An Ocean Apart

I'm not exactly apt in lying.

I didn’t wake up the next morning until eleven in the afternoon. Which wasn’t surprising seeing as I hadn’t crawled into bed and fallen asleep until around 3:30 in the morning. After Harry had left me awestruck in the lobby, it had taken me a few minutes to compose myself enough to make it to the elevator and head towards my flat. I’d sat on my bed for at least fifteen minutes contemplating whether I should accept his offer. I’d convinced myself, before I lay down to sleep, logically, it made sense to use him as our tour guide, seeing as neither my aunt nor I knew our way around London. But morning always brings different perspective.

As soon as my brain was active enough to register the space around me, negatives to allowing a total stranger to escort two females around a city unfamiliar to them bombarded me. Every piece of logic I’d placed with the idea earlier that morning vanished with a few hours of sleep. It was now absurd to even toy with his offer. We could make our way around just fine with maps and some official paid and safe tour guides. We don’t need a young fellow to experience London, no matter how attractive he is or how sweet the proposition was.

I flipped the comforter off my body and swung my legs off the edge of the mattress, now fully intending to prepare for my first official day in England with my aunt and no one else. Pulling my disarrayed hair into a lose ponytail I made my way out to our kitchen to find my aunt pouring herself a cup of coffee. For a small moment I wondered why she wasn’t having her usual oatmeal and bagel for breakfast before I realized we didn’t have any groceries.

“I suppose our first order of business is to head to the market for some food?” I chuckled, leaning against the counter.

“I don’t know about you,” she smiled, pouring me my own mug and sliding it over to me, “but I’m starving. So I’d like to sit down for a nice breakfast first.”

I took a sip of the coffee, remembering Harry sipping his tea hours ago. I immediately pushed the thought from my mind. “No problem with me. A slab of waffles sounds like heaven right about now,” I agreed after swallowing the hot liquid.

“Wonderful,” she exclaimed, running a hand through her short hair, “How soon can you be ready to go?”

“Um,” I stuttered, glancing at the clock. It was 11:10. In truth, I could be ready in the next forty or so minutes, but that would put us in the lobby around the same time as Harry. I wished to avoid running into him and having to explain my decision to reject him in person. I probably wouldn’t even be able to tell him and we’d end up going with him anyway, despite my decision. I had to plan this right, “12:30?”

“Dear god, Bree. It takes you an hour and twenty minutes to get ready?” she asked in disbelief.

“Well… Yeah,” my voice wavered on my last word. When it comes to lying I’m down right awful. I’ve never successfully lied to anyone, not even perfect strangers.

Her perfect eyebrow cocked in my direction. But she let go of her suspicion go with a small shake of her head, “Well can you try to hurry it up a tad? I’d like to be out of here by noon or so.” And that’s exactly what I was trying to avoid.

I sighed and downed my last bit of coffee, “Alright.”

Without another word I rinsed my cup out and headed toward the bathroom. I had to deliberately make everything in my morning routine take as long as possible. But even so, it would be extremely difficult for the process to take as long as I would need to avoid landing in the lobby the same time as Harry. The situation was becoming unavoidable.

I groaned in frustration as I stepped into the shower and the hot water hit my chilled bare skin. I had no understanding of why I was so flustered over this. I don’t know him; why should I be afraid of offending him? Sure, he’d been pleasant conversation at two in the morning and been nice enough to even offer to show me around but that doesn’t change that fact that I do not know him. I should just buck up and tell him the honest truth.