August

Chapter Two

It kept going on for four days, them meeting at the bar, her asking for his next destination, him explaining his trip before leaving. She kept thinking about it, why couldn't she just enjoy her vacation? She started imagining all the beautiful places he went to, seeking pictures and taking notes to visit them too once she would have gotten the bike. Her days felt suddenly boring, she spent her time on the beach, taking a walk and that was pretty much it. Knowing an option she didn't think about made her want to add some adventure to her trip. Maybe she should have accepted his offer to go with him, he wasn't pushing her and he seemed nice... she realized she didn't even know his name.

"You're not gonna jump on some stranger's motorbike and ride with him toward an unknown destination" she said out loud that night in bed, as her statement would have been more convincing in that way, covering herself with the blanket.

But why not? She wanted to have her life back, she wanted to be the same carefree woman she was before getting kidnapped. Eight years before she liked to take every kid of risk, she had always been an adventurous person, and in that moment that aspect of her life was the one that she missed the most. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all, she could try to have maybe an afternoon with him in a crowded place and see if she could trust him... like he would ever try to kidnap her in a place full of people, it was obvious that he would have waited. Honestly she thought she was overreacting.

"No one is trying to kidnap you Emily" she whispered in the silent room, trying to make herself sure about it.

She closed her eyes with the intention of asking him the next day where he was heading to and then decide weather to ask him if she could join or not. Unfortunately when she placed her towel on the sand the next morning and headed toward the bar, he wasn't there. He might be late, she thought, waiting a bit wouldn't ruin her day for sure. A bit turned into an hour and she decided to head back to her towel, eventually spending the day taking a walk and tanning. She had eyed a pub the previous night that she wanted to try, she craved a good beer and what a better opportunity to get one than a pub? Plus, she had no where particular to go to.

The place was packed, there were way more people than she thought there would have been. She usually didn't like crowded places anymore but she felt safe enough to enter it, she knew she was taking little steps but she was proud of herself. As she had been thinking since the start of that vacation, it was time for her to take her life back. It wouldn't have been easy, but if entering a crowded pub was the beginning, she would have complimented on herself for doing it. She asked the waiter for a beer as he approached her table and her eyes started wandering around. There was a group of teen in the corner, way too young to drink something alcoholic, but she could spot a couple of soft drinks on her table, she remembered how she used to ask her older friends to order something stronger for her or to buy drinks at the parties because she was too young to do it, damn time was really flying.

Her eyes shifted to the people sitting at the bar, drinking something quick before exiting or just sitting alone; it was in that moment that she noticed it. She spotted a woman with curly light brown hair and in front of them she saw him. He wasn't out of town then, maybe he didn't come that morning because he took a break, who would have known. But now there he was, sipping his drink and looking confusingly at the woman in front of him, it looked like he wasn't having such a good time after all. He was wearing a navy blue shirt, unbuttoned just a bit more than it should, a pair of white jeans and she figured out he was wearing a pair of snickers, she couldn't quite see them. His hair was messy, his beard a bit shorter, he must have cut it to make it look more shaped, or maybe because he just wanted to. She soon found his eyes looking back at her and she immediately lowered her gaze, he might have noticed she was staring at him.

"Is this chair free?" he suddenly asked, making her look up at him.

"Yeah, you can take it to another table if you want" she had to play it cool, thinking he might need a chair for a third person he was waiting for.