Page 9 of It Was Always You

She had dressed and towel dried her unruly curls and had been back in her room for ten minutes when there was a knock on the door. Reluctantly, she opened it.

‘Bloody hell, Adders, you’re up early. Did you pee in your bed or something?’

He pursed his lips and frowned at her. ‘I really regret telling you that story, you know. I was twelve and I’d had a nightmare, for fuck’s sake.’

Lily shook her head. ‘Actually, I had totally forgot⁠—’

‘Anyway, you can’t spoil my mood today.’

‘Oh, damn, and I make it my life’s work to do so.’ She smirked as he pushed past her and plopped down on her bed. ‘Come in, why don’t you?’ She snorted sarcastically.

He flung himself back on the duvet with his arms behind his head. ‘Get the kettle on, Lil. I’m parched.’

With a perturbed sigh, she went over to the tiny table where her travel kettle, mugs, coffee, and little cartons of UHT milk – discreetly pinched from every café they went to – sat in a pyramid. ‘So, what’s making you so chipper at this early hour?’ she asked, turning around to face him, her arms folded across her chest.

He sat bolt upright with a grin on his face. ‘I owe you a huge thank you.’

Feeling a tad confused, she wrinkled her nose. ‘For what?’

‘For yesterday, silly. I know what you did.’ He grinned as he pointed a wagging finger at her. ‘You could tell I was into Eve, so you made excuses and left so I could get to know her a little better.’

Realisation dawned on her and a nervous giggle escaped. ‘Oh, yes, busted.’ Wrong!

‘Yeah, well, we had a lovely afternoon just chatting and walking. She’s great, Lil. So different to every other woman I’ve dated. Anyway, I asked her to go out with me on Friday, and she said yes.’ He beamed and punched the air with both fists.

Her heart sank. It was what she’d expected but maybe not this quickly. ‘Oh, that’s… that’s great, Adam, great. I’m happy for you.’

‘Bloody hell, you must be really shocked that a girl like her could fancy me! You called me Adam! That’s only reserved for when I’ve pissed you off or…’ He looked to the ceiling as he contemplated. ‘Well, mainly when I’ve pissed you off.’ He laughed.

She forced a laugh, too. ‘Yeah, shocked is about right.’ The kettle clicked off, making her jump. ‘Oh, shit, Adders, I’ve just remembered I need to… erm… nip out. Can we do coffee later, maybe?’

He frowned. ‘You have to go out at eight o’clock on a Tuesday morning with wet hair?’

Thinking on her feet, she nodded emphatically. ‘Hmm, yes, women’s things.’ She cringed. She knew that would make him leave without asking.

His cheeks coloured and he stood quickly. ‘Oh, right, right. I’ll be off then. Catch you at lunch?’ She nodded. ‘Okay, see you at the refectory then. Bye.’ He ducked out of the door as fast as his legs would carry him.

Amazing how quickly the hint of the feminine monthly cycle could relieve a woman of an unwanted male presence.

As soon as the door slammed shut, she walked over to her bed and slumped down onto it. Then, with her head in her hands, she began to sob.

TRACK 4

‘BLUE EYES’ (ELTON JOHN)

Adam simply couldn’t wait until Friday. It was all he had thought about since… well… Monday. It was the light at the end of the weeklong tunnel where he would get to spend the evening with the stunning Eve. And hopefully, if he had the guts, he would kiss her.

He’d seen her on a couple of occasions during the week but only to wave or say a quick hello in passing. She had smiled shyly and tucked her hair behind her ear in that cute way she had, but he hadn’t even had a chance to check that their date was still on. They hadn’t even swapped numbers. Shit, what if she doesn’t show up? Nah, he was picking her up so that was fine. What if I call on her and she turns me down? Nah, she didn’t seem the type to do that.

He would just have to wait.

He was sure he’d driven Lily completely mad talking about Eve. He had asked her advice on all sorts of stuff… her being a girl and all. For the most part, she’d been really great. But she had been very moody. Mind you, she did mention women’s stuff, so that would explain a lot.

Sitting at the table at lunch on Thursday, he was too nervous to eat. He’d been waffling on at Lily for ages. So much so that she appeared to have glazed over and drifted off.

That is until she suddenly interrupted his latest round of gushing about Eve by blurting out, ‘I’ve met someone.’ The interjection pissed him off a little.

Adam huffed. ‘Have you? That’s great. Who is he? Need me to vet him for you?’ He smirked with enthusiasm. He enjoyed intimidating Lily’s conquests.