“The clicking of the tube on the rails. It’s consistent. It’s got some depth to it.”
I listened closely, straining hard to block out the roar of the engine and the random screeching of the tube on the rails. She was right. There was a consistent click. “I hear it.”
“I want to record it.”
“Why?”
“Because it will remind me of today and of this moment.” She whipped out her recorder and held it by the window for a few minutes until we reached the next station. At that point, she pressed stop and dropped the recorder in her bag.
“Will you put it in a song?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I already have one in mind for it.”
It reminded me of the waves she’d recorded in Greece. I’d loved that too.
“Can I take a picture of you?” Rona asked. “I want to capture the moment.”
“Then why take a photo of me? Isn’t it the sounds you need?”
Rona blinked at me like I was a bit of a dummy for a second and then her face softened. “You are what’s making this moment special, Lily. Being here with you means a lot to me. And it’s because of you that I’m feeling so inspired to write songs that aren’t sad again.”
The clicking of the tube over the rails was all I could focus on as I let her words sink in.
She took pictures of me while I gazed into her eyes.
Rona smiled and sat back on her seat, seemingly satisfied with her photos. The silence was thicker and full of potential. We’d had sex, but whatever this was that was developing between us felt even more special and equal parts terrifying.
“Can I take a picture of you, too?”
Rona tilted her head towards me and nodded. She gave me a small smile with her lips pressed together, with a pensive expression.
I took my phone out and took her picture. I wanted to capture this moment with her, too.
We reached our tube stop and I led Rona off. We rode the escalator up, Rona in front of me. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and breathe her in but didn’t. Rona moved with the air and confidence of a Londoner, attracting little attention, but she was also luminous if you looked closely. Thankfully everyone was too much in their own worlds to notice us.
Rona was quiet as we walked towards my former stadium. I wasn’t sure she knew where it was. It wasn’t until we rounded the street and the giant stadium was right in front of us that she recognised it. “Is this what I think it is? Your old club?”
I nodded.
She squeezed my arm and then held my hand. “Are we going in?”
“Yes.”
“Yay! This is so cool! How is this even possible?”
“I pulled in a few favours. The stadium doesn’t get used at this time. It’s empty except for the groundskeepers. I wanted to show you the place that meant so much to me for so long.”
Rona stopped walking and held my waist. We locked eyes as a gust of air blew our hair over our faces. She let hers fly and fixed mine behind my ears. Her lips were full and pink, matching the colour in her cheeks. “Your stage. I can’t wait to see it.”
She dropped her eyes to my lips for a second and I must have done the same. I craved her warmth. Her smell. Her touch. We tilted our heads towards each other. I closed my eyes.
The kiss was soft and slow, neither of us doing much other than pressing our lips together. We’d done so much together already but this kiss was the gentlest.
A giant bus trundled past us and we pulled apart.
We exchanged soft and shy smiles and didn’t say much after the kiss. I held her hand, feeling butterflies in my stomach, and something click into place.
The club was my past and Rona was my future.
