Escape

Chapter Eight

He begins to walk down the road and I follow. He has a white shirt on, and with the sunshining down, it's thin enough to see through to the black markings covering his body. I have a few small tattoos, but he is covered. He has one that peaks out from his shirt collar, and many more that span the length of his arms. As he pushes his hair back, I see a small one placed behind his ear, a dagger.

We walk slowly as we pick at our muffins. His looks like blueberry. He breaks it off with his fingers, that are weighted with his heavy silver rings, and tosses a piece into his mouth.

"So, um, where are we going?" I ask, to break the silence.

"It's a surprise." He looks over at me and winks.

I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and nod. He takes a sharp breath and pulls his eyes away from me.

We continue to walk with small banter between us. He talks about his sister being in college and how she wants to become a nurse. I told him about my new job at the diner and how I met Noah and Olivia. Talking to Samuel is surprisingly easy and the conversation flows naturally.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, we arrive at a beautiful white house. Each window adorned with an arch. It's incredible.

"This is the Keats House." Samuel begins to explain, "The poet, John Keats, lived here. Now it's a literary museum. You haven't been here long, so I assumed you haven't been. And being into books and all..."

I stare at the house in amazement.

"Um, unless you have. Or don't care for this stuff, then we can do something else." He continues.

"No, I haven't been, actually. It's beautiful." I look at him and we both smile.

"Great, then let's head in then, shall we?" He places his hand on the small of my back and walks with me inside.

We go from room to room, admiring each artifact and how this place looks untouched from when John Keats left, in 1820. We read the small descriptions that come with each room. Samuels hand brushes mine a few times. Accident or not, the contact sends shock waves up my arm. In one room, he grabbed my hand to pull me over to admire a poem written in a journal beneath a glass case. His hand held mine for just a moment before letting go.

We made our way through the museum in an hour. As we step outside, I am happy to see the sunshine decided to stick around. Gloomy cloudy days are sort of a regular here.

"Well, I'm starving, how 'bout you?" He asks, rubbing his hands together.

"Yeah, I could definitely go for some lunch." All I ate this morning was the small muffin Samuel gave me.

"There's a small take-out place right up the road here." He says. I nod and begin to follow him.

We walk up to the counter and I order a water with a chicken salad and Samuel orders a soda with a burger.

"Aren't Europeans known for having alcohol with every meal or something?" I joke.

He smiles and looks at his hands, "Yeah maybe. Just not me I guess." I can tell there's more to that statement, but I don't push.

We gather our food and walk over to a grassy area nearby. Samuel walks over to a large hill and nods to me. We sit on the grass, close enough for our knees to touch every so often.

"So, are you gonna tell me the real reason you came all the way to England by yourself?" He looks at me.

I pause unsure of how to reply, "Um, we'll see. Someday, maybe." I say, trying to keep the conversation moving.

"Sorry," he flushes after seeing my discomfort, "I don't mean to pry or be nosey."

"Yeah, you do," I say playfully, "but it's okay." I offer him a smile to reassure him.

He laughs softly, "Yeah you're right. I just really want to know more about you."

The conversation stays light through lunch as he tells me about his band playing at another pub this evening. He invites me to go but I explain that I have the morning shift at work tomorrow and should probably call it an early night. He looks disappointed but nods as he finishes the last few bites of his burger.

We both finish up our food and sit in the sunshine for a moment longer.

"I'm really glad we did this." He says with a wide smile, resting his hands on his knees.

"Yeah, me to." I smile.

"I hope there's more in the future." He replies, but sounds more like a question. I turn and nod with a smile.

He sighs, "Oh, um, great," he smiles nervously. "I should get going, I guess. We got a shipment today and Sarah's not one for heavy lifting." He laughs and stands up, turning around to help me up. We stand face to face, not moving for just a moment, before he smiles and turns to walk back to the bookstore.

We return to the bookstore and stop in front of the door. Samuel could tell I was a little cold, so he walked pretty close to me the entire walk back. Despite the sunshine, the wind started to pick up.

"I had a really nice time." He smiles at me.

"Yeah, I did to." I smile and shift uncomfortably.

Before I even realized what was happening, Samuel leans in and plants a soft kiss on my cheek. His lips are much softer than I would have expected.

"Um, sorry." He says, realizing he caught me by surprise.

"No." I look at his dark, almost black, eyes. "Don't be." I smile at him and he smiles back.

"So, I'll, uh, see you next time." He stammers. I nod. He walks into the bookstore. I turn and before I even have a chance to take a step, I hear the bells on the door. I turn back around, and Samuel is standing in the doorway with his leather jacket in his hand.

"Here." He smiles as he holds out his jacket.

I sigh, but I don't argue this time. I take his jacket and slip my arms in, wrapping the heavy material around me. I nod and begin walking back towards my apartment inhaling the intoxicating smell of cedar and leather.