Chapter 3

 

One week later

 

That had been harder than Crispin imagined. Granted, it was a stupid, selfish thing to do. He should never have tried to sneak away without saying a proper goodbye. He couldn’t fight back the tiny smile, though, at the thought of Becky’s reaction. She had caught him in the driveway as he was loading his suitcase into the car. She had literally grabbed onto him and had refused to let him go until he had sufficiently reassured her of his return. Even then, she wasn’t quite convinced. Such a little dormouse, he loved the silly little twit. But then that was the whole point of him needing to get away from her. From her and his other housemates.

Regardless of their constant reassurances to the contrary, they would eventually move on. He had no interest in being the fifth wheel. Besides, he simply needed to step away for a while. Even if just to prove to himself that he could be alone and survive it. Yet no matter how much he tried to explain it to Becky, she couldn’t accept his viewpoint. She could not understand that sometimes, one must leave to find oneself.

Grasping onto the steering wheel, he focused his attention on the road. It was still rather dark, only five in the morning and it was raining heavily. At least, it wasn’t snowing. That would make the three-hour drive to the airport even worse.

As he drove he thought back to the day at the café with Gwen. He was glad to have come across her itinerary. What a godsend, that was. Before meeting up with her, he’d had no idea where to go. England. What a splendid idea. Especially for a Goth like him. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

He had even taken Gwen’s advice and had her friend, Stacy the travel agent, book it all up for him. The only thing he had to worry about was getting to the airport on time and catching the early morning plane to Heathrow. He hadn’t even bothered to study the details of the trip. He was sure he would figure it all out as he went. Besides, he had an eight-hour flight to read over the specifics of Gwen’s well-laid plans. If he found anything that didn’t interest him, he would simply skip it and spend the afternoon in a pub somewhere wallowing in self-pity.

He shook his head at the idea of Gwen going with him. What had she been thinking? They knew nothing of each other yet she had seemed so eager to come along. What an odd girl. On the one hand, she came across as nervous and tightly wound. On the other, she was ready to throw caution to the wind to go on a trip with a total stranger. She didn’t trust herself enough to go alone, yet she trusted him to be her travel buddy? It didn’t make any sense.

As cute as she was, her company at this moment was the last thing he needed. The whole point of this trip was to get away by himself, not play escort to a little mundane woman, as sexy as she was in her turtleneck sweater. Crispin gave his head a quick shake. He must be losing it for sure. Another reason to get out of town as quickly as possible. As it was, he had fought the urge to stop in and see her at the shop countless times this past week.

Of course, he would be lying if he said he hadn’t found her proposal flattering. Most people steered clear of him, especially those who didn’t know him. Given his apparent Gothness, most people tended to avoid him like the plague. As physically attractive as he was, he also realized his challenging personality often put off those who might venture close enough to realize he wasn’t the nicest guy in the world. That was just fine as far as he was concerned. He wasn’t looking to make friends.

Now, if it was a quick fuck she was after, he might have made an exception. Plenty of thrill seeking mundanes had come around and he had been all too accommodating in the past. But he could tell Gwen wasn’t that type, as much as he wanted her to be. In fact, he would love nothing more than a shot at her. Poor girl wouldn’t know what hit her. She obviously didn’t know who she was dealing with. With that lusty thought in his brain, Crispin turned up the radio and stepped on the gas. The sooner he left town, the better.

 

***

 

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather come with me and the girls to Cuba?” Stacy teased, already knowing the answer.

“Are you kidding me? After all this planning?” Gwen asked, looking up from her purse. She had just re-checked her plane tickets for the hundredth time. “Terminal One, please.”

“Yeah, I know. You forget that I’m the travel agent who booked your trip.” Stacy laughed as she approached the drop-off.

“Thank you so much for doing this,” Gwen said with a nervous sigh.

“It’s no big deal. Good thing our flights coincided. After I drop you off here, I go directly to Terminal Three for mine. Are you sure you don’t want to trade your tickets in for Cuba? Just say the word, I’ll make it happen.”

“Stacy, you know how long I’ve been wanting to go to England. This may be my only chance.” Working across the street from Stacy’s travel agency, was actually why they had met. Many times during breaks, Gwen had spent planning this very trip with her. Stacy was in her early thirties and had been a travel agent for quite some time. Plus, she knew all about her anxiety issues and understood why it had taken her so long to actually book the trip. Gwen would be eternally grateful to her friend for not teasing her too much about the reason behind her sudden courage.

“Just pulling your leg. But I must say, I’m quite impressed with your sudden spunk. Go figure, all you needed was a little incentive in the form a hot guy to get you off your butt. Mind you, he is gorgeous. Not my type at all, but I can see why you’re all worked up. He’s got that whole old world charm going on that you love so much. An old soul, I suppose would be the best way to describe him.”

“I know, right? He’s perfect…” Gwen sighed.

“Perfect? Well, now let’s not get carried away. But I can see why you would think so. And what better way to find out than to travel together? The only thing that worries me is, well, he was quite adamant about going alone. I mean, how much do you know about this guy? What if he reacts badly?”

“I don’t know anything at all about him actually, but this is a chance I’m willing to take,” Gwen said, suddenly not so sure of herself. She toyed with the little bracelet still on her wrist from when he’d first placed it there. She hadn’t yet taken it off. He’d said it belonged with her. Little did he realize that much like the bracelet, he belonged with her. He just didn’t know it yet. “I’ll simply have to convince him that having me along won’t be so bad. When I first offered to tag along, while hesitant, I’m sure I saw something there in his eyes. I can’t exactly explain it but I saw it. Anyway, it just has to work.”

“Of course, I’m sure he’ll get over the initial shock. I mean, really, who actually wants to travel alone?”

“Right, well, I just hope he doesn’t freak when he finds out I’m on the same plane, let alone sitting right next to him.” Gwen had made Stacy reserve the seat next to Crispin for the flight. She had even paid the extra charge to guarantee they would sit together. That’s when she would have to come clean and explain herself. As afraid of his reaction as she was, the fear of flying on her own was greater. Sitting next to him would be the only way she could get through the flight.

“And then some...” Stacy mumbled to herself. “Oh, I’m sure he’ll be thrilled. If anything, he’ll be flattered. Sometimes true love just needs a little push in the right direction. Besides, as eccentric as the guy seems, my gut tells me he’s exactly what you need. There’s just something about him. I can’t nail it down.”

“Really, you think so?

“Oh, yeah, trust me. I’ve set up my three sisters, and a cousin and they’re all happily married. If only I could do the same for myself.”

“Oh, come on, that’s crazy. But, wow, wouldn’t that be awesome?”

“It’s the truth, I am a matchmaker to be sure. Hey, maybe I should change careers. Better yet I’ll do both. Consider this a freebie, since you’re a special case.”

“Special case?”

“Well, only because technically you met him on your own. I only just enabled the love to bloom.”

“Love? Um, I mean I do fancy him, and, well, he is the embodiment of all my fantasies, but that’s not what this is really about. I honestly just want to go to England and if knowing I’ll be with him helps me get over my anxiety about travelling, then that’s all I can really hope for.”

“Whatever gets you through, Gwen. Now, I must say, as excited as I am, I’m also nervous for you, sweetheart. This is a huge step out of your comfort zone.”

“Trust me, I’m nervous too. I just hope I don’t lose it before even make it on the plane!”

“Gwen, we’ve been over this a hundred times. That’s the easy part. You’ll be fine. Just remember what we talked about. Simply follow the instructions I’ve written down. Basically, the secret to stress-free travelling is to give yourself plenty of time. We’ve arrived early enough to ensure that. So first, get through the check-in process. Then all you have to do is relax until it’s time to board the plane.”

Board the plane? Would she even get that far? “You make it sound so simple.”

“It is simple. That’s what you have to keep in mind. I’ve taken care of everything. All you have to do is get your suitcase and get out of this car. One foot in front of the other from there on.”

“Yes... you’re right,” Gwen said as she robotically got out of Stacy’s car and retrieved her luggage from the trunk. Rolling it up the sidewalk, she stopped in at the passenger side window and waved at her friend. Stacy gave her a brave smile then pointed her in the right direction. Before Gwen could change her mind, she drove off to find Terminal Three.