Page 16 of Beyond the Blues

“Then smile.” I smile, feeling like a student on picture day. Nora’s thumb slam’s the phone screen, taking far too many photos.

“That’s enough.” I pull her phone down and look her in the eyes.

“I don’t think any amount of photos of you could be enough.” I step down onto the same step as her, leaning in for a soft kiss. She leans me against the stair’s railing, her hand tracing its way up my thigh, sending chills through my body. I put my hand through her hair, pulling the back slightly, Nora letting loose a pleased hum.

“If we don’t go now, we’ll never make it.” Nora says, lips just a breath away from mine.

We get into the car, a tiny little car which even Nora looks too big for. I try to hold back my laughter, but fail.

“Look, this was the cheapest option, okay?!” Nora insists.

“No, no, it really suits you!”

“Hey, what are you trying to say?” Nora chuckles. I laugh so hard, I snort slightly, I immediately cover my mouth and Nora joins in the laughter, making fun of the noise that just left my mouth. Eventually our laughs ease into a comfortable silence, just the sound of the Greek wind and other cars passing by. We drive up the hill, lots of sharp turns where you can’t see around them. That’s when I look out my window and realise a very steep drop next to us. My anxiety spiralling through thoughts in my brain. What if a wheel slips and we go down? What if a car comes round and hits us? My breathing gets heavier and my chest gets tighter.

“Hey, are you okay?” Nora asks, panicked. “Just, just the drop, just I feel anxious, that’s all.” “Play music on your phone.” “Huh?”

“Trust me”

I open up my phone and search through the songs landing on Bohemian Rhapsody. I connect it to the car speaker. Nora breaks into singing loudly to every part of the song. I stare at her in awe, because although she’s joking,

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BEYOND THE BLUES

she’s singing it pretty well. Her calmness at the situation radiates into me, and I can’t keep my eyes off her. Her hands are drumming to the beat on the steering wheel. Nora darts a look at me and then nods her head towards the road. Then I realised she distracted me, just like she did on the takeoff on the plane. We drive down a much less scary road. The sea stretches out for miles in front of us, with the sun setting perfectly on top of it. The restaurant is small, the car park even smaller, but somehow Nora parks perfectly. We walk into a restaurant and a band is playing romantic songs. The room has dim lighting and smells of warm pitta bread. As I walk over to a table, Nora follows behind and holds out a chair for me.

“Thank you.” I sit down, and Nora sits opposite me. She orders a jug of water to share.

“Pitta, tzatziki and wine?”

“Yes, please.”

The tzatziki is fresh, pitta bread still warm, wine perfectly chilled and the person sitting in front of me is gorgeous. She’s watching the band play romantic songs, her fingers delicately tapping the table.

“You should go up there.” I say, leaning my chin on my hand.

“You think?” And for the first time on this trip, this is the first time I’ve seen an ounce of fear on Nora’s face.

“Definitely”

“If you insist.” Nora stands up and speaks to the guitarist of the group. He nods enthusiastically and hands over his guitar to her. The music comes to a stop, and the guitarist whispers something into the lead singer’s ear. He nods. He counts down the rest of the band and the music starts. ‘Your Song’ by Elton John plays from the band. Nora strums her fingers over the strings, focused on what her hands are playing. The guitarist brings a mic over to Nora, propping it in front of her. At the chorus, Nora joins the band in harmonising with each other. The music sounds so euphonious, and emotionally rich.I don’t know whether it’s the wine, but it brings tears to my eyes.Nora glances up to me, giving me a wink and smiling whilst continuing to play the guitar perfectly. The song comes to a finish and the other restaurant goers clap. I stand up and cheer loudly, clapping excitedly.

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CHAPTER 8

Nora thanks the band members and comes over to me, lifting me off my feet in an embrace and spinning me round before placing me back down on my feet. She stares at me, her eyes softening but not leaving mine.

“You want to get out of here?” I offer. She nods. Nora grabs euros out of her pocket and leaves them on the table, we run out of the restaurant like two school kids who’ve done something bad.

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9

Chapter 9

We walk into my room, our lips locked together and hands not leaving each other’s bodies. Nora walks me over to bed, I sit down and Nora steps back, looking at me intensely. She kneels down and takes off my shoes, slowly placing them behind her. Her hands work her way up my legs and she kisses the inside of my legs lightly.

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