“Thank you. I think Portland knows you’re here now.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right.”
“Davie, you are a fucking show pony,” Mal said, shaking his head. “I knew you were going to pull something like this. Guitarists are such a bunch of posers. If you had an ounce of sense, young lady, you’d have married a drummer.”
I laughed and wiped the tears from my face.
“Why the fuck is she crying, what did you say to her?” David pulled me in closer. Outside people banged on the windows as the car slowly started moving forward.
“Are you okay?”
“I told her the truth, that she should have married a drummer. Impromptu fucking performances!” said Mal.
“Shut up.”
“Like you’ve never gone all-out to impress a girl,” scoffed Ben.
“What happened in Tokyo?” asked Jimmy, reclining in the corner. “Remind me again about, ah … what was her name?”
“Oh shit, yeah. The chick from the restaurant,” said Ben. “How much did they charge you for the damages, again?”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about. Davie said to shut up,” shouted Mal above the pair’s raucous laughter. “Have some respect for his touching moment with Evelyn, you assholes.”
“Ignore them.” David cupped my face in the palm of his hand. “Why were you crying, hmm?”
“Because this is ten. If one was us being miserable and apart then ten is your song. It’s beautiful.”
“You really liked it? ’Cause I can take it if you didn’t, you don’t have—”
I grabbed his face and kissed him, ignoring the noise and heckling around us. And I didn’t stop kissing him until my lips were numb and swollen and so were his.
“Baby.” He smiled, wiping away the last of my tears. “You say the best fucking things.”
Acknowledgements
First up, all lyrics (with the exception of the final song) come courtesy of Soviet X-Ray Record Club. You can learn more about the band here: www.sovietxrayrecordclub.com. The term “Topless Cuddles” comes courtesy of the writer Daniel Dalton.
Much love to my family who suffered as always while I wandered around in a story daze working on this. Your patience is legendary, thank you so much. To my invaluable friends who give me feedback and support (in no particular order because you are all Queens in my eyes): Tracey O’Hara, Kendall Ryan, Mel Teshco, Joanna Wylde, Kylie Griffin and Babette. A big thank-you to all book bloggers for doing what you do, especially my friends Angie from Twinsie Talk, Cath from Book Chatter Cath, Maryse from Maryse’s Book Blog, and Katrina from Page Flipperz. Thanks to Joel, Anne and Mark at Momentum for being so supportive. And special thanks to my editor, Sarah JH Fletcher.
Last but not least, to the lovely folk who chat with me on Twitter and Facebook, and send me emails saying kind things about my books. To the people who enjoy my stories and take the time to write a review, THANK YOU.