Se* & *rugs & Rock & Roll and Nursing

Chapter2

HAVING RETURNED TO SCHOOL NOT a virgin – I remained sadly single. All year I resisted the urge to brag about Becca – telling only my best pal Dougie. He had a girlfriend and wasn’t a virgin; he was jealous as f**k though. Especially when I told him the in-depth details of my s****l summer. The next season at the hotel, there was no one like Becca – un-f*****g-fortunately. Had a laugh though – and continued to make appearances at various dances across the island. My girl-attracting success was zero though – and it wasn’t for the lack of trying. By the end of my final year at school, I’d given up looking for a girlfriend. It wasn’t as if I was a desperate virgin. Desperate, yes. But not a f*****g virgin.

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The summer of ’81 was my last on Skye and something special happened. Memories of the night in question play like a movie. VHS with fuzzy tracking. What happened though, was as real as real could be. The memory, indelible, and stored in my heart locker. The Skyevers were playing at a Friday night dance in the Gathering Hall. I was feeling good as I wasn’t working the next day, standing in the smoke-filled bar – nursing a can of Piper Export. Someone nudged my back. I ignored it. It happened again; accompanied by a bum pinch. I turned. It was Katie Millar – a big smile on her face. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Katie was in the year above me and had left for Robert Gordon’s in Aberdeen. I’d had a huge crush on her since the third year when I saw her playing hockey against a team from Fort William. A bunch of us guys stood around the pitch, supporting our girls, and ogling them in their hockey skirts. Katie scored first, the crowd went mad – and my crush was born. She was f*****g beautiful. Shoulder-length dark brown hair and incredible hazel eyes. Her lips man... f**k. I day- dreamed about kissing them all the time. Beneath her school uniform was a perfect body – sporty and sexy. I couldn’t keep away from her. Drawn by an invisible force – a lust tractor beam. Her having a boyfriend didn’t stop me. I was hooked, totally. Any opportunity I had; I’d try to chat her up. She worked a Saturday job at the Caley on Wentworth Street. I’d meet up with Dougie and hang around Portree – spending an inordinate amount of time sipping milky coffee in the Caley so I could chat Katie up. She liked it – and I never overstepped the mark. Not until her final year – when I got her address in Braes and sent her love notes. Told her I would, and she said nothing – gave me a cute smile though. She wrote me back and though she didn’t say it, she hinted, big-time – she felt something for me. That was enough man – I was f*****g mad about her.

That December I bought her a gold necklace – sending it to her in a Christmas card. A few days before we broke for the holidays she walked past me in the corridor and gave me this look – heart-stopping. Her hand played with my golden chain – she wore it man. Forget cloud nine – I skipped to cloud ten.

At a New Year’s dance in the Gathering Hall, I saw her, no boyfriend, and I got her on the dance floor. The boyfriend was in Glasgow, visiting family. f*****g yes! We spent the rest of the night flirting, and occasionally she held my hand, briefly – and I don’t mean like a friendly touch. It was more – defi-f*****g-nitley. When the band announced the last dance – I was in the bog. f**k. After a quick hand wash, I ran like a madman – thinking she’d left. She appeared from within a mass of bodies on the dance floor, beckoning me. Like a lost pup, I ran to her. Man, how to put into words the way I felt as we danced. I’d danced plenty of slow dances be- fore – and you could feel they were friend-dances. This was different. We held each other that wee bit closer. She put her head on my shoulder. It was unbelievable. I could feel her heartbeat, I think... It might have been my own. Steering me to the middle of the floor, her eyes never left mine – surrounded in a sea of slow-moving bodies.

“Happy New Year,” she smiled.

Thought I was about to get a festive peck – it wasn’t. Her lips touched mine, her tongue probed my mouth. Fuck... My tongue reciprocated and for the rest of the dance – we snogged. Far too soon the band finished, we unlocked our faces, and the lights went up. She whispered in my ear.

“Happy New Year,” all breathy and f*****g sexy like. Man...

Leaving me on the dance floor, she walked away – turned round, and smiled.

“See you in school,” she said.

Fucking hell man. What the f**k just happened?

For months I survived on that kiss, and when the summer holidays arrived, Katie and her boyfriend prepared for Uni in Aberdeen. On the last day – I spoke to her. Wishing her good luck and all that shite – when really what I wanted to do was grab her and snog the f**k out of her. She squeezed my hand and walked towards her bus – couldn’t take my eyes off her arse.

Back in the Gathering Hall bar and those beautiful eyes of hers.

“Hello, Calum.”

I was thunderstruck.

Over a drink, we caught up. She was still with her boyfriend. f**k. He was at the Monsters of Rock concert at Castle Donnington. She was visiting her folks. We talked, laughed, and danced. We touched like we were lovers – not friends, her body awfully close. She held my hand and I’m not joking – I felt a current of electricity race up my arm and into my chest. Told her if she wanted to hang out with her friends it was ok – she ignored me and stayed by my side. We danced the last dance. Her arms wrapped round my neck – pulling me close, her head on my shoulder. We didn’t kiss. The music stopped.

“What are you doing now?” she asked.

“Need to find my lift back to Uig.”

“I’m staying at my cousin’s out on the Staffin Road. You could come back with me?”

Holy f*****g s**t.

“Ok,” I answered immediately. So what if I had to walk back to Uig? I’d done it before and found a lift. For Katie Millar – I’d walk all the way back to the f*****g hotel if I had to. Down by the Royal Hotel I waited – she wanted to say goodnight to her friends. I’d told the Hotel gang to leave without me. The night was warm – I felt comfortable in my Fred Perry. If it’d been sub-f*****g-zero – I would’ve felt comfortable. Nothing could stop me from waiting. Drunken bodies staggered past, a lot of singing and shouting going on. A scuffle broke out on Wentworth Street outside Cameron’s – two drunk guys fighting over a drunk gal.

Katie and her friends came down the hill. I tried to look cool and not drunk. I wasn’t steaming – pretty merry though. Her friends said goodnight, strolling off with knowing smiles. She asked if I was tired – of course I wasn’t. She put her arm through mine.

“Let’s go to the pier. It’s such a beautiful night.” It was.

If you asked what we talked about – I couldn’t tell you. She talked, and I listened to the sounds coming from her mouth. My brain goes foggy when I think about the words we exchanged as we meandered down Quay Street, towards the pier. It was deserted – the only noise coming from us and the water lapping against the pier legs. Hypnotic sounds of bobbing boats on the bay, a sea song. A scene from a love movie – me and Katie, the stars. We kissed. I opened my eyes to look at her; she was looking at me. Struck me to the core. I was the most important guy in the world. We were the only living couple on the Island, on earth – it was abso-f*****g-lut- ley brilliant. How long we stood, bodies tight, tongues and lips, I’ve no clue. Could’ve been a minute; could’ve been an hour – it was uniquely beautiful. I’d never experienced such feelings. Was this what love felt like?

“I’m staying at my cousin’s, not with them,” she smiled, her eyes scintillating.

“What?” I said momentarily confused in a love fugue.

“They’re on holiday in Portugal. Would you like to spend the night?”

The words left her mouth and hung in the air, fading to silence as they struggled to find a foothold in my brain. Time stood still – or at least moved in slow motion. My eyes glanced over her shoulder, across the bay – at the Black Rock, a white, pinhole-sized light shone, a dot on a turned- off TV.

It’s weird what you remember.

“Shall we go?” she said.

Back up the road, through a silent Bosville Terrace we walked – hand in hand until we reached a nice-looking modern villa, its outside light shining a welcome.

“This is it.”

She was quiet as she lead me upstairs into a bedroom – a corner night light illuminated us. We grabbed at each other like maniacs – fumbling and unzipping. She threw back the duvet with a smiled invite to join her. We had s*x quickly – we’d already had pier foreplay. Was over in thirty seconds, if that – I was too f*****g excited.

“How long have you thought about doing that?” she asked.

“Ever since I saw you playing hockey against Fort William.”

“That long, huh?”

She smiled and kissed my cheek saying, “We have all night and all day tomorrow.”

Snogging her like mad I explored every inch of her body. Won’t tell you how many times we did it. Will tell you I didn’t leave until five the following day and I’m happy to re- port that each time I got better – lasted longer. We slept, woke up, and made love, f*****g magic man.

What is it about time when you’re really enjoying yourself ? My time with Katie was over far too quickly. I had to get back to Uig – had work the next day. Five in the evening was a good time to hitch a ride. We dressed and walked to Somerled Square. No hand-holding, you know – just in case.

It was time.

Smiling with sad eyes, she squeezed my fingers, kissed my cheek, and said goodbye. I watched her walk away. She turned and walked back. Thought she’d give me a big good- bye snog – she didn’t. Told me she had the best night ever and would never forget it. I mumbled something similar.

The weather remained warm, and I decided not to thumb a lift until I was outside of Portree. Needed the air and time. I was in love – madly. A car picked me up, drop- ping me at the top of Earlish – loved that stretch of the road towards Uig.

I was king of the road. What a f*****g weekend!