by Kiki Archer
“That’s why they sent it over, because you’re mentioned several times. She’s truly sorry, Honey. Obviously it looks bad for The Beacon, their lead correspondent bringing their paper into disrepute, but apparently she’s said she’ll send it somewhere else if they don’t print it. She wants to make the grand gesture, the big public apology.”
“They can’t print it. No one can print it. I love her. Oh Liza, I want her. She’d do this for me? She’d really do this for me?” Honey was scanning the passages, feeling the sorrow in the words. “I want us to be together, side by side. People can’t know she’s the one who said what she said. I want people to love her, to see her, to see her like I did. Like I do. She’s wonderful, she’s sexy, and yes, she’s a little bit strange sometimes but I love that. I love her. Oh Liza, you have to go find her.”
“I can’t go and find her. You’re going on stage in an hour.”
“For me? Please, Liza, I don’t ask for much.”
“I can’t! I’ll ring the paper and make sure they cancel the story then you can call Meg after the show, make her see sense, show her she doesn’t need a public flogging because you’ve forgiven her.”
“I have forgiven her! Genuinely, right now, standing here, my heart feels full again. She’s given up her job, she’s changed her life… for me.” Honey spoke quickly. “Will they take her back? Call them, find out. She needs that job, she needs her independence. Even through all the moaning, I know she loves what she does.”
Liza took back her handheld, using it to call the number attached to the piece. “The signal in here’s just dreadful,” she said, speaking as firmly as she could manage. “Hello, it’s Liza Munroe. Yes, I know you’ve been calling. The piece, we want you to bin it. No, I can assure you it won’t appear elsewhere. Her job though, is that out of the question? What? She’s left? Where? Yes, you said, but… Right, I didn’t realise. And when’s she going? Okay, not to worry, thanks for your help.”
“What? What is it?” Honey was frantically pacing.
“Meg’s leaving the country. She’s making a fresh start some place abroad.”
“No! Liza, she can’t! That’s so ridiculous and clichéd.”
“People run.” Both turned at the sound of the door. “But I’m not running! Svetty!” she cried. “You’re here!”
The Russian woman bowed. “I heff no more confusions. I be loving of you.”
The brogues clipped. “You love me?”
“I be loving of you.” The nod was firm. “Our story heff ended.”
Liza raced over with wide arms. “You mean our story’s complete.”
Holding on to the chair Honey gasped. “Isn’t the happy ending meant to be mine?”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Despite the odds, the true professional in Honey had kicked in and she’d made it to the mid-point in her concert without so much as a tear. She hadn’t wanted to go on stage knowing Meg could be boarding a plane at any moment, all attempts to call her mobile met with an offline tone, her social media sites sending an awaiting delivery note back to Liza’s PDA. They’d even used Heidi’s FitBit to try and make contact, but as yet nothing had got through. The signal in the arena was notoriously bad and they couldn’t work out if it was a fault at their end or hers, and Honey, as much as she loved the idea of a mid-concert dash to the airport, was a realist. If it was going to happen it would happen when the timings were right. Maybe Meg did need this space. She’d contact her and let her know she was sorry, because she honestly was. She should have just sat down and talked without the entourage, without the flared tempers, just her and Meg, talking, and listening, and kissing… she smiled at the crowd, she’d missed the kissing the most.
“Are you ready?” she said to her fans, speaking softly into the microphone, her lips right up to the mesh, making each person in the starlit arena feel as if she was talking directly to them. “I have a new song. You might have heard it was coming.”
The crowd erupted into a frenzy of cheers.
“I want to dedicate it to someone special.”
The crowd cheered even louder.
Honey looked up and over her shoulder at the huge screen now displaying the sweeping faces in the audience. “I want to dedicate it to you,” she pointed her finger at a woman overcome with emotion and laughed at her wide-eyed wailing response, “and you,” she said to the young man now shown on the screen. It was a bit like a kiss-cam, cruising the crowd, picking out people, giving them something to remember for the rest of their lives. “It’s for all of you,” she continued. “This world’s a tough place, so be kind. Show support.” She smiled. “Support your friends, your family, those who are struggling, those who need love.” She lifted her arms as if drawing the crowd into her heart. “Because your support means everything to me.” The roaring response was emotional. “Just go out there and love who you love. Because I love you.” The camera started to sweep once more. “Yes, you.” She started pointing again. “And you.” She nodded with enthusiasm at the disbelieving faces. “Yes I do.” She smiled. “And this song is for you. And for…” Honey stopped. “GO BACK!” she screamed. “Quickly, go back!” She was waving at the sweeping camera. The image on the big screen jolted forward and backwards, the crowd going crazy as the cheering people came in and out of view. Honey turned her back on the audience and looked right at the screen. “STOP!” she shouted, waving and pointing with the biggest action she could muster. “This song… this song is for YOU!”
Focusing in, the camera momentarily picked up a woman before her face ducked away in the crowd.
“Get her!” cried Honey, swept along with the whooping. “Her! Yes, her! Bring her down here!” She watched with excitement as the woman was finally found and lifted high in the crowd. “I love you!” she shouted. Spinning away from the screen, she spotted the scene in reality about ten rows back. “Everybody, this is my girlfriend! This is the love of my life!”
The arena erupted into a wailing, stamping roar of support as Honey watched the lift turn into a seated crowd surf. Meg, her Meg, being swept to the front. “This is Meg! She’s the love of my life!” Taking the microphone off the stand, Honey raced towards the edge of the stage, reaching out her hand. “Take my hand. Hold it forever.”
The crowd melted into a sea of adoring whimpers.
Meg was bustled to the front but instead of climbing onto the stage she slid down, in among the people who were inches away from Honey’s feet. She looked up, eyes wide at the microphone.
Honey laid it on the stage and dropped to her knees.
Meg’s voice was quiet. “I’m just a fan. I’ve only ever been a fan. And I don’t even deserve that acclaim.”
Honey left the microphone where it was, speaking to the one person in the whole arena who mattered the most. “You, Meg Rutherton, are the reason I sing.”
“So sing.”
“To you, up here, in front of the world.” She reached out and caressed Meg’s face, as high behind her the gesture was captured and repeated on the giant screens.
Meg’s eyes turned to look at the huge audience and then up at the expectant faces and raised glow sticks relayed all around the arena in real time. “You want me up there?”
“I want you up here, by my side.” Honey smiled. “For the rest of our lives I want us singing together.”
“What if I pull you off-key?”
“You’re my harmony, Meg, my accompanying tune.” Reaching down, she found Meg’s hands. “Let’s rise together. Let’s show the world our true strength because nothing can break us now, Meg. We’ve been through all this and look where we are.” Feeling the fingers tighten around her own and watching the bravery build in the eyes, Honey let go momentarily and lifted the microphone. “Who wants to meet her?” she shouted. “The love of my life.”
The cheers were deafening as the glow from raised phones lit the arena, everyone desperate to capture this moment. “Let’s do this, Meg,” she said, reaching out once more.
Meg n
odded and lifted herself into the light. “Let’s change the world, Honey.”
“I understand now, that’s all you wanted to do.” The smile was wide. “But you have to admit, this way will work better.”
Meg laughed and lifted her hand, waving shyly at the cheering audience. “Hello,” she whispered.
Honey threw her arms around Meg’s shoulders and kissed her lips with true love. “Be you, Meg, just always be you.” Stepping back slightly, she lifted the microphone and signalled the start of the music, speaking her words for the world to embrace. “Love,” she said with true meaning, “is the worst thing to hate.” She smiled at the woman standing beside her and held her hand as the song started to play. “This one, my love, is for you.”
THE END
About the author:
Kiki Archer is a UK-based lesbian fiction novelist and winner of the Ultimate Planet’s Independent Author of the Year Award in 2013. She also received an honourable mention in the 2014 Author of the Year category.
Kiki won Best Independent Author and Best Book with Too Late... I Love You at the 2015 Lesbian Oscars.
Her debut novel, the best-selling But She is My Student, won the UK’s 2012 SoSoGay Best Book Award.
Its sequel, Instigations, took just 12 hours from its release to reach the top of the UK lesbian fiction chart.
Kiki topped the lesbian fiction charts in 2013 with her best-selling third novel, Binding Devotion, which was a 2013 Rainbow Awards finalist.
One Foot Onto The Ice broke into the American contemporary fiction top 100 as well as achieving the US and UK lesbian fiction number one.
The sequel When You Know went straight to number one on the Amazon UK, Amazon America, and Amazon Australia lesbian fiction charts, as well as number one on the iTunes, Smashwords, and Lulu Gay and Lesbian chart.
Her latest novel Too Late... I Love You has been her most successful to date winning the National Indie Excellence Award for best LGBTQ book, The Gold Global eBook Award for best LGBT Fiction and making that transition into the mainstream contemporary romance charts. It was also a Rainbow Awards finalist and received an honourable mention.
Novels by Kiki Archer:
BUT SHE IS MY STUDENT - March 2012
INSTIGATIONS - August 2012
BINDING DEVOTION - February 2013
ONE FOOT ONTO THE ICE - September 2013
WHEN YOU KNOW - April 2014
TOO LATE… I LOVE YOU - June 2015
LOST IN THE STARLIGHT - September 2016
Connect with Kiki:
www.kikiarcher.com
www.twitter.com/kikiarcherbooks
www.facebook.com/kiki.archer
www.instagram.com/kikiarcherbooks
www.youtube.com/kikiarcherbooks
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
About The Author
Novels by Kiki Archer