Lovefools (BWWM)

1.

Saturday, September 28th, 1996

Dhakirah's P.O.V.

Of all the things I could be doing tonight, I'm sitting in a loud, crowded bar in Limerick. 'The Black Swan' is what it's called. I only tagged along with Caroline and Tanya because I didn't want to be alone.

Well, I ended up alone regardless because Caroline supposedly went to the restroom — about thirty or so minutes ago and has yet to return, and Tanya left the bar with some guy she was talking to.

I've been getting quite a few stares myself tonight, except they're all coming from the same person. They aren't looks of confusion or intrigue like I've gotten in the past couple of months.

It almost feels like he's admiring my appearance. When I waved at him earlier he quickly looked away from me and down at the table in front of him. I hope I didn't scare him.

It looks like the man he's sitting with is getting ready to leave. Maybe I could go over and meet him. I mean, it worked for Tanya, so why not me?

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Trevor's P.O.V.

The first thing I have to do when I see Joshua again is pay him back after tonight. I haven't seen my older brother since my birthday last month, I'm surprised he was even willing to drive down from Galway just to see me. Shortly after he left I began getting ready to go, too, until the worst thing that could ever happen to me decided to happen.

The woman from across the bar is walking towards me. I can either make a run for it to completely avoid this interaction, or I can stay and risk making a fool of myself.

You only live once, Trevor.

She's real pretty from a distance, but she's even more beautiful up close. She looked shorter from the other side of the bar, yet we're almost the same height. Either she's taller than the average woman or I'm shorter than the average man. Her plump lips are covered with black lipstick, and she has very voluminous black curls.

It's just hit me that neither of us has said anything to the other. "Oh, um, w-what's your name?" I ask in an attempt to break the silence between us. "Kirah. What's yours?"

Kirah. I like the sound of it.

I also wasn't expecting her to have an English accent. Her smooth, relaxed voice does help to calm my nerves. "You can call me Trevor. So, Kirah, I take it you're not from around here?"

"No, I grew up in London. My mum and I moved there from Ghana when I was a baby." She looks down at her hands then back at me, "I like your accent by the way, Trevor."

I stop biting the dead skin off my lips, "Thanks. I like yours, too." Neither of us really know what to say after that. A short, brunette woman comes running behind Kirah, completely out of breath. "Sorry to keep you waiting, I was fighting for my life in there!"

"Caroline," Kirah addresses the other woman, "I'm kinda busy right now, if you don't mind." Caroline looks up at me and is clearly embarrassed. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Have fun, Kirah. I'll wait for you outside."

"Yeah, you go do that– now, where were we? Oh, that's right, I was just about to ask if you had a cell."

"To do what with it?"

"To give you my number." Oh, that makes sense. "I have to go soon before my friend starts being annoying, and I want to see you again sometime." I take my phone out and let her use it, then she gives me hers to add my number. "Do you and your friend need a lift? I can drive yous home."

"Don't trouble yourself, Trevor. We'll just take the bus. Drive safe, hopefully I'll see you around."

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Dhakirah's P.O.V.

Caroline asked me for details on Trevor, but there really wasn't a lot to say. I'll just call him when we get back to our flat. I did make sure to throw in that he has a car — which is very important because none of us have a car, and I'm the only one with a license. Then she scolded me for refusing his offer to drive us home. He seemed really nervous, and I didn't want him to have a heart attack in case I accepted.

"Did Tanya ever tell us where she went?"

"Nope." I reply bluntly. Tanya always does this when the three of us go out together, that habit is part of the reason I didn't even want to go out tonight. "If you want to, we can go report her missing."

"Don't say that! She could be in real danger."

"Go look for her, then. If Tanya cared about her safety the way you do she wouldn't have ditched us in the first place." The rest of our walk is quiet.

I don't even know why Tanya came to Ireland with us, it's not like she's here for school or anything important. Caroline and I are both studying different branches of nursing, I'm doing General while she's doing Mental Health.

Upon reaching our front door, I quickly notice that it's unlocked. Which is odd because I clearly remember locking it before we left. Caroline and I walk inside, and she trips over a pair of shoes that were left in front of the door. Men's shoes.

I'm too tired to go check on Tanya — assuming she's even here — and instead let Caroline do the exploring while I go to my bedroom. As I'm drifting in and out of sleep my phone starts ringing. I take it out of my purse and answer the call. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kirah. Sorry if I called you at a bad time, I wanted to make sure you got home safely." Trevor sounds a lot less nervous now. I guess it's easier to be confident over the phone than face-to-face.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing grand, love." The way he called me 'love' feels, I don't know, 'special' compared to all the times Caroline has called me 'babe'. Both are terms of endearment, one from a friend and the other from a fella I met tonight. Why does the second one feel different? Maybe I'm over analyzing it. "By the way, are you busy next Saturday?"

"Hmm, well, you could keep me company during my shift tomorrow. I work at Golden Discs on weekends, the one on Cruise's Street. If your offer from earlier is still open, could you give me a lift after work?"

"Of course I could, Kirah." He sounds so happy when he says my name. "Thank you so much, Trevor. See you tomorrow, have a good night."

"Sweet dreams, love."

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