Page 98 of When We Were Young

Ella is so drunk I have to take off her boots. My necklace dangles in her face, as I help her into her sleeping bag.

‘Did Nathan give you that?’ she asks. ‘Jade’s got one, too. His mum makes them. Hers has a cat on it.’

Then she’s snoring.

I lie awake. My fingers find my necklace, the little ‘L’ and the miniature headphones. How many other girls has he given his mum’s jewellery to? I wish Chloe was here or that she would pick up the phone at least. I’ve been looking forward to this for months, risked so much to be here, and now all I want to do is go home.

Chapter 46

November 1996

Mixing a track was like a visit to the opticians. Tony the audio engineer would fiddle with knobs and faders and Will had to decide ‘better or worse?’, ‘more or less?’ They’d listened to ‘Intertwined’ a thousand times, and it was making him pine for Emily.

‘Hello!’ came a voice from behind them.

Standing there in thigh-high boots looking unbelievably glamorous was Christie Blackmore –theChristie Blackmore.

She held out her hand. ‘Christie Blackmore from The Underdogs.’

He knew who she was; everybody knew who she was.

‘Hi.’ He shook her hand. She looked great. She must have been, what, forty? Forty-five?

‘We’re label-mates,’ she said. ‘I thought I’d introduce myself. We’re recording down the hall.’

‘It’s great to meet you!’ The high-pitched excitement in his voice was mortifying.

‘I was hoping I’d run into you at some point. I’ve been playing “Fever” on repeat for two weeks now, haven’t I, Joe?’

There were two minions behind her. The one called Joe nodded enthusiastically.

‘Sorry about that, Joe,’ said Will.

‘How’s it going?’ she asked.

‘Uh… it’s going great. Just working on the last few tracks – we’ve got ten days left.’

‘You’re in expert hands with Tony here. He’s a genius.’ Christie exchanged air kisses with Tony. ‘Are you staying at the Four Seasons?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Island puts everyone up there. We should all grab a drink and hang out before you go back,’ she said.

‘That would be amazing.’ He was buzzing – Christie Blackmore had written some of his favourite songs.

‘How about tonight? Say, ten? In the bar?’

‘Sure,’ he squeaked.

‘The Library Bar, not the lobby bar.’

‘Library Bar. Ten.’ Matty and Reu wouldn’t believe this.

‘See you later.’ When she smiled, it lit up the whole room.

‘Yeah. See ya.’

Will stood gaping at the door as it closed behind her.