sam. There was something about her. I just couldn’t figure her (sexuality) out. But when conversations in the office were male orientated Sam’s response would be: ‘Well no, they are not packing the right equipment’!
I’m not quite sure if the others heard and ignored it, but obviously, I’m gay and something inside me went ‘ping!’

We then started going out with everyone after work, for drinks.  It was an excuse for me to get to know Sam better. I wanted to have the chance to speak to her a bit more openly and freely outside of the work environment.

Sam:  You missed the bit out, about the day we decided to go out for drinks; people started dropping out. I was determined to go. If Cheryl was going then I was going because I wanted to know more about her.

Cheryl: By now it was around three months since we first met.

Sam: We both had other stuff going on; we didn’t just fall into a relationship. I was seeing people.

Cheryl: I was in a relationship but it was making big changes.                                                       

I can’t say that Cheryl’s being in a relationship made me really back off, but I was more aware. I knew she wasn’t going to be in a relationship for long so I felt ok about it.

So, on the day of the drinks Cheryl asked me if I was still up for it. I thought; let’s go.

We had a fantastic time. The conversation was flowing. The vibes and energy were just right. We didn’t have to bring anything to it. We felt relaxed. I was open and Cheryl was too. We felt like we had got to another stage, like we knew each other more.
At the end of the night we were really disciplined; we said goodbye and went home.

Cheryl: I felt like I had not met anyone, in a very long time, that I could be so open with.
Where I worked I felt like I was the only black lesbian in the village. It was beautiful to meet another one (I was sure she was one!).

Following that night, our friendship blossomed. We went for lots of meals, lots of drinks and had fantastic chats.

At lunch time we would go to the park and talk about books and films. I found out Sam has a love for books and music. She introduced me to a whole world of literature that I had never tapped into.

Sam: I think we knew about each other’s sexuality way before we even started going out for drinks. I had been to see a play at the Hackney Empire, ‘The Kink in My Hair’. We were chatting in my office about the play and it’s really strong female characters. I then went off on one of my ‘women’s zone’ rants.

Cheryl: It was me who brought up the sexuality subject. Our relationship had got to a point where we were so open, free and honest and I said: ‘Well, you know Sam, I’m gay.’

Sam: I thought; okay...she’s gay!
Later, in Cheryl’s office, I started fishing (for information) and Cheryl then told me that she was in a relationship.  She showed me some photos and told me a little bit about her partner. I had some papers in my hand, which I shuffled and banged on the table! (laughs)

I kind of suspected that she was in a relationship, anyhow. Her having a girlfriend did not change our behaviour. It wasn’t intentional; we were just feeling each other. Cheryl had begun, and continued to walk me to the bus stop after work.

Yet another drinks session was arranged and once again everyone dropped out. They must have thought well, we’re not going to play gooseberry!

We were going to drink at a place near to where Cheryl lives. She said she had to drop her bike off at home! Of course this had me thinking... but I thought; okay, no problem. I’m not worried, I’m a big girl!

At her place, I’m not sure what she was doing, killing time? She was going so slowly! Then she offered me a glass of rum punch, ‘whilst I was waiting’. She was only supposed to be changing her top. I was relaxed in a nice comfy chair. She came downstairs in a white top and I remember thinking how lovely she looked in it. Actually, I thought she was flirting!

By now I had almost drank the whole glass of rum punch. I told Cheryl how nice her shirt looked.

She suggested that we just stay there at her house...

Cheryl: Because it was quite late by then!

Sam: Yes, because you took forever, on purpose! (both laugh)

Cheryl: I’d had a long day and I just wanted to go home, freshen up and relax - which is my normal routine.

By now we had been out for drinks lots of times and I was happy to have Sam in my space.

Sam: To me, it felt like it was arranged or contrived! But I was fine with it.

We had a lovely evening, sharing our tastes in music and drinking more rum punch. We felt really relaxed with each other.

I’m not sure what time it was, but we arrived at a natural ‘moment’. The mood was right, the lighting was right, everything was just right. I was sitting on the chair and Cheryl was lying on the floor. We were getting into deep conversation.

Cheryl complemented me by saying she had never met someone like me before. It didn’t sound cheesy, she seemed really sincere.

The time was nearing for me to go home and I had already made up in my mind that I was not leaving until I had kissed Cheryl.

I didn’t realise how close she was to me when she reached up to change the music on her computer.

As she leant upwards...

Find out what happened next in our November issue...can wait!