Why I Like Travelling By Train

WILTBT Part 2

My holiday over, I stood on the platform and waited nervously for my train home. I wasn't nervous about going home, of course. I wasn't nervous about getting the train, per se. I was nervous because I was stopping off on the way back, to go for lunch with Kat.

I had messaged her that fateful day, after settling in to the inn where I was staying - a few hours after she'd breezed off the train and left me quivering and dry-throated with surprise and desire. She hadn't replied immediately, so I'd got fed up waiting and amused myself by looking round the small town I was staying in. She'd finally texted back as I was just getting comfy in an old grey sofa with a dusty 1960s paperback, in the local second-hand bookshop. The beep of my phone had sounded very loud in the rarefied atmosphere and I'd blushed behind my hair. The dusty grey-haired bookshop owner had frowned at me over his half-moon glasses, so I'd put the book back and headed outside.

I'd rung her back. She'd been curt and whispered, but with a hint of interest in her voice. I'd asked if it was a bad time, and she'd confirmed it was. I'd cut the call with a vague promise to ring her later. Only later, I'd wondered why the hell she'd messaged me five minutes earlier.

What with missing each other's calls, and exchanging texts, we'd only managed to speak to each other once. During that initially shy (but surprisingly long and rambling) conversation, we'd arranged to meet for lunch on my way back. I had an open return ticket, so could get away with stopping off halfway.

Now I was barely an hour's train journey away from my first ever date, and I felt as if I was shaking with nerves. I'd had girlfriends before, of course, but they'd been friends first. That rush of almost paralysing excitement of going to meet a stranger, that was something entirely new.

***

The train pulled in, and I took a deep breath before getting on. I heaved my holdall on board, and started to look for somewhere to sit. I needed space, privacy. I needed somewhere where I could be alone with my complicated thoughts: nervousness, anticipation, a prickling of desire, a hint of embarrassment...

I spread out over a couple of airline-style seats, and managed to put everyone off from trying to sit next to me. It wasn't busy anyway. I couldn't have coped with anyone being near me. I couldn't read – didn't even try, for once – and although I gazed out of the carriage window, I took no real notice of the view. I scrolled through my texts repeatedly, disappointed that she hadn't been in touch again and simultaneously dreading a message from her to cancel the whole thing. Mostly, I was re-reading them to check that my anticipation of what this lunch date meant to her was the same as what it meant to me.

I reminded myself that it was only lunch. Just two girls going for a pub lunch and a bit of a chat. Not for the first time over the last few days, I wondered why I couldn't really remember her face. The image of her hair tumbling over her shoulders, of her pulling at her top so I could see down it, these were vivid in my mind...but now I was going to meet her, see her again, I panicked slightly that I wouldn't recognise her. I remembered pale freckles and a pretty nose, but what colour were her eyes? How would I describe her face, if I had to?

The butterflies in my stomach made me think I wouldn't be hungry for lunch. I put the phone away and tried to think about something else, watching the clouds pass across the countryside beyond the window – or was it just the train moving that gave that effect?

All too soon, I felt the train slow down, and the guard told us we were almost there. I didn't feel ready. Nonetheless, I gathered my stuff and pulled my bag from the luggage rack, leaning on the side of the carriage by the door so I could be the first off. The train glided in alongside the platform, and I gazed at the people waiting. A flash of ginger and black made me think I'd seen her, hanging back from the waiting passengers. The train sighed to a halt, and I realised I was about two carriages up the platform from her. Here we go, then, Amy, I thought to myself, as I pushed the button to open the door and dragged my bag behind me out into the station.

She was looking in the wrong direction as I started to approach, and I felt my heart quicken. Her flouncy black dress had a tight bodice which accentuated her figure, and a full, knee-length skirt with a black lace trim. Her hair was loose around her bare shoulders. Her purple tights had a diamond pattern, and her black DMs set off her dress in a way that made me smile – the kooky look really seemed to fit what little I knew of her. Her scruffy green jacket was slung through the strap of her shoulder-bag. Eventually she looked round, and her face lifted from its frown into a warm smile. She started to walk quickly along the platform towards me.

'Hi, Amy,' she said quickly as we met. Her hands found mine. I was conscious of how close we had come to stand in front of each other. I leant in, but her head flicked slightly aside and my kiss landed on her cheek. Her face was warm and soft. My heart leapt again slightly.

Her hands went round my back, and we hugged. I tried not to let her hear my breath catch as I felt the warmth of her body press onto mine. Through the tangles of our hair, I heard her say, very quietly, 'I can't believe we're actually both here.'

I breathed in the complex scent of her hair and make-up, and rested my lips very briefly on her neck. 'Me neither,' I replied equally softly.

We held each other for a long moment, then she gently pushed me back. Her hands lingered on my waist. We shared a smile, and I wondered how I could ever have forgotten what she looked like. That tangle of ginger hair, straying over her pale, high cheeks; those bright, dark eyes; those wide lips, and pretty nose...

She pulled away fully and nodded at my holdall. 'OK, I've found where the luggage lockers are.' She grinned. 'Let's get that away, and get some lunch.' She started to lead me down the platform.

******

******

Back on the platform, as we waited for my train home, she dropped my arm and turned to face me. We were standing at a distance from the clutches of other passengers. Her fingers traced a line across my palm and brushed my hip through my jeans.

'Amy...I'm so glad we've had today.'

Her hand moved up to fiddle with the lobe of an ear under her hair.

'Me too.' Just for a moment, I actually contemplated moving in and kissing her there and then, in public. I loved the way she was momentarily so shy and nervous. 'Do you think I could come back and see you again?'

After a little pause, she grinned – her confidence reasserting itself. 'Only if it's bloody soon. And we get longer together.'

'Next weekend?'

'I'll meet you here.' She waved a hand around the station. Then, just for a moment, she glanced at me seriously again. 'Saturday and Sunday?' She paused, suddenly embarrassed again and looked down. 'If...I mean, if you want to stop over...umm...I'd like you to, if you want...'

I reached for her hand and squeezed it quickly. 'Kat.' I waited until she looked at me properly. 'I want it too...' My pulse had begun to really pick up. For a long moment, I felt a stab of despair at having to go home, back to work...and wondered how I was going to survive away from that spot for a whole week. I thought quickly. 'Umm...I reckon I can be here for late morning Saturday, and won't have to go until early evening Sunday.'

There was a little pause, then she squeezed my fingers before slowly letting her hand slide out of mine. The platform was getting restless.

The train pulled in, drowning out any further conversation. I leant in and kissed her cheek, before I hauled my holdall on board.

When I looked back from storing it in the luggage area, she was still there watching me. I leant just inside the door and waved my fingers to her. She made a phone sign with her hand and held it to her ear,raising an eyebrow. I nodded as the door slid closed, and she waved her fingers at me through the window. Feeling bold, I glanced around to check I couldn't be seen, and blew her a kiss. As the train began to take me away, I was left with the memory of her blushing face breaking into a beautiful smile.