And then I figured that if I spent the remainder of the evening rambling about my failed, secret, life-altering affair with Connie O’Reilly, Julia McMahon would be well within her rights never to speak to me again.

So, I didn’t.

“We don’t have to talk about any of that. About Connie, I mean. I’m here with you, aren’t I?”

We caught the last train back at eleven-thirty and I offered to walk her home in spite of the rain, knowing that she wouldn’t say no. We chatted about the movie, laughed together about trivial little things that made no sense at all as two people on a date are supposed to, and when we reached her front porch, I tried to subdue the niggling sensation of déjà vu that pricked up the hairs on the back of my neck, and of the hazy memories embedded in the cracks of my mind of another night in a rundown alleyway beneath that same yellow moon, with another girl. And when Julia stole a quick glance around to make sure no one else was around I didn’t hesitate before surging forward to capture her waiting lips in my own, swallowing back my own doubts and protestations.

My lips found hers without any exertion at all, molding together almost perfectly. I kissed her, softly at first, and then with a swift gradation of intensity that made her cling to me. I cradled her face with one hand and let the other wound around her shoulders, holding her still against me. Her insistent mouth was parting my own shaking lips, recalling forgotten sensations I had been sure I would never come to know again, and when I felt her smile against my lips, I smiled back.

* * * *

I strolled out the back door of the gym, heading around the corner to the shaded area hidden away at the back of the building. It had been so long since I encountered anyone else hiding away back there before but I figured plenty of other students congregated in the spot to steal a fag away from prying eyes after school. Mid-day, however, the area was always empty. So, it came as a surprise to swing around the wall and find Connie O’Reilly sitting in my spot.

She jumped a little when I came into view but offered me a somewhat apprehensive smile all the same. Her jumper was scrunched up in a ball at her feet and her sleeves were rolled up and she didn’t have her school bag, I noticed.

“Oh,” she exclaimed in surprise as her voice trembled ever so slightly, “Hi.”

“Hey. I um—sorry, I didn’t realize anyone else would be here—”

“No, no.” She waved a hand, shifting a little further against the wall. “Are you mitching?”

“Maths. We have a test I didn’t study for.”

“Same. Well, biology.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my box of smokes, eyeing her carefully as I sat down against the wall a few feet away. “Not like you to not study for a test.”