The Meeting

Manchester

It has been two months since my night with Leah and I haven't heard from her since we said goodbye outside her hotel. I often wonder if she had been here longer would things have been different or if I'd pretended that I travelled to London a lot, would she have at least text me the next day. I had expected that she would check I got home okay that night but the message never came. The only communication we had since that night was the odd like of each other's instagram posts.

I had travelled to Manchester today, my music career is going well and we have just managed to secure a small UK tour. Not stadiums or big venues but small rooms in nightclubs that host live music. I performed my show, taking to the stage at 8pm and the gig ended at 10pm. The crowd cheered and I took pictures with a few fans that waited behind after the show. My best friends Ellie and Lydia had travelled with me and we had agreed to head to an upmarket cocktail bar that night as a celebration of my small success. Once the photos were finished, I called my Dad to let him know that it had went well and Ellie, Lydia, my tour manager and I headed for the taxi.

As we entered the cocktail bar, the hustle and bustle of life on the mainland was apparent. We queued at the bar to order drinks and found a table a few rows back from the bar. A few people who had been at the concert had recognised me and asked for pictures or generally just came over to congratulate me and praise the performance. I was still getting used to this type of attention and my awkwardness was still very apparent in my inability to form proper sentences without stumbling over my words. As I snapped a picture with a couple who had travelled from Edinburgh to watch my show, I noticed a tall blonde stood with her back to me a few tables away. I couldn't help but stare over, wondering if it really was Leah or if my eyes were deceiving me. My heart began to pound in my chest as I held the smile for the photograph and signed their tickets for them, wishing them a good night and safe journey home. I couldn't decide if I hoped the figure was Leah or if I hoped it wasn't. She had really made me feel worthless and unimportant when I didn't hear from her after that night. Even a simple text to see if I had got home safe would've been sufficient but I guess, not everyone thinks like me. I took my seat again, joining back into the conversation Ellie and Lydia were currently having about where I was taking them on holiday when I made my first million, a long way off but a girl can dream.

As the night went on, I gazed around the room for the toilets sign and excused myself from the table. I always tried to hold on for as long as I could when I was drinking, breaking the seal too early gets annoying as the night goes on. As I exited the toilet, I bumped shoulders with someone and turned to apologise before realising my earlier thoughts had been correct.

"Alex!" Leah half shouted, grinning at me as she put her arms out for a hug.
"Hi Leah. Sorry I didn't see you, have a great night." I said, not wanting to be rude but still incredibly pissed that she didn't call or text.
"Oh - yeah it's fine. Don't worry. You too." She sounded confused at the brush off and her earlier grin had faded.

I knew I was being rude but I couldn't help it. That lump was back in my throat as I thought of the feeling I felt that night, thinking I had found someone that I connected with before realising it was just a friendly night out. I walked back to the table, smiling at my three friends that were waiting for me. We continued our conversations until we ran out of drinks and since I had just been paid for the gig, I took it upon myself to head to the bar. As I waited, I felt a presence appear beside me and turned to see Leah, stood with her eyes fixated on the back of the bar, face looking glum and fingers playing with the rings on her other hand.

"Did I do something wrong?" She said, gently but in a way that made me feel awful for brushing her off before.
"No. Sorry about before, guess I just didn't expect to see you again." I said, trying to rectify my huffiness from earlier.
"I hoped I would see you again. What's meant to happen will happen and here we are." She said, sounding a little more friendly than before. This irritated me. How can she say what's meant to happen will happen? Like she was just waiting to see if we ever ended up in the same city again?
"Well that's a bullshit excuse that people use when they can't be bothered to make an effort but if that's your motto, roll with it." I said, snapping back at her through my own hurt and defensiveness.
"I thought we had fun that night, why do you hate me so much now?" She said, sounding confused at my lack of friendliness towards her.
"It doesn't matter." I lifted my drinks to walk back to my table but she snaked her hand around my waist pulling me back towards her, sending electric shocks through my body in the best possible way.
"It matters to me. Please talk to me." Her voice was soft and gentle and her thumb rubbed over my stomach in a reassuring manner. I lifted my eyes to look at her and remembered us leaning in towards each other that night before the waitress had interrupted without realising. I set my drinks on the bar and turned to face Leah, her hand dropped with my movement.
"It hurt, Leah. You changed your flight to see me that night, we almost kissed, we walked back to your hotel hand in hand and you basically ran away from me. I thought you liked me, I thought you felt the way I did but now I'm wondering if you just felt like you owed me something because of the plane." Leah's face dropped, the realisation of why I had been so off with her had hit her like a tonne of bricks and I could see her mind go into overdrive as she tried to form her next sentence.
"I'm sorry Alex, I didn't want you to see how upset I was when you said you were rarely in London." She couldn't even look me in the eye as she said this. Sensing her upset, I reached for her hand and held it lightly, wanting her to know I wasn't completely against her.
"I said I was rarely in London with my career Leah, I didn't say I wouldn't have jumped on a plane to see you anytime." Her thumb grazed mine as I spoke and I could tell she was confused as to how we were now arguing when she had been so excited to see me an hour before.
"I have thought about you every day, I went to message you so many times that night to ask if you thought we'd ever see each other again but I couldn't find the courage to send it." Her words were making me soften to her, I realised her nervousness and awkwardness were the traits that initially drew me to her. How could I have been so stupid to not realise they were a prime reason for her not texting.
"A simple 'did you get home okay' would've started that conversation you know." I said, playfully but finally getting my annoyance off my chest.
"I'm sorry, Alex. I didn't mean to upset you or make you feel like I didn't have the best night with you." Leah spoke softly.
"I have an idea. You up for it?" I had to change the tone of this conversation, seeing this girl feeling so bad was making me feel awful.
"With you? Always." She said, the smile returning to her face slowly but surely.
"Turn around, face away from me." I said, wondering if this was a silly idea but she did it without a second thought. I took a deep breath and tapped her on the shoulder whilst loudly shouting "Leah! It's you!"
I heard her laugh gently as she turned to face me and said "Alex! I missed you!"

We both began to laugh, similarly to how we had laughed on that night we spent together in Belfast. I reached my arms out to hug her and she put her head on my shoulder, whispering in my ear that she was sorry for not texting. As we pulled away from the embrace, our faces stayed close to one another, and just how we did on that night we leaned closer to each other until our lips met. The kiss was slow and passionate, we didn't feel the need to rush it or turn it into a typical nightclub kiss. I wrapped my arms around her waist as she put her hand on my cheek, placing her fingers in my hair. I felt the sides of her lips turn upwards into a smile. As we broke away from the kiss, she planted another soft, short peck on my lips and rested her forehead on mine.

"Oh I meant to ask -" she said, a devilish smile imprinted on her face, "did you get home okay?"
I pushed her playfully and laughed, pecking her once more.

We talked a little longer at the bar, I ordered new drinks for my friends as the ice had now well and truly melted into the ones I had previously purchased. I didn't want to leave Leah but I knew that I should return to my friends, after all, they were the ones I promised to go out with tonight.

"I should go back to my friends, Leah." I said, as she pushed her bottom lip out at me.
"I should do the same. Are you in Manchester for long?" Her asking this was reminding me of that night but I was hopeful it would have a different ending.
"Just until tomorrow, I have a gig in Liverpool tomorrow night. You?"
"Just until tomorrow too. Maybe we can organise something soon?" She said, ensuring our conversation was more successful this time.
"I would like that. I'm rarely in London for work but I would go there, for a good enough reason I guess." I said, smiling as she laughed at my reference to what had upset her before.
"Sounds good to me." She cupped my face once more and placed another delicate kiss on my lips, and then another on my forehead before we parted ways. I returned to my friends and finished our drinks before we headed back to the hotel, I gave Leah a wave across the bar before we left and she returned it with a smile.