Hearts on Air
Page 54
He watched me closely, expectant, waiting for me to make the first move. His eyes urged me to jump, dive, soar, do whatever it took to quench this thirst we both felt. I leaned in, closed my eyes, took a breath and then . . .
Raucous cheering sounded over the music and the spell broke. I was plunged headfirst back to reality as I moved away from Trev and looked up to see Callum scaling one of the columns that led to the mezzanine above the dance floor. He made it to the top only to have a pissed-off security guard meet him there. The guard grabbed him by the shirt collar and started yelling at him angrily.
“Shit, come on.” Trev grabbed my hand and pulled me with him through the club. We’d just reached the bottom of the stairs when we came upon Callum being escorted off the premises by the same furious security guard. Jimbo and the others were getting it all on camera, not even bothering to intervene.
“It was a dare,” Callum yelled, gesticulating wildly.
Leanne, Isaac and Paul came rushing out and we tried reasoning with the guard on Callum’s behalf but it was no use. Callum was effectively barred from the club for life.
“We can always try somewhere else,” I suggested.
“Fuck those arseholes. This place is shite anyway. We should go explore the city. Who’s up for visiting the Eiffel Tower?”
“It’s a little late for sightseeing,” said Paul.
“No such thing,” Callum exclaimed. “I bet it’s romantic as fuck at night. Come on.”
And that was how we found ourselves on a tram heading towards the Eiffel Tower in the middle of the night. Trev sat next to me, our almost-kiss hanging heavy in the air. Isaac sat staring out the window at the city as it went by, fascinated. Paul was googling which stop we should get out at, while Callum flirted relentlessly with Leanne in the seat in front of mine and Trev’s.
“Leave me alone, you’re drunk,” she complained when he tugged on her short hair.
“But I like bothering you. It’s my favourite thing to do.”
She snorted. “Yeah, you don’t have to tell me that.”
Trev’s hand rested on his thigh, but it was a tight squeeze on the two-seater so his fingers brushed against my knee. I adjusted my dress to cover more of my legs.
“You love it,” said Callum, plastering on his most charming grin. “You pretend to hate it, but we both know you love it.”
“If you want to believe that, fine.”
“So if I suddenly started ignoring you completely you wouldn’t be bothered?”
She let out a heavy sigh. “Why does everything have to be one extreme or the other with you? Why can’t you just be . . . I don’t know, normal?”
“Because normal is boring.”
“Well, I must be very boring then.”
Callum barked a laugh. “Are you saying you’re normal?”
She lifted a shoulder. “I’m a lot more normal than you”
“Oh, dear God! I can’t listen to this anymore. Just fuck and be done with it,” Paul groaned. “Do either of you know how irritating it is to live with you both?”
Leanne bristled while Callum turned in his seat to face Paul. “Don’t be jealous, honey-bunch. You know there’s always room in my bed for you.”
Paul laughed loudly. “Ha! I wouldn’t go gay for you if you were the last man on earth. You can still catch chlamydia in the apocalypse, you know.”
“So, you’ve got an end-of-the-world fantasy about me? Interesting,” Callum shot back but Paul didn’t rise to it. He only gave Callum the finger and returned his attention to his phone.
“It says we should get out at Trocadéro for the best view of the Eiffel Tower. That’s just one more stop from here.”
“Good work,” I said, shooting him a smile and trying to ignore how Trev was studying my profile. “What?” I whispered, self-consciously tucking some hair behind my ear.
“You’re gorgeous,” he breathed.
I cast him a side-glance. “What are you after?”
“Everything. Nothing.”
“You’re in a mood. Stop it.”
“We’re in Paris. If I can’t be in a mood here, then where can I be in one?”
Before I could respond, an announcement came over the speakers for our stop and we all hustled off the tram. I felt a little bad for the film crew, who had to lug their cameras around everywhere. Trev took my hand in his as we walked toward the large, open square. It had a massive water feature running through the middle, and the fountains shot high into the air like a liquid symphony. It took me a second to catch my breath.
The Eiffel Tower was all lit up on the other side of the Seine, glowing gold against the night sky. The setting would be terribly romantic if it weren’t for the gang of hobos hanging out by one of the benches drinking cans of beer. I guess nothing was ever as charming as it appeared on TV.
Trev guided me over to the grassy area to sit. He threw his arm around my shoulders and pulled out his phone to snap a selfie. I managed to plaster on a smile just in time and he immediately uploaded it to Instagram with the caption, “Having a great time in Paris with my bestie.”
“Hey. That was a sneak attack.”
“Lee’s been hassling me to post pictures. This should keep him happy for a few more days.”
I laughed, because that did sound like Lee. “Your brother’s like a mother hen sometimes.”
“Don’t get me started. I have to check in with him every morning or else he’s hounding me to see if I’m okay.”
“He just loves you.”
“He thinks I’m gonna fall off the wagon.”
I eyed him closely. “Is he right to be worried?”
“’Course not. I feel more balanced now than I have in a long time, probably ever,” he said, but there was something in his expression that made me sense he was holding back. That maybe he was making it all sound a lot simpler than it actually was.
“So, the new medication’s working?” I asked tentatively. We still hadn’t spoken much about it, but I knew Trev was comfortable enough to tell me to back off if he felt I was prying.
“It’s helping, but it’s not a cure-all. I’ve actually been doing CBT and I find that works best.”
“CBT?” I tilted my head curiously.
“Cognitive behavioural therapy. I have sessions every week with my doctor,” he explained, and I remembered Leanne mentioning something about that before.
Raucous cheering sounded over the music and the spell broke. I was plunged headfirst back to reality as I moved away from Trev and looked up to see Callum scaling one of the columns that led to the mezzanine above the dance floor. He made it to the top only to have a pissed-off security guard meet him there. The guard grabbed him by the shirt collar and started yelling at him angrily.
“Shit, come on.” Trev grabbed my hand and pulled me with him through the club. We’d just reached the bottom of the stairs when we came upon Callum being escorted off the premises by the same furious security guard. Jimbo and the others were getting it all on camera, not even bothering to intervene.
“It was a dare,” Callum yelled, gesticulating wildly.
Leanne, Isaac and Paul came rushing out and we tried reasoning with the guard on Callum’s behalf but it was no use. Callum was effectively barred from the club for life.
“We can always try somewhere else,” I suggested.
“Fuck those arseholes. This place is shite anyway. We should go explore the city. Who’s up for visiting the Eiffel Tower?”
“It’s a little late for sightseeing,” said Paul.
“No such thing,” Callum exclaimed. “I bet it’s romantic as fuck at night. Come on.”
And that was how we found ourselves on a tram heading towards the Eiffel Tower in the middle of the night. Trev sat next to me, our almost-kiss hanging heavy in the air. Isaac sat staring out the window at the city as it went by, fascinated. Paul was googling which stop we should get out at, while Callum flirted relentlessly with Leanne in the seat in front of mine and Trev’s.
“Leave me alone, you’re drunk,” she complained when he tugged on her short hair.
“But I like bothering you. It’s my favourite thing to do.”
She snorted. “Yeah, you don’t have to tell me that.”
Trev’s hand rested on his thigh, but it was a tight squeeze on the two-seater so his fingers brushed against my knee. I adjusted my dress to cover more of my legs.
“You love it,” said Callum, plastering on his most charming grin. “You pretend to hate it, but we both know you love it.”
“If you want to believe that, fine.”
“So if I suddenly started ignoring you completely you wouldn’t be bothered?”
She let out a heavy sigh. “Why does everything have to be one extreme or the other with you? Why can’t you just be . . . I don’t know, normal?”
“Because normal is boring.”
“Well, I must be very boring then.”
Callum barked a laugh. “Are you saying you’re normal?”
She lifted a shoulder. “I’m a lot more normal than you”
“Oh, dear God! I can’t listen to this anymore. Just fuck and be done with it,” Paul groaned. “Do either of you know how irritating it is to live with you both?”
Leanne bristled while Callum turned in his seat to face Paul. “Don’t be jealous, honey-bunch. You know there’s always room in my bed for you.”
Paul laughed loudly. “Ha! I wouldn’t go gay for you if you were the last man on earth. You can still catch chlamydia in the apocalypse, you know.”
“So, you’ve got an end-of-the-world fantasy about me? Interesting,” Callum shot back but Paul didn’t rise to it. He only gave Callum the finger and returned his attention to his phone.
“It says we should get out at Trocadéro for the best view of the Eiffel Tower. That’s just one more stop from here.”
“Good work,” I said, shooting him a smile and trying to ignore how Trev was studying my profile. “What?” I whispered, self-consciously tucking some hair behind my ear.
“You’re gorgeous,” he breathed.
I cast him a side-glance. “What are you after?”
“Everything. Nothing.”
“You’re in a mood. Stop it.”
“We’re in Paris. If I can’t be in a mood here, then where can I be in one?”
Before I could respond, an announcement came over the speakers for our stop and we all hustled off the tram. I felt a little bad for the film crew, who had to lug their cameras around everywhere. Trev took my hand in his as we walked toward the large, open square. It had a massive water feature running through the middle, and the fountains shot high into the air like a liquid symphony. It took me a second to catch my breath.
The Eiffel Tower was all lit up on the other side of the Seine, glowing gold against the night sky. The setting would be terribly romantic if it weren’t for the gang of hobos hanging out by one of the benches drinking cans of beer. I guess nothing was ever as charming as it appeared on TV.
Trev guided me over to the grassy area to sit. He threw his arm around my shoulders and pulled out his phone to snap a selfie. I managed to plaster on a smile just in time and he immediately uploaded it to Instagram with the caption, “Having a great time in Paris with my bestie.”
“Hey. That was a sneak attack.”
“Lee’s been hassling me to post pictures. This should keep him happy for a few more days.”
I laughed, because that did sound like Lee. “Your brother’s like a mother hen sometimes.”
“Don’t get me started. I have to check in with him every morning or else he’s hounding me to see if I’m okay.”
“He just loves you.”
“He thinks I’m gonna fall off the wagon.”
I eyed him closely. “Is he right to be worried?”
“’Course not. I feel more balanced now than I have in a long time, probably ever,” he said, but there was something in his expression that made me sense he was holding back. That maybe he was making it all sound a lot simpler than it actually was.
“So, the new medication’s working?” I asked tentatively. We still hadn’t spoken much about it, but I knew Trev was comfortable enough to tell me to back off if he felt I was prying.
“It’s helping, but it’s not a cure-all. I’ve actually been doing CBT and I find that works best.”
“CBT?” I tilted my head curiously.
“Cognitive behavioural therapy. I have sessions every week with my doctor,” he explained, and I remembered Leanne mentioning something about that before.
