Chapter 2
“Who’s there?” I asked, more than a little hoarsely.
“Can I come in?” asked a voice I didn’t immediately recognise. Her accent was feminine, light and American, the way I’d always imagined that Barbie would talk. I raised my head out of my hands, and spoke a little more clearly this time.
“Who is it?” I asked again, already unscrewing cap of the bottle of water and quickly taking another sip, loving the feeling of the cool water cascading down my dry throat.
“Me” replied the voice, as though it was obvious that I should know who it was. It wasn’t, so I gave up.
“Alright, whatever pet, one minute” I said, standing up on tip-toe to stretch my aching feet, then scraping my dark hair away from my face into a high ponytail. I replaced the magazine onto the table, but I put it face down so that all you could see was the advert for Chanel perfume on the back. Glancing in the mirror, I realised that my mascara hadn’t smudged as badly as I had imagined and instead of looking messy, it looked smoky and seductive. I smiled and pulled a face at myself in the mirror, then quickly crossed the room and pulled open the door.
The girl waiting in the corridor smiled. I recognised her immediately. It was her. Katy Perry.
I opened my mouth. Then closed it again. Then just stood and smiled like an idiot. She hovered uncertainly for a moment, her lips slightly apart. I couldn’t look at her eyes, all I could focus on were her lips. The way that her lips were painted a deep red, like a rose in late summer just before it begins to dry and wither away to nothing. The way her lips were glossy and shiny, as though they were dripping wet. The way that I wanted to kiss them so much I could think of nothing to say to her.
“Oh. Hi” I finally whispered.
“Hi, I just thought I’d come...come...come say hi. I just thought that, um, yeah, that I’d come and see you. Because I saw you perform and you look, uh, amazing...and I just...I’m sorry, I’ll just burbling on-” she falters and looks at her feet. I smile.
“Do you wanna come in?” I ask, trying to catch her eyes, but she keeps them fixed on the grey carpet.
“Yes please!” she glances quickly up at me, and I open the door wider, letting her in. I cross the room and sit back on the leather sofa, smiling for her to come and sit beside me. She glances around quickly, and then walks over to the sofa which I had been curled up on mere moments before. She perches on the edge of a seat, far too close to me and looks at me intently, her blue-grey eyes sweeping all over my body and finally up to my face.
“How are you?” I ask her, and she smiles
“I’m good, better for seeing you again. I watched you perform earlier, I was watching from the side of stage. Oh god it was good, so brilliant! You look so perfect! All the dancing, I love it!-I bet I sound like a stalker fan don’t I?” she laughed awkwardly.
“Only a little” I giggle back.
“It just seems like forever since I saw you last, but it’s only been two months, right? Time flies!”
“Two months? Really, is that it?”
She nods confidently “yep. But now I’m in London for a little while, and I was wondering if you’d like, if you’d like to get together sometime?” She doesn’t quite meet my eyes, but instead she gently nudges my bare thigh with the back of her hand. Her skin meets my skin. Tingles run up my spine, but I desperately try and keep cool.
“Yeah, that’d be good” I smile at her, then stand up, running a hand through my hair. One of the light bulbs around the mirror flickers on and off, vaguely annoying and distracting me. “Do you want anything to drink?” I ask her, hoping that my voice doesn’t sound as shaky as I feel.
“Okay, what do you have?”
“Um, I dunno...um...” there was an ice bucket in the corner of the room, on one of those pathetic, spindly little tables that are normally unnecessary. I picked out the bottle of good-but-not-ludicrously-expensive red wine and held it out for her to read the label.
She shrugs, saying “it all tastes the same...”I laugh and open the nearby cupboard, then swore under my breath when I realised that the wine glasses were on the top shelf. I have to reach on tip-toe for them, very aware that my tiny sequinned dress was riding up, revealing to Katy another inch of perfectly tanned, toned and tattooed thigh. I could feel her eyes watching me, burning at my skin, but she didn’t say anything. Finally I reached them and poured the wine, trying hard not to let my hands shake or spill any.
I sit back beside her, and she smiles that beautiful smile as she takes the glass from me. We clink glasses together softly, making a dull ringing sound that seemed to reverberate through the quiet room. I was careful to hold my glass exactly the same as she did, and she sipped it delicately, tasting it carefully. I watched the tendons in her neck move and flex as she swallowed. I touched my tongue to my lips nervously.
“So how long are you in London for?” I ask her, just so I don’t have to concentrate on how beautiful she is.
“I honestly have no idea, I just do what I’m told. Like three weeks or something? Promoting the film, the single and everything. It’s awesome though, I love London!”
Whilst she spoke I skimmed my eyes over her body. She wore a plain white dress that was a million miles away from her crazy stage costumes, with flat ballet pumps. She was tall, taller than I was, and her willowy limbs were pale and long, like those of a ballet dancer. Her ebony black hair was coloured neon pink at the tips, and was glossy and soft enough to make me jealous. I was dressed only in a tiny made from gold sequins and I suddenly felt very under-dressed and almost naked in comparison to her.
“Yeah, it’s great, the crowds are mental down here. I’m sorry, hold on while I get us a hoodie...” I say, getting up and rummaging through the clothes on the rail until I find my bright pink “Cheryl On Tour” hoodie. I pull it on.
“Aw no!” said Katy, laughing but pouting at the same time.
“What?”I smile, coming to sit back beside her on the sofa.
“I liked you in the sequins. You looked hot!” Again she touches my thigh, resting her cool hand this time on my skin. I take a sip of wine and bite my lips, trying desperately not to smile too much.
“But I was cold!” I protest, even though it’s a lie.
“I don’t care. You should dress like that all the time.” She says seriously, frowning at me and pursing her lips together. Then she laughs. “I’m sorry, I’ll try and stop perving on you!”
“It’s okay-”
“You’re just too pretty!”
“Thanks” I say quietly.
“And I was wondering, if...well...I’m having a party tonight, no big deal, just some friends in my hotel room... I was wondering if you’d like to come though, only if you want of cause?” she doesn’t look at me, she looks down, and I suddenly realise that her hand is still resting on my thigh. She’s moving her thumb, gently stroking my skin. She also seems to realise what she’s doing, because she jumps and moves her hand away as if I burnt her, grinning awkwardly at me “I’m sorry...” she mumbles, biting her lips.
I just laugh at her and ignore the butterflies in my stomach. “I’d love to come to the party! Where, and what time?”
She writes the details on the back of my hand in a hard-tipped biro, making me squirm and wriggle. “Cheryl! Sit still! My handwriting is bad enough without you moving around!” she protests
“It’s...it’s...ticklish!” I laugh breathlessly.
“I don’t care!” she frowns playfully, then puts the lid back on the pen and smiles at her writing. “Okay, done, you can wriggle as much as you want now. And I better go, but I’ll see you later, yeah?”
“Yeah” I smile, and she wraps her hands around my waist, pulling me into a tight hug. I can smell her shampoo and cherry lipstick, and it makes me feel lightheaded in a way that I know has nothing to do with the wine I’ve drunk. Then she pulls away and stands up, bouncing towards the door like a hyperactive puppy.
“See you tonight babe” she says, and blows me a kiss. Then she’s gone, leaving the door slightly ajar behind her. I grin for a moment at the memory of her smile and her eyes. And then I remember her touch. And the place on my thigh where our skin met seems to tingle.
