Page 74 of Merrily Ever After
She looks startled. “Yes. I didn’t think anyone noticed.”
I did.The words get stuck on my tongue. Tied together in a knot.
“I wanted to work in a clothes shop when I was younger,” she continues when I don’t respond. “But I don’t think I have the imagination for it.”
“Imagination?”
She smiles. “I can cut and sew okay if I’m given some instructions, but I can’t think of them myself. I’m not an artist. I like clothes though. I’m always reading Mam’s magazines. I’ve got dozens of them under my bed. Do you like clothes?” Her lipsclamp shut as soon as she asks the question, and she looks away as if not expecting an answer.
“Don’t get to wear a lot of nice things on the farm,” I say after a second, and she nods jerkily, like a puppet on a string. She still doesn’t look back at me, but she doesn’t move away, and it’s too soon and I’m messing this up, but I can’t think of anything else to— “Do you want to dance?”
Her head whips toward me, her eyes wide, and I wish I hadn’t asked.
“You don’t have to,” I say quickly.
“No! I just …” She blinks. “You never dance.”
My chest pangs as her face goes bright red, the blush traveling all the way to her collarbone.
“I mean—” she stammers.
“I didn’t think anyone noticed.”
She laughs but still seems embarrassed. “You’re always so serious,” she says. “Standing back here. You’re impossible not to notice.”
It’s like my heart trips over its next beat.
“I used to wonder why you came if you weren’t having fun,” she continues.
“My sister.”
“Rachel.” She smiles in understanding. “She’s sweet. A menace, but she’s sweet.” Her gaze roves around the hall, and her chin tips up. “I’d love to dance.”
My arm shoots up so quickly I startle her, but she recovers quickly, putting her hand in mine. We both glance down.
“Sorry,” I mutter. “My hands—”
“They look sore,” she says, her brow creasing.
“They’re not.” It’s the truth. Or it kind of is. That’s just the way they always are. And she doesn’t seem to mind as her fingers close around mine. I am achingly aware of every inch of her, my body warming as her grip tightens and—
The music comes to an abrupt end.
There’s a chorus of groans and then Dessie’s furious voice yelling from the top of the hall.
“Stop messing with the cables!”
A second later, the overhead lights turn on, bathing everything and everyone in harsh reality.
Disappointment surges through me. It’s usually a couple of minutes before they can start the stereo, and already I can see her friends looking around for her. But Colleen doesn’t seem to notice them. She’s not even looking at the chaos around us.
Her eyes are on me.
“Will we get some fresh air?” she asks, and tugs on my arm before I can answer, towing me through the crowd. I go willingly. I’m pretty sure I’d follow her anywhere.
The obvious spot is right outside the hall, but it’s occupied by a group of thirteen-year-olds trying to light a cigarette. Colleen takes one look at them and continues on. But then it’s a couple pressing their faces together and another group of girls furiously whispering in a small, intense huddle and we have to go all the way around the building to where the tarmac meets the open fields for some privacy.
There’s no lights out here. It’s not completely dark though. The stars and the moon are out, and my eyes soon adjust to everything else.
