Page 5 of It Had To Be You

“No way. I don’t want to be on my arse before the parade starts.” The last time Lara did shots, I found her asleep in the bathtub. That was a long time ago, though.

We make small talk between ourselves, and after the driver has had a short break, the bus sets off. It doesn’t take long for us to reach the city centre, and I watch the familiar streets go by. Nothing much has changed since the last time I was here.

We get off the bus and walk from the terminal to The Headrow. It’s packed with people; some dressed up, others in casual clothing. The atmosphere is electric as happy energy flows all around. People line the barrier, trying to reserve the best views of what’s about to happen. Camping out for hours isn’t really my thing, but I’d love to be in their shoes right now. I don’t want to miss a thing. We weave in and out of the crowd until we find somewhere good to stand. Lara gets comfortable against a wall. Leaning into her, I fuss with her collar, and she pushes me away with a laugh. Once I settle next to her, I spot an old friend from school. I wave and signal to Lara I’m going to say hello. Then I make my way through the crowd.

CHAPTER3

LARA

I stareat Mallory’s ass as she walks away. She might think I’m a saint, but there’s nothing virtuous about the thoughts in my head right now. She’s gorgeous, and I’d love to kiss my way down her body. I close my eyes for a second, trying to shake my lustful thought. She’s my best friend and I shouldn’t be thinking about her ass or any other body part.

Maybe Mallory is right and I need to find a girl to take my mind off things—her. Nothing good can come from lusting over the wrong person. She’s made her stance on relationships very clear. She likes to travel and nothing is going to tie her down. One night with her wouldn’t be worth risking our friendship. I can never let her know how I feel, or it might ruin everything.

“What are you staring at?” someone asks from behind me.

I flinch because I feel like I’ve been caught doing something I shouldn’t be. “Oh, hi, Sophie,” I say, turning to face her. She’s one of my co-workers at the Cat Trust.

“Hello, Lara. I thought it would be harder to find you with all these people, but you stand out from the crowd.” She smiles brightly. We have similar dresses on, only hers is in pastel tones and knee-length.

“I guess it was luck that brought us together. Who did you come with?” I look over her shoulder for the people she’s with.

She looks into the crowd. “Some friends. Nobody you know. They’re around here somewhere. What about you? Did Mallory make it?”

I talk about Mallory a lot, so she knows how important she is to me. “Yes. She spotted someone from school so she’s gone to see them.”

“Weren’t you in the same year?”

“Yes, but we didn’t have all the same friends.”

She nods.

A few minutes later, Mallory finds us. “I must’ve lost her in the crowd. I’m sure I’ll catch sight of her again later. Who’s this, Lara?” She stands taller, eyeing my co-worker curiously.

Sophie holds out her hand. “Lara and I have the same shifts sometimes at the Cat Trust. I’m Sophie. It’s so nice to finally meet the girl she talks about all the time.”

My cheeks heat.Thanks for that, Sophie!Mallory didn’t need to know that. “Not all the time,” I say, trying to play it down.

“Okay, just Monday through to Sunday.”

I point at her, trying to give her a stern look. “She’s joking,” I say, wondering what she’s playing at. She’s embarrassing me, but I’m not sure why.

“That’s funny because she’s hardly mentioned you.” Mallory folds her arms across her chest. They don’t seem to be getting off to a good start.

“That’s because I’m the girl she would be dating if she’d just give me a chance and stopped waiting forsomeoneto sweep her off her feet.” She emphasises the someone making me cringe inside. Hopefully, Mallory didn’t notice.

The air leaves my lungs. She did not just go there. “You’re hilarious.” My voice comes out like a squeak. I try to give her an even harder poker face, hoping she sobers up from whatever truth serum she’s been injecting. I did tell Sophie maybe we could have dated if I wasn’t in love with someone else, but I didn’t say who that was. The main reason I told her that was to stop her asking me out, not so she could share it with the whole damn world.

“Lara could have any woman she wants. Unfortunately, she’d rather be home with her cat,” Mallory says, not noticing the tension. She chuckles to herself.

I bit my lip hard, hoping Sophie has finished whatever game she’s playing. Luckily, the parade is about to start, and she moves back towards her friends. We stand and watch the colourful flags, banners, and people stand proud. There are so many great costumes, from birds with huge feather rainbow wings to groups of people each dressed in one colour of the flag. Everyone waves as the buses and floats pass us by.

Mallory grabs my hand and pulls me along as the last organised group walks past. “Come on. Let’s follow the parade down The Headrow.”

The celebration is about to move down to the lower end of Leeds, and I’m happy to follow the parade down there. We’re not the only ones to join the walk and we wave to those still standing at the barrier. The buzz I feel from their happy faces is overwhelming. The excitement and support for the gay community is why I love the parade. Even if I did hook up with a girl I liked at Pride, this moment would be hard to top.

“Shall we get a drink?” I ask as we finally make it down to Lower Briggate.

“Sure. Let’s do it.” We join the busy line of people. “Hey. How come you never mentioned Sophie before?”

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