The Space Between Love And Hell

Chapter 3

I was let off of work early; something about me needing to go pack. I didn't understand why, until I read the date of the cruise.

August 16th- September 1st.

Today was August 13th. I had three days to get ready to go and fly to the Caribbean. I wonder if all-expenses-paid includes a trip to and from various airports.

I spent Monday morning staring at the check that was sitting on my desk. I wasn't sure what to do about it. I was contemplating whether or not to use it when I got a call from Sam.

"Hey, girl!" she exclaimed as soon I anwsered the phone. "So . . . I know that you have a 10,000 dollar check that's most likely sitting on your desk. I also bet that you are sitting in bed right now, with a cup of cold coffee, watching some cringy rom-com and debating whether or not to use the check."

Why does she have to know me so well? I chose to not anwser, knowing she knew she was right.

"Ah, I love it when I'm right." I could hear the smile in her voice. "Anyway, I was thinking we should go on a shopping spree!" Oh my gosh. Of course she was only calling for that.

"I dunno. I'm tired." I could practically see her rolling her eyes. " I don't really know if this whole thing is a good idea anyway. " I told her, falling back onto my bed.

"Honey, you've got 16 days off of work! You're gonna be gone for 13 of them. Why not use these three for quality bonding time with your bestie?"

The way she phrased that made it so hard for me to say no. I huffed out a breath of reluctance, finding it impossiable to argue with her.

"Ughhhh," I groaned, whipping off my covers.

"Okay! Meet you at 12!"

After hours of shopping, I was finally home. I flopped on my bed, bags still in hand. "Shopping" had consisted of me following Sam around, nodding or shaking my head at the things she wanted me to have. 

I sat up and crossed my legs, looking around my room. Where's the suitcase?

I checked under the bed and there it was, shiny and new. It had been a gift from my rich aunt a couple of years ago, but I'd never really had the chance to use it. I heaved it out from under the bed and unzipped it on the floor.

I started pulling out the clothes from the bags and packing them into my suitcase. Apprently, this was a "fancy cruise" as Sam phrased it. Number one, is there a cruise that isn't fancy? And number two, she really thought I couldn't tell based off of the 700$ wine?

There were some . . . questionable things in there, but I decided to pack them just in case, even though I would almost certainly not be wearing them. I glanced at the bikini that was balled up in the corner.

No way.

Just then I got a text from Claire.

"Hey! I really think that you would look sooo cute in the bikini! You should totally try it and send a pic!"

This was getting creepy.

My mind drifted to the man on the cover of the brochure. Yeah, the one that looked exactly like the man from my dream. I bit my lip and glanced at the bikini. After a moment of contemplation I reached over and shoved into the bottom of my bag. I wasn't going to use it, of course. But there was no harm in just having it.

Was this really a good idea?

I won a free ticket from a random guy for no reason. I felt like it was a little odd. And I couldn't shake the fact that the guy looked exactly like blue eyes from my dream.

I was making my way to the bathroom to start packing up my toiletries when I remembered that I'd left my earrings in my desk at work. I slapped my palm against my forehead and leaned back on the sink. Should I go get them? 

I pushed myself off of the sink and threw on my jacket. They were my favorite earrings.

When I reached the office, the work day was basically over and people were starting to leave. I pushed my way through the crowd, finally making it to the elevator. I squeezed past the people coming out and slumped aganist the wall.

When the door opened I quickly shot off the wall and out the door, hoping to get past anyone coming in. But instead, I crashed right into someone.

We both fell to the floor, the impact making my head throb. I blinked a few times, and when I opened my eyes I saw a hand outstretched for me. I took it and was pulled up from the floor very quickly.

Suddenly I was face to face with a guy I'd never seen before. He was only a few inches taller than me so he probably wasn't very tall, considering the fact that I was 5'3.

He was wearing jeans and a teal turtle neck with the sleeves rolled up, revealing an expensive watch. His bright blue eyes peered into mine with concern, and his lips were drawn into a tight line. Freckles covered his face and arms; I could see them up to his thin rimmed glasses. His hair fell unbrushed down to his chin, but it was messy in a cute kind of way.

"A-are you okay?" he stuttered, his arms on my shoulders as he scanned my face, likely looking for cuts or bruises. He had a cute British accent that caught me off-guard for a moment.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," I said. I spotted a bruise right on his cheekbone, likely caused by me. "Are you, though?" I asked, running my finger along it, and checked the rest of his face for other injuries.

"Y-yes." He glanced away from me, bright red. I quickly retracted my hand, now embarrassed.

"What a fun way to meet, huh?" I said, trying to dispell the awkwardness. He smiled, flashing perfectly straight teeth.

"Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I'm Leo. Leo Li-" He stopped short, clearing his throat. "Sorry. Leo Linton." He held out his hand.

I took it, smiling.

"I'm Eveyln Cruz. You can call me Eve, though." He nodded and looked down at our hands, and I realized I had been holding it a little longer than I normally would've. I quickly let go and shoved my hands into my pockets.

"Well, uh, it's nice to meet you, Eve," he said nervously, and started picking at his fingernails.

"Nice to meet you too, Leo."