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I know it’s a big ask with me being clueless about relationships and life in general, and you with the evil-stealing ex stuff… but I don’t want to let go of what could be a very good thing just because of distance.
True allegiance is only given willingly, and you have mine. Come on a new adventure with me?
-Vandy
She attached a screenshot of the Amtrak schedule and calendar.
* * *
From: [email protected]
Subject: Thought about it
Allegiance is given willingly in return.
I’ll see you at 9am on 8/14. Pack nothing. You won’t need clothes.
-Royce
* * *
Vandy thought about texting Raj back to thank him but decided against it. He had his life, and she had hers. It was best to hide all evidence of their conversation—and her boobs.
Besides, she had important stuff to do, like ordering paperback books to be delivered to her apartment. The Chronicles of Prydain sounded like an excellent place to start. It looked like there was a box set. . .
And then she’d open that PayPal account to buy train tickets for her next adventure.
PART THREE
A DAY AWAY FROM THE CLUB
A few weeks later
CHAPTER 10
It started with a deer. One stupid deer and a train.
As Vandy had planned, she boarded the 9:30 Amtrak en route to Cleveland for her first weekend with Royce. Her summer internship was ending, and this was a perfect time to try out the trains.
The trip started out pleasantly enough since she had a round-trip ticket. While the trip would last overnight, she didn’t bother to pay for a sleeper car. Her seat folded completely flat, and she had her blanket and her bag so she really needed nothing else.
Especially after Royce had said not to bring clothes.
The travel had been smooth until somewhere around midnight, the train came to a stop. The conductor, engineer, or whatever he was, announced they had hit a deer, and they would have to wait to get the train examined.
The train must have weighed several thousand tons, and they were worried about what happened by smashing a deer?
So it was another hour until they were underway again.
Unfortunately, this also meant it messed up the train schedule, which added to another delay because they had to share track with a slow-moving freight train. Her 5:30 arrival time in Cleveland was three hours late.
She dozed for a while and only came fully awake when she felt the rumble of the train change as it entered the city. It was almost 9 am by then.
She opened up her text messages and reread Royce’s last one from before she got on the train, eleven hours earlier.
Royce: Can’t wait to see you. Getting off shift early. Keep me updated.
