Page 18 of One More Time
‘The Smiths,’ Lucy said emphatically.
‘Golden Earring,’ Nicky threw back.
‘Queen.’
‘Europe.’
‘Oh, man,’ she gasped as though the very mention of the band Europe hurt her physically. Then she tossed him, ‘The Cure.’
‘Falco,’ Nicky said triumphantly.
‘Bzzzzz,’ Lucy said, smacking an imaginary buzzer on the deck railing. ‘Falco does not fit the category.’
‘What? Falco is Austrian!’ He looked up at the stars for a second, then back to her. ‘Wait,Australian?’ he chuffed.
‘Austrian,’ Lucy confirmed. ‘But a solo act, not a band.’ Lucy couldn’t help the smug grin that had spread across her face.
‘Shit,’ Nicky grumbled, pretending to look dejected.
‘If it makes you feel any better, the mere mention of Falco will now have “Der Kommissar” running through my head for days.’
‘That does make me feel better.’
‘That’s a little bit evil, Nicky Broome.’
‘Maybe,’ he said, tossing his cigarette into a bucket full of sand and cigarette butts.
Then, he stepped into her space. Close. Close enough for Lucy to notice his chest rising and falling. Close enough to feel the heat of him shifting the cool ocean air around her.
‘I wonder what else I could have running through your mind for days,’ he said, almost to himself.
The line should have been cheesy, but not from Nicky Broome. From him it was an irresistible invitation. It was a question she was meant to answer.
And it was the moment. One that Lucy would look back on throughout her life. In times when she faced achoice that required a blind jump, an act of daring that was terrifying but rife with the potential for something new and amazing. It was the moment that taught her every single thing she would ever know about risks and rewards.
Lucy jumped.
‘Do you want to get out of here?’ she asked.
‘Where?’
‘My place in Rehoboth.’
‘Yeah.’ He grinned. ‘I do.’
‘Cab?’
‘I have my car.’
‘You good to drive?’ Lucy asked.
‘Stone-cold sober,’ he replied.
‘Just let me tell Kim.’
Nicky nodded. ‘I’ll meet you out front,’ he said, before heading down the porch stairs into the yard.
Lucy crossed the deck and pulled Kim aside. ‘I’m going home.’
