Playing My Love (6 page)

  "Oh Darcy!  Your gig!  What time are you supposed to be there?"

  "About an hour and three quarters.  It's okay, I'm sure we'll make it!"  She smiled to show me she wasn't worried.

  "We'll do the steak another night"  I said, quickening our pace.

  "Sure!  It's a date!"

  I felt stupidly warm for looking forward to it.

                      
4

                                               Voice Of An Angel

  We made it back to the cottage with less than an hour to spare and I insisted that Darcy should come in and take a shower.  We were both roughly the same size and height at five foot eight, so I told her she could have free reign on my wardrobe.
  She'd gone to object, then glanced at my designer clothes and thought better of it.

  Gra
y was napping on the sofa when we went in, so I ushered her quietly to the bathroom and gave her fresh towels before running back to the lounge.

  "Gra
y?  Darling, wake up?"

  "Ung…what time is it?"  h
e asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

  "About six.  So listen, my car broke down today and that girl I told you about, from the park?  Well, she came and picked me up, but then she crashed her car and we had to walk, but then we got lost and chased by bulls, so she's in the shower because she has a really important gig playing in town in less than an hour and we're both really mucky and I said we'd go and listen to her play.  Is that okay?"  I said in one breathless rush.  He frowned, looking confused.

  "All that happened today?"  he asked sleepily.

  "Yes, but I feel terrible because if she doesn't get to her gig on time, she'll lose money and she's a student, and it was my fault she crashed her car because I distracted her, so we need to drive her into town in your car.  Are you okay to come out for a few hours
, maybe get some dinner in the pub?"

  "Whoa, slow down a minute.  You want us to go out?  In town?"

  "Yes!  That's what I'm saying!"  I said, exasperated.

  "Who are you and what have you done with my wife?"

  "Gray, I'm serious.  This is important to her.  Have you got the energy to come out or not?"

  "For you, I always have the energy
"  he said, yawning.

  "Oh, there's just one thing"  I hesitated, feeling awful at what I was about to ask.  "She, uh, she doesn't know.  About your, you know…"

  "My cancer?"

  I flinched, hating how casual he was about saying it.

  "Yes.  Can we keep it that way?  It's just nice having someone that looks at me normally and doesn't ask me if I'm alright or how I'm coping every two minutes.  Do you mind?"  My face was burning.  It felt like I was asking him to hide a dirty secret because I was ashamed of him, but he just nodded and yawned again.

  "Suppose I'd best go get changed then"  he said, standing to go to the bedroom.  Then he stopped at the doorway and turned back.  "You got chased by bulls?"

  "Go!"  I ushered him off, then plugged my mobile in before following him into the bedroom.  I had a quick tidy round as Gray changed and he watched me, amused.

  "This
is
a girl we're driving to town, right?  Not some hunky college dude?"

  "Yes, she's a girl.  And I can't believe you just used the words
'hunky' and 'dude'!"

  "Whatever.  So why are you so nervous?"

  "I'm not nervous!  You know how I get around new people."

  "Yes, you get quiet and shy around new people.  You are definitely nervous."

  "I'm
not
nervous!"  I insisted, smiling at him.  But I could tell he was unconvinced, and it was probably because I
was
actually nervous!

  "How do I look?"

  "Like a prince, now go.  Make a cup of tea or something.  You can't be in here when she gets out of the shower."

  Grumbling good naturedly, he went to the kitchen
to make a drink while I rummaged through my clothes for something to wear.  I had just decided on a beautiful brown cashmere jumper with a pair of tight jeans when I heard a gentle knock on the door.

  "Alison?"

  "Yes, come in."

  She opened the door self-consciously, holding the towel around her and smiling dreamily.

  "Your shower is like standing at the bottom of a rainbow!"

  I laughed.

  "Funny, Gray said something similar when we first moved in.  He said it was like being bathed by angels!"

  "It really is!  Seriously, if you're ever in need o
f a lodger, you let me know!"  she said, sitting on the edge of my bed.  I watched a drop of water roll from her wet hair and down her collarbone, and cleared my throat.  My nerves seemed more amplified now that she was actually in my bedroom.

  "Okay, so just rifle through the drawers and wardrobe and help yourself to whatever you want, I really don't mind.  I'm going to take a quick shower as well and I'll meet you back in the lounge.  There's perfumes on the side, and whatever you do, do
not
drink the tea Gray offers you!"  I said, feeling quite flustered.

  "Great!  I'll see you in a bit."

  "Great."

  I ran to the steamy bathroom
and stripped off.  It wasn't until I was stood under the jets that I started to analyse.  By the time I was wrapping a towel around myself, I'd come to the conclusion that I was nervous about Darcy and Gray meeting, although I wasn't sure why.  That would require further analysis later when I had more time.  For now, I guessed it was because I felt embarrassed at having such a young friend who was still in college, or simply that they wouldn't get along.

  I tapped lightly on the bedroom door in case
she was still dressing, and she called out for me to come in.

  "Wow, you look stunning!"
  I said, gaping openly at her.  She blushed.

  "Your clothes are stunning.  They're like
all
designer labels"  she said incredulously.  She'd chosen to wear a tight knit cropped black top that had a high neck and accentuated the curve of her breasts nicely, and was complimented by a pair of tight blue jeans that had never looked
that
good on me.  She'd also managed to quickly dry her hair and was wearing one of my favourite perfumes.

  "You can keep them.  They look so much better on you and I don't think I've ever worn that jumper"  I said impulsively.  It was a complete lie, but I felt generous.

  "Are you kidding?  There must be about a hundred pounds worth of clothes here!"

  Well, probably closer to two hundred.

  "Please, I insist.  Accept them as a gift."

  "Alison, only if you're sure?  Because I'm going to stop protesting in about ten seconds
and get very excited"  she said, touching the soft fabric of the jumper.  I smiled.

  "I'm sure.  You look fantastic!"

  "Thank you!  So much!"  She came over and threw her arms around me.  I hugged her back, aware of my nakedness beneath the towel.  She seemed to notice it too because she pulled back quickly.  "Oh.  I'm sorry, you probably want to get dressed.  I'll leave you to it"  she said hastily and moved toward the door.

  "I won't be long."

  I got dressed as quickly as I could, hoping Gray wasn't going to say or do anything embarrassing in my absence, like tell some weird joke or ask about her private life.  After a quick go on the hair dryer, I spritzed on some Marc Jacobs perfume and hurried out, pulling my blonde hair into a casual ponytail over my left shoulder as I went.  When I got to the lounge, I found them both sitting on the sofa and chatting like old friends.  They looked up as I entered and stopped talking.  Gray gave a long low whistle.

  "Wow, babe!  You look hot!"
  He said, standing to come over and kiss me.  I blushed.

  "She certainly does!"  I heard Darcy say, and I glanced at her in time to see her eyes work their way appreciatively down my body and back up again.  My blush
deepened, but when our eyes met she blushed too, obviously embarrassed at being caught checking me out so openly.  We probably would have stood there blushing at each other a lot longer had it not been for Gray ushering us out the door, reminding us that we were on a tight time limit.  We still had to pick up Darcy's guitar from her flat before going to the pub, and as we got into the car I noticed a tension settle over her.  Gray put the car in gear and drove off as quickly as he could, and I turned in my seat to face her.

  "So what sort of music are you going to be playing tonight
?"  I asked.  She looked at me, but she still seemed tense and distracted, so I decided to try and reassure her.  "It's okay.  We'll get you there on time"  I added, but this just seemed to confuse her.

  "Hmm?  Oh, I'm not worried about that
"  she mumbled.

  "Is it that you're nervous then?"

  "No, I'm fine.  I've done loads of gigs before."

  I paused, knowing something was bothering her, and
saw her eyes flicker toward Gray then back to me.  I understood.  Whatever it was, she didn't want to mention it in front of him.  I leaned over the seats and lowered my voice.

  "It's a two way street Darcy.  It goes both ways"  I whispered quietly, but she cocked her head and sat forward, looking bemused.

  "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch what you just said. 
What
goes both ways?"

  "You know, should you ever need to talk or anything, I'm here"  I said, and then (for some unknown reason)
I put my hand on her knee again!  I felt her leg jolt, almost as if I'd electrocuted her.  What was even stranger was that I felt the zing of electric energy go up through my arm too, as if I'd touched an electrified fence, although it was far more pleasant and there was no pain.  We both gasped.

  "I'm sorry"  I snatched my hand back, but she caught it with one of hers.

  "No, it's okay.  I, um, I have really sensitive knees"  she muttered, squeezing my hand gently.  We stayed that way for a few seconds before she awkwardly answered the question I forgot I'd asked.  "It's just…I've just realised I have a problem, which I didn't realise I had before.  But now I'm aware of it, and I'm going to have to deal with it before it turns into a bigger problem."  She looked down at our hands.  "I'm sorry I can't say any more about it.  It's quite a personal thing."

  "It's
okay, I understand."  I did.  After all, wasn't I keeping one big, fat secret from her regarding Gray's illness?

  "So how long have you been
playing guitar for, Darcy?"  Gray asked, snapping us out of it.  We let go of each other's hands quickly as she answered and I put mine in my lap, wondering at the pleasant pins and needles in it.

  "Since I was about eleven.  I used to sing all the time and someone close to me suggested I learn
to play the guitar as well, so I did.  But it was more of a challenge for me than a hobby at the time.  I guess I didn't really start to enjoy playing until I was about eighteen."

  "Reall
y?  What changed it for you?"  he asked.

  "I fell in love"  she said, smiling.  "Then all of a sudden I
wanted
to play, I
wanted
to sing, and it all became this magical experience for me, a way to express my feelings!"  She gave a dry laugh.  "Luckily the pleasure of playing stayed when we broke up."

  She seemed to relax again after that, and
when we'd collected her guitar she tuned it as we drove to the pub, making it there only a few minutes late.  While she ran off to set up with her microphone, Gray and I ordered a burger and chips from the bar, then sat down to wait.  There were a lot of raucous cheers from a large group in the corner and I guessed they were her friends.  In fact, as I looked around, I could see it was pretty packed for a small town pub on a weekday evening.  She'd obviously attracted a large crowd, no doubt drawing them in with her easy warm energy.

  After playing around with her sound levels for a few minutes, she cleared her throat and leaned in to the microphone.

  "Hi everyone.  Sorry about the delay and thank you all for being so patient.  For those of you who don't know who I am…"

  "We all know
who you are, Darcy!"  a lad shouted out, and there were a lot of laughs and clapping.  She smiled around at everyone.

  "I think you might be right!  Well anyway, just in case, my name is Darcy and if you've never heard me play before, I do change the words to suit myself, so don't worry.  I haven't forgotten the words or anything"  she said, then looked quickly at me and winked.  I smiled, remembering our first meeting.  "I'm going to start with a song that describes the day I've had today
."  She sat back and silence descended over the crowded pub before she started singing 'Perfect Day' by Lou Reed.  She did indeed change the words and I wondered if she was improvising on the spot, or if she'd been planning this song while we'd been walking because she managed to add in being chased by bulls as well as crashing into a tree.