Laying out the picnic blanket in the garden, I basked in the sunshine, taking in the blue, cloudless sky, the hum of bees.
And the hunk in trunks sitting in a deckchair just a few feet away…
It was June 2021 and Aleks, then 30, had recently rented a room in the house share where I lived.
Peering over my sunglasses, I admired his muscular frame.
At 6ft 5in, with broad shoulders and a rippling torso, he was built like a swimwear model.
‘All settled in?’ I asked him, trying to start up a conversation.
Aleks just shrugged.
‘It’s OK, I guess,’ he replied, standoffish.
