“We had our own little club”

Casper, 25, is an advertising executive from Windsor

I was at my bar job when this extremely attractive girl came over to order a drink. It was loud, so I couldn’t really hear what she was saying, which gave me an opportunity to have a joke with her. Aniek is German and I spoke a little of the language, so we had something to vibe off, and I managed to get her number.

Later that week, we went on a date and got on really well. She came back to mine afterwards and, from there, things got fairly intense. At first, we both tried to be casual about it, but it quickly turned into something else – when we saw each other it was usually for several days at a time. We’re both fiercely practical, but our relationship worked because we brought out the romantic side in each other. We’d have lots of in-jokes and speak in German in public, so people couldn’t understand us. It was like having our own little club.

We never said we loved each other. We were so concerned with keeping things relaxed because Aniek was leaving, so we were quite coy about it. I was thinking it, though. But now, I’ve had to push any feelings I may have had under the carpet.

I remember walking her to the station on the morning of her flight. It felt surreal – we were both trying to pretend it wasn’t happening. If we’d known she’d have been moving back to London, maybe things would have been different.

Over dinner, we were definitely flirting. Beforehand, we were both afraid of doing anything just the two of us, in case feelings got dredged up, but the date turned out to be really fun and comfortable. Would you like to be reunited with your first love? Email us at first.love@cosmopolitan.co.uk.