Chapter Ten

The group continued to hang out on a regular basis, with the biggest event coming up for the second weekend of August; Heather's birthday. She invited everyone from their wider friendship group, as well as a few people from korfball.

With her birthday in the middle of the summer, there were a few people that inevitably couldn't make it, but there were at least 15 of them in total. They went to Macies Bar in Ramsgate, which was a nice friendly pub with late opening hours on Fridays and Saturdays. They were able to take over a corner of the pub and have a good night of talking and drinking. They also had a karaoke machine that usually came on at some point in the evening, and it didn't disappoint tonight. Of course, her friends made sure Heather was given her time to shine, selecting Nickelback's Far Away for her to sing. One of her friends made sure to record her performance, which she managed to do quite well and heartfelt, helped by the alcohol of course; her friends were taking it in turn to buy her shots.

One of the main reasons she accepted them without arguing too much, was the absence of her ex-boyfriend.

By midnight, she'd had more than she'd planned to have, and Bianca had had to drop her off by taxi. It had been a good night with her friends, but the one person she'd wanted to be there had been sorely missing and it had put a bit of a damper on her mood. Heather took a deep sigh and sipped some water before deciding it was too quiet in her room. She knew she couldn't have the music on too loud, as it might wake her parents, but she couldn't sit here in silence alone with her thoughts. Her thoughts were in danger of killing her buzz and making her depressed.

'Honey why you calling me, so late? It's kinda hard to talk right now. Honey why you crying? Is everything okay?'

Heather looked at the radio, in slight confusion. She recognised Hinder's voice but couldn't remember whether she knew this song.

'Well my girl's in the next room, sometimes I wish she was you. I guess we never really moved on. It's really good to hear your voice, saying my name, it sounds so sweet coming from the lips of an angel. Hearing those words, it makes me weak.'

She grabbed onto her pillow and held it tight to her chest as she pulled her knees up close. She'd missed Kevin so much tonight, and this song wasn't helping, at all.

'But girl you make it hard to be faithful with the lips of an angel. It's funny that you're calling me tonight and yes I've dreamt of you too. She doesn't know you're talking to me, would start a fight.'

Heather picked up her phone and flicked through her contacts to Kevin's name. It still had the picture that she'd taken of him when they'd spent an entire Sunday locked away in his room; you could just about see his bare shoulders and chest. She hadn't looked at it since they broke up almost three summers ago and now she couldn't tear her eyes away from it.

'I guess we never really moved on. It's really good to hear your voice, saying my name, it sounds so sweet.'

She knew now why she'd dived into a new relationship so soon after getting to Cambridge; it allowed her to forget about Kevin and what they'd had. But that was also precisely the reason her relationships never lasted very long; she'd never actually allowed herself to get over him, so anything that got too close to resembling a proper relationship scared her and made her run. Heather sighed. She'd been so stupid the last few years. And if she didn't do something about it soon, she might never be able to get it back.

'But girl you make it hard to be faithful with the lips of an angel. Honey why you calling me, so late?'

She glanced at the time and saw it was just gone 1.30. Kevin might still be awake.

Kevin looked up groggily when he heard his phone ring from the living room. He gave a sigh but didn't move to get it. When it stopped ringing, he made himself more comfortable again next to his girlfriend. It started ringing again. Cursing inwardly, he finally got out of bed carefully and quietly, and padded over to the living room. A knot formed in his stomach when he saw the screen. Not only did he still have his ex's phone number in his contact list (as if he'd ever forget it anyway), but he still had her under his nickname for her, Heaven. With a picture of her where she'd just woken up and looked at him dreamily. Her curls were tousled, and it was obvious from her bare shoulders that she was very much naked. God if Stephanie ever saw this…

"Hello," Kevin answered eventually.

"Hi Kevin, it's me," Heather said a little hesitantly. "I didn't wake you, did I?" she asked when he didn't respond immediately.

"You did, but it's okay. What's up?" he asked now.

"Oh sorry… I just… I missed you at my birthday party tonight," she started. Kevin groaned inwardly; how could he have forgotten her birthday was this Saturday?

"And I was just wondering, how come?"

"Sorry Heather, I'm in Brighton right now, with Stephanie," he answered, lowering his voice a little as he glanced back at the bedroom. He thought he'd heard her move in there.

"Oh… and it had to be this weekend?" Heather asked. She wasn't sure if it was unfair to expect him to be there or to have remembered but she couldn't help it.

"Yeah sorry, it was the only weekend Steph had off this month," Kevin replied.

"Oh okay… fair enough I suppose," she said slowly. He could hear that had upset her and he could picture her holding onto her pillow, with a sulking expression on her face as she was trying not to let him find out.

"Is that the only reason you called? Is everything alright?" he asked now, swearing at himself for feeling guilty that he'd upset her.

"Ehm…. Yeah… I…" Heather started. She was thinking back to his birthday about 6 or 7 years ago when in a drunken haze he'd told her that he was in love with her and it sucked that they were such close friends, because if it didn't work he'd lose her.

"Yes….?" he prompted her now. He heard her take a deep breath.

"I've not been able to stop thinking about you… since our walk at the beach and with us hanging out more again… I… everything feels like it did 6 years ago," she said shyly.

He knew she was blushing. He also knew exactly what she meant felt like 6 years ago. His heart stuttered before it picked up its pace, as cold sweat ran down the back of his neck. It almost felt like the year and a half he'd spent getting over her before Stephanie and the year and a half since had been wasted, as he found himself wanting to say it'd be alright…. Until a movement from the bedroom reminded him of where he was, not just now, but in life. He was dating a great girl, who'd been very patient with him before they finally got together. He couldn't, just couldn't, do this to her. But he didn't know what to say to his ex-girlfriend right now either. "You know what, it's late…" Kevin started lamely. He was banking on her alcohol haze to get away with not responding directly.

"Oh right… yeah. Sorry I called so late. I'll see you when you get back," Heather responded, almost making him sigh in relief. As he'd been thinking of what to say, she'd been struggling to stay awake, the alcohol making her sleepy now.

"Yeah, okay. Night," he reacted.

"Night," she whispered and hung up. Her arm dropped as she sank back into her pillows and finally let sleep carry her off,Hinder's words still echoing in her head.

Kevin sighed as he turned his phone off now and headed back into the bedroom. He closed the door softly and looked at Stephanie sleeping for a few moments. Carefully he got back in bed next to her, at which she turned towards him and snuggled up to him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair.

"Who was that?" she murmured.

"Bailey," Kevin answered. He knew he couldn't tell her the truth; she'd have a fit, even if she was still mostly asleep. "He was on his way home from a call out. He sometimes forgets that not everyone is awake at this time," he added now.

"You're too nice," Stephanie told him, almost asleep again.

"Yeah, maybe, but I don't talk to him that often," he said with a shrug.

"Hmm…" she made. "Love you…." she just about managed to say before sleep took her completely.

"I love you too," Kevin answered, giving her another kiss. He thought back to Heather and what she'd just told him. He sighed. They both needed to face the facts, once and for all; they'd had their chance as a couple, but it was too late.