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“I’m so sorry, Oliver.”
“Thanks.”
We both set our forks down on our plates, and it’s silent for a moment.
“What about you? Any siblings?” Oliver asks.
“No, it was just me. I think my parents would have liked a bigger family, but they could barely afford to support us.”
She slips off her stool and carries her dishes over to the sink.
“I can do the dishes and take care of this,” I tell her as we clean up.
“No, it’s okay. I can help.”
With both of us working together, the kitchen is spotless in no time. Avery walks over to the couch, and I follow after her, like a puppy begging for her attention.
“How are you liking England so far, love?” I ask as I take a seat next to her.
She blushes at the term of endearment, and I want to move closer, to feel her pressed up against me, but I don’t want to scare her with my feelings on our first night together. I’ve never called anyone love, but with her, it fits.
“I love it! The sights, the people, all of the history,” she sighs dreamily, and I smile at her passion.
We fall into conversation, and I ask her about her classes and the places she’s visited so far. I tell her about my job and frown as I realize I’ll be leaving again next week. Avery tells me a little about her family and Idaho, and I notice how she seems to dim when she talks about the place. My heart beats faster as I picture convincing her to stay here with me instead.
“I should go to bed. I’ve got an early class tomorrow,” she says with a yawn.
I glance over at the clock, surprised to see that two hours have flown by. I walk after her down the hallway, and we part outside the bathroom. “Night, love.”
“Night, Oliver. See you in the morning,” she says before disappearing into her room.
I sigh and head into my room, staring glumly at my empty bed. I change and brush my teeth in the bathroom. I should be tired after my long week and traveling all day, but as I lay in bed, all I can think about is Avery.
I finally fall asleep well after midnight to thoughts of Avery walking down the aisle toward me, her white dress molded to her curves and that smile I already love stretching across her face.
SIX
Avery
I wakeup groggy the following morning. I barely slept, and I’m not sure if it’s because classes start today and I was nervous or because I couldn’t seem to push Oliver from my head last night. He was even there in my dreams, wrapped around me in bed and cuddling me on the couch.
I’m scared at how easily those dreams came to me. I might be a romantic at heart, but I was never interested in any of the boys in Idaho. Mainly because I didn’t want to get stuck there, married to my high school sweetheart and working at the local Walmart. I had bigger dreams, and I wasn’t going to let some guy get in my way.
But Oliver isn’t some guy, and we aren’t in Idaho. I’m romanticizing this, imagining the two of us falling in love while I study abroad. Then he’ll chase me across the ocean to America and proclaim his love for me. He’ll tell me he can’t live without me, and we’ll kiss as everyone cheers before he carries me off into the sunset.
“You’re burning them.”
I jerk, dropping the spatula as I come back to reality.
“Crap,” I mumble, cleaning the spatula off and pulling the pan from the burner.
“You alright, love?” Oliver asks as he sidles up next to me at the stove.
“Yeah, just daydreaming, I guess.”
“Do you need any help?” He takes in the stack of pancakes and bacon on the counter.
“No, that was the last batch. Ready to eat?”
