Meet Me In Amsterdam | cth

Do You Mind?

Greer-

Calum is a blur, charming his way through the lost and found by the Anne Frank house, speaking with officers, security and hotel workers. Despite his hard work and extreme dedication to fixing my problems, two hours later I still have no suitcase or hotel room and he seems more upset about it than me.

"I'm sorry Greer." He says, running his hand along his abnormally sharp jawline. "I really thought that I could fix this for you."

The genuine sorrow I see in his eyes makes my heart flutter, but my brain is telling me not to trust him, because if I do I will just get hurt all over again.

"It's not a big deal Calum, you don't owe me anything." I snap, making any attempt to push him away, to push these irrational feelings away.

He looks a bit taken aback by my outburst, but the shock is soon replaced by a look of hurt. I feel a pang of regret, if anything I should be thanking him for spending two hours of his vacation helping me. And even though I wish I could ignore it, some stronger force is pulling me to this boy.

"I'm sorry." I say, fumbling with the edge of my black tee shirt. "I'm really grateful for your help, really it means a lot. It's just been-"

"A long day." He says, finishing my sentence.

"Something like that" I reply, offering a weak smile.

"I know how you feel."

We sit in silence for a moment, watching people pass us by. The bench we are sitting on suddenly seems much smaller, we are hip to hip and I can feel the shake of his leg.

He is clearly nervous, and I watch as he pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. As he lifts the cigarette to his face, the plumpness of his lips pulls me into a trance. I find my eyes skimming his tanned skin, and the cracks in his dry lips, before my eyes rise to meet his, and that's when I realize he has been watching me this whole time. Blood rushes to my cheeks, and I suddenly feel like a schoolgirl with a crush on a boy that is way out of her league. I can't seem to keep my emotions in check, one second I am wanting him to leave and the next my mind becomes hazy with dangerous thoughts of him, and his lips. He is undeniably attractive but I can't just throw myself at him, I don't even know his last name. I need to stop.

"Do you mind?" He asks, referring to the cigarette dangling from his mouth.

I'm suddenly pulled back into reality, and I crinkle my nose in disgust.

"Do you mind?" Max's dark curls fell into his green eyes, a cigarette planted between his teeth.

"Of course not." I smiled sheepishly at him.

I had been at college for two years, and been eying Max every day since I came. He was mysterious, and sexy, and told me everything a 20 year old dreams of hearing.

The smell of smoke actually disgusted me, but I was naive and wanted to impress the boy I liked. That was the first of many compromises I made for him. The first of many mistakes.

I shake my head, trying to will the memory to leave my head. Calum places a hand on my knee and an unexpected army of shivers run down my spine. I pull my knee away and sit up a little straighter, attempting to pull myself together.

"Actually I do." I say, trying my best to sound confident.

"Alright then." Calum responds, eyebrows raised. He tucks the pack back into his coat pocket.

"Actually I do." I had said. I was doing my best to be assertive, but my voice wavered nonetheless.

"Alright then." Max had said, but the cigarette remained in his mouth.