'What if I am meant to be with one person for life?' I asked. Mum paused thoughtfully before she replied. 'Then maybe, Dawn, Billy's not the one. Maybe you need to find yourself someone boring. Not boring... but someone a bit more normal perhaps?'
I was dressed in purple Doc Martens boots, olive-green leggings and a tartan skirt - an outfit I'd chosen so it would appear to have been carelessly thrown together.
Billy had on a shiny green US Air Force jumpsuit. He told me it was what he wore every day and grinned broadly as if that was something to be proud of. I fell for him there and then.
He was unlike anyone I'd ever met, and that made him kind of hard to resist. Where my friends were all trying to follow the latest trends, Billy just seemed to invent his own. He had star-quality even then. You could tell he'd be something special one day.
Perhaps it was just luck that I met Billy that night, though it always felt more important than that - like he was the one person on the planet I needed to find.
But then suddenly Billy was gone and into the vacuum stepped Rob. Reliable, dependable Rob. He told me that he loved me - said he was one of the 'good ones.'
And maybe Mum was right. Maybe I did need someone a bit boring.
Now the years have gone by and here we are, Rob and I, eating pizza and watching Gogglebox. We both laugh at some joke on the telly and when I glance over I get a warm sort of feeling that seems to say, 'This is all right, isn't it?'
Is that love? Even now, I'm not sure. But if it isn't, it's still pretty nice.
My thoughts drift to seventeen-year-old me kissing Billy in his bedroom, a Patti Smith song playing in the background. And I try to remember what we had back then, because it definitely wasn't 'nice'. Sexy, exciting... all-consuming, perhaps.
What if I could have that again?
An emotional, thought-provoking, and refreshingly honest exploration of relationships, The Imperfection of Us will have you turning pages blurred by tears of sadness and laughter, desperate to find out what the future holds for feisty Dawn and sweet, reliable Rob. Oh, and Billy, of course. Let's not forget Billy. Because Dawn certainly never has.
Read what everyone is saying about The Imperfection of Us:
'This book emotionally wrecked me. I laughed. I cried. It was such an amazing book. I absolutely loved the characters and it was very well written. So good!' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars
'I absolutely loved this book. The characters were brilliant - so real... I laughed and cried... a well-deserved 5 stars from me.' NetGalley Reviewer
'Will tug at readers' heartstrings.' NetGalley Reviewer
'I have lived and breathed every single word. Emotions have been wrung out of me and tears have never been far away.' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars
'Wow... I haven't laughed (and cried) along with a book in such a long time.' NetGalley Reviewer
'Another gem from Nick Alexander. He always seems to write about characters that you warm to and that you have such empathy with... Fabulous fabulous fabulous!!!!!' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars
'A story rich in tears and laughter. A beautiful story.' NetGalley Reviewer, 5 stars