Page 6 of It Was Always You

She hit Adam playfully with her satchel. ‘Bloody cheek. The only part of that likely to come true is the last part. I only have eyes for Paolo Giovanni Nutini,’ she said with a dreamy sigh. ‘God, he’s so gorgeous. I mean, what’s not to love? He’s Scottish, he writes incredible lyrics, he has those amazing doleful eyes, he’s ridiculously handsome, he has Latin European heritage like yours truly, and he sings, there isn’t a more perfect specimen of a man on earth as far as I’m concerned.’ She threw herself backwards onto the grass swooning and feigning a black-out. Lily had been raised on seventies rock and nineties grunge thanks to her father’s eclectic tastes, and she rarely found anything newer that she liked quite as much but Paolo Nutini had been an exception. She had dragged Adam along, under duress, to see him play live at a few gigs and festivals and had posters of him plastered on her bedroom walls.

He smirked. ‘I can think of a gazillion more talented musicians.’

‘Erm, each to their own, Adders. And anyway…’ She paused as if to find the right words. ‘He’s timeless. They just don’t make men like him any more, Adam.’

‘Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure he’s off touring so you’re not likely to bump into him here, so get over it… Cheesy.’

At that, she sat bolt upright and pursed her lips. He readied himself in case she decided to launch one of her infamous attacks, but instead she stood up, huffed and stormed off.

‘Oy! Lil! Come back, you muppet!’ He ran after her. And so was laid the foundation of their time at university…

Lily and Adam forged many new friendships and made the most of the social aspects of the wonderful city of Edinburgh during their time at uni. Both found part-time jobs in local bars – Lily in the rather swanky Voodoo Rooms which was housed in an old Victorian building and served fancy cocktails in opulent gold-painted surroundings; and Adam in the student favourite Jekyll and Hyde bar that had been an Edinburgh staple since the late nineties, but they still managed to spend time together in between. Summers and Christmas holidays were spent at home with their families, and two years on, at the halfway point of their time at uni, things were going well, in most ways.

After their gruelling second year, Adam and Lily embarked upon a summer holiday in 2013 to the Spanish resort of Magaluf, where they and their friends had overindulged in alcohol and raised hell like normal twenty-year-olds. In spite of the fact she hated flying, Lily had been desperate to travel the world, but her meagre student earnings wouldn’t stretch very far so a package holiday had to suffice. And again, she had watched as Adam broke countless hearts, leaving a slew of bereft young women in his wake. She had, on several occasions, called him out for his promiscuous ways.

His response was always the same. ‘It’s not like I sleep with every single one though, Lil. I’m not some kind of pathetic gigolo.’

‘Well, put it this way, if it was me behaving like that, I’d have an awful reputation by now!’

On their arrival home the two friends returned to their respective residences they had found after their first year in halls. Lily’s – a flat with another girl from her course, and Adam’s – a house he shared with three other male students; getting back just before their next term was due to start.

Back to reality and the first week of lectures for their 2013–2014 semester came around quickly. They met up to walk in together and made plans to meet for lunch so they could regale each other with tales of their first encounters with new lecturers. Lily talked non-stop about the fact that one of her lecturers for this year had worked all over the world for The Times and she was so excited to meet him.

Later, the refectory was buzzing with the hum of myriad conversations going on simultaneously. Adam arrived first and grabbed himself a BLT sandwich and a coffee. He bought a coffee for Lily, knowing she would no doubt be too excited to eat – as was usually the case when she was enthusiastic about something. He found an empty table, and while he waited, he went over his notes from his first lecture of the day.

He had thoroughly enjoyed listening to Marcus Foreman, his knowledgeable tutor, and knew from the start this was going to be his favourite lesson of the academic year. He glanced up just as Lily approached his table. A big, mischievous grin spread over her face and her eyes glinted with mirth. He knew that look all too well. She was closely followed by someone he couldn’t quite see, as whomever it was hung back.

Lily was evidently finding something very amusing. ‘Adders! You’re not going to believe this!’ She pulled her mystery companion around to her side. ‘Adam… this is Eve! Ha ha! Adam and Eve.’ She playfully gestured back and forth between the two.

He smirked as his gaze moved up to meet the person in question. He swallowed hard and stared. Just stared. His heart tripped over itself, and he continued gawping for what was definitely far too long. Eventually when he snapped out of his stupor, he realised the girl, whom he had been informed was called Eve, was blushing profusely.

He stood, wiped his hand down his jeans, and held it towards her. ‘S-sorry… sorry… I… I was just eating my sandwich.’ Smooth, Adam, very smooth. The whole situation had seemed to take forever, and he felt very, very stupid. ‘Ahem… I’m Adam… Oh, but Lil already said that. Adam Armstrong is my full name.’ His cheeks were no doubt redder than a baboon’s bum by now, as the girl took his hand to shake it.

‘Hi, Adam. I’m Eve… obviously.’ She giggled. ‘For some reason that’s a sentence I never thought I’d be saying. Eve Martin is my full name.’

He decided then and there that she had the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen. Her hair was long, thick, and golden blonde, and her eyes were a vivid sky blue. She had a lovely figure, curvy like a girl should be, not skinny like so many of the girls he’d dated, and her skin was flawless. He lost the ability to speak again and had reverted back to staring.

Lily snorted derisively and rolled her eyes. ‘Good grief, Adders, put your tongue away.’

Realising he had been staring again, he sat. ‘Are you both going to join me?’ Eve nodded and sat in the seat next to him which he was very happy about. He held out the cardboard cup to Lily without looking at her. ‘Lil, I got you a coffee.’

Lily grabbed her drink from him. ‘Cheers, Adders.’ He noticed a sulkiness to her tone and turned to watch her slump into the seat across from Eve, a scowl scrunching her brow.

He chose to ignore his friend. ‘Welcome to our humble abode,’ he said with a grin, turning his attention back to their new acquaintance.

‘Thanks, Adam. It’s all a bit strange right now. Lily’s the first person I’ve really spoken to.’

‘It’s a nice friendly place, so you should find you settle in quickly,’ Adam assured her. She smiled warmly and nodded. Intrigued, he continued. ‘So, what brings you to Forrest Hill?’

‘I was studying down in England at Sheffield Uni, but my dad’s been ill, so I applied for a transfer nearer to home and this was the closest uni with a space available on their journalism course. I can get back easier from here… not easily… but easier, at least.’

He found himself transfixed. ‘So where’s home?’ He cringed. ‘Sorry, I must sound really nosy.’

‘No, no, that’s fine.’ She smiled. ‘I’m from Skye originally. A little place called Glentorrin. You’ve probably never heard of it.’

‘I have actually. I went to Skye with my folks and my brother when I was wee. Lovely place.’

They chatted through lunch about their respective courses and the lecturers they had all experienced that morning. It turned out they were all free for the rest of the afternoon, which caused a flip of giddiness in Adam’s stomach.