“I’m pinching your guitarist for our own band,” Mike told me as we queued for snakebite.

“Hey,” complained Phil, their guitarist, behind him.

“He’s amazing,” Mike said. “His shredding is totally insane. Right, dude, we’re on next. See you later, girls.”

I waved Mike off as attractively as I could, wondering where Liam had got to, and wanting to look pretty if he was looking at me. As Jade and Sally chatted I could hardly listen, I was so hyper attuned to every movement of my face. We sipped our purple drinks and retook our places, my heart going berserk in anticipation for the next hour of my life. The lights went out again, the crowd cheered again, gearing themselves up for another orgy of musical violence. My heart slid into my stomach with disappointment. Where was Liam? Had he found another girl on his way to me? Jessica wasn’t here to take the shine off me, but somebody else might’ve done. Jade squeezed my hand, silently asking if I was OK. I gave a fake grin back, still aware of how my face might look if he was searching for me. Mike’s band started, with no semblance of difference from Liam’s, and the pit got even more dangerous now everyone was pissed. One guy was bleeding from the head, and even the cool girls didn’t go into it. It was all just loud noise and disappointment, until suddenly there was a soft whisper in my ear, and the fireworks of two hands around my bare waist. Liam was behind me, pressing his body against my back.

“I liked your dancing,” he said into my ear, with no hello, nothing, before placing his chin on my shoulder. It was such an escalation after only a few conversations in our English lessons, but God it felt good. He pulled me in closer, tugging me backward away from the crowd, into the dark. It was so up front, so sexy. “I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.”

Then, without fanfare, Liam spun me around, cupped my face and kissed me. My first ever kiss, with one of the most gorgeous boys I’d ever seen, who’d just been onstage. I panicked for about two seconds that I wouldn’t know how to kiss, but then got lost in it and how great it felt. He pulled me backward until we were up against a dark corner, and Mike’s set passed in seconds as our lips merged. At points, Liam would stop kissing me and gaze at my face instead. It was my first hit of feeling truly desired by a man, and I’d be addicted from that moment forth. No matter how well my life was going, my career was going, or my friendships, there would always be a hunger in me to be re-creating moments like this first one. The heady feeling of being admired, adored, touched, picked.