It's nearly 6:30 and I have that silly fizzing feeling inside of me. Being as we're definitely not in Ibiza, I've gone for the nice but casual style—my long hair is blow dried glossily straight, skinny jeans are teamed with a funky heeled pair of shoe boots and a white ruffle top is cutely worn to complete my casual assemblage—but the fizzing won't stop.

I texted Doug earlier with instructions to knock on the studio flats door and not the main house door, because Tezzer is home and I just know he'll embarrass me if Doug comes in via the main house.

As much as I love my brother, he can be mortifyingly embarrassing at times. While I'm still faffing about with my hair, and as though he has some weird brotherly sixth sense or something, Tezzer annoyingly enters my room. "Check you out, Fanny Franny!" His boyish face is all cutely contorted as he teases me.

With my mouth slightly agape at his cheekiness, my sisterly stare on him is a tad scornful. "What have I told you about just walking into here?"

Tezzer just smirks. "Ordinarily, I do listen to ya, sis, but both mum and dad have told me that you have a date tonight, and I'm guessing that date is with Doug DiCarto?" He's now sat in my swivel chair, immaturely swinging around on it with that smirk just getting bigger and bigger.

"He'll be here in a minute...now go!"

"Just let me say hi? I promise not to make ya cringe." His big blue eyes are angelically dilated as they stare back at me.

Checking that I have everything I need in my fringed bag, I am firmly shaking my head. "Tez, it's in your DNA to make me cringe." Just when he's going to come at me with some really witty remark, there's a definitive knock to my front door. Panicking that my brother is still very much here, I start whispering to him. "He's here, now go!"

But Tezzer remains exactly where he is, obscenely smirking as he swings from side to side in my chair. "Nope! I just wanna say hi."

Increasingly getting more annoyed now, my face screws up. "No!"

Smugly crossing his arms, Tezzer sits taller in his seat. "If ya let me say hi, I won't tell him about how you used to get me to pick up dogs poo?"

Sighing, I look heavenward. When we were kids, if there were dried out, whitish looking dogs poo, I used to tell Tezzer they were fossils and that he should collect them. Mean but extremely funny at the time. "You're just saying hi, then you're going...right?"

Tezzer grins from ear to ear. "Right."

Knowing that I've already left Doug at the door for far too long, I hurry over to answer it. As I open the door, there stands Doug looking all gorgeous and just as casual in his jeans and an Alexander McQueen fitted T-shirt. For just a couple of appreciative seconds, I process the sexy sight of him. As of now, I want to dip him in chocolate and lick him dry. "Hey." I heavily breathe, probably sounding all gooey and swooney.

Flashing me a breathtaking smile, Doug returns my greeting. "Hey yourself."

"Come In, I've just got to grab my bag and then we can go."

As Doug steps inside, his eyes begin to wander around the conversion, which is when he spots Tezzer in the corner beside my workstation and my singing gear. "Hey." He waves at my brother, giving him a DiCarto smile as well.

The sooner I introduce my brother, the quicker we can go. "Doug, this is my brother, Tezzer."

"Nice to meet you, bud." Reaching out to shake his hand, Doug looks pretty at ease meeting my annoying younger brother.

"Yeah, you too, Doug. I just love your stuff, dude. One of my fave tracks of yours just has to be the epic Earphonic Explosion. Absolutely epic tune!" Tezzer is all animated and eager. "I just can't believe that Frankie is gonna be singing on one of your tracks, it's gonna be absolutely wicked, innit?"

Doug softly chuckles, looking so adorably amused. "That's kind of why I asked your sister, bud."

Tezzer is now making his eager way towards the source of his sudden fixation. "Doug, can we do a quick selfie? My mates will be amped when they see it."

Beginning to cringe, I quickly interrupt. "Tez, we have to go." I'm subtly trying to give him 'the sisterly glare' while trying to hide my awkwardness from Doug.

Noticing it, and becoming more and more amused by it, Doug quickly corrects me. "It's okay. Come on then, Tezzer." He beckons for my brother to come and stand right beside him.

Standing together, both looking cute and cool, Tezzer takes the shot. "Thanks, Doug...my mates will lose it when they see this!"

Still cringing, I am standing with my bag, definitely now ready to go. "Right, shall we get going?" I ask Doug with an on edge smile.

Just when I think I might be able to leave without having suffered too much at the embarrassing hands of my brother, Tezzer goes and opens his unfiltered mouth yet again. "So, you and Frankie...are you two, you know?" He crudely then whistles, waggling his brows at the same crude time.

Please just let me crawl under a rock somewhere! I'm soooooooo getting him back for this. With my cheeks feeling like they now have a burning rash all over them, I choose to just ignore Tezzer.

But Doug, he chooses not to. "Your sister is incredible, Tezzer, but they'll not be any." He then mimics my brother, whistling and waggling his dark brows with a humoured smile very much on his lips. "At least...not tonight." His quip is so very fused with subtle and sexy suggestion, I honestly don't know where to look.

But Tezzer, he just stupidly grins. "Boom! There it is! My sister Fanny Franny, getting down and dirty with Doug DiCarto. Respect, sis!"

Cringing beyond belief, I start walking out of my flat. "Get out of my room, pretty Peckham boy!" I don't even wait around for Doug, I'm leaving and need some fresh air.

Behind me, I can hear them both saying their friendly goodbyes to one another. Walking to the end of the drive, I am thinking of all the ways I can embarrass my brother when he next brings a girl home.

With casual strides, Doug is walking towards me with that far too wide DiCarto grin of his. "So, Fanny Franny, what is that belly of yours wanting inside of it tonight?"

Stepping closer, there's a smile being strained on my lips and a futile warning in my eyes. "If you're wanting my company tonight, don't say that again, right?" My lips twitch, not wanting to succumb to smiling of any kind.

Running his finger down the smooth length of my nose, his brown eyes are warmly narrowed on me. "I think Freckles is a much better nickname for you, anyway." His finger once again, gently strokes the bridge of my soft nose. "I mean, they're so small and so cutely freckly, not too many but just enough that they have to be kissed."

My eyes close as his softer than soft mouth then delicately kisses my nose. It's such a tender thing to do, that I actually need to exhale a breath of air from my temporarily overinflated lungs. The sweet gesture is not disrespectful enough to upset my parents, should they be curtain twitching from somewhere inside, yet respectful enough to just let me know that he's wanting to touch me in some small and meaningful way.

"Thai would be nice?" Dreamily floats out of my mouth.

Doug grins, now just a little confused. "Sorry?" The tender little nose kiss has kind of knocked our conversation off course it would seem.

"Thai food...you asked me what my belly fancied in it tonight?" I'm smiling up at him, pleased to know that I'm not the only one whose brain turns to smitten smush whenever we are up cute and personal with one another.

Chuckling, Doug now remembers. "Ah, got ya! Thai...good choice, Freckles!" Linking our hands together, he leads me to his really nice silver metallic Wrangler Jeep.

"Cool wheels." Is my impressed thoughts being said out loud.

Opening the door for me. I know, such a gent, right? Doug watches me get into his gorgeous 4x4. "Thanks. Other than my music, this Jeep is coming in at third place in my affections."

With arched and interested brows, I have to ask. "And what is coming in at second place?"

Holding his gaze on me, he smirks. "Surprisingly, it's you." Still smirking, he carefully closes the passenger door and leaves me with that fizzing inside thing as he walks around to the drivers side.

When he gets into his seat, he can't miss my smugger than smug smile. As he turns the ignition, he's quietly now chuckling to himself. "You seem pleased that you're number two in my affections?"

Giving him a sidelong glance and a teasing smirk, I confidently lift my right shoulder while I answer him. "For now, number two is enough." With a cheeky twinkle in my eye, I then look away.

Doug is now laughing, softly shaking his head before looking over his right shoulder to pull out safely. I don't know where we are going, only that Thai food is what we shall be eating later on this evening. But I guess that's the exciting thing about Doug and I—the unpredictability.

We had planned on seeing each other on Friday afternoon in Ibiza, yet here I am, unexpectedly going for dinner with Doug on a Wednesday night.

When I am with him, he brings something out in me that I really do like feeling.

Spontaneous.

Flirty.

Flattered.

Daring.

Womanly.

All things that I have never felt so strongly around a man before.

I seem to have little control over how he affects me. It's like he only has to click his fingers, and I am there.

And I want to be there.

There, in a heartbeat.

It's all so unlike me. But I kind of like being unlike me, if that makes sense? Doug is taking me out of my comfort zone in so many ways. And every time he does, the more confident I feel.

Every time he does, the more I trust in him.

He has this way of teasing out the Frankie Fenner that has always been unable to truly reveal herself. Either because of tormenting grief or crippling humiliation; she has been suppressed deeply inside of me for many many years.

But Doug DiCarto, he is bringing her up to the surface.

He is bringing her out into the world.

And I like him doing it. I like him bringing out the real me.

I like, feeling like the real me.

Now, I want to get to know the real him.

**Above video is the classic: FUNNY HOW TIME FLIES - JANET JACKSON**