Caught in the Unexpected

Chapter 2

Binge Grayson

A drink would be nice about now. Rum and Coke. Corona. Hell, I'd even settle for one of those malt liquor lemonades. Anything to escape Her.

Laurabelle was beautiful in a way I never thought possible. Sure, she was attractive on the outside, but it was the essence of her that oozed starbursts and moonbeams. So real. So raw. So Her. What am I doing? Walk away. She was better off without the likes of me. My internal dialog searched for the switch, the one that let me go back to the moment right before I let her sit next to me because now she trusted me. And for no good reason. I knew my smile melted the female resolve. Burned all their red flags.

And all I could think about apart from how much I wanted Her...was how much I wanted to warn Her. Stay away from me! I felt responsible. As if I was the only person who could keep Her safe from guys like me. I had to keep Her safe. From me. My plan should have been to pretend to be asleep the rest of the way to Chicago because this girl was not made to be a quickie in a train's bathroom...that was all I could think about though. Her. Me and Her. Together. Intertwined need. 

I needed a drink. Or ten.

Music Laurabelle

"Honestly though, Laurabelle, does Kansas City have farms next to skyscrapers?" 

"Ha. Ha," I said.

Grayson erased my shyness. He teased me, told me I had a southern accent--not as distinct as a Texas twang--but he heard it. And, all through the fun, I tried to hide the fact that my stomach was churning, somersaulting against my ribs, and I felt ill. Heat suddenly rose, and my eyes and words pleaded, "could I sit on the aisle?" Maybe it was just motion sickness, I thought, keeping my bridge anxiety to myself.

"Sure thing," Grayson responded already moving. He stood in the aisle explaining how dehydration was commonly brought on by travel and held his hand out to help me up. I couldn't even enjoy it. "Do you have water?" He asked.

I nodded, pointed up to the overhead baggage area, and moved into the aisle next to him. He opened my duffel. Found the water. Put my bag back, higher than I could reach, and sat down by the window. His concern embarrassed me. I sat in the aisle seat and slid my iPod out of my pocket. Grayson reached over me for the lever and reclined my seat. "How are you such an expert on hydration?" I ask him.

"Doctor and nurse in the family," Grayson replied.

"I guess I can trust your diagnosis and prescription then," I said playfully before taking a big swig of water.

"Close your eyes, Laurabelle. That will help too." I obeyed. "You'll be better in no time," he promised. A few minutes passed with no conversation, so I started untangling my earbuds. I wove each cord around the other. Slowly freeing them from their ensnarement. Grayson eyed my nimble fingers. "May I?" He pointed to my iPod.

"Sure," I said.

Bridges Grayson

A little bit of everything qualified Laurabelle as a music freak. I hadn't expected her to be like me in any way. Everything from Fleetwood Mac to The Pianist soundtrack. Maroon 5 to The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Guns N' Roses to Adele. Funny that the only must-have band missing from her iPod was Kansas. So I asked, "you have so much music, so why don't you have any Kansas?" I laughed, and she punched me in my arm. It was one of those fake punches that started a chain reaction. 

I grabbed her fist, and instead of pulling away, Laurabelle left her hand in mine for a sweaty eternity. Until we let go at the same time. She wrapped her arms around her body, suddenly self-conscious. "Hey," I nudged her softly. She peeked at me over her earbuds which were finally free. Offered one to me which I declined graciously before reclining in my seat and putting my head on a newly fluffed pillow. I closed my eyes but couldn't stop smiling. She must have glanced at her iPod by now, pondering which song to play. And in an interesting plot twist, she'd find that her iPod was already set. Set to play "Bridge Over Troubled Water." How clever of me.