For a little summer fun, my best friend Jade and I decided to go exploring Europe. We've always wanted to travel the world, and after this semester we had some extra funds. We decided to start off in England, a place we'd always wanted to go. Jade went in the 10th grade on a school trip, that I was too sick to go on, so she already knew her way around and places to visit. We had landed, napped, and got ready for our day. By this time it was about 6 P.M. in London. We were starving so we decided to go to a little pub for dinner and some drinks. We started out the night with a Jager bomb...my personal favorite. "Here's to a new adventure!" Jade said. As we clunk our glasses together, I noticed a tall, red-headed man walk through the door. He was a bit chubby, he had a nice ginger beard, a smile that could light up a room, and his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a button up flannel shirt, baggy jeans, and red shoes. I haven't seen a man that beautiful in ages.
"Ayyy Ed! Where have ya been mate? We've missed ya!" The bartender said, addressing him like he was a regular. "Waddup, Scotty! I've been around, the states mostly. But i'm home for a bit. I've missed you lads too. The states don't have pubs like this," the beautiful ginger responded. His voice was just as dreamy as the rest of him. He slightly turned his head, the light caught his piercing blue eyes, making me lose my breath. "Oh no, not already!" Jade said. I snapped out of my day dream, "I was just admiring the culture," I said with a light hearted laugh. We stayed at the pub for a few hours, drinking away. I went up to the bar, where Ed, the ginger, was still sitting. I was a bit wasted at this point. I was waiting to order some shots. "Hello," he said, with a shy smile. "Hi," I replied back with a school-girl giggle. "Oh! You're american! How're ya likin' it here?" He asked, excitedly. "I've been here for about 7 hours, and i'm loving it so far. The view I've had from my table hasn't been that bad either," I said, talking about him. Oblivious, he said, "Oh yes, London is quite a looker in the evening light, innit?" Scotty, the bartender, laughed, "I think she was talking about you, mate." Ed's face turned right, "Oh christ, thank you!" I laughed, "you're welcome, I'm Kelsey," I said. He smiled, "I'm Ed...Ed Sheeran." The name sounded familiar, but it wasn't ringing a bell. "Nice to meet you, Ed," I said, grabbing my shots from the counter and walking back to the table.
He kept looking over at our table, trying not to be noticeable, but I noticed. "Are you going to play us a little tune, Teddy boy?" Scotty asked him. He smiled, "yeah, sure." Ed walked over to a stand near our table, and started strumming on a guitar. He seemed to be getting lost in the music his fingers were playing. I walked up to the bar to get more shots, as I was waiting, I watched Ed play. "Amazing, innit? Lad's a prodigy," Scotty said, sliding me the drinks. "It is. He's really good," I said back, looking for more information. "hey, Teddy, play the girl a song," Scotty yelled out. Ed and I both blushed. "Sure, anything specific?" He asked. I smiled, "no, whatever you'd like to play." He smiled, "Cool, I call this song wake me up." He started singing, his voice was that of an angel. I swear I was in heaven. I was now sitting back at the table with Jade. "You're really good," I said as he ended. He replied with a gentle smile, "thank you."
I was in a daze, he was so beautiful. I looked at the time, it was about 3 A.M. Jade was practically falling asleep at the table. I paid the tab, "Nice to meet you," I said to Scotty and Ed. "You too," Ed said, with a lingering smile.
...
I woke up at about 9 A.M. the next morning. Jade was still dead asleep. I decided to walk down to a cafe, to get some breakfast. I found one down the street from the hotel, I sat with some Tea and a bagel. I then noticed a familiar face walking toward me, with a smile. It was Ed. "Hey, Kelsey, right?" He said smiling, in his thick british accent. "Yes! Hi!" I said, probably too enthusiastically. "Where's your mate?" He asked. "Ah, she's still sleeping. I'm an early waker. Figured I'd start my day," I replied. "Mind if I join ya?" He asked. "Sure, be my guest," I said with a smile.
"So, where in the states are you from?" He asked. "We're from New York," I explained. "That's one of my favorite places to visit, I tend to travel a lot," he said back, with a smile never fading from his lips. "That's nice, that's the goal for me someday. However, that won't happen until after I finish college," I explained, probably too quickly. He seemed intrigued, "What are you going to Uni for?" "I want to be a counselor. I want to help people," I explained. He smiled, "That's kind of what I do...just through music." "You are a musician for a living?" I asked, curiously. "Yep, been touring since I was 16 years old. I just got back from the states. I just released my first single to the states, and it's doing quite well. Doing some gigs around here, taking some time off," He explained. No wonder why he caught my attention. I've always had a thing for musicians.
"That's awesome, are you in a band or is it just you?" I asked. "Just me and my guitar," he said, proudly. I smiled, "You're going to be big some day." He smiled, true and proudly, "Ya think so?" I let out a little giggle, "I do, I really do." His phone then started to vibrate, "Excuse me for a moment, it's my manager." He got up from the table to take his call. After about five minutes he came back, "Sorry about that. I have a gig tonight, my manager wanted to make sure I didn't forget. It's at the pub, about 8 P.M. Love to see ya there." I smiled, "Yeah, as long as jade's down, we'll be there." I said. He smiled, largely, "Awesome, I'll see ya then?" I smiled back, "See ya then." Then I got up from the table and walked back to my hotel.
"Where the hell have you been?!" Jade yelled as I walked in the door. "I went to get breakfast, I ran into Ed," I explained. "The ginger from the pub?!" She asked, excitedly. "Yes, he is playing a show tonight. He wants us to come," I said. She smiled, "WE ARE GOING. I DON'T CARE. YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO MAKE GINGER BABIES." I laughed, "Okay, great, if you think so."
We got ready and walked around, shopped for a bit. Then we went back to the hotel at about 630 to get ready for the gig. I decided to wear a floral print dress, and some white sandals. It wasn't necessarily a clubbing outfit, but it was good enough. I threw up some lipstick, and touched up the rest of my make up and hair. Jade took a lot longer to get ready, she was determined to find someone to have sex with...that was her goal on this trip. Whatever floats her boat though.
We walked into the pub, and as soon as I opened the door, Ed came flying off his stool. "You made it!" He said, going in for a hug. I wrapped my arms around him, taking in his scent of cologne, and alcohol. "Can I get you a drink?" He asked. "That would be lovely," I replied. "What will it be, sweetie?" Scotty asked. "A jager bomb, please," I replied. Ed's eyes widen, "I don't know what I'm getting myself into, do I?" He asked. I wasn't quite sure what he meant by this, but Jade nudged me with her elbow. We all threw back our drinks, then Ed went up to play.
He played a song called, "You need me, I don't need you," and I was completely mesmerized. He was so incredibly talented. The pub was packed with teenagers. He played for about two hours, joking between songs. Then he took some pictures with some of the people that had came out to the show. He finally made his way over to me, "Did ya have fun?" He asked. I smiled, "Yes, you're truly incredible." Jade was wasted, she could barely even talk. "Is she alright?" he asked, concerned. I laughed, "Yeah, she just had a bit too much to drink." He looked at the clock, "Do you guys need to get going? I could walk you." I smiled, "Sure, that would be lovely."
We walked back to the hotel, just focusing on Jade getting to bed safely. Ed waited, as I tucked her in. "Want to go for a walk?" He whispered. I looked at Jade, already fast asleep. "Sure, why not?" I said.
We were walking down the brightly lit streets of London, his hands in his pockets. I took everything in. "It's beautiful, innit?" I smiled, "It really is. I've always dreamed of visiting, I never thought I'd actually be able to." "Is it all you dreamed of?" He asked, seriously. "It's so much more," I said, with a large grin, from ear to ear. "Good," he replied. We walked around, talking about every aspect of life for about two hours. Then we decided I should probably be getting back to my hotel. "Can I see you again?" He asked, as we arrived at the front of my building. "Yes, I'll be in London for two more days, then we will be moving to Ireland for a few," I explained. He looked bummed, "Dinner tomorrow night? Just you and I?" He asked. I smiled, "I'd love to." His face lit up, "I'll pick you up around 8." We then exchanged phone numbers. He leaned in and kissed my cheek, "Goodnight, Kelsey." I smiled, "Goodnight, Ed."