Page 83 of It Started with a Kiss
The door was flung open and Nate poked his head round. ‘Hey, pal. We’re up.’
‘Be right there.’ The door closed again, and I was left with nothing but the thudding coming from the club and my heart.
I stepped out into the throngs of people in the club and pushed through the crowd in what felt like slow motion, making my way to the stage. I jumped up as Titch hit his sticks together and the intro to ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’ kicked in. Nate bounced round the stage as he strummed his guitar to the track made famous by Guns n Roses in the late 1980s.
My mask descended, and once more I became Fin Hunter the lead singer of Mr Hyde.
The crowd jumped up and down in time with the beat, and I strutted about the stage, letting myself go. My inhibitions melted away along with every worry that had plagued me in the last couple of months. But as I stared out at the audience of people dancing and flailing wildly, I was hit with a pang of sadness. Star loved this song. And I had lost her.
Dragging myself from the edge of a pit of melancholy before I fell into the abyss, I began to dance around like Axl Rose as I sang. The crowd loved it. And for a short while, so did I.
* * *
I stooped to gulp from my glass of water and swipe the T-shirt from my body. A raucous cheer erupted round the room, and I chuckled at the reaction. I decided I needed to start bringing a towel on stage so I could stay fully clothed up there. I wiped the shirt round my damp face, and for a laugh, I threw the sweat-sodden item out into the crowd of women who had gathered at the front of the stage. They went wild, and when I turned to glance at the band, some of them were bent double, laughing hysterically. Nate was shaking his head with a huge grin on his face.
I turned back to the crowd and took a deep breath. ‘This next one has a special place in my heart. I won’t bore you with the gory details, but let’s just say my life has been pretty messed up this year. But thanks to these guys, I think I’m back on track.’ I gestured to the band and the crowd cheered. ‘This next song reminds of an American girl who stole my heart.’ I paused as images of that beautiful American girl sprang into my mind, and a twinge of sadness tugged at me. ‘It’s funny how you can live in a place your whole life and not evenseeit. I meanreallysee it. But this special person helped me to see this city in a whole new light, and I’ve a new-found love and respect for it. So I want to dedicate this to her and thank her for encouraging me to be the man I am today.’ Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and shouted, ‘For you, Star! Because wherever you may be in this world today, I know your heart will always be in Edinburgh. Snow Patrol’s ‘Take Back the City’!’
Once more, the crowd cheered, and as the song started, the bouncing began again in earnest. The energy in the room lifted me and carried me away somewhere entirely different. For a few minutes, I was playing the O2 Arena instead of a little backstreet venue in Edinburgh. And as I sang and heard the audience’s loud voices joining with mine, a grin spread across my face.
I scanned the crowd of happy, smiling faces, and everything clicked into place. This was me. This was who I was. As I peered out beyond the spotlight, I caught sight of a shock of the most vivid red hair. I held the mic out to the people dancing at the front, but my eyes didn’t leave that one woman, dancing with her arms in the air. I couldn’t see her face, thanks to the huge burly bloke in front of her. Her hair was shoulder length and choppy, but I would have known those tattoos anywhere.
The guy stepped sideways, and my heart almost stuttered to a halt. Her face lifted with perfect timing, and her gaze connected with mine. A stunning smile stretched her ruby red lips as she began to walk towards me.
54
Star
As I stood there in the crowded club, my mind drifted back to the conversation I’d had the day before, when Alec had called to fill me in on the whole letter debacle.
‘So, she sent one to Fin too? Pretending it was from me?’
‘Yep. Told him to move on because you were.’
I gasped. ‘The bitch. Why would she do that to me? She doesn’t even know me. And to her own son?’
He snorted. ‘I know. Just what I thought. Fin was destroyed, Star. Completely.’
My heart sank. ‘Is he... is he okay?’
Alec sighed. ‘I think he’ll be fine eventually. But it’ll take time. He’s lost so much, Twinkle.’
I pursed my lips briefly. ‘Alec McVey, are you sympathising with my ex?’
There was a silent pause. ‘I know that as your best friend it’s not exactly right for me to side with him, but, yeah. I felt so bad for him. He loves you so much.’
I huffed. ‘Yeah? Well, he should’ve spoken up when his bastard of a father asked him to dump me at the charity event.’
‘But he did, Star. He’d been dumbstruck for a moment after his father had used the ‘L’ word for the first ever time. But once he’d snapped out of that, he gave them hell. You just didn’t stick around to see it.’
‘Oh.’ My heart plummeted in my chest and my stomach rolled.
And now I was back in Edinburgh. Hoping and praying he would take me back.
I was dragged back from the past when Fin’s voice rang out across the room and tugged at my heart. He told the audience he’d had a rough time lately, but that he was taking his life back. Suddenly my name rang out across the room, falling from his lips like an oath.
My view was restricted by a chunky guy in front of me, which I was relieved about. I wasn’t ready for Fin to see me. But seeing him up on stage again was like some kind of miracle happening before my eyes. The song he had chosen was perfect, and it told me every single thing I needed to know. From that second, I wanted to be with him so desperately my chest hurt. I’d missed him so much.
When Alec had called and explained the situation with the letters, I had initially decided I wouldn’t contact Fin. Too much had happened; too much water under that metaphorical bridge. But deep down, I think I knew I was just delaying the inevitable. He was all I could think about. He filled my every waking thought and was centre stage of every dream. And discovering hehaddefended me and tried to come after me when I bolted from the charity event where his parents had insulted me just made me angry with myself.
