Page 62 of Your Echo
“I will make thosemecsover there keep chanting your name until you sing,” JP says cheerily.
Stéphanie nudges me. “Come on! You saw me dance tonight. Now I want to hear you sing.”
“You heard the lady!” JP shouts.
And that’s how I end up singing ‘I’m On Fire’ in a Montreal KTV bar, stone cold sober, while people whip out their smart phones and I try not to think about all the places this video is going to end up. I just stare at Stéphanie from the raised platform that serves as a stage, watching her watch me as the rest of the crowd cheers.
At first I’m only fucking around, adding an extra rasp to the words and playing up the sexuality in the lyrics to the point that it’s funny, but something changes the further I get into the song. The slow build of the synth—the tension that rises and rises but never quite breaks—catches up with me, and by the time I get to the long, wavering howls at the end, I can see Stéphanie’s chest heaving even harder than mine. I know I’ve got to get her out of here soon or some shots of me singing aren’t the only photos that that will show up on the band’s Facebook page tomorrow.
I hand the mic off to JP. He pounds me on the back and shouts something in unintelligible French before running off to find his next victim.
Stéphanie’s already on her feet, waiting for me. She slides her hand up my chest when I reach her and tips her head back so she can whisper in my ear.
“Take me home tonight.”
I don’t need to be told twice.
“Grab your purse and let’s go.”
She does as I ask and tells me she’s just going to step into the washroom before we leave. Kay’s up getting another beer, so for a moment it’s just Matt and I at the table.
“Smooth,” he comments. “I doubt R.E.M. would have had the same effect.”
“I don’t know, man. ‘It’s the End of the World as We Know It’ always gets me in the mood.”
He laughs. “So she’s taking you home now, I gather?”
“Actually, I’m takingherhome.”
He blinks in shock. “You’re bringing her to your place?”
I nod. “Yeah. She’s already been there.”
“Well, fuck. This shit’s serious, huh?”
“We’ve only slept together once,” I admit. “I don’t know if it’s serious. I don’t even know what it is. I like her, though.”
“I like her too,” Matt tells me, “and so does Kay, and so do the other guys. You found a good one. Now you’ve just got to keep her.”
I play with a coaster on the table, avoiding his gaze. This conversation just took a turn I’m not willing to get into right now. Matt clears his throat a few times, like he’s working up the nerve to say something else.
“How much does she, um, know?” he finally asks. “About...you?”
I narrow my eyes. “What are you asking?”
“I’m just saying, if you really do want to get serious with this, she should probably know about...like, your parents...and stuff.”
He’s on the edge of going too far.
“JP and Cole don’t even know about my parents, and you only know by accident. I’m not dumping that shit on Stéphanie. We’ve barely known each other for two months.”
Matt holds up his hands. “Okay, okay, I get it. I know it’s early. I just think it’s something you should think about. I mean, if the girl you’re dating doesn’t even know what your name—”
“My name,” I cut in, my voice so sharp he does a double take, “isAce. Turner.”
He has the decency to look sheepish. “Point taken. Maybe I’m speaking out of line.”
I see Stéphanie crossing the room and stand up.
“It’s all good, man,” I tell Matt. “You guys enjoy the rest of your night.”
“I don’t think I have to tell you to enjoy yours!” he calls after me, as I make my way over to Stéphanie.
I look back and find him making a crude hand gesture. I flip him the bird.
Stéphanie slips under my arm again. We leave the bar with her tucked against my side. I kiss the top of her head as we make our way to the Metro, and it strikes me that I’ve never done that to a girl before.
She looks up at me and laughs. “You have glitter on your face.”
Maybe Matt’s wrong. Maybe I don’t have to tell her anything. What’s the past, other than a fading echo? When I’m with Stéphanie, I can barely hear the sound of it in my ears.
