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Feeling electrified with excitement, Daisy practically danced into her dorm room. Dropping off her bag on the bunk bed, she fell next to it, her arms spread wide on the soft woolen covers. A happy sigh escaped her lips as she looked at the ceiling with dreamy eyes.
“Wow, Daisy,” chuckled Hannah, a light gray Cornish Rex cat. She was Daisy’s roommate, sharing the year, but following a completely different track. Over the past few weeks she became somewhat of a friend to her, though at just the middle of the first semester it was still hard to tell. “You’re practically glowing!” she said, glancing up from her careful nail-painting process. “Some good news, I take it?”
“Yep! My boyfriend is playing at his first big concert! In the ‘Deep Horizon’ Club tonight.” Daisy propped herself on her elbows, looking at her roommate with a proud smile.
“Whoa, not bad,” Hannah shook her head, putting the nail polish brush back into its bottle. “Pretty serious place. Do I know his band?”
“Well, not his-his band,” Daisy chuckled awkwardly. “He’s just the secondary vocals and bass… But it’s ‘The Firstborn’. They are local, doing some instrumental rock and even death-metal occasionally.”
“Never heard of them,” Hannah shrugged, waving her hands to let the dark blue polish dry. “But it sounds cool. I do listen to that kind of stuff occasionally. But you, Daisy? Ha-ha, would’ve never guessed you might be into something like that.”
Daisy snorted, flopping back onto the bed.
“You wouldn’t believe what’s on my playlist. I’d show you, but I fear you’ll probably kick me out of the dorm.” She giggled and reached for her bag to get her phone out. Glancing at the external screen of her flip-phone to get the time, she dropped it back in and turned on her side to look at her roommate again. “Say, would you like to come check them out?”
“What? Me? I don’t really have any pocket money to spend like that.”
“Oh, I have my ways…” Daisy smiled mischievously. “Paulo got me a staff pass. I can come and go whenever I want and I can bring anyone with me too.”
“Daisy!” Hannah snapped her head up, shock and surprise on her face. “Who even are you? What did you do to the real good and proper girl with that cute pearl necklace?!”
“Ah, well… She’s left behind in middle school, probably, if she ever existed at all.” Daisy’s smile widened, growing even more playful. “I mean, sure… I’m not too adventurous. But who am I to say no to something like that? I gotta try something fun time and again.”
“I… still can’t make any sense of you.” The rex shook her head slowly. “It’s been a month and half, and I still have no idea what makes you tick. One day you’re shy and flustery, the other you’re confident and firm… Then suddenly breaking some serious rules too. And really, I would’ve never guessed your music taste, no way.” Hannah got off her chair and walked towards the wardrobe. “Well, if you’re serious, I’m intrigued. What do you think I should wear?”
“Ah, uh, I dunno,” Daisy shrugged, as she sat on the bed. “I’ll go as is, maybe change a shirt to something lighter.”
“And here you go again,” Hannah snorted. “But I guess if anyone would go to a metal concert in a proper nerdy student look and pull it off, that would be you.” She pushed the sliding door and looked inside. “For me, I think it needs something shiny, but dark.” Rummaging around a little, she pulled out a reflective faux-leather skirt and a folded black sweater. “Nerdy student it is, but with a twist, eh? What do you think? Kinda mall goth, probably, but I should fit right in.”
“I think it’ll suit you very well! I like it!” Daisy responded with enthusiasm if a little reserved. “Not really mall goth, it looks a little more elegant than that.”
“Cool,” Hannah nodded, tossing the clothes onto her own bed and reaching into the shelves again. “So, when is it supposed to start?”
“Pretty early, 8 PM. But we still have enough time.” Daisy glanced at the door. She suddenly felt a little out of place, doubts if this was a good idea to invite her roommate clouding her mind. She shook it off. Both of them had a pretty awful week with multiple deadlines aligning one after the other right before the midterms, so whatever undefined unease that brushed against her heart was probably just that.
“Hmm, yeah, I guess we have time for some quick coffee on the way. But traffic is probably a bitch.”
The hall was packed tight with people, and Daisy was grateful for choosing a more loose and flowy shirt. Anything tighter and denser on top of her thick fur would threaten her with heatstroke at very least. Crowd was rowdy, too, and she had to duck and weave to get out of the way of more enthusiastic fans trying to get to the stage closer. She didn’t follow though: as much as she’d love to always keep her eyes on Paulo, the enormous speakers in front of the scene were almost physically painful to be next to. Not just to her ears, but her whole body – the air pressure was almost knocking the breath out of her lungs.
Still, she enjoyed herself. It was fun, and the texts were energetic. But most importantly, she saw him there, on the stage. Paulo was still a little stiff compared to the rest of the band, but as songs went one after the other, he was warming up: moving faster, more energetic, hitting the notes better. Smiling wide every time he caught her eyes. Even at the distance that separated them and the sea of people moving around in the dark cavernous space, he still saw her, and each time she saw the glint of his eyes and glint of his smile, her heart made a little flip in her chest.
Hannah, however, looked miserable.
Catching another dashing smile of the handsome Somali, Daisy glanced at her roommate. She was standing still, her shoulders drooping and big sharp ears pressing down. She was texting someone on her phone with a sour expression on her face.
“Hey, Hannah, what’s wrong?” she asked, leaning closer to her year.
“Sorry, Dee,” her roommate shouted back, trying to cut through the noise. “But those guys suck major ass.”
“Oh.” Daisy deflated.
She was excited to make this connection with her roommate, and find a common ground in music that she liked. But that line was severed even before it took any hold: the look on her face was speaking volumes.
“Yeah, I know it’s important to you and all, but really, Daisy. You gotta respect yourself a little.”
“What?” Daisy asked weakly. She was sure she wasn’t heard at all over the music. Finding a little strength somewhere deep in her, she managed: “They are not that bad!”
“Look…” Hannah pinched the bridge of her nose. “I know you’ve got great taste! I’m sure of it! But those guys…” the rex gestured towards the stage with a disgusted face. “Those guys are barely above a garage band. That’s just sad.”
“Well… I mean… They are not the stars, sure, but…” Daisy tried to find the right words, but couldn’t string them together, with the added difficulty of the noise all around. “I’m sorry, Hannah.”
“It’s okay. I’m still glad we hung out.” The rex smiled and shrugged. Her smile was almost genuine, or so Daisy wanted to believe.
“You probably want to go? You don’t have to wait for me.” Daisy’s voice hitched a little, straining at the louder volume.
“You’re without a car! How would you return? I’ll wait for you, don’t worry.”
“It’s fine,” Daisy waved her hand, a forced smile on her face. “I’m going to wait for Paulo.”
“Hmm.” Hannah pursed her lips and glanced towards the stage. The Somali over there gave his shiny smile to someone else in the room, and seeing that she shook her head. “Are you sure about that guy?”
“What? Hannah, really!” Daisy frowned, folding her arms.
“Hey, I’m not saying anything, but… I dunno. I wouldn’t trust his ass if I were you.” the rex shook her head disapprovingly. “He’s just got bad news written all over him.”
“I knew him from middle school! Seriously, what’s got into you?”
“I knew some assholes from kindergarten. A fuckboy is a fuckboy, Dee. Saw one, saw them all.” Hannah wrinkled her nose.
“He’s not like that! He…” Daisy paused. She couldn’t really lie and say he never was like that. But she believed. There was just no other way. “He’s a good boyfriend. I feel safe and happy with him.”
“I see it in your eyes, Dee. It’s not that simple, isn’t it? But… you’re an adult, and you’re a smart cookie. So, let me ask again: do you need me to wait for you?”
Daisy glanced around herself, suddenly uncertain. The incessant noise made her a little nauseous for a moment. She suddenly felt uncomfortable, her stomach filling with lead. Pressing her ears down, she made a long breath and forced herself to calm down. She nodded with confidence:
“I’ll be okay, Hannah, don’t worry about me.”
“Suit yourself! See you tonight, I hope.”
“Well, uh…” Daisy blushed, rolling a pearl of her necklace between her fingers.
“Dee… I worry about you.” Hannah shook her head, but smiled anyway. “But you’re a big girl. Just be careful, okay?”
“Of course I will.” Daisy smiled too.
Hannah reached and gave her a short hug, before squeezing past her and a press of bodies that separated them from a distant exit door.
Left alone, Daisy stood unmoving for a while, trying to figure out what her roommate said. To her mounting frustration it both made and didn’t make sense. Yes, Paulo ticked a lot of boxes that would put any self-respecting girl off. But… he didn’t exactly fit into that image. Some time ago back in school – maybe. A long, long time ago. But a lot of things had changed since then, and she was certain of it. She raised her eyes back towards the stage.
Paulo was engrossed in music, moving together with the rest of the band in almost perfect sync. The lead singer screamed something incoherent, but Paulo was doing a much more melodic refrain, and those soft but still gravelly tones sent sweet shivers down Daisy’s spine.
I guess Hannah left before their best song. Her loss, she smirked to herself, swaying on the unusually soft and melodic refrain. But the screaming solo guy does suck.
The concert went on for another hour or so, and the crowds weren’t getting thinner. That put Daisy’s mind at ease a little, as she was constantly mulling over in her head what Hannah said. It was strange. She wasn’t that invested in this band. The fact that her boyfriend played in it didn’t really mean much, as she was quite particular about her music tastes. That band didn’t really fit into those tastes, but it was just enough on the edge to make her roommate’s word hurt just a little. What’s more, her words were targeted at Paulo. And that did hurt a lot more.
She squeezed her fist, feeling angry, however late that was. But as the band played the last solo to close the evening, and the crowd was going wild, Daisy felt a little silly. There hardly was any point in this resentment. As the initial spike of emotion was pushed out by the enthusiastic shouts around her, she remembered that from the very first day Hannah showed that she was not a person to pull any punches. She was always honest about her opinions, reminding her of Lucy a little bit, which probably was the reason they bonded quickly.
Startling awake from her deep thoughts, Daisy noticed that the crowd was suddenly much thinner. The hall was still dark and the band was still on stage, the lead singer talking about something on the microphone she didn’t really care to listen to. They were wrapping up, and that made her heart leap a little. The excitement about finally seeing Paulo overtook her for a moment and she smiled happily, her conflicted thoughts forgotten.
Now free to move around, Daisy slowly walked towards the stage exit, her heart hammering harder with each step. She glanced to her side. The band has left, only the singer still stood, still talking passionately.
As the wide metallic door creaked open in front of her, she felt her knees go weak. Paulo was right there, wearing a dark t-shirt with the band logo, his face glistening with sweat. She rushed towards him, tackling him in a powerful hug. Maybe too powerful, as he staggered back a step with a surprised breath.
“Heey! Glad you made it, Fluff!” regaining balance, he hugged her back and nuzzled her. Daisy pushed her arms higher to get a better grip and gave him a tender kiss.
Returning it, he pulled back and said:
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to kiss at first, uh… I think my breath is fucked,” he blushed with a self-conscious look.
“Ha-ha, no, you’re fine,” Daisy giggled and gave him a playful little bite on the nose. “But you’re sweating like a pig!”
“Ugh, yeah. Biggest workout since dodgeball against David,” Paulo wrinkled his nose. “The spotlights were cooking me alive. Like a rotisserie chicken.”
“Shower is waiting for you at home, then. Are you ready to get out of here?” Daisy broke the hug and grabbed his hand.
Paulo didn’t follow her, standing straight with a guilty look on his face.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Sorry. I can’t leave just yet…” Paulo hissed through his teeth with an embarrassed look. “I’ve got voluntold I need to assist the DJ for the next thing in the club.”
“What? Why? You’re not working for them!” Daisy released his hand and stood straight, her arms on her hips. She narrowed her eyes sternly. “Can’t you just tell them it’s not your problem? Because it’s not.”
“It’s not that simple. I’m employed by the guys who own both the band and the club, so… I’m working here now, I guess.” Paulo scratched his neck, looking at his feet.
Daisy frowned.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that you’re doing great in the band, but I’m still a little disappointed in you that you agreed to that contract.” she shook her head, keeping a cool expression. Internally she was far angrier, both at him and at the people he worked for. You’re way too naive, Paulo. And a little dumb, to be honest. She didn’t say it out loud, but for a moment she was almost ready to. But you’re my dumb boy. We’ll figure it out.
“Look, Fluff, I know… That’s keeping me awake at nights, and I’m really tired of their bullshit. But it’s binding. I can’t just get up and go.” he muttered weakly, looking miserable. “But payment is good. It could’ve been much worse.”
“Well. Fine. I guess we’ll have this discussion later, when the contract ends. And we will , don’t try to play a stoic hero, now.” she said, pointing a finger at him for emphasis. A little deflated, she shrugged and added: “I’ll wait for you here somewhere, then.”
“No, you don’t have to! Didn’t you come with your friend? Don’t wait for me, please.”
“Too late for that,” Daisy laughed. “She said your band sucks ass and left.”
“What kind of a friend is that?” Paulo made a face.
Daisy shrugged.
“I’ve let her go myself. So, you tell me.”
“Damn. Sorry. I’m really sorry, Daisy, I didn’t know myself until like minutes before we started,” he winced. “Well, let me call you a cab then,” he added hastily, reaching into his pants for his phone.
“No. I’m waiting for you. I’ve already decided to, so no point in arguing.”
“Uh… thanks.” he slowly put the phone back with a perplexed expression on his face. “I’m not in trouble then?” he added with a hope in his voice.
“I’ll consider my options,” she smirked, a mischievous spark in her eyes. “Your bed is way better than mine in the dorms. But you might still get the couch.”
As the last concert-goers left the hall, Daisy shuffled to the corner, looking miserable. On the opposite side the club employees were setting up the bar, unlocking the cupboards and lifting the roll-ups that kept it hidden before. She narrowed her eyes looking at it. She could go for something right about now. Non-alcoholic, though, as there was no way she could pass for someone old enough to not raise any questions.
She started to move towards it, but hesitated, stopped both by lack of any other people around to blend in with, and also by a thought that it might cost her pretty much everything she had left on her for the day. Disappointed again, she sighed and leaned against the wall, idly looking at her phone. It was an old thing without anything interesting in it and no internet access, so she just idly scrolled her messages. Goofy and misspelled messages from Paulo always brought a smile to her face, but now even that felt boring. She closed the flip-phone and looked around. The hall was still empty of any visitors. There was some more activity on the stage: a couple of guys in ridiculously wide pants were running around with bundles of cables connecting things. She thought she saw Paulo somewhere in the distance too – his orange and brown tail flashed somewhere in the errant beam of a spotlight, as he hurried behind thick black drapes.
Her eyes half-lidded, she stood rooted to the place for what felt like hours. New crowd slowly filtered in, most of them immediately hitting the bar. The wide pants guys finished the setup and started the first song of the evening. Something light and energetic, a lot different from the heavy notes of the metal band before them. Daisy eyed the bar again, now a lot more crowded. She wouldn’t feel too self-conscious now to try to approach it, and yet she still hesitated, glancing around. It just didn’t feel worth it.
The hall was starting to get hot again. While it stood empty and silent, Daisy noticed that it had ventilation roaring on full blast with winter-cold air, but all of that was for naught with this large crowd once again filling the space. The music was getting more energetic and intense, and people started moving too. She felt the urge too, but held herself back, just tapping rhythm with her foot. It was not exactly her style of music, but it was good. The energy behind it was moving something inside her. However, the longer she stood there, propping the wall, the more she felt that whatever responded to this music was withering and disappearing. She thought back to the dances back in school. She didn’t miss all of them, finding the courage to go to the senior one. But she couldn’t really say she had any fun there. Paulo was still a weird conflicted mess, and she didn’t dare approach him back then… Other guys were strangers to her. Girls too, and she just didn’t dare to try, which she regretted then and still did now. She danced a little, but most of the time she hung out with Sue and Amaya, which was good. Which she missed now dearly.
Remembering those moments brought a smile to her face. She did have a good time after all, even while doing something as simple as just sitting on the couch with her friends. It could’ve been a lot better, but she knew Paulo wasn’t ready.
Those days were the strangest in their long and eventful history. No longer behaving like a cool protective brother Paulo turned into an incoherent mess every time he was near her, and that memory made her chuckle a little. The chuckle died immediately, as she recalled her own feelings back then. It still hurt, because she knew: he was so deep in this maddening state he’d probably run away if she tried to approach him. It hurt her seeing him like this. So she had to observe his anguish from a distance, feeling just as bad as him.
“He-e-ey, babe. Why so sad? Wanna dance?” a wave of alcohol smell hit Daisy’s nose.
She focused her eyes. There was a tall skinny cat in front of her, wearing a ridiculous white jacket and nothing else. He was as tall as her, slightly taller even, which was impressive. It was the only thing impressive about him, and making a face, she pulled the staff card out of her bag.
“Uh, excuse me, I’m not here to dance,” she said barely above the music’s volume, and squeezed past him towards the stage exit, away from the strobing lights.
The guy followed her with his barely focused eyes and turned away, immediately latching onto his next target. She breathed out and hung the card on her neck. As much as she hated pretending to be someone she had no right to be, it was still better than to stand like this on display for all the hungry eyes around.
That moment killed whatever was left of her mood completely. She stared at the dirty floor beneath her feet, not feeling the music’s energy anymore. It all just turned into noise. I should’ve just taken the cab and got out of here. What a disgusting place…
Daisy felt her throat clenching with frustration and some other feelings she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She was disgusted by that tall cat's attention, true, but also she wanted for someone to pay attention to her after all. Paulo, most importantly. The one who she promised to wait for.
Breathing out through her teeth she slowly shuffled out of the stage exit corner towards the entrance doors on the opposite side of the hall. The floor was packed, so she had to pick her way carefully, constantly apologizing for squeezing past someone or almost stepping on someone’s toes. Each interaction only made the feeling worse, hammering down that deep, sharp frustration. Approaching the doors she got the phone out again. It was still relatively early, still some way to go before midnight. The dorm security won’t be happy letting her back in an hour this late, but she was sure she’ll be able to pass them with no issue, playing an apologetic bumbling “good girl” everyone perceived her as.
And maybe I am this bumbling naive fool. Who else would find herself in a situation like that? And not even the first time. She wiped a tear, remembering that evening when Paulo and David dragged her to spy on Mike in the cinema.
Daisy glanced back one last time, turning towards the stage. The image was blurry, the sharp flare spikes of the bright spotlights swimming and shimmering through the tears. She wiped her eyes again, as she felt she saw something, something that made her heart skip a beat.
It was no illusion: there on the stage stood Paulo. Without his band t-shirt, his hair is in disarray. He was glancing around with concern on his face, getting looks from the DJs. His eyes fell on her, and she saw them widening. Before she even knew what’s going on, Paulo jumped the stage and rushed through the crowd towards the exit.
Towards her.
Dancers around him jumped awkwardly to the sides, casting him withering glances, but he didn’t pay any attention, stomping forward like on an empty road.
“Daisy!” he called as he pushed through the final row of people crowding the space in front of the entrance. His voice wavered slightly. “Daisy, wait. I’ve dealt with things. I’m done.”
Daisy sniffed, blinking the tears out.
“Are you sure?” she asked with both doubt and concern. She sensed he was hiding something. “We can just go now and you won’t get in trouble?”
“Uhh…” Paulo winced awkwardly. “You know I can’t lie to you, Fluff. I can ditch it, and they’ll probably cover for me. But…”
“Then it’s fine. I’ll just get a cab like you suggested,” Daisy shrugged, dejected.
“I’m kinda sorta free to do whatever, I just need to be here at the closing… Maybe… Maybe you can just chill with me?” Paulo looked miserable stammering this out, blush coloring his face.
“Well…” Daisy sighed, shaking her head. “I’m not really in the ‘chilling’ mood. I’m a little angry.” seeing the expression on his face she couldn’t help but smile a little. “Not exactly at you. Not entirely.”
That didn’t change much: his face was scrunched up like he was a little boy being told he can’t have his ice cream.
“Oh…” he managed. “Well, I’m… I dunno. Fuck it, let’s get out of here.”
“No, Paulo.” she shook her head with a stern frown. “Responsibility is important. You know that.”
He nodded, accepting his defeat, and that look made Daisy’s heart sink down to her feet. He looked absolutely miserable, probably even feeling worse than her, and she just couldn’t bear it.
“You know what?” she smiled, making a step closer. She felt this sudden inspiration, when DJs changed the music again to something more upbeat. “How about you ask me for a dance?”
“Uhh…” for a moment he froze, processing this sudden change in her mood, then his familiar half-smile returned, for the first time today. “Well, Daisy, would you like to dance?”
“Oh, I would! Better than to sulk in the corner, that’s for sure.” she laughed, following him towards the center of the floor where there was a little more space and where all the action was happening too.
They both weren’t really good dancers. Her experience was more on the athletic side of things, being a cheerleader, so in terms of dancing, Paulo was a little more experienced than her, but not by much. Unlike her, he never missed a school dance, even if he didn’t belong, but as for the dancing itself, it clearly wasn’t his goal. That bothered Daisy on some level, as she remembered his escapades and all the girls above and below their grade that he was always around.
But that was before.
Before even the moment they started dating. Those days around New Year’s Eve 2009 she remembered very well. It was a turning point of some sort, when he started to change in front of her eyes. Becoming a better person, eventually, but in those days it was a messy process that left her and their mutual friends quite confused. She liked to compare this in her mind to a butterfly transformation. The middle stage is always inevitably a vulnerable mess that needs to be protected so something beautiful would emerge.
And so now they danced, a little reserved at first, but as the music flowed, and as they looked into each other’s eyes, something started to unlock in their hearts. It was hard to define what it was, and looking back Daisy thought that maybe that pent up frustration she acquired throughout the evening finally found an outlet. She wanted to let it all out, to forget that lump in her throat, those tears and that awful feeling of not fitting in into the fun, of being abandoned by everyone who mattered. It was turning over in on its head now, and Paulo followed, his own anxieties unraveling themselves and turning into passion.
The rhythm became everything, completely taking control over their bodies, and as the music ramped up into something even more energetic and almost unapologetically happy, they responded in kind, smiling at each other, grabbing each other, twirling and not really caring about accidentally bumping into other people around them.
The energy took them over so much that they started to clear out a space around them. Little by little at first, but they soon became the center of the entire floor.
Daisy noticed it in a short lull when one track was mixed into the other a little more awkwardly than it usually happened. She glanced around, seeing amused faces, and other pairs joining them in their energetic fun. She smiled. Strangely, it didn’t crash and burn into the usual embarrassment she expected to feel in a situation like that. It felt different this time. The sincere smile and love in Paulo’s eyes pushed that embarrassment out, invoking a new and unfamiliar feeling instead. She loved that passion that overtook them. She loved the attention to her that everyone was giving. Paulo the most, of course, and so she drank this feeling like cold water in the desert's heat.
As she picked him up, as easily as members of her old high school cheer squad, she heard whistles and approving whoops all around her. It made her heart swell, made her remember the best days she had doing those routines during the basketball matches. Paulo was in no way prepared for something like that, so she had to be careful. She didn’t want to accidentally break his bones like that one time when Sue decided to try her hand in cheerleading. He, however, went along with a happy smile on his face and a bright blush. Crowd noticed and cheered as Daisy twirled, easily lifting him off the ground and making him spin in her arms.
As another song changed again, Paulo slowed down, gasping. His face was as red as ripe tomato and he breathed so hard Daisy was fearing he might’ve hurt himself. His expression was full of blissful happiness, however, and as he gathered his breath, wiping the sweat off his forehead, he motioned her towards the bar.
Daisy was not tired. She wanted to go on, all the pent up energy winding the muscles in her legs and arms, aching to keep going. But it was clear: Paulo was exhausted, near his breaking point, and so she led him out of the center. The crowd, already giving them space for their little show, parted and cheered. The mood was infectious, electric. Some smiles were happy, some amused: it’s a rare sight when a girl not only leads the dance, but does it so powerfully, completely taking control, throwing her partner around like a little happy rag doll.
Paulo got them a couple of glasses of soda as they sat on the stools. He was still breathing hard, so there was not much in a way of conversation between them as they sat. The party around them went on, other dancers trying to copy their moves now too with various degrees of success. Daisy watched them both with amusement and concern. Not a lot of people had training like she did, and she hoped nobody would end up hurt.
A couple more songs ran their course. It was no longer as energetic, more subdued and flowing now. People rotated in and out and eventually, as soon as they finished their drinks, Daisy and Paulo had to leave their barstools to give space to others. Daisy glanced at her boyfriend. He looked a little more rested now, sweat gone from his hair and the playful glint back in his eye.
“Ready for some more?” she asked with a smile.
“A little less intense, why the hell not?” Paulo nodded, taking her hand.
As the music ramped down and the floor cleared more and more Daisy still held on to him. She didn’t want it to stop, ever. The trance-like blissful state she was in made her feel like she was floating on the ocean waves, gentle sun keeping her warm. The exhaustion was finally catching on and her legs ached, soles of her feet responding to every step with waves of this strange feeling that wasn’t exactly pain, but something quite insistent.
Yet she still held on. The lights slowly turned on, flooding the now almost empty hall with yellowish light, revealing that the place wasn’t really that big and that well maintained. An old wide intersection of multiple underground tunnels, probably was a railroad turntable at some point in the city’s industrial past. Now the concrete surfaces were covered in places with black drapery and painted plywood panels, but not completely: the old concrete with the imprints of wooden boards was still visible in large swathes.
DJs were wrapping things up at this point, but the music was still going. Both Daisy and Paulo just stood in place, looking each other in the eyes, not really willing to let each other go.
“Hey, guys, this is very sweet, but we gotta wrap it!” called one of the DJs switching the music off. “Paulo, my man, do your damn job, will you?”
“Oh, shit!” Paulo almost jumped out of Daisy’s embrace, his eyes wide as saucers. “Sorry, Fluff! I gotta go. I’ll be right back!”
Daisy just snorted in amusement at the sight of him and motioned with her hand for him to hurry up. He took off towards the stage, snatching his clipboard on the way that he wedged between speakers on his way down the stage before.
Joining other club employees he started to help them detach the cables and mark things on the list as they were being packed away.
Daisy watched him, while he was in her field of view on stage, but soon he disappeared behind the drapery again and so she shuffled idly towards one of the barstools. The bar itself was also being closed up and dismantled, so she paused and asked:
“Hey… can I sit here for a bit?” she pointed at the stool.
“Yeah, sure,” the barman nodded, turning his head away from locking up the cupboards with bottles and glasses. “Those were some impressive moves back then, by the way.”
“Oh!” Daisy blushed. “Well, thanks.”
“Do you do ballet or something?” The barman returned to the front of the bar and began packing away the snack bowls. “My sister is going to ballet school.”
“Ah, no, nothing serious like that,” Daisy giggled, waving her hand. “Just some leftover skills from my cheerleading days in school.”
“Wow, that’s actually pretty cool,” the barman smiled approvingly. “You keep those skills sharp! Hope we’ll see you two here again.”
“Thanks!” Daisy smiled awkwardly at his praise, feeling slightly uncomfortable. To her relief the conversation didn’t progress past that as the barman pulled down the roll-up and with a nod and a wink walked out of the hall.
After a few minutes of silence and an occasional exhausted yawn, she finally saw Paulo’s bright orange coat again. He emerged from the stage exit, his windbreaker jacket on and a packed away guitar on his shoulder.
“Sorry, Daisy!” he said hurriedly, as he approached her. “I guess they really needed those pencil marks or something, I dunno.”
“Hmm, still good that you held your word and stayed,” Daisy hummed, hopping down the stool. “You shouldn’t be in this situation in the first place, but it is what it is, right?”
“Yeah… sorry again…” Paulo blushed, scratching the back of his head.
“Shush, let’s go already.” Daisy smirked and grabbed his hand. “I want to just fall down on the pillow and wake up sometime on Sunday afternoon.”
As they emerged from the old industrial building converted into a shiny modern place, the cold wind from the Atlantic hit them right in the face. Daisy shivered, pressing herself closer to Paulo. He immediately started to take off his windbreaker, but she stopped him with a firm hand:
“No. Your fur is too short, you’ll freeze!” Daisy closed his jacket, holding its flaps in a fist. “I’ll be fine. And you should zip up!”
“Nah, the car is close, let’s just go,” he shook his head, increasing his pace.
Daisy looked around. Distant floodlights reflected off the wet asphalt and recessed long-unused rails crisscrossing the space. In the misty gloom of the late night it was hard to see any details, but his old yellow sedan looked distinct enough, parked near some kind of artistic installation made of cut shipping containers.
The moment they closed the doors and Paulo started the engine, Daisy giggled, looking at the windows rapidly getting opaque with fogging:
“Hey, look! We’re so hot!”
“Oh damn,” Paulo pulled a window down on his side. The fogging started to recede slowly. For a good measure he switched the ventilation on, blasting their faces with cold air. “Sorry, I guess we’ll freeze our asses off then.”
“It’s okay,” Daisy yawned again. “At least you won’t fall asleep while driving.”
The car rolled out of the parking lot and went into the empty night streets. The city was sleeping, but not really. Here and there there were warm islands of light around various bars and cafes where people still mingled, deep into the night. But the streets themselves were almost empty, with just an occasional car or a police patrol.
Despite the cold air still pumping into the car’s interior, Daisy barely held her eyes open, comfortably nodding off in the seat. The seat belt worked almost like a pillow to her, and she floated in this blissful state, idly looking through half-lidded eyes at the streetlights passing overhead, warm lights from the windows reflecting on the glass. Paulo drove silently, occasionally humming to himself something, not really following any melody.
Daisy finally closed her eyes, lulled by this comfortable feeling. The cold air stopped blasting in her face and the sudden warmth made her sigh with content. This day was intense, full of both hurt and also deepest joy. Before they started dating she couldn’t even imagine the intensity of those feelings, always believing it to be just romance novelists being hyperbolic. And today she experienced a new height of that, just as intense as the moment of Paulo’s confession. Probably even more so.
She smiled, drifting off to sleep.