As Abby and Alli walked down to meet Kristopher at The Pier, Abby took in the day she’d had and the day that seemed to be finally turning around. She loved it down here along the beach, not that she was heading back to the water any time soon, but the weather was perfect, and the sun was warming the mild day just perfectly. It was right then Abby’s day brightened a little more when she saw Kristopher. He was scanning the light afternoon crowd, searching. Abby, hopeful he was searching for her, doubting herself for a moment, until he turned and saw her. When he beamed a smile that could light up the dimmest day, it made her heart skip a beat. His smile was contagious, she couldn’t help but smile back, she almost felt ridiculous, she was sure she’d never smiled with such enthusiasm in her life.
Meeting out front of the restaurant, they went in and were seated at a table outside under a shady umbrella. Light conversation began, even Alli had a lot to say, well, ask! Abby took in the passing foot-traffic, this was a popular spot for locals to walk their dogs and tourists to take advantage of ride-share bikes and scooters. Orders for lunch were placed and their drinks arrived. Abby watched as a small group of teens rushed by on skateboards, you couldn’t help but watch their finely tuned skills, it made for quite a show. Without warning, one of the teens bumped hard up against the rail that boarded between the crowd and the outdoor seating at the restaurant, right next to Abby. She was startled to say the least, she almost tipped over her entire drink and nearly jumped right out of her chair!
“Hey Dad! Watcha doin’?” the teen was quite loud and almost in Abby’s face! The teen was looking right past Abby to Kristopher and as she turned to Kristopher with confusion, Kristopher replied, “Michael…”. There was a pause before he continued with, “This is Abby and her daughter Alli. We’re just out for lunch. I see you and the boys are enjoying your Thanksgiving break. Abby, Alli, this is my son, Michael.” And as Michael was introduced, three more teen boys rolled up and said hello to Kristopher, all calling him ‘Mr. F’. “And these are his friends, Terrance, Mark and Phillip”. Abby greeted the boys with a ‘hi’ as Alli sat quietly and said nothing. To make up for Alli’s silence, Abby noted, “Fantastic moves on those boards boys!”.
“Woooow! You from Australia, right?!” exclaimed Michael. Where Abby was from had never come up in conversation with Kristopher, he’d never asked, she just assumed he could figure that out for himself given her obvious accent. She told Michael he was correct, and he responded with another, “Woooooow! How long ya here for?”. This was another subject Abby had not discussed with Kristopher, but to be fair, she only met him about eight hours ago!
“We’re only here for a couple of days and then heading for New York, followed by Rome… and a few other places”. As soon as Abby heard herself, she cut her vacation announcement short. She was now feeling a bit uncomfortable, especially when she saw the look on Kristopher’s face. She wasn’t sure if it was disappointment, displeasure, shock or submission, or, all of the above? He had to have factored in that Abby was not from around here and she was going to have to go back home at some point, surely? Clearly Kristopher chose to change the subject. “Are you and your friends still having that party tonight?”.
Michael exclaimed, “Hell Yeah we are!”. Worry and dread came over Abby with Kristopher’s next words. “Why don’t you invite Alli to join you? She’s your age. The girls will be there I assume?”. “Yeah, that’s cool, Mia, Taylor and Britt will be there. Hey, I’ll go get them and introduce them to you Alli!”. Alli looked a bit worried herself and only offered a shrug of her shoulders. With Kristopher’s sudden change in his facial expressions, hearing only a little of Abby’s travel plans, Abby was choosing to believe Kristopher was after any excuse to palm Alli off onto someone else so he could discuss Abby’s lack of forthcoming travel details, alone. All four boys took off and Kristopher began to give details of the party and how Phillip’s parents were hosting. Kristopher assured them both, the boys they just met, and the girls were good kids and have spent months taking their studies seriously. He trusted all of them and praised their efforts as well as their maturity.
“I don’t know mum, I won’t know anyone”, she said quietly to Abby. The boys were back quicker than expected, with three teenage girls with them. Michael did the introductions and as they were still waiting for their lunch to arrive, the girls encouraged Alli to ‘escape the adults’ and ‘hang out’ for a while. Although reluctant, Alli accepted and went with the girls to a nearby grassy knoll, the boys followed. More dread hit Abby. She was alone with Kristopher, what was he going to say to her? She didn’t look at him, she couldn’t, she already knew what she’d see.
“When do you leave L.A?”. Kristopher’s question was not demanding, more, matter of fact. Still not looking at Kristopher, Abby replied, “We leave the day after tomorrow”. There was definitely an edge of sadness in Abby’s voice, she hoped there were no further questions to answer… but hope had no place here, the questioning continued.
“Where are you going?”, “How long are you gone for?”, “Are you coming back here?”. The questions just kept coming. Abby had been planning this trip with her daughter for months. For the next seven weeks, their plans were taking them to many destinations, some Abby had been before, some new. Abby loved to travel and had been looking forward to this trip with Alli for a very long time. Spending Christmas and New Year outside of Australia would be a first for them both and Christmas Day would be spent with family in Scotland. Abby did her best to answer Kristopher’s barrage of questions and tried to not feel a rush of guilt. She was starting to have some strong feelings for Kristopher, and she was beginning to realise this was not a good idea. She likely would never see him again. A sadness pulled at her emotions. With what was left of her drink, she stirred the remaining liquid with a straw as she watched condensation drip down the glass. It was like watching tears she was holding back. She ran her finger down the glass, forcing a buildup of moisture to collect and rush down the glass. So distracted by her feelings that were eager to overwhelm her, she didn’t hear Kristopher anymore.
“Abby…” She barely heard her name. She had become almost numb and was unaware of anything happening around her. Even as Kristopher touched her hand that was still tracing droplets of water together on her glass, she was unresponsive. “Abby…” she felt a light touch to her chin and the encouraging motion for her to turn to Kristopher. Her vision was becoming impaired by the small well of tears forming. She had no business becoming so emotional, she tried to inwardly reason with the betrayal of tears that were teetering on the edge of cascading. Ignoring her emotion that was starting to show, she dug deep and found a little bravado. She thought the effort was quite convincing! She looked at Kristopher and put on a brilliant performance of self-assurance. “Yes Kristopher?” she asked beaming with confidence.
“This may seem an odd request and feel free to say no, but I’m wondering if you would share your itinerary with me? I’d like to stay in touch with you while you travel. I may even know of some places to recommend you visit”. Kristopher was trying to find any excuse that might sound plausible for asking for Abby’s exact travel plans because he was trying to hide the fact, he was already thinking of ways he could still see Abby, even if she was in another country. He currently had no obligations for work and had the ability to ‘take off’ at the drop of a hat. He was already convincing himself that he could meet Abby in New York or Rome or just about anywhere! Abby, still holding firm her bravado, accepted to share her travel plans and jumped straight into sending an email with everything attached. She didn’t give any thought to what she was sending, she just sent the lot! She emailed a document which contained not only her flight details but her accommodation arrangements as well. Right then and there, she didn’t give a moment of thought to the point-by-point specific details she just sent.
Lunch was being served and Abby didn’t waste a moment to wave Alli back over to eat. Mia, Taylor and Britt came over with Alli, they all seemed to be getting along great. Alli was smiling and chatting like she’d known the girls for years. Alli was a bit like that though, she generally got along with everyone. Sometimes she needed a slight push to get her going and then she was off! Abby was proud of the young woman Alli was becoming. The girls shared their plans about the party and gave Abby a slip of paper noting Phillip’s address and phone number. Abby was still putting on a performance. She had successfully pushed away all her emotions and was one hundred percent focused on her daughter’s upcoming night out. Abby didn’t care if she spent the night on her own, this was her daughter’s holiday as well and she should get to spend some of it with kids her own age. Alli was responsible and had Abby’s full support and trust. Mia, Taylor and Britt headed off to meet back up with the boys to prep for their party.
Talk had shifted and Kristopher embraced the subject of his son, his son’s friends and how just like most teenagers, his son was vying for a ‘life of his own’. Kristopher only saw him a couple of times a week. Michael was self-sufficient, attending classes, studying, working a part-time job and most nights came home late and left early. Abby knew all about what it was like to have kids grow up and ‘leave the nest’ or be halfway out the door. Alli was her youngest of two children. Alli’s brother was twenty-one and had been out on his own for a year. Three years ago, Abby had taken her son on his first international holiday and it started in L.A, just as this trip had begun for Alli.
Kristopher ceased the opportunity to spend time with Abby now her daughter would be out for the night. “I can drive Alli to the party and you and I could go out to dinner. No point in sitting around by yourself waiting for her to come home. What do you think?” Alli gave her mum a cheeky look but Abby ignored it. Instead, Abby tried for an impartial agreement with, “Sure, I had no plans, why should Alli have all the fun?”. She gave Alli a playful look, but it had empty meaning. Abby had no expectations and was trying for disinterested. She wasn’t that good at acting so she quickly changed the subject again. Best way to end this conversation and lunch was to announce she and Alli had to stop by a shop for some essentials and give Alli time to get ready for the party. Knowing Kristopher would be heading back to the canals, the same direction Abby needed to go, Abby chose to head to stores in the opposite direction. The plan was for Abby to message Kristopher when Alli was ready to go to the party, he would pick them up, drop off Alli and spend the evening with Abby. All Abby wanted right now was to leave. She was trying to think of anything that didn’t involve spending time with Kristopher, alone. She needed space and she needed it right now!
As Abby and Kristopher headed off in opposite directions, Kristopher felt an uneasy feeling. Up until now, he hadn’t wanted to think about Abby leaving L.A and definitely hadn’t wanted to face a truth that Abby would return home to Australia. He was eager to get home and go over Abby’s itinerary and come up with a plan on how he could arrange to spend more time with her, even if it meant going to New York or even Rome. Feeling his dry mouth coming back with force, he went straight to his kitchen for a glass of water. He pulled out a stool at his breakfast bar, water in hand and opened his laptop to get a better view of the document Abby had emailed. He saw a list of places Abby and Alli were flying to over the next seven weeks. He saw Rome, Athens, London, Scotland, Paris, Amsterdam, Toronto, Las Vegas and she was definitely coming back to L.A, it was the last flight on the list before her journey back to Australia. One of the first things he noted was the train booked from L.A to New York. It’s a three-day trip and that seemed to Kristopher a perfect opportunity to stay with Abby a little longer this week. He just hoped she would agree to him coming along for the ride.
Kristopher heard Michael come through the front door and he called his son into the kitchen. They spoke about the party for a few minutes before Michael headed upstairs to get ready to go back out. Michael tried to get his dad to open up about Abby, but Kristopher shut him down fast by keeping the conversation focused on the party. Michael’s last words before going up stairs were, “You will tell me about your new friend. I’ll get it out of you, you know that right?!”. For now, Kristopher wasn’t quite sure what to tell his son about Abby. He wasn’t even sure what to tell himself! Abby was a beautiful woman who had fully captured his attention. She was making him feel things he’d never felt before and when he thought about her now, he remembered their kiss and how he missed feeling those lips again when they parted from the restaurant.
Abby and Alli found a string of shops with everything from food to clothing to California souvenirs. Normally not one for shopping, Abby took her time to explore everything! She was trying to avoid the inevitable, seeing Kristopher again so soon. Alli found a new top to wear to the party and Abby purchased some snacks and drinks to take back to the cottage. They had spent a good two hours procrastinating though the stores, it was time to head back to the cottage so Alli could get ready. An unsteady feeling in the pit of Abby’s stomach hit at the thought Kristopher would be by to pick them up in about ninety minutes…not like Abby was counting or anything. Of course she was! Problematic to be sure as she was conflicted, was she was looking forward to seeing him again or did she think she shouldn’t see him at all. Her ‘practical’ side was trying to take over and a little voice nagging, telling her it was a really dumb idea to see him again. She tried to distract herself so she couldn’t visualize Kristopher’s face. A little piece of herself would melt each time she saw his dark hair with that silver sheen and his beautiful brown eyes. But his voice, his deep raspy voice would bring out a need within that was begging to be fulfilled. Spending this evening alone with Kristopher was a bad idea. A very bad idea!
Alli was excited about tonight. For a girl who had only just met the three girls, Mia, Taylor and Britt, she sure found out a lot about each girl in a short amount of time. Her mouth was running in overdrive! All three girls were studying the same subjects at Uni and they were close friends. Mia and Britt had known each other since Junior High but Taylor had just moved to L.A from Seattle at the start of the year. Abby could tell how much Alli, in this moment, wished she lived here and went to school with these girls. Alli was ambitious and had a thirst for knowledge and achievement. She had a very mature mind and Abby knew, no matter what she did in life, she would excel. Alli was going to have a great time tonight, Abby knew without a doubt!
Abby received a message on her phone. She wasn’t expecting one, Kristopher was meant to be waiting on one from her. Abby panicked for a moment, thinking she had lost all track of time and Alli was going to be late. She checked her phone for the time first, but it was only coming on seven o’clock. She opened the message.
Hi Abby. Just checking in to see if Alli is ready to go. I’m heading out soon. I need to stop by the store first. I’ll pick up from the back street. Do you need anything while I’m at the store?
Abby’s heart dropped a little and she was starting to get nervous. She knew she shouldn’t be having any feelings towards Kristopher, but it was futile, her heart was already taking a hit and the only thing that could make it right was being with him. And there he was, right at the forefront of her thoughts again, along with a thousand butterflies! She messaged him back.
No thanks Kristopher. We got everything we needed earlier. Alli just finished getting ready. Message or call when you get here and we’ll be good to go.
Abby probably shouldn’t have added the ‘call’ part to her message because now she was hoping he would never call. Not ever! Not for any reason at all! It would be easier for her to deal with a message than the alternative, hearing his voice. The mere thought was turning her on. Somehow, she was going to need to quell her libido tonight she knew that now without a doubt!
YOU ARE READING
Falling For Her Dream
RomanceAbby always longed to one day meet the man who had visited her most nights in her dreams, she just didn't think it would be him! Is it possible that Kristopher could be him? She wasn't worthy of such a man. But when she allows him into her world...
