“Good morning, beautiful,” Mike said when he walked up behind her as she stood waiting for the elevator.
She blushed. “Morning.”
He kissed her. “Did you talk to your parents last night?”
She chuckled. “I wondered how long it would take you to ask me that!”
“I wanted to come over as soon as I woke up and ask you, but I waited until now,” he admitted.
“What time did you get up?”
“About an hour ago, but I took a shower, and had to get ready.”
“Me too.” She smiled. “So, if you want we can change the ticket. But, I can only stay a couple of more weeks. My dad is having an operation in three weeks and I have to be back in time for that.”
“Of course, I’ll take the two weeks, it is better than nothing!” He hugged her and kissed her once more. “When we get downstairs and you bring up your laptop, look for the ticket change, and let me know. We will take care of it right away.”
“Won’t everyone in class be wondering what you are doing?”
“I don’t care what they think. I have met a beautiful woman, and I want to have her stay longer. As I told the woman yesterday, we are both adults, what we do is no one else’s business. I meant that.”
“Okay, I just thought you might want to do it in private,” she stated.
“No, other things we do in private, this I don’t care about. I’ll announce it to the world that I am in love with you, if it will convince you.”
She stopped and looked up at him. He saw the look on her face and shook his head. “Yes I said the word, and I meant it. I love you, Amanda.”
Her heart beat faster and she felt as if she would faint, but she couldn’t say the word back yet, even though her heart was jumping for joy right then. She was too scared to say it out loud. The best she could do was, “Me too.”
He chuckled. “Ah, you Americans!”
“What does that mean?”
“Can’t talk right now, we are going to be at the room in a second. We can talk later. Bring up the airline and see about that ticket change, okay?” he reminded her as he walked to the front of the room.
Were Americans different about their feelings, maybe more closed off, or closed-minded? She didn’t know, she had never been out of her country before now. Perhaps that was why he was saying these things, they didn’t view love the same way? It could be more of passing fancy to the Brits?
Amanda doubted that would be something she could discover with a search on Google. But, she put a note on her pad to look into it later. Janice would tell her she was being foolish once more and reading far too much into something very simple.
She just couldn’t help it, the fear of being forgotten when she left, as her heart longed for him, was a real possibility. Especially if he was a man who thought of love as she might think of like.
She shook her head, even her thoughts made no sense right now. What is love? she thought. I should ask him that, and it might help me figure out what he meant by that comment. She wrote it down on her pad too.
Amanda pulled up the web page for her airline and clicked on the button for a change of flight request. She read the small print, “There will be a $200 charge for any change of tickets that is made. Any other adjustments to price will be determined after the new flight is purchased.”
“Shit, $200 right off the bat.”
That’s ridiculous, she thought, these airlines rip people off so much. I guess that is why you should set everything in steel and not make any changes. But she could afford it, but didn’t need to worry, since Mike had said he’d pay the fee.
Mike walked over by her. “What’s wrong?”
She showed him the small print, and he shook his head. “No problem, did you pick a new flight yet?”
“No, I’m doing that now.” She clicked on the screen and picked a day for two weeks after she had originally planned on leaving. “Okay, done.”
“I’ll get you the money, since they are going to charge it to your card. Don’t worry, I said I’d pay for it, and I meant it.”
Other people in the class were looking at them, and she felt almost all eyes on them. “Okay, um, I think everyone is watching us.”
He kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear, “I don’t really care!”
She blushed furiously as he walked back to the front of the room and started the class.
“Okay class, today we are going to go over the best way to profit from a graphic design career. We all know that many companies will hire you. However, you have other options,” Mike explained.
Amanda took notes and listened intently. But, her mind wondered what they would do with each other once the day was over. Also, what they would do for the extra two weeks she’d be in London.
She was excited to have this extra time with him. She couldn’t help it, her heart leaped in her chest each time she thought of having another two weeks of getting to know him.
**
“Let’s go to the pub,” Mike suggested when they broke for lunch.
“Okay.” She followed him out of the room, and he grabbed her hand, holding it as they walked to the pub around the corner.
“I wish this seminar was over, I just want to show you around London, and spend some time with you,” Mike commented.
“We only have a few days left, at least!”
“I know, but I have a feeling those days will go too slow. Of course, having you in the room helps it to be not as bad. I couldn’t even imagine if I had to run the seminar, while you were in your room, or out shopping, or anywhere but in front of me.”
“Mike, let me ask you something.”
“Sure, anything.”
“What is love, to you?”
He thought about it for a moment. “I think love is hard to explain, and well, it might not be the same for everyone. For me, it is feeling like I am complete when I’m around you. Knowing that you are there also gives me a warm and happy feeling. I love to hear you moan my name when I make love to you. But it’s not all about the physical activities though.
“There is an emotional connection. It is like you see me, and you light up. I think I do the same thing when I see you. It is like something clicks on, inside of me, and I’m happier. I feel like I can accomplish anything with you by my side, and I just met you.
“I can’t imagine how dull my life will be when you have to go back to the US. I’m going to be honest with you, I’m not going to be happy at all on that day. If you didn’t have family and friends back there, I would be working hard to convince you to stay in London and be with me.”
He paused and thought more. “I don’t know if that really explains it well. I guess in a simpler way, love is the feeling that another person is part of you. That when they are around, you feel like anything is possible, and no parts of you are missing. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, it does.”
“So why did you want to know what I thought love was? Are you trying to figure out if I really love you?”
“Well, kind of. But I was trying to figure out the comment about Americans,” she admitted.
“I think Americans have issues with the idea of love. They try and analyze it too much, instead of just enjoying it. Look at the movies that come out of Hollywood. Most of them have a person who overthinks what the other one thinks of them. They run into problems because of this overthinking. Instead, you should just let go and let love flow!”
She laughed. “Isn’t that a song?”
“Yeah, maybe, but I like the sentiment behind it.”
He ordered for them, and they chatted about what they would do after the seminar was over for the day. “How about Hyde Park?” he asked.
“Sure. Like I said, I think I will allow you to decide the best things to see. There are simply too many for me to pick from,” Amanda admitted.
“Okay, but if I mention something that sounds boring to you, just let me know, and we will pick something else.”
“I will.” She smiled at him.
“Great, so after we are done for the day, we’ll head over to Hyde Park.”
“Does that mean we won’t have homework again?”
“There might be a small assignment, but nothing too big. I haven’t really decided. Honestly, I just want the seminar to be over. I was thinking of cancelling it and giving people their money back. That way I have three weeks to show you around.”
“Really? Won’t people be mad?”
“If I cancelled and didn’t refund them the whole charge, yes. However, they will have gotten several days of free classes if I cancel and give full refunds.”
“It may hurt your reputation, though.”
“Maybe, I’m still playing it out in my mind.”
“It is only a few more days. Then we will have two full weeks. I say just let it go the rest of the time.”
“Yeah, you might be right. I’m just really fighting with myself, and my desire to spend time with you. I want to be able to take you to my home, and do whatever we want all day long.”
She smiled. “And take bubble baths!”
“Of course, that will be one of the things we will enjoy, many times. But, there is so much more I want to do with you.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“I can’t tell you in public!” He smiled and gave her a dirty look.
She blushed. “Stop, you really are insatiable, aren’t you?”
“No, I just enjoy your body. But, if you noticed last night, I didn’t make love to you. I want you to know this isn’t just about sex. I feel an emotional attachment to you as well as that strong physical pull.”
“Me too.”
“So why can’t you say those words, ‘I love you?’” he asked.
She stopped, she hadn’t expected the question. “I don’t know. I guess I’m scared.”
“Scared of what? You already know how I feel about you, so it’s not like you are the only one who would have those feelings.”
“I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. Really, I don’t want to talk about it now either. Not here.”
“Alright, I understand,” Mike said, but she saw a coolness in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.
Amanda wondered what he was thinking. But she had told him to drop the topic, so she couldn’t bring it back up. She looked over at him, his smile seemed toned down, and not as bright as it had been.
She felt bad for telling him she didn’t want to talk about it. “I don’t want to be hurt. I don’t want you to be playing games, and when I leave forget about me, and I have to spend months recovering from a broken heart,” she blurted out.
He looked at her. “You think that I haven’t feared the same thing? We both are putting our hearts on the line here. I know how you feel. I also know that it can be hard to trust someone you just met. But, I can tell you that I am serious about keeping in touch with you and coming to see you.
“Perhaps flying you over as well. We are going to figure out a way so that we are able to see each other, at least every other month. Or that is what I’d like to be able to do, if not every month.”
“But, I don’t know if I can afford that.”
“I didn’t say you had to pay for it. I am the one who would pay for the flights. I don’t have an issue with that. I’m just trying to put everything in place. I would need to make sure my business would be able to run while I’m off on these vacations to see you.
“Or when you come to see me, I won’t be working. There is no way. Just like the two weeks you are staying extra, I’ll be off. Though I will check up on the company from home. I will basically be on vacation. I don’t know how easy this will be to do. I have to figure out the logistics of it all.
“However, I won’t do this, unless I know you are serious too.”
“Mike, I do love you. I’ve known it almost since the first night,” she finally admitted to him. She watched as his eyes shone brighter once more, and his smile grew wider.
“Great! At least you finally admitted it to me!” He laughed, back to his old self once more.
They ate their food and chatted about other things. “We have to get back, it is almost time for class to begin again,” he said after he checked the time on his watch.
They walked hand in hand back to the hotel, and into the room. Everyone stared, but no one said a word, not after Mike had told the one woman the day before to mind her business.
Amanda pulled up her laptop and took notes, she noticed some people taking glances at her from time to time. She couldn’t read their faces well enough to know what they were thinking. She figured the single women were jealous, after all Mike was a very good-looking guy. Who wouldn’t want to have his attention? She knew she enjoyed every second of it. That meant that any other woman, who wasn’t blind, would feel the same way!
“Alright, tonight I want you to make a graphic design for a charity of your choice. Make it something that will compel a person who views it to want to contribute to this charity. You may need to do more than just a design, but at least work on it.
“You should have a good idea by tomorrow, and you will have the next couple of days to finish it. This will be your final project, and in order to receive your certificate of completion, you will need to create something amazing,” Mike announced.
Amanda moaned, she thought he had said it would be easy. This sounded like something that would take up all of her free time. They would have to skip Hyde Park. There was no way she would be able to even begin with this project. What charity could she use? She drew a blank.
Mike walked over to her. “Why the long face?”
“This isn’t an easy project. I don’t think I can go to Hyde Park tonight. I have to come up with an idea. I don’t know what charity to use.”
“Anything to do with animals and rescuing them. I thought you would jump on that, I thought of Bow Tie when I came up with the idea.”
“Oh, I never even thought about that. Thanks.” She hugged him.
“So, we can still go, right?”
“Yeah, but I want to come back early. I already have a ton of ideas popping up in my head.”
“We will take a quick trip, and if you want to see it again, we will go another time.”
“Okay.”
**
“This is the memorial to Princess Diana.” Mike pointed to the monument in the park.
“That was a sad day when she died,” Amanda said quietly.
“Yes, she was a great woman.”
He walked her around the park, and they stopped and watched the boats as they glided over the water. “It is beautiful here,” she said.
“When it is warm enough, people can swim too. We can stop and get something to eat on the way back to the hotel.”
“Maybe something quick, so I can get to work on this project!”
“Sure. But I will miss you the rest of the night. I’d love to spend more time together.”
“Then you shouldn’t have given us such a big project to do!” She laughed.
“Point taken.” He smiled. “Don’t worry though, I have faith in your ability. You will actually get the work done quicker than you think! At least I hope so, I would hate to realize I took your company away from myself with this work.”
“I guess we will see, once I get back to the room.”
“How about a quick burger?”
“Sure.”
He ordered the food to go, and they ate as they walked. Amanda was quiet, and ideas of what to do for the project still ran through her head.
“You are awfully quiet.”
“I was just thinking of what to do with this project. I think I have some great ideas. But, I have to see what they look like, when I put them all together.”
“If you want… I can stay in your room and tell you what I think of it.”
“You would be too much of a distraction, and I doubt you would let me work!” She laughed.
“Most likely, I wouldn’t!” he admitted with a sly smile.
“Alright, I will see you later, maybe, tonight. If not tomorrow morning.”
He kissed her and walked to his room.
She smiled as she watched him go. I love that man, she thought.