The Places I've Cried in Public by Holly Bourne

million trains could’ve charged past and I wouldn’t have moved a muscle,
as long as it ensured he actually kissed me. But he didn’t. Instead, he
reached out and took a plait from my hair, wrapping it around his finger.
“God, you’re pretty.”
I stood there, waiting for the kiss. Totally confused as to why I wanted
this complete stranger to kiss me, especially with Alfie back in Sheffield.
My hair rippled in the breeze and I started to shiver as I waited. He still
didn’t kiss me though. He turned and carried on walking out of the
alleyway.
“Tell me about your parents,” he asked, like we hadn’t just shared the
moment of all moments. “What do they do again?” And I had to scuttle to
keep up with him as we carried on our way home.
“This is me,” I said, when we arrived outside my new block of flats.
He pulled my guitar off and handed it back in a way that made our
hands deliberately brush.
“Can I take you out?” he asked. Again, just like that. Everything about
him was just like that.
“I don’t know,” I stumbled. “There’s someone…back home.” I’d
eventually remembered Alfie.
“You have a boyfriend?”
“No…well, yes. I did…”
“So you’ve broken up?”
“Yes, only a few weeks ago.” I nodded, feeling the grief arrive, though
it wasn’t as stabbing as it usually was. Because I was already interested in
Reese. A tiny piece of my heart had already been chipped off, ready to have
his name carved into it, leaving a little bit less of it to hurt about Alfie.
“It doesn’t have to be a date,” he pressed. “We could just get to know
each other? At the very least, I’d love to write songs with you.” He smiled
and it was the sort of smile that could be printed onto posters and sold to
hysterical girls to pin over their beds. “I thought I should get to you first,
after tonight,” he continued. “You’re going to be inundated with requests
now. But I get dibs, right? I noticed you first.”