“Wow, if you’re going to dress like that, we might not make it to the carnival. We might...”
“Shut up. You promised me a carnival and there’s no going back on that.”
I poked my tongue out at him and shoved him toward the door.
We walked together to the train station. It was only twenty minutes to the carnival grounds. The sun shone and Holden slipped his hand into mine as we walked. I squeezed it tight and we both turned to each other to smile, the memories of our younger selves floating in the air.
When we got on the train, two girls sat down opposite us. They nudged each other and giggled. I tried to ignore them but Holden smiled.
"Can we get a photo?" one of them asked.
Personally, I'd have told them to fuck off and stop bugging me but Holden agreed. They even asked me to take the photo for them. You'd think that would be enough. I mean, it was obvious that Holden and I were together and wanted to be alone but they kept asking him questions.
"I've loved you since your first album," the shorter one said. "I knew you'd be a star because you're so awesome."
The other one giggled. "She really loves you. I do too but she's obsessed. She wanted to get your name tattooed on her stomach."
"You could sign my belly and I'd get that tattooed there." She lifted her top to expose her stomach.
I put my fingers in my mouth and made fake gagging noises but the three of them ignored me while they hunted for a pen for Holden to use. They only had a ballpoint that wouldn't write on her skin.
Meanwhile, the train pulled up at our station. I stood up and grabbed Holden's arm.
"Oh, you're going to the carnival," the shorter one said. "So are we."
She nudged her friend which made it obvious that they hadn't planned on going there until they knew we were. "Maybe we could find somewhere that has a Sharpie so you can sign me."
The two of them followed us off the train. I waited for Holden to say something but he didn't. Screw that. I didn’t want my day ruined by a pair of tagalong groupies. It wasn’t even like they were silly teenagers with no sense. They were old enough to know better.
I walked off. If Holden wanted to hang around with them, he could but I didn’t have to put up with it.
Holden ran after me. "That was a bit rude, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, it was. They should've quit after they got their photo."
"No, I meant you. That's not the way to handle things. That’s not how I want people to see me."
I spun around to face him. "Did you want them trailing us all day? They weren't going to leave us alone."
"Yeah, but being snarky is not going to impact on you, is it? It's not like you're going to get people posting all over social media about what a horrible person you are. Well, you might after that but no one cares if a bar manager is bitchy."
I walked off, hands trembling.
He grabbed hold of me. "It's nothing but the truth."
"So, you're better than me now because you're a big star and I'm just a bar manager? I work hard, Holden. I might not have fans and groupies. And I might not make millions of dollars but I work damn hard and you should respect that."
I folded my arms and dared him to challenge me. I’d have no problem punching him if he said anymore. Fuck him, if he thought he could look down on me.
"Hell, I didn't mean it like that. I know you work hard but I don’t have the freedom you do. I just mean there is a way to handle these things. If you act the wrong way with fans, you can do a shitload of damage."
Just as he said that, a camera clicked nearby. Holden spun around and smiled.
I wasn't sure I could handle this but he put his arm around me and we walked on.
"Smile," he said in my ear. "I don't need reports of me having a domestic in the news."
"Maybe we should just go home if it's going to be bad for your image." I kicked the ground as I walked, dust clouds rising up.