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“Years ago. Your Ma’s birthday at the club. I remember cause every one of her birthdays, you get yourself in trouble, big time. So, I had eyes on you, and you had eyes on her. For hours, you just sat there and watched. The first night ever none of us ended up bleeding. Then you just left and went home.”
I know exactly what he’s talking about and exactly what she was wearing, it was like a trance.
“You love her,” he says, the words slamming against my chest. “So, don’t fuck it up.”
With that, he turns and walks out leaving me to process the fallout of his words.
I find Lilly curled in the corner of the sofa in the living room. Her eyes are fixed on the duffel bag, lost deep in thought.
“Bet you’re wishing you chose differently?” It was meant to be a joke to lift the mood, but the bitterness is hard to hide.
She breaks her gaze, looking up at me, her face filled with just as much turmoil as I feel.
“It would solve a lot of problems for the both of us.” Her words slice me.
My eyes burn into her as I walk further into the room. She watches me as I go straight to the drinks cabinet and take a bottle of the expensive stuff, I know she likes.
“I can’t speak for you, but I don’t know that moving on from us, would be something I could do.” I grab two glasses from the shelf and pour our drinks.
She doesn’t answer right away, and I turn to look at her to see her fidgeting with her ring, looking down, lost in thought. I hold out her drink, and she looks up, taking it as I sit beside her.
“You know we’ve only known each other a week?” Her voice is soft, and if I hadn’t spent the sweetest day with her, the real her, one that isn’t bogged down with all this darkness, those words would sting.
“Do you believe in love at first sight?” I swirl the amber liquid in my glass.
“I didn’t believe in love at all. Let alone at first sight.”
She didn’t? Does that mean she does now? I can’t be the only one that feels this. But the truth is, I’ve not been honest with her. She has no idea how real this is for me.
“Do you?” she asks.
It’s time I tell her the truth.
“I remember the first time I ever saw you. You were wearing a red Moschino dress. Your hair was up, but you had these wispy bits framing your face.” I sigh, remembering her laughing, dancing, mesmerizing. “You looked amazing.”
“Umm…” Her voice sounds confused, and I don’t blame her. “I was wearing a white dress.”
I shake my head and turn to her, every part of me back there, back to that night, to the woman in red that sated my anger, my rage. The woman who took the pain away, even just for one night.
“I’m talking about the first time I saw you. Not when we first spoke.”
Her brows crease as she tries to follow. “I don’t understand.”
“December 11, six years ago.” I swallow. “I remember the date because it’s my Mamas birthday. It was the first time I saw you. And I’ve seen you on her birthday every year since then.”
Her eyes widen, her mouth opens to speak, but nothing comes out. She takes a moment and a deep breath before she finds her words. “I still don’t understand, Ren. Did you follow me?”
A soft chuckle escapes my lips. If only it was that simple.
“No, Lilly, I’m not a crazy stalker. Sometimes, it was just driving past seeing you walking, talking on the phone on the street, or pulling up in a car next to me. But every year. Every fucking year.”
“That’s…” Her wondrous voice trails off. “I just…” She shakes her head, still trying to process the weight of my words. “Wait. Last year I was in Perth in December.”
I nod. “I was on a business trip and there you were dancing, like when I first saw you. In a club, across the other side of the country.”
Her mouth drops open.
“It’s how I knew where you were. Your hair was different, but there was no mistaking you.”
