“Nothing you need to know. It’s done with. Please leave,” I replied, tugging my jeans back over my legs. I should’ve realised the scar would ruin the mood. For the first time in a long time, I’d forgotten it even existed but we’d come crashing back down to earth, full force.
Luke strode over to me, tugging at my hand, forcing me to look up at him.
“I’m sorry I made you feel self-conscious, and I’m sorry for whatever happened to you. Don’t push me away Kate. I meant what I said. I love you.”
I sighed, pushing against him to make him stand back.
“No you don’t, Luke. You love who I used to be, you don’t know me anymore. We’re different people to who we used to be,” I told him, keeping my tone firm even as my heart split right down the middle. Who was I kidding? I still loved him, but I wasn’t going to stand in his way of fame and fortune. Luke and the guys had done well for themselves and I couldn’t jeopardize that for them. Not that I mattered that much to them anymore but if Luke felt some sort of noble notion that he needed to stay with me when he found out what I’d been through, it would devastate me. I simply couldn’t do that to him. “You should go. Please.”
Luke sighed, raking his fingers through his hair aggressively. Resigned, he inclined his head.
“Fine. I’ll go but this isn’t over. I’m not losing you again.”
I watched him storm out of the front door, and closed it behind him.
‘Oh Luke, if only you knew how I really feel about you.’
five
. . .
Luke
A few dayshad passed since the gig and what happened at Kate’s.
Benny and Joel quizzed me when I got in that night, wanting to know how things had gone but I didn’t answer them. I’d stormed off into the room I’d been designated and kept to myself for the remainder of the night. I wasn’t truly angry at anything, just frustrated. Kate obviously didn’t trust me enough to let me in, but as I thought more about it, it was clear that she wouldn’t. As she had pointed out, we barely knew each other anymore. Admittedly, not much had changed and yet, everything had.
The next morning I’d filled my band mates in on the events of the night before. They’d wolf whistled when I explained about the hot and heavy kissing but went silent when I mentioned the scar.
“What procedure did she have that would leave a bigscar?” Benny had questioned. I shrugged my shoulders helplessly. How could I tell him when I had no answers? We talked more about what we could do to get to the truth and everything Kate had said to me. I felt silly discussing it all with them, but I needed their help. Three heads were better than one…and that’s when we came up with The Plan.
Monday morning rolled around, the sun shining brightly in the sky above us as we made our way to Sweet Dreams. I relished the cool breeze dancing across my skin. It ruffled my hair as we strolled along, a small bounce in my step as I anticipated putting The Plan into action. It was simplistic in its’ entirety, yet perfectly sneaky. Kate would come back to us, and she wouldn’t be able to refuse.
I came to a halt outside the venue from Saturday night and took a deep breath. I glanced from side to side at my friends as they waited for me to make the first move, then pushed the door open and stepped inside. It was the same greeter from the first time standing at the welcome point. As soon as she saw us, she gave us a big smile.
“Hi!” she greeted. “You guys were amazing on Saturday!”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, searching past her for the brunette who’d occupied my thoughts since arriving in our hometown.
“Are you here for Ted or Kate?” the girl asked, waiting expectantly for my response.
“Can we speak to both of them please?” I asked. Her eyes widened in alarm but wisely didn’t speak. She turned on her heels, beckoning for us to follow her. Showing us to a table near the window, she went to fetch Ted and Kate for us,retreating quickly out to the back area where the offices were hidden. Joel chuckled.
“Did you see her face? I think you freaked her out, man.”
“Oh. I didn’t mean to,” I replied, unsure if this would really work. Giving myself a mental headshake, I told myself it would all be fine. It had to work. We’d gone over it several times and it was easier to say now that we’d practiced it. I groaned, fiddling with a ring on my right thumb. What if I forgot what to say? Benny leaned closer, placing his hand on my shoulder and giving a gentle squeeze.
“Calm down, Luke. It’ll all be fine,” he murmured, just as Kate and her boss came into view. We stood up in unison, greeting them with smiles as they came over. Ted shook hands with each of us before sitting down. Kate stood awkwardly to the side of us until I gestured to the spare chair next to me. She sat down silently, her face unreadable. Without thinking, I reached out and took her left hand in my right one, keeping them under the table so the others wouldn’t suspect. She was startled, but kept quiet, waiting to see what was going to take place. I began to rub my thumb over the back of her hand, causing some of the tension in her shoulders to disappear. I relished the fact I could do that and smiled, turning my attention back to Ted who was waffling on about the other night to Benny. Joel was giving his best deadpan expression, attempting to put Ted off except it didn’t deter the owner of Sweet Dreams. I swallowed my laughter down at Joel’s annoyance at Ted’s indifference to him. Eventually, Ted stopped talking and faced me.
“Right. What can we do for you fellas?”
“We’d like to hire Kate for a couple of days a week and that can’t happen without your approval, so here we are, asking you both for permission,” I told him, giving Kate’s hand a squeeze underneath the table. Kate stared at me as though I’d grown two heads but I paid no attention to her, keeping my gaze focused on the man in front of me. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, his eyebrows raised until they nearly touched his hairline.
After a moment, he leaned forwards and laced his fingers together as he rested his elbows against the table. His back was ramrod straight, his shoulders bunched together in preparation for a fight.
“What, exactly, do you want to hire Kate for?” he questioned with a quiet tone that dared you to say the wrong thing. I admired that he was being protective of her. That was how a good boss should be.
“Nothing untoward, I promise,” I replied easily. “Kate used to be in our band and we need a female singer for a song we’re working on. We’d like her to help us with it.”
