Brit and Ridden_A British Bad Boy Romance Novella

by Sophia Bond

  Chapter One

  Lily Eden stepped off the plane into the pouring rain. A friend warner her to bring an umbrella to Manchester, but she didn’t expect the weather to be this bad on her first day. She bent her head and lifted the hood of her jacket up. A stream of people headed from the plane to the airport gate a few hundred yards ahead. Men in bright orange rain gear were chatting and unloading the luggage from the plane. Lily glanced at them, amazed that they seemed unfazed by the torrential rain.

  She made her way through the maze of corridors in Manchester’s airport with her suitcase. She was jet-lagged and hungry and somewhat second-guessing herself and this entire trip. Lily cleared customs then dug her cell phone from her purse. The one number saved in her new phone was the only person she knew on this rainy little island.

  “I’m here,” she said with a forced smile. She was standing by the doors out of the airport, considering getting back on a plane to avoid the rain again. And to get some sleep.

  “I can’t wait to see you!” her sister screamed down the line.

  “I can’t wait to see you either, it feels like it’s been forever,” Lily said.

  “Two years! It has been forever!”

  “How do I get there?” Lily asked, finally stepping outside. Although when she did she saw the rain had abated a little, and it was now a fine mist. The sky was lightening a little as well. Maybe it wont be so bad after all, she thought.

  Lily pulled a scrap of paper from her purse and jotted down directions from her sister. She had to get on something called the Met, but she couldn’t see any signs for it. When she asked someone, they pointed her toward a set of rail tracks and a waiting bright yellow tram.

  Lily got on and sat down, she sighed and gazed out the window as the tram started to glide silently away from the airport and toward the city.

  It was her first time visiting her sister in the UK. Their father, English himself, always waxed lyrical about the British Isles, and Victoria, Lily’s older sister, had taken it all to heart. She had left the US at 18, choosing the UK for university. Cambridge to Lily’s Dartmouth. Both of them had British passports, Lily’s almost pristine, used for the first time not even an hour earlier. Victoria’s, however, was creased and worn, stamped to oblivion from her travels in South-East Asia.

  As the tram glided through the city she marvelled at how different it was to where she had grown up, to the rural Vermont town she had just left. The houses were red brick, snuggled close together, their back yards coming right up to the edge of the train tracks. For a moment the tram descended into a tunnel and then rose into the light again to join traffic on the street. She placed her head against the cool glass, weary after the long flight and eager to get into bed at her sister's flat and sleep all afternoon.

  She still couldn't believe she had taken the plunge and moved thousands of miles away from home. It was so unlike anything she had ever done in her life. Straight A student, valedictorian of her high school class four years ago, and then four years at Dartmouth. Not valedictorian, but an honor student nonetheless. And all without ever leaving New England. She was reminded of the times her friends would fly off to Miami or Cancun for spring break, bringing back stories of parties and drugs and hours of sex. Usually her spring breaks were spent at home under a blanket with a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Or, if she was pushed by her brother, skiing on Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine.

  Now, the crowded streets of a foreign British city made her long for the quiet solitude of Vermont. But she was here now, and she at least had to try it. She needed a change of scenery, and a change of pace. Especially since being in New England now just reminded her of what happened. Of her ex husband. Of the pain.

  A loud noise brought her back to the present and she looked out the window to see a group of men on motorcycles drawing level with the tram. They weren't the rumbling loud Harley type that her father had owned, briefly. They were fast, brightly painted, their riders bent low over the handlebars. She could see them laughing with each other, pointing, smiling. They were directly outside her window now and one of them came within inches of the tram. He met her eyes and winked at her, grinning. His eyes were a bright blue, his light brown hair cut short to his head. He kept eye contact with her and pulled the bike into a wheely with one hand on the handlebars. He balanced the bike easily, and looked completely natural. Despite of the cloudy, occasionally rainy, weather, he was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Lily's eyes were drawn to how he flexed his arm to hold the bike up. A black geometric tattoo snaked out of the edge of his t-shirt and down his arm to his wrist. She could see the black ink of another tattoo on his neck. Looking at him made her blush, but she couldn’t place why, just as she was about to turn away he blew her a kiss and put the bike back down on the ground. The tram driver blew the horn as he noticed the group of bikers, and then they broke away, tearing down a side street and away from the tram.

  Lily's heart was racing. Her eyes followed the bikes until they were out of sight and then she took in a shaky breath. The attention had rattled her. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so brazenly flirted with, if ever. Her cheeks flushed at the thought of it again, and she tried to push the feeling that she was ashamed from her mind. Like she didn't deserve to be flirted with.

  She pulled out her phone and sent a text to her sister. "We should go out for drinks tonight," her finger paused over the send button. While she was packing her bags she had made a promise to herself that this trip, this move, was going to be a new beginning. She was going to reinvent herself. That meant putting herself in uncomfortable situations. Going out drinking, even if it was with her sister, was an uncomfortable situation. She took a breath and hit send.

  A half hour later she was standing in front of a red brick building on the edge of a canal. The trees on the banks of the water were beginning to turn red and orange, a hint that summer was nearly over. It was the last days of August, and even though the sky had cleared and the sun was out, it was low in the sky and the air had a hint of chill. Lily rang the buzzer and her sister's voice answered through the intercom.

  "Lils?"

  "It's me," she said. An excited squeal followed and a minute later Lily saw her sister bound down the stairs of the apartment building through the glass front door. She opened it and hit Lily with a hug so hard that the pair almost fell to the ground.

  "You look amazing!" Victoria exclaimed, holding Lily at arm's length.

  "That's what divorce will do to you. Nothing better to do than join the gym," Lily replied wryly. Victoria gave her a sympathetic look, but it wasn't entirely honest. Victoria had never really approved of Lily's marriage. She always said Lily was too young, that she had never dated enough. It was true, she had never dated at all. She had married her high school sweetheart. In some ways it was quintessentially sweet small town America. In most other ways it was the biggest mistake of her life.

  "Let's go inside," Victoria said, grabbing Lily's suitcase and wrestling it up the stairs.

  The flat was small by Lily's standards, but she soon came to understand that it was large by British city standards. It had two rooftop terraces, one from the master bedroom and another from the living room. It was all windows, open and white and airy. And completely like Victoria. Completely unlike Lily, however. As soon as she stepped in she felt like she was going to make something dirty. She preferred fireplaces, and bookcases, and maybe even a little bit of dust. But she could see how this place suited Victoria, with her sleek bobbed black hair and pressed white shirts.

  "Your flat is across the hall," she said.

  "You own two?"

  "Michael b
ought the one next door last year so we could extend the kitchen. We took a pretty big chunk of it and incorporated it into the kitchen, but there's a cute little flat left. One bedroom, a small kitchen and living room. The basics. We rent it out on AirBnB now."

  Victoria's husband was an architect. Rising in demand and popularity recently, and Lily had a feeling, as nice as this apartment was, he had his sights set much higher.

  When Lily went into the flat it was cozy, comfortable, maybe not exactly what she would have chosen, but not as sterile feeling as her sister's.

  "It's beautiful Vic," she said, "I'll pay you rent..." when she had first told Victoria she wanted to move to the UK for work, she had anticipated getting a flat of her own. But now she was glad she took Victoria up on her offer for the flat.

  "Don't be silly Lils, you'll probably want to move out soon anyway! With me being so close."

  Lily flopped onto the bed in the bedroom and closed her eyes. She was weary from the flight, and needed a rest.

  "You take a nap and we'll go out for dinner in a few hours," she heard Vic say before drifting off to sleep.

  ***

  When Lily woke up she could see it was dark outside, and her stomach was rumbling. She got out of bed, showered, and put on a navy blue dress and cardigan.

  “Lose the cardi,” Vic said as soon as Lily walked into her sister’s apartment. “You’re going out, not to work.”

  “But it’s cold out there,” Lily protested.

  “Then we’ll take a cab. Ditch it,” she said, tugging at the cotton. Lily felt almost naked in bare sleeves, but she tried not to cross her arms uncomfortably as they sat in the bar waiting for their food to arrive.

  “You didn’t tell me why you decided to leave home,” Victoria said when their food and drinks had arrived.

  Lily sighed. Victoria knew that she and Dan had separated, but she didn’t know why. No one did.

  “I just needed a change of pace,” she shrugged.

  Victoria studied Lily and her eyes looked unconvinced, but she didn’t push the issue further. Lily’s thumb automatically went to her ring finger, an old habit she was finding it hard to break. When she felt uncomfortable she used to twist the ring with her thumb, making it circle her finger. Now the habit just made her even more acutely aware that she was uncomfortable. And also hurt.

  “Well, here’s to a change of pace,” Victoria said and smiled, raising her glass. Lily smiled back and sipped at her drink.

  “That,” Victoria said coyly, “does not look like a change of pace.” She got up from the table with a wink and sidled over to the bar.

  “What are you doing?” Lily called after her with a laugh. Victoria came back with a tray of shots.

  “Four?!” Lily cried.

  “Oh, stop. You’ve just eaten,” she said and raised one of the shot glasses while passing the other to Lily.

  Lily sighed and then drank the shot down in one. It felt warm, and almost immediately made her relax. She smiled at Victoria and grabbed the next glass.

  “To a change of pace,” she said, and drank back the second shot.

  After a few hours of drinking Lily could barely stand to walk to the bar. She and Victoria had spent the night reminiscing about their teenage years and were bubbly from laughing.

  “I need to go to the bathroom,” Lily said, standing up and trying to balance in her heels. She turned the corner toward the restrooms and nearly bumped into a man coming down the hall.

  “Sorry, love,” he said, steadying her by holding her shoulders.

  “It’s okay,” she said with a laugh.

  “Been having fun tonight?” he asked. His hands were still on her shoulders, and he lowered his face toward her ear so he could be heard over the music.

  “Yeah,” Lily replied, “I’m here with my sister.”

  “You’re American?” he asked, he pulled back and looked her in the eye. For the first time since he stopped her she really looked at him, and realised he looked familiar. Then she noticed the tattoo on his arm, and the one on his neck. He was the same man from this morning on the motorbike.

  “Yeah, I just got here this morning,” she said with a smile. He smiled back and leaned in to say something else but there was a shout from down the hall behind him. Lily looked to see a security guard marching toward them with an angry expression on his face.

  “Gotta go babe,” the man with the tattoos said and pecked her on the cheek before disappearing into the crowd. The guard pushed past Lily and scowled at her.

  When she got back to the table Victoria was waiting by the door. She could be fun, and always brought Lily out of her shell a little, but she had a tendency to be moody, and when she decided to go home her mind was made up. She had a sour expression on her face, and Lily knew the night was over.

  “I just need my jacket,” Lily said, gesturing to the table where her cardigan was draped over the back of the chair. Lily could tell Victoria was suppressing an eye roll so she hurried through the crowd.

  Back at the door Victoria led the way down the stairs, and suddenly Lily felt very unsteady on her feet. She was starting to regret those last few shots. She thought about taking her shoes off, but when she glanced behind her there was a group of people coming out the door and waiting for her to go down the stairs.

  “Hurry up, darling,” one of the girls said sarcastically, and the other girls in the group laughed. Lily felt her cheeks flush. Victoria was already halfway down the street trying to get a cab.

  Lily held the railing and stepped down, when she was nearly at the bottom, and feeling a little proud of herself, her heel caught on the concrete step and she lost her balance. Just as she was about to fall face-first on the concrete, a man stepped in and scooped her up, steadying her on her feet. He smelled like alcohol and cigarette smoke, and his grip was sure and strong.

  “Thanks,” she said, embarrassed. When she looked up she saw it was the man with the tattoos again. The group coming down the stairs behind her were laughing hysterically and heckling her.

  “Control your girlfriend, mate,” he said to one of the men in the group. Before the man could react, he led Lily away from the bar and down the street.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his arm around her shoulders. “You didn’t twist your ankle?”

  “I’m fine,” Lily said. “Thanks again, that was embarrassing.”

  “Nah, it happens,” he said. His eyes were a startlingly clear blue, and Lily found she could only look at them for a minute before breaking her gaze away.

  “I’m Jamie,” he said.

  “Lily,” she replied.

  “Cute name,” he grinned at her, and she felt her heart race the same way it had on the tram this morning. How is it possible she had met this same guy on her first night out? She was starting to doubt it was him at all.

  “Hey, can I give you my number?” he asked.

  Lily laughed. “You only just met me,” she said.

  “I know,” he replied, his face was serious, but his eyes were still playful.

  Lily took out her phone and handed it to him. He opened the notepad app and quickly typed his number in with his name, beside the words “saved ur life”.

  Lily laughed. “You didn’t save my life, that’s an exaggeration,” she said.

  “I did,” he protested. Then he bent down and kissed her cheek. She marvelled at the easy fluid way he moved. Self assured, confident. But most of all, cocky. She had only known him a few minutes but already knew she had never known anyone like him in her life.

  “Call me,” he said, and then walked away down the street. He took one look back, and then she watched as he got on a motorcycle, the same bright yellow one from this morning, and speed off down the street.

  Chapter Two

  “You’ve been staring at your phone for days, what’s wrong?” Jamie Nash was sitting at the table in the kitchen of his best friend’s flat staring at his phone cradled in his hands. His elbows rested on his knees and his legs were sp
layed out in front of him.

  “Just waiting on a call,” he said, and sighed, tossing the phone on the table with a bang.

  “From a girl?” Matt asked.

  Jamie laughed, “Yeah from a girl.” He placed his arms behind his head and leaned back with a sigh.

  “It’s probably not going to happen though, I should just forget it.”

  “Why not?”

  Jamie shrugged. “She was just a random girl on a night out, but I can’t get her out of my head.”

  “She hot?” Matt asked with a grin.

  Jamie laughed. “Yeah, but it’s not like that,” he said standing up. “Anyway, I gotta go. See you later,” he said, ambling out the door.

  For the last three days Jamie had done nothing but think about Lily, and he couldn’t put his finger on why. He didn’t usually have trouble with girls, when he could be bothered trying. But for some reason this one had stuck in his head. Maybe because she was different to the other girls he had known. Quiet, timid, the kind of girl he knew wouldn’t normally give him the time of day. He thought she might not be the snobbish kind. Might be different, but after three days and no phone call he was beginning to have second thoughts.

  He got on his bike and weaved easily in and out of traffic on the busy streets of Manchester. His neighbourhood was rough, a little run down. One of those places that was always on the news. The houses were small, red brick terraces, rows upon rows of them on narrow streets.

  He pulled up and parked in front one of the houses and sat for a minute on his bike. It was the house he grew up in. Now it was owned by someone else, a young couple with a toddler. He could see birthday balloons taped up to the window. He tried to think back to when he lived there if his mother had ever taped balloons to the window for him, to celebrate the day he came into this world. But the only memories that came were full of uncertainty and fear. He started the bike again and pulled away, wondering why he tormented himself by coming here. Wondering if the family who lived there peeked out the curtains and saw him. It’s a miracle they didn’t call the cops on him. That was the last thing he needed.