I sat in the car space not even knowing if she was home or working or if she even wanted to come with me. I called her phone.
Emma answered. ‘Oh, hey there stranger, are you back?’
‘I am,’ I said.
‘Was it epic? Did you have a great time?’ she asked, full of energy so excited to hear about my trip.
‘It was so much fun. Everyone was great. It was one of the best crowds I’ve played in front of for a while,’ I said.
‘Oh, that’s so great. I’m so happy for you,’ she said, ‘that must be an unbelievable feeling, you should be so stoked!’ Emma perked up even more.
‘Yeah, it was a great time. I’m excited to have a week with no travel though. It will be good to work on creating some new stuff.’
‘I can’t wait to see what magic you’ll create,’ she said.
‘Hey, the reason I’m calling you is that I want to know what you’re up to right now.’ My voice quietened and started to shake ever so slightly with nerves.
‘Do you really want to know exactly what I’m doing?’ she muttered.
‘Yeah, I want to know exactly what you’re up to right now,’ I said, smiling ridiculously, listening to her voice echo through my ear.
She laughed, God, I had missed the sound of her giggles. ‘Well, I know it’s only five p.m. but I am sitting on my balcony, in my purple polka dot PJs, sipping on a peppermint tea and talking to you. I had an early finish, so I was making the most of some relaxation time. I picked up a new read from the second-hand bookstore on my way home too. So, I’m going to spend my night diving deeper into that.’
‘That sounds so lovely and snug.’ The thought of her being all curled up with a book, looking so God damn cute made me want to scale the gate, knock on her door and wrap my arms around her on her outdoor lounge, whilst watching the sunset in between the buildings.
‘What are you up to right now?’ she asked.
I sat silent on the phone, not wanting to disturb the peace of her night, but I so badly wanted to see her. ‘I’m sitting in my car park outside your place, wondering how you feel about changing your plans.’ I blurted out.
‘Your car park is it now?’ She laughed.
‘Yeah, I think it’s about time that you got me a reserved sign,’ I said sarcastically, trying to make light of the situation, feeling the nerves bubble up in my stomach.
She joked back with me. ‘I’ll have a chat with the building manager for you and see what I can do. Would you like to come in? Give me a second to put some clothes on and I’ll come open the gate for you.’
‘I was actually wondering if you would like to go out, maybe for a couple of days? How do you feel about heading down to my place for the weekend?’ I said. There was a brief silence. I sat nervous about her rejection.
‘That sounds wonderful,’ she said softly. I could tell she was surprised by my offer.
‘I’ll drive us down and I can bring you back on Sunday?’ I said.
‘That sounds perfect. I just need to be back by three p.m. on Sunday. I’m going away for a couple of days with Abbie and the girls to an Airbnb in the hinterland for a little getaway before the gallery opening next week. Abbie booked it for a little bit of a de-stress for me I think.’
‘Oh, that’s so nice.’Damn. I wish I had thought of that.‘I’ll make sure you get back by three. Do I get to come to the opening with you?’
‘Of course, I’d love for you to come. I’m so excited you’re here. My weekend just got a whole lot better. I’ll be down soon,’ she said. I loved hearing the excitement in her voice.
‘See you soon,’ I said, and I hung up the phone.
I sat in my car scrolling through my emails when I heard the gate in front of me slam shut. She stood there looking as beautiful as ever. Her hair was soft and shiny, her light natural brown waves lit up in the sun that was just starting to set. She had a mid-length red dress on, with a light white flicker of a wildflower pattern run through it. She always looked so effortless and drop-dead gorgeous. She had a large black overnight bag draped over the left shoulder. I opened the car door and jumped out of the car to help her.
‘Hey, you,’ I said, smiling and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. ‘Let me take that for you.’ I held my hand out as she passed me her bag and I opened the backseat car door to place it in.
‘This is such a lovely surprise,’ she said, smiling. I walked back up to her and she draped her arms around my neck as I held her waist.
‘Are you ready to get going?’ I asked her as I held her.
‘I’m so ready.’ She smiled and bit her lip. I didn’t know whether it was from nerves or excitement.
