Chapter 44

It was well after midnight but the air was warm. A slight breeze blew in from the sea, carrying with it the sound of waves gently crashing on the beach and the distant calls of seagulls looking for a last meal before bedtime.

The moon loomed large in the clear, dark blue sky. Adam could smell the sea in the air—the mixture of salt and the fisherman’s catch. It was relatively early to be leaving the club and there weren’t many people on the streets. A pair of lovers walked briskly in each other’s arms—no doubt returning home for some intimacy. A group of five young men staggered along the street in search of another pub and singing vulgar songs—Adam guessed they’d been asked to leave the last one.

He breathed deeply through his nose and blew it out through his mouth. “I don’t want to go back to the campus yet.”

“But leaving the club was your idea,” said Kim.

“I said I wanted to go. I didn’t say where I was going.”

“So where were you going?”

“For a walk along the seafront. Listen to the waves.” Kim looked confused. “I find them calming,” he explained. “They clear my head.”

“You’re not planning on wallowing in self-pity, are you?”

Adam shook his head. “No. I swear, I wasn’t. I just like the sound of the sea.”

“Okay. Perhaps we could stop at Jak’s Van for a kebab on the way. I’m starving.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” he replied. “I could murder a lamb-burger.”

Jak’s Van normally parked outside Central Pier. It provided dodgy take-away food to the students as they tumbled out of the club. Adam and Kim ordered food and sat on a bench overlooking the sea to eat it.

“I don’t know how you can stomach that,” Adam said of Kim’s kebab. “Do you even know what type of meat it is?”

Kim shook her head. “No. I think it’s lamb, but it could be anything really.”

“The way it’s displayed in the van it looks like an elephant leg on a rotating spit.”

“Elephant leg?” She giggled. “Could be, but I doubt it. The RSPCA would go nuts if was elephant. Can you imagine the farm? And the dung?” She smiled and they both started laughing. “Besides, I only eat them when I’m drunk.”

“So, you’re drunk now?”

“Yep. And so are you if you’re asking questions like that.”

“Guess so.”

They watched the waves lapping on the beach as they ate and listened to the gentle thump of dance music from Central Pier.

“It’s peaceful here,” Adam said between mouthfuls. “I used to come here with Chloë. We’d sit for ages looking out at the sea. Watching the ships drift by and trying to spot the dolphins jumping out of the water.”

“Sounds nice.”

“It was.”

After another short silence, Kim said, “You really cared about her, didn’t you?”

He nodded. “I loved her. And I miss her.” He paused. “I want her to come back, Kim. But she won’t. Will she?”

Kim held his stare. “Would you?”

Adam shook his head. “Did I ever tell you how we met?”

“No, not in detail. You said you bumped into her in the library, but I didn’t want to hear any more than that.”

“Oh.” He sounded disappointed.

“But if you want to fill me in now, I don’t mind.”

“Okay.” He took another bite of his burger. “I found her crying.”

“Crying?”

“Yeah. Sounds stupid, I know. I was looking over my notes when I heard someone crying. I went to see who it was and lo and behold, it was her.”

“What did you do?”

“I asked her if I could do anything to help. She basically told me to get lost so I left her alone. Next thing I know, she’s apologising to me and I’m inviting her back to my place for a cup of tea. Turns out she was upset because she thought all the people hanging around were only hanging around because she was famous.”

“Which they were.”

“I know. And so did she.” A mouthful later he said, “Do you think it was all an act? The whole little girl lost thing, I mean?”

Kim shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. I thought so at first, but it’d be hard to keep it up for so long.”

“I didn’t think it was, but then she suddenly changed when we got back from Hollywood and I thought it might be.”

“Do you still think so?”

“No. I wasn’t the only who thought she’d changed. Even her famous friends said she had. So I guess the Chloë I knew was the real Chloë. But I reckon she’s gone now too. Consumed by the fame monster.”

“Yeah, well, at least you had her for as long as you did. Not everyone gets to go out with someone famous. Or someone they care so much about. Even for a short time.”

“Yeah. I was lucky.”

“Besides, you’ll always have me as a consolation prize.”

“And what a consolation.”

“Thanks.” She wiped her hands with the napkin that came with the kebab and threw it at a nearby waste bin. “Shall we go? Head back to campus?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get a taxi. I don’t fancy walking.”

The taxi dropped them off in the campus’ main car park by the Student’s Union building. Adam paid the driver while Kim waited patiently for him.

“You’ve picked a good ‘um there, son,” the driver said as he handed Adam his change. “Looks to me like she’s a goer.”

“Oh, no. It’s nothing like that. We’re friends. Just friends, that’s all.”

“If you say so, mate. But she looks up for it to me. Are you gay, or what?”

The taxi sped away, leaving Adam and Kim to walk back to their accommodation. They took the shortest route—a passageway along the side of the library. It was poorly lit and Adam wouldn’t have normally gone that way in the dark, but Kim told him to stop being stupid. They arrived at Adam’s flat first.

“Fancy a nightcap? I’ve got schnapps, vodka, Bourbon, Scotch and brandy.”