Heavy Hearts

by Kaemke, Kylie

  Adam was the typical boy next door; sandy blonde shaggy hair, piercing green eyes, tall enough to tower over Suzette, and built enough to put all the other boys in the locker room to shame.

  He handed us each a cup of hot coffee and kissed Suzette on the forehead. “Well, don’t you girls look comfy? Suze, you know we had our own room on the other side of the suite right?”

  “Oh, yeah… I don’t really remember even choosing. Certain events from last night are trapped in this haze” she explained. “Why are you so chipper? Shouldn’t you be hugging a toilet right now, you drank the two of us under the table.”

  “Control my dear… and greasy breakfast foods,” he uncovered a couple room service trays to reveal plates piled high with French toast, poached eggs, and plump sausages. Plus some colorful fruit that made my mouth water.

  After gobbling down my meal I was feeling better and a shower was needed to wash away any excess grime and hangover. The water felt so nice on my skin that I never wanted to get out.

  The bathroom door was slightly cracked open and I could hear Suzette’s cackling, most likely Adam was tickling her, which was the only time she would ever laugh so hard that she began to snort wildly. I thought of the two of them and the love that they shared and I stood there under the scalding water thinking how alone I had been lately. I knew that I was only freshly eighteen years old and I had plenty of time for love, but since Finn I hadn’t even been on a date… that was almost a year ago now.

  He was the very first love of my life, but I needed to move on; after all… he did. What I needed was to get out there, find someone, and fall in love a million times over. I thought to myself: I’m young and in London, and I shouldn’t be sulking in the shower, I should be out there right now making memories that I would never ever forget.

  I emerged from the bathroom, smelling like mint and ginseng, wrapped in a plush blue cotton towel and the happy couple turned to me and let out a few cat calls. I walked into the closet and tossed the towel on the bed as I hid behind the door smiling at them as their calls got louder. As down as I could get when I was with them, and that green-eyed monster started to show, they always knew how to get me to smile again, and it cheered me right up.

  The three of us were back in the bed again, only this time we were all lying under the covers. We decided to stay in the room the rest of the day and get back all our energy to have an adventure tomorrow. We talked all evening about our futures, what schools we wanted to attend, what careers we wanted; just life in general. It was nice.

  The two of them would be off to Yale University in Connecticut after that summer. They had both received full academic scholarships; although all our parents have enough money to be able to send us anywhere, but it was that sense of pride you got from winning a scholarship that was the reason we all fought so hard for it. I received a full academic scholarship to New York University, my dream school. Suzette would study to be a writer, like me, and Adam strived to be the next best defense lawyer just like his father and grandfather. Parting was hard, but we remained close friends.

  That was the real reason we were on that trip. Because we knew after the summer was over, and we all had to return to our lives of academia, that we wouldn’t have much time for friendships. So I had to fill them in on my plan to find a beautiful English boy that I could fall in love with for the summer so I could get a little taste of what they had, even if I knew it wouldn’t last.

  “Are you sure you want to do that? I mean what if you seriously fall in love and have to choose between NYU and a guy?” It wasn’t hard to tell that Adam was worried. He always had that overprotective big brother thing over me… sometimes it could get annoying.

  “Well, if I completely fell head over heels, and I was one-hundred percent certain that he was my one and only, then yes. I would figure it out. But I’m just looking to have a summer fling.” I tried to explain myself, but I could see the disapproval in both their eyes.

  Adam began another sentence, but Suzette chimed in before he could speak, “cause that worked out so well with Finn.” She was right, my summer with Finn was magic, but it came to an end and she was the one that was there to put me back together when my entire world shattered into a thousand pieces.

  “Yeah, I know, but Suze this time will be different. I’m going into it knowing it can’t last. I’m not going to let myself get as attached. Finn left under horrible circumstances and I didn’t know how to handle it. You really can’t compare the two situations.” I pleaded with them to just go with it, and I finally got them to agree. I knew the risks, I knew the chances, but I also knew what I was doing… or at least I thought I did.

  “That settles it; tomorrow we hit the streets of London to find Miss Lucy Whitten a strapping young bloke!” Adam said in what could be the worst British accent I have ever heard, but I was enjoying his enthusiasm.

  Chapter 3

  The next morning I woke up alone. Suzette made it to her own bed with her own beau last night leaving me feeling a little empty. But that morning I was confident and excited. Adam’s words spun around in my head and I was glad to have been able to get them on my side.

  I climbed out of bed and slipped into the soft pink slippers at my bedside. Before exiting my room I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and turned back. I somehow seemed different. I didn’t know if it was the London air, or my newfound look on life, but I appeared healthier.

  My brown locks were bouncy and created the perfect waves that fell right in between my shoulder blades. My skin was incandescent, but in a good way, like glowing porcelain. I had never been the tallest thing, only about five foot six; mostly legs. Pretty average, but I was not complaining. Running track in school always kept my body thin, but a fit kind of thin with definition.

  I examined my face which at the time seemed flawless. I had always been lucky enough that I never had very much acne, so I rarely wore any kind of foundations or powdered makeup. I pulled a tube of mascara out of my purse sitting on the vanity across the room and glided the brush over my lashes, making my eyes shine the brightest green they had ever been. I rubbed some light red lip stain over my pudgy bottom lip and smacked it against my thinner top lip. My intrepidity was really showing through, and I loved it.

  After dressing in a cute little black sundress that stopped right above my knees, I slipped on some black and silver gladiator sandals and headed out of my room over to Adam’s and Suze’s. I froze in my tracks though when I could hear the faint noises of passion bleeding through their door and I decided to just start my day without them. The three of us had been together since landing; I thought it would be nice for them to have some time alone. So I grabbed my laptop and decided to go find a small café to sip some tea and polish up a short story I had begun working on pre-London.

  Being alone in a foreign city I decided it was best to hail a cab. When I asked the driver to be taken to a quaint café he knew just where to bring me. Soon I was dropped off in front of an adorable little place called Café Chutney in Covent Garden. There was plenty of open seating outside, but I wanted the coziness of the indoors. I ordered my tea and found a seat on an ornate black stool with a soft red velvet topped cushion.The place was pretty crowded, but I was able to find a nice spot in the corner all to myself. I booted up my laptop and began to edit.

  Everything about that place was overwhelming. From the smell of cinnamon in the air to the stunning Indian paintings hanging on the walls I felt so relaxed, soon I found myself sipping on my third cup of Earl Grey Tea, and almost an hour had passed. As the waiter poured my tea I saved my work and pulled out my camera's memory card to upload some of the pictures we had taken so far.

  Now, I had never been very handy with a computer, but I can say that I had uploaded upwards of a thousand photos before; so to this day I have no idea what went wrong.

  The transfer between the SD card and my laptop was almost complete, and then everything went blank. I did the one thing that I could think of, which was pr
ess the power button… repeatedly, but that did nothing. I could hear the buzzing of the computer, but nothing was registering besides an empty black screen that seemed to be laughing at me.

  “Come on you piece of shit!” I grunted a little too loud. Immediately I was embarrassed and lowered my head to hide my shame. I was just about to give up and toss the computer right into the road, but that was when he tapped me on the shoulder.

  I turned around to see the most handsome man I had ever met. His deep set eyes were the color of the most decadent milk chocolate underneath his dark eyebrows. His olive skin was too light to be called tan, but too dark to be considered pale. With slightly parted full luscious lips placed nicely over his rounded chin he spoke to me.

  “Excuse me miss, but did you need some help?” He inquired with a divine British accent that made me weak in the knees, good thing I was already sitting.

  I must’ve looked like a fool staring at him, but how do you respond to someone so superior standing before you, like a perfect sculpture? His body was impeccable and I caught myself looking him up and down. Scoping out the tight blue jeans and black t-shirt he was sporting, simple yet sexy. I tried to focus on the task at hand, which was answering his question before I spent more time looking like a halfwit teenage girl.

  “Um, yes… yeah. My computer. I’m not sure what happened, but all I was trying to do was upload some vacation photos.” I wanted to mention I was on vacation right from the start so he wouldn’t have to wonder if I was just some dumb tourist.

  “May I?” He asked. I leaned away from the computer and turned it toward him gesturing with my hands that it was all his. It was an honor to have such gorgeous fingers, attached to what appeared to be the softest hands on earth, brush up against the keys of my laptop; because I knew I would touch those very same keys later on.

  He took a pair of thick black horned rimmed glasses, which were perfectly nestled in his longish messy brown hair, and safely placed them over his eyes on his slightly narrow face, so he was no longer squinting. The glasses’ stems rested nicely on his adorably large ears – not like Dumbo big, but these ample ears that I had to resist nibbling on.

  His fingers swiftly clacked against the keys; his thumb gliding over the mouse pad like it was all second nature to him. I was amazed by the fact that he was actually sitting there, right within my reach, that I didn’t even see what he did to the computer, but after just a moment it had re-booted and he began to upload my pictures for me.

  “Here we are, good as new then,” I never wanted him to stop speaking. His accent was mesmerizing. Not too harsh like some English men, but just enough to make you swoon.

  “Thanks, I mean it. I was honestly about to chuck the thing in the middle of the road if you hadn’t come to my rescue.” I had to keep him talking to me, he could be my summer romance - he could be my forbidden foreign love.

  “Well now, we wouldn’t want that would we? Might cause a wreck out there. Then the people of London would really have something to whine about ya yanks.” His smile complimented his beautiful face as it revealed his perfectly straight ivory teeth. “I can see it now on the front page of tomorrow’s news ‘Barking Mad Women Causes Car Crash in Covent Garden’” he was trying to make me laugh, and it was so working. We shared a quick laugh but then it was back to one of those painfully awkward silences in just a moment’s notice. One that left me twirling the end of my hair around my forefinger and nervously biting me lip.

  “Can I buy you a drink to say thanks?” It was pretty imperative at that moment that I needed to keep him around me. I needed to keep him talking to me, and what I really needed was to take him back into the bathroom and do things that I shouldn’t even have been thinking about. I was so taken in by his looks, his speech, and his ability to help out a girl in need. I couldn’t let him go just yet; I had to at least find out if he had a girlfriend.

  “I would indeed love nothing more than to get a drink with you right now. Whatcha drinkin? I’ll get us some refills.” He quickly grabbed ahold of my cup and headed over to the counter. I smiled and told him “Earl Grey” and he returned a warm smirk. I turned back to my laptop while he got us fresh cups of tea and I promptly shut it down so I didn’t mess anything up again, then stowed it out of the way.

  “I’m Simon by the way, Simon Basford.” Even his name had sent shivers down my spine, Simon Basford, the only way it could’ve been any hotter is if it was actually James Bond. But Simon would do just fine.

  “Lucy, Lucy Whitten.” I said as I extended my right arm out for a handshake, embarrassed when I realized he was still holding both our cups. He set them down as I began to lower my hand, but he grabbed my fingers as they descended. Bringing his lips down and my hand upwards he planted a soft kiss and nodded his head. His strong hands were just as soft as I’d hoped they would be.

  “Pleasure to meet you, Lucy Whitten.”

  ****

  We talked for what seemed like hours, but when I glanced down at my phone it had only actually been about forty minutes. He spoke of his home in Southwark and he asked me about my home in New York, and my current vacation. I felt like after the short amount of time that we had spent together I had learned every detail I needed to know to prove he was going to be my summer love, and quite possibly the love of my life. But I just needed to know if he felt the same.

  “Did you need to be somewhere? You’ve looked at your mobile a few times now like you’re running late or something.” I could sense a hint of sadness in his voice and it made me grin wildly as I shook my head no and nervously bit my bottom lip.

  “No, no. I’m just waiting for… or no… actually, to be perfectly honest, I have no idea why I keep checking my phone. Usually I have so much going on that it’s constantly buzzing. I forget I’m on vacation sometimes.” I told him, releasing my lip from its ivory restraint.

  “Well, maybe we should toss that bit in the street then ya? Whadd’ya say?” His smile was so unbelievably spectacular and infectious. I grinned just as wide and stuffed my phone back in my bag choosing to ignore it for the rest of the time he had me under his spell.

  “Sorry, I’m done with it. Promise.”

  His face dropped, looking down at his lap, and I thought to myself ‘this is it, he’s leaving me now, forever’ but he let out a small sigh, and locked eyes with mine once more. He swallowed hard, and I could see his Adams apple bob up to right underneath his chin, and back down again. His gaze made me feel on edge and I couldn’t help but squirm in my chair wondering what could possibly be going through his mind.

  “Listen,” he began. “I am really beginning to like you, and I know you’re here with your mates, but would you do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner this evening?” His words put me into a shell shock. I couldn’t do much of anything but stare, smile, and bob my head wildly in agreement – much like a broken bobble head. There may have been some drool, but don’t quote me on that.

  “Brilliant” he exclaimed. “Can I pick you up around eight?”

  “Eight sounds lovely” I smiled awkwardly. My face must have looked like one of those terrifying clown sculptures that gray-haired ladies liked to collect, but he didn’t seem to mind as his eyes sparkled while he charmingly smiled back at me.

  “What hotel are you staying in?”

  “The Savoy” I said, but he had a puzzled look as he stroked his beautifully sculpted chin. “The big one over on Strand.”

  “Yea.. yea I know the one you mean. Fancy schmancy hotel you’re in. Are you some yank celebrity that we’ve yet to hear of across the pond?” I could hear the sarcasm dripping in his voice, but part of me wondered if he now thought I was too good for him or something; but it was actually the other way around. He was the perfect balance between jock and nerd. Smart and classy, but a smokin’ hot body, and the cutest face. Me on the other hand, I was nothing special. Just a born-rich girl from the States. What would I have to offer him? I thought. But I wasn’t going to think like that. I had a bad habit of
putting myself down and I would always end up screwing things up somehow. He wanted to take me out, he had his own reasons and for the time being, I didn’t need to know them. My plan was to relax and let things happen as they were going to happen and not be a typical insecure girl.

  “No celebrity here. Just a normal boring person.”

  “I doubt that very much.” He smiled once more, forcing my cheeks to turn pink.

  “Well, Lucy Whitten, I will pick you up from The Savoy at eight o’clock sharp and I’ll show you London’s true beauty.”

  “Sounds lovely, I can’t wait” … is what I wanted to say, but instead I replied with a quiet “Okay” and I watched him walk out of the café. He turned his head right before walking out and looked at me, I was still gawking, and he blew a kiss my way.

  Chapter 4

  I sat on the stool for what felt like days. Taking in the events that just happened and listening to the fading noise of the crowd. Soon I felt alone, like I was the only one in the room and not a damn thing mattered anymore. I needed to remember everything about that afternoon. His smell, like fresh air and something sweet… ginger maybe? The feel of his touch as he kissed my hand, equivalent to running my fingers over silk, but with a sweet shock of electricity surging through my body. The sound of his voice as he uttered my name; no one can make a simple name sound like heaven but somehow he did. And who could forget those eyes? Those composed mahogany dreamy eyes that stared into my soul and seared straight through me; I could see - Okay… I’m beginning to get cheesy now so I’m going to quit while I’m ahead.

  Anyway, I waited in the café for a few moments, not wanting to rush out of there like a bubble-headed teenage girl who just got asked to the prom by her high school crush. So I waited until I knew he was far enough before I got up and left.

  ****

  I got back to the hotel as quick as I possibly could, eager to tell Suzette about my encounter. But apparently I should’ve checked my phone at least once because I had some very worried friends waiting to bombard me with questions when I got back.