Page 43 of We'll Meet Again

“There’s a little moonlight, dancin’ on the sand,” Ethan began. “There’s a warm breeze blowin’ by the ocean as you’re takin’ my hand…”

She sat straight up, amazed. His speaking voice was pleasant enough, but hearing him sing? That was pretty much astral projecting her into another dimension. It was smooth and melodious, wistful and sweet. With just enough of that drawl in his accent to make it authentic. She glanced around at his teammates to be sure she was hearing it right. And she must have been, as they were all staring at him with their mouths hanging open. But it was the words of the chorus that made her heart - which she swore for so long was made of ice - begin to crack.

“If I fall, can you let me down easy?

If I leave my heart with you tonight,

Will you promise me that you’re gonna treat it right?

I’m barely hangin’ on

If I fall, can you let me down easy?”

His hope came true. She absolutely understood where he was, and maybe, with some patience, she could meet him there.

She wasn’t sure if it was his voice or the line “lookin’ like an angel lyin’ on a blanket with a halo of hair,” but something triggered an image to swim to the front of her mind. It was vague, like trying to recall a dream right after waking up, floating somewhere between sleep and consciousness, clutching at it before it slipped away. But a couple of details were clear - first, golden yellow flowers surrounded her; second, the late spring sun warmed her skin; and third, she lay beside a man who looked very much like Ethan as he sang to her, absentmindedly running his fingers through her hair. It was a pleasant thought. So why was it making her so sad?

She shook her head to clear it. It must have been something she dreamed, it had to be. Ethan had only just moved here, and it was still January. And as far as she could recall, she had never laid down in a field of flowers with anyone. But why did it feel so real?

Ethan finished up the song, and the wild applause of his teammates returned her to the present moment. She joined them, plastering a smile on her face and pushing the thoughts of that field or meadow or whatever it was to the far reaches of her brain. When he approached her from the stage, receiving high fives and fist bumps the whole way over, he opened an arm up to her and she slid beneath it so she was tucked into his side. She looked up at him and smiled.

“We’re good,” she told him, answering his question from before they were interrupted.

“So, a second date is in order?” he asked.

She nodded firmly. “Absolutely.”

“Now, I really feel like a winner,” he replied.

For a moment, she considered kissing him for that. They had just beaten Manchester City for God’s sake, the man deserved a kiss if she made him feel more like a winner than that. She cleared her throat instead. “I…I think it’s closing time.”

His eyes left hers for only a moment to glance at the bar, where the bartender was closing everything down. Nelle approached and stole Billie’s attention with a hand on the arm.

“You ready to head back to the hotel?” Nelle asked. “We’ve got an early start in the morning.”

“Yeah, sure,” Billie said, looking up at Ethan. She wanted to stay and sort out firm details for her next date with him, but he was hiding a yawn behind his hand.

“Text me when you get back safe,” he said.

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” she said with a smirk.

He grinned. “Glad we’re back on the same page.”

“Goodnight, Ethan.”

“G’night, darlin,’.”

She watched him merge into the retreating crowd of his teammates, and sighed. Nelle’s smug look turned that sigh into a huff. “What?”

“Are you two together?” Nelle wondered.

“No, it’s nothing serious,” Billie said, and for some reason, that didn’t feel like the truth. “Just…going on a couple dates. No harm in that, right?”

“Footballers are a breed all their own,” Nelle said with a shake of her head. “Watch yourself there.”

“I’m all too aware of the breed you’re referring to,” Billie returned, rolling her eyes. “You were one of the girls Peter cheated on me with, remember?”

“Unfortunately, I do,” Nelle said with a sigh. “Trust me, we were both fooled.”

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