Bailamos? | Mark Owen [Take That]

Chapter 15

Had I imagined what had just happened? Was I dreaming once again? No, I certainly wasn't dreaming. I knew I was in London, in a club called 'Attica' with Paul, that I had just met three lovely and loud girls in the restrooms and that I had bumped into the man I wasn't expecting to bump into. I wasn't expecting to even meet him again. It just couldn't be happening...

 "You okay?" he asked me.

 "Yeah... I---"

 Twelve years before I had met him in a similar way. Twelve years before he was hiding from some fans in Mr. DeLuca's store and had bumped into me when I was going to get a mop. And we hid in Chris's office. "You sure? You look as if---"

 Thoughts came flooding to my mind: the two hours we had spent locked in the office, the flirtatious chat regarding his purchase, the phone call, McDonald's, my cousin's club, his room. "Just a little dizzy" I lied with my biggest smile "See ya" I added and walked away from where he was.

 I needed to get to where Paul was, I had to lie to him, tell him that I wasn't feeling okay, tell him to take me home... I couldn't bear the thought of being in the same club Mark was, not after what had happened, not after that.

 "There you are!" Paul exclaimed when he saw me walking towards the sofas "Where were ya?"

 "Toilets..." I said and sat down beside him with my sight completely lost in the empty glasses on the table.

 "Were they crowded? You spent there like---"

 "I need a drink" I looked at him and saw that he had another gin tonic and took it from him, drinking it in one gulp.

 "You want mine...?" he laughed "You sure you're okay Angie?"

 "If you can be okay when you bump into the man you've loved for twelve years and it's also twelve years since you last seen him then you're really one lucky guy, Paul"

 "You met Mark?" he bluntly asked and raised his hand to call the waiter without taking his eyes off of mine.

 "Who told you?"

 "Who told me what?"

 "About Mark..."

 "Liz" he replied and turned to the waiter "A gin tonic and---"

 "Vodka, no ice... I need something strong" I admitted and the waiter left.

 Huh... Liz had told Paul about me and Mark, I knew she would do that eventually. I wondered how much Paul knew... Perhaps he knew it all. And if he did then Liz had betrayed me cuz we had sworn that we would never talk about it again.

 Liz well knew that the only person who shared that secret with me was her. Nobody else knew about it, nobody but us. Not Greta, not Liz's parents. Not even my mother knew the truth I had hidden from everyone during the past years.

 ****

 (Flashback)

"Ang...?" Liz asked.

 My best friend walked into the bathroom after she had almost knocked the door down without getting any reply from me. I just remained there, sitting on the toilet with my head in my hands. I couldn’t believe this had happened.

 I lifted my head to look at my friend. She saw the tears rolling down my face. It wasn't necessary to tell her anything.

 It had been a month since classes had started and Gre had already left for Uni. I missed her like hell - I wished she was there with me. Juilliard's training was really tough and I didn't feel as fit as I used to, I felt I lacked energy and I was weaker than before.