I hoped he was right and there had been men who’d been interested, they just hadn’t been for me. “I don’t know whether it’s because I’m scared of being interested in someone who likes me because it’ll lead to sex and then they’ll find out and given what I sing about and how I dance on stage, those two things don’t add up.”
“You on stage is a persona though. You’re playing a part and if they’re expecting Zoey the singer, they’re believing in a manufactured fairy tale.” He held me a little tighter. “Have you met anyone? I know you don’t usually tell me stuff like that on the phone.”
“I don’t tell you because there’s nothing to tell. I’ve been that busy with late nights on tour and then recording in the day when we can, I’ve barely been out.” The lifestyle wasn’t glamorous like people wanted to believe.
“What about those photos of you walking out of that club with Liam Roberts from that band? That was last week.”
I could feel the beat of his heart against my back. It was as rhythmic and soothing as the sea.
“All a show. It was a promo thing for the night club that we were paid for and we agreed to look like we were leaving together because it’d hit the press and the paps and there’d be more mentions for the club.” And there hadn’t been any spark between me and Liam, who actually had a really sweet girlfriend back in his hometown who he was utterly devoted to and kept completely out of the media.
“You looked like you couldn’t wait to get into bed with him.”
“No. Sorry to disappoint the world. You’re still the only boy I’ve ever shared a bed with.”
Which gave me an idea.
Caleb
Iwas thirty and I’d never bought a piece of furniture other than a gaming chair, and I had been nineteen when I’d bought that. We were at some sofa shack thing that I’d found about online and had sofas that could be bought and delivered within a few days, no waiting for them to be made and imported. The brand was pretty trendy and meant to be good, because I wanted something I could fall asleep on and not wake with a stiff back or a neck that needed cracking three times before I could turn it.
“What colour do you want?” Zoey looked like she should be at a boutique in Paris rather than a sofa store in North Wales. There was no way she wasn’t going to be recognised. I’d told her that and she wasn’t bothered by it. I knew she was used to it.
She was wearing joggers and a hoodie, along with a pair of old running trainers that she’d left here the last time she’d stayed, but her hair and the prettiness of her features, as well as how she moved like a dancer, meant that everyone glanced at her and looked again.
“I don’t know. What goes with everything?” Amelie had given me a lecture the length of the Strait this morning about not looking after the flat. I’d mentioned to her and my dad that I might look for a house if something next to the sea came up. I had money – my dad had put funds into a trust for me when I turned twenty five and he’d been good enough to pay my university tuition fees, so I’d finished my doctorate debt free. There was enough money in my trust to invest in a really nice house – as long as it had a boathouse and was on the coast I didn’t mind if it was a shed.
“Brown might be good. A chocolate brown velvet so it won’t look grubby and it won’t be as cold as black.” She grabbed my arm and guided me over to what she’d pretty much described, pulling me down to sit on it next to her. “This would be perfect, and you can get a loveseat in burnt orange, which can remind you of autumn.”
“What the fuck’s a love seat?” I knew more about alegendrea loyezthan I did about furniture.
“It’s a one point five person sized seat, so in between a chair and a two-seater sofa. They’re called snuggle seats as well, because if two of you share, you have to snuggle up. Want to try that one?” She pointed to what I assumed was a loveseat.
“Is this how you choose a sofa?” I vaguely remember Amelie and my dad sofa shopping and my dad saying how it’d been a day of squats.
“Pretty much. Come on – let’s go and squish in that.” She stood up and grabbed hold of my arm again, trying to pull me up which was worth the stretched sweater sleeve for the sheer amusement value. There was no way she could make me move.
I stood up of my own volition and let her lead me over to the loveseat, squashing into it with her. It always made everything wake up when I was this close to her, feeling her warmth and catching the scent of her body wash or whatever it was that she used. She only used perfume when she was going out somewhere formal, which I liked, mainly because she’d been using that body thing for years and the smell of it made me feel like I was home.
“You’d have to be really good friends with someone to watch a film or something with them sat on this.” I rubbed her thigh when her leg came over mine because I was taking up about three quarters of the space.
“I think that’s the idea. Why don’t you get one? It can replace that chair with the holes in.”
I felt judged. Probably rightly so. “Is this because you want a loveseat?”
“Maybe. But I still think it’ll work well. And when you move it’ll fit easier in a lot of places if you don’t want it in your living room.” She leaned her head on my shoulder, so I leaned my head on hers, catching sight of a shop assistant hurrying over to us.
“I think you’ve been spotted.” That was definitely the reason for the excited expression on the shop assistant’s face, because I didn’t think she could be that thrilled about selling sofas.
“Are you Zoey Mitchell?” She came to a stop about two feet away. “If not, you look so much like her.”
Zoey stood up and shot that grin that I saw on her photoshoots, just reserved for them. “I am. My friend’s here to buy a sofa and I’m here to make sure he gets one that’ll fit. Are you having a good day?”
“I am now,” the shop assistant said. “Have you seen anything you like so far?” She was still looking at Zoey.
Zoey turned towards me. “Shall we try some more?”
“Why not?” I stood up, folding my arms and looking round the store. A few other people had definitely recognised Zoey as well. I turned on the charm. “I’m looking for something with immediate delivery else Zoey and I will be sitting on the floor later.”
