New Year's Eve

CHAPTER 3

Marcel

"We were planning to take Marie's husband and my little niece out for a while longer, and then we have a family dinner planned", I explain to Helena.

She looks at me with such a confused look that I start smiling again.

"Don't worry, my family will be happy to see you. Right, Marie?", I turn to my sister, looking for support.

"I don't want to disturb anyone", she says so shyly.

"Do you really want to spend Christmas alone?, I stare into the brunette's eyes.

"Come on, Marcel", my sister said indignantly, "No one wants to spend Christmas alone."

"I can't go with you anyway", Helena says a little disappointed, "Not like this", she points to her coat, "I have to go back to the hotel and change."

"I'll take you", I help the girl willingly.

I don't really want to leave her. I look at her, and it feels like fate has brought us together today. Even if it's just an unfortunate accident, I don't care. I want to keep getting to know her. I want Helena to spend this evening with me.

Marie's right, no one wants to spend Christmas alone. And I'm no exception. Watching my sister's happy family makes me a little jealous. In my 32 years, I've only been in a serious relationship with two women. But it never came to marriage. I just wasn't lucky enough to find the right one, and I don't want to be a pushover. Maybe I'll have better luck this time.

Of course, I'm not going to ask Helena to get serious just like that. It's not like I'm crazy or anything. I just had this weird feeling deep down inside that I shouldn't just let a girl go. I liked her from the first second I saw her pretty face.

"Okay", the brunette finally utters after a brief hesitation.

And I give the girl my smile again. I look at my sister, and she can barely keep from laughing. I'm sure she's already imagining in detail how we're going to walk down the aisle. My sister is like that. She's been wanting to find me the perfect mate for a long time.

"Stop it, Marie", I reprimand my sister.

"It's not like I said anything."

"See you later. Say hello to Gerard", then I turn my attention back to Helena, "Shall we go?"

A faint yes from her lips, and we're on our way to my car. A few minutes later we're sitting in the comfort of the car.

"So, where should we go?", I ask, starting the engine.

"Hotel Atlantic, I don't remember the name of the street", says my companion.

"Okay", I pull out onto the road, "So, London."

"You got that from my accent, too?", I feel the surprise in my emerald eyes. I start laughing openly.

"The street is called London", I look at Helena and see the awkwardness in her eyes. Then she turns away to the window, hiding her smile.

"It must be fate", she turns to me again.

"So you live in London? It's so amazing. You and I live in the same city, we walk the same streets, but we met only here. Maybe fate really does exist", I wink at the girl, stopping at a red light.

"You are very strange, Marcel."

"And this is coming from a girl who came alone to a foreign country for Christmas. Don't you have anyone to celebrate the holidays with?"

And that's when the universe decides to intervene again, because Helena's phone starts ringing. She takes her gadget out of her purse, looks at the display, and the smile instantly disappears from her face. She drops the call and looks at me again.

"No, not with anyone at all", her phone starts ringing again.

"And what about your admirer?", I point to the phone.

"It's not... it's my ex-husband", she answers reluctantly.

"Ex-husband, then", I see that she does not like talking about him, "How often does he bother you like that?"

"More often than I would like", she said sadly. And as if in confirmation, the annoying guy calls again.

"It's easy to fix, Marshmallow", I smile my thirty-two and snatch her phone.

"What are you doing?", she asks in shock and tries to return the gadget. But I don't give in. I look at the display, and then press to accept the call.