The Art of Longing

[34] The Wrong Curls

We found a spot in a corner of the bar, just the two of us, with the opportunity to watch the other patrons around us. It was interesting to watch other people, but we also were in a position to see if there was anyone paying particular attention to us.

It was a little darker here in the bar, and Brian immediately enjoyed the hint of freedom that entailed by placing his hand on my back, gently moving his thumb over the fabric of my blouse. And I loved that, I loved feeling his affection even in public. I placed my hand on his thigh and I could tell he liked that I wasn't shy about reciprocating. The hidden affection was all we could do in public, for now, but after everything that happened, I was grateful we were able to do even this.

I glanced at him, smiling. "I'll go order some drinks if you want me to."

Brian hummed a little, returning the smile. I knew his expression and I knew he would have kissed me if he could have. But he couldn't, he nodded. "Alright, you know what I like. Hang on." He reached into his pocket and got out his wallet, holding out a couple of bills for me, but I didn't take them.

"I have money, Bri, you paid for dinner. This is on me," I insisted. And much to my surprise, he seemed okay with it. I had expected him to argue.

Since he didn't, I got up and walked up to the bar, attempting to figure out what they offered apart from the standard choices. As I was reading through the cocktail menu, trying to decide on something, I felt a hand on my back and could hear a very familiar voice beside me. "Well, who do we have here? If it isn't Ellie Bennett.."

I couldn't immediately place the voice, but when I turned around, a little surprised by this interaction I think my eyes went wide. I smiled widely, looking giving my counterpart a once over. "Well, if it isn't Robert Plant... wow, hi, how are you?" I asked him, hugging him back as he leaned down.

He straightened up, smiling at me. "You know, so and so..," he admitted. "But I'm very happy to see you here, I didn't expect that. You captured my attention walking through the crowd and I knew that I recognised the beautiful face from somewhere. You look fantastic, Ellie, I hope you're doing well."

"I am," I confirmed, unable to keep a smile off my face either. Robert was a great man who I knew well, and who had helped me through some harder times in life. I placed my hand on his arm gently. "And I'm really sorry about everything that happened. I honestly couldn't believe it at first, it's awful.."

Even though it had been nearly two years since the passing of Led Zeppelin's drummer, I could imagine he still often got comments about it, so it didn't take long for him to realise what I was talking about. He nodded a little. "Thank you. It is, but we can only continue and attempt to make the best of it. I can't believe it's been so long since we've seen each other."

"I know," I agreed. "It's been a while. But you still look good," I told him, smiling widely. He winked at me, making me laugh. "Are you here on your own?"

He nodded. "Yeah, just to get away from things for a while. And you? I do hope so... I'd love to keep you company for the rest of the night." He smiled, biting his lip a little.

I knew what he wanted, of course. In the past I had always readily gone with him, but this time I shook my head. "No, I'm not. I'm here with, uhm, a friend, well, my boss. One of my bosses." Robert raised his eyebrows, so I elaborated. "I'm currently employed by Queen and Brian is here too, somewhere over there," I said, gesturing towards our corner.

Robert glanced over there and nodded. "Ah yes, Brian. How lovely," he said, but seemed disappointed that I wasn't on my own.

I knew why, of course, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed too. We had a history together, one that Brian wouldn't be keen on thinking about because it involved me, in bed with another man. But I had to pretend that wasn't the case, because even though I couldn't tell Robert, I was with Brian, and I didn't want to change that, despite everything. Robert was awesome, but he wasn't Brian and he would never be Brian. It was my turn to break with past habits now. "Do you want to come over, say hi? I promised to get some drinks for us, but I think you'd be welcome to pop by our table. Do you know each other? Do you like each other, or am I unearthing things that should not be talked about?"