‘That’ll be two thirty-three.’ My attention is pulled back. She leans forwards on the bar, elbows resting on the Tetley’s beer mat. I pull out my wallet. Ah, shite. I dig out the remaining fiver from my dole and pass it over. Kate dances her way through the throng towards me.
I turn to my right. I recognise the man next to me; he’d done a stint at my last job as a bricky. He’d only lasted a few days before he’d had an accident. I glance down as he tries to take out his wallet, his hand fumbling and the wallet falling to the floor. I bend down and pass it back.
‘Cheers,’ he says.
I nod.
He looks up to the till, then back at the coins in his palm. There’s a deep scar running along the middle. ‘Can you knock off the packet of dry roasted?’ he pauses. ‘Probably shouldn’t anyway. Too much salt, right?’ He smiles at the barmaid who begins to turn back.
‘Ah, you’ll need it,’ I say. ‘You’ll be ropey as shite if you don’t have something to soak up the beer. I’ll get it,’ I say, reaching into my pocket and handing over fifty pence.
‘Thanks. Michael, right?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Bobby.’
‘Have a good one,’ I say as Kate bounds up to the bar, takes the half pint and downs most of it. I shake my head as she wipes the froth from her mouth with the back of her hand and lands a sloppy kiss on my cheek. A cloud of the Anaïs Anaïs Mam bought her for her birthday follows her as she grabs the other pint. I follow her furiously back-combed blonde hair back to the table.
‘Took you long enough!’ Danny, Kate’sbetter’alf, as he likes to remind anyone who listens, pulls on his ciggie and blows it across the table. ‘Don’t You Want Me’ starts playing.
‘I love this song!’ Kate, still standing, offers me her hand.
I shake my head. ‘I’m all right.’
‘Oh, come on, you mardy git. It’s Friday night!’ She starts singing about working as a waitress in a bar. I pick up the beer mat, put it on the edge of the table and flip it.
‘Aye. And that’s why I let you drag me out.’
Danny gulps his pint. ‘Right. I’m going for a slash.’
‘Come on!’ Kate carries on singing; I laugh and shake my head. She starts dancing backwards, crooking her finger. I take a long draw on my pint then get up. She turns, reaching out her hand behind her. I take it and let her lead me across the dance floor.
I’m not much of a dancer, but after the week I’ve had, I could do with letting loose a bit. Kate manages to find a spot, and we work into a rhythm. No need to talk or think about the train wreck of my life, just the music, and the four pints making their way through my bloodstream. Kate squeals and waves to a friend, leaving me dancing on my own like the sad sack I am. I try to look through the crowd for her, but she’s already lost in the smoke and lights. The floor is sticking to the soles of my Nikes and sweat is already forming at the back of my neck.
I make my way to the table and take a small sip of my pint – better make this one last. I look back to the dance floor. The song has changed; ‘Sweet Dreams’ begins.
In the middle of the dance floor is a woman.
She’s tall.
A tight blue dress leaves her shoulders bare and clings to the curve of her waist. Long, dark, wavy hair is clipped up at the sides, and large gold hooped earrings are swinging in time to the music. Her hands are stretched towards the lights above, hereyes are closed, a small smile at the corner of her mouth. I take another sip of my pint and look away, but find my eyes trailing back towards the dance floor. She moves fluidly, like the music is being formed around her. My heart is racing. It’s like I’ve met her before, but that’s probably just the beer.
‘Aye, aye,’ Danny sits back down and leans across the table. ‘What’s got you looking like Bugs Bunny with heart eyes?’
I pull my eyes away and give him the finger. ‘Ooh, touchy, touchy!’ He lifts himself off the seat and scans the dance floor.
‘Give over, will you?’ I say. Something primal in me doesn’t want him looking at her. I risk another glance over, but she’s gone. The song has finished. Something strange is happening to my chest as I look around the club. Then I catch a glimpse of her dark hair: a flash of blue, the glint of gold.
‘Back in a second.’ I’m up out of my seat, my feet making their way across the room. I don’t know why I’m getting up, what I would even say, but there is something like panic, like loss, at not being able to see her again.
I let out a long, ridiculous breath.
She’s still here, reaching for a coat, already heading for the door.
‘Where are you going?’ Kate asks, stepping in front of me. I scan for the blue dress above Kate’s head.
‘I… I’m going to call it a night.’ She follows my line of sight.
