Spontaneous.

"Can I ask you a favour?"

I looked up as I realised that the person was aiming his question at me. My eyes met a pair of deep blue eyes, which were shining as the guy smiled down at me. "Sorry?" I asked, snapping myself out of my almost-daze. The guy's smile just widened.
"Can I ask you a favour?" He asked again.
"Um, sure," I said with a gentle frown, wondering what I was going to be asked.
"Well, I'm new in town and I'm not staying long, so I was wondering if you could get a book out for me? I promise I'll return it, so you won't be charged or anything," he said. I looked down at the book in his hands and then back up at him.
"Sure, I guess," I smiled, standing up from the desk I had been working at. I headed over to the librarian's desk with the guy and took out the book for him. It was 'the Great Gatsby'. I glanced at the guy. "Have you read this before?" I asked him and he nodded with a smile.
"I love it," he said. "It’s my favourite book."
"Why?" I grimaced.
"Have you read it?" He asked, that twinkle back in his eyes.
"Yeah," I said, smiling as the librarian gave me my library card back. "I hated it."
"Well you have no taste," the guy said and I turned to him. I couldn't decide whether to be offended or amused. In the end, I just rolled my eyes as I smiled. The librarian handed me the book and I thanked her before handing it over to the guy. "Thanks," he smiled.
"Anytime," I smiled before heading back over to the desk I'd been working at. I sat down and picked up my highlighter again before turning back to the photocopies of newspapers I'd made when I first got to the library.
"So what are you working on?" A voice beside me asked. I turned to see the guy sitting in the chair beside me.
"I have a job interview tomorrow at a newspaper, so I'm reading some of their articles," I told him.
"Oh, cool, you're a writer?" He asked and I smiled.
"Aspiring journalist," I told him and he nodded. "I'm applying for a freelance position, which will be good, because I'll be able to write from home."
"Sounds good," he smiled.
"So what do you do?" I asked him.
"Musician," he smiled.
"What do you play?" I asked, turning away from the desk to face him properly.
"Guitar and drums," he said and I nodded with a small smile.
"Are you in a band?" I asked and he smiled and shook his head.
"Nah, I just go to new places and work as a backing musician for a while before moving on," he said.
"So, how long are you here for?" I asked him. He gazed at me for a moment, his eyes so intense that I had to look away.
"A week, maybe 2," he said and I nodded. "Depends on what I find in town." I looked back up at him and met his intense gaze once more. I felt my cheeks start to fill with blood and I lowered my head once again. "So what's your name?" He asked.
"Jamie," I smiled.
"I'm Alex," he said, holding his hand out to me. I smiled and shook his hand. I bit my lip as my fingers started to tingle within his. I cleared my throat and pulled my hand back and looked down at the papers on my desk again. "I'll let you get back to work," he smiled, starting to stand. "Can I have your number?" I suddenly paused, my brain reminding me that I had a boyfriend.
"Um," I stammered, unsure how to say no. Even though I really wanted to give it to him.
"Maybe you could come to a show I'm doing tomorrow night?" He asked and I smiled.
"Yeah," I smiled. "That sounds good." I took my pen and a piece of scrap paper and wrote my number. "Text me the address?" I asked with a smile.
"Definitely," he smiled, taking the paper, before leaving the library.

--

Later that night, I was watching television when Dave got home. “Hey, babe,” he smiled, leaning down to peck my lips.
“Hey,” I smiled. Dave walked passed me and then into the kitchen and I heard the kettle start to boil. Dave and I had been living together for just over two years. For our 3 year anniversary, I’d thought that maybe Dave would propose, but he didn’t. We just went to the cinema. I was kind of disappointed, but it was okay. Dave obviously wasn’t there yet, I just had to be patient. “There’s this show tomorrow night,” I said as I walked into the kitchen. “I was thinking that we could go.”
“I can’t tomorrow, babe,” he said as he sipped from a cup of tea. “I’m working.”
“I thought you’d stopped night shifts,” I frowned. Dave was a manager at a 24 hour supermarket. It wasn’t an amazing job, but he liked it.
“It pays better,” he shrugged. “And I figured we could use the money.”
“Oh,” I said softly.
“Sorry, Jamie,” Dave said. “Next time, okay?”
“Yeah, I won't be back till late, though,” I said, pretending not to be disappointed.
“Okay,” he said.

I heard my phone go off from where I’d left it in the living room. I felt my lips curve into a small smile and quickly went to read the message. Alex had been texting me all afternoon, and while I felt a small amount of guilt because of Dave, I couldn’t help but be flattered.

--

The following morning, I showered and got ready for my interview. I was pretty confident that it would go okay. I’d worked on the magazine at school, and I had worked at a small newspaper after leaving school. So I had plenty of experience. Plus, I think freelance isn't something that everyone wants, so hopefully my enthusiasm for the job, would put me ahead.

I arrived at the newspapers office about 20 minutes before my interview, but they saw me straight away anyway. The woman that was interviewing me was really upbeat and friendly, and I knew she’d be an amazing boss. Before I even knew it, the interview was over. I’d been in her office for over an hour. And it had gone really well. Angela, the woman interviewing me, and I just clicked and we could talk easily despite it being an interview. And I was confident that I’d get that job.

When I got home, I had lunch and lounged around in the living room before getting dressed in tight black skinny jeans, a red shirt and a black blazer jacket. I got to the club that Alex had texted me about and showed my ID at the door, even though I was 23 years old. Rather than make myself known, I sat in a booth at the back of the club and waited.

About half an hour later, people started getting loud and I realised that several people were moving onto the small stage. I recognised Alex’s mess of blond hair immediately and couldn’t help but smile. He sat at the drum kit and then looked up and his eyes met mine. He grinned and winked and I blushed and looked away. I prayed that he couldn’t see the reaction he’d had because of the dimness of the club. A minute later, the band were playing. Apparently the singer was someone famous, though I hadn’t heard of her. But I didn’t care, all of my attention was focused on Alex.

They were playing for almost an hour, but it felt like 5 minutes. The girl said thank you and that she loved everyone who supported her. I didn’t really listen. Alex rose from his drum kit and fought through the crowds until he reached me. “You came,” he grinned.
“I said I would,” I smiled.
“Did you like the show?” he asked and I smiled and nodded.
“You were really good,” I said.
“Have you heard of her?” he asked.
“Will you think badly of me if I say no?” I asked with a smile.
“No, but you’re just confirming my thought that you have no taste,” he said and I chuckled. “Can I get you a drink?” he asked.
“Sure,” I smiled.
“What would you like?” he asked.
“Vodka and coke, please,” I smiled and he nodded.
“Sit tight,” he smiled, “I’ll be right back.” I just nodded and watched as Alex headed to the bar.

A few minutes later he was back and placed two glasses on the table before sitting opposite me. We had a few drinks and then Alex suggested we go for a walk and I eagerly nodded. “That sounds good,” I smiled. It was pretty loud in the club, especially now that it was getting later. Alex stood and grabbed my hand as we meandered through the club and headed outside.

The air was cool but not too bad. Alex and I headed away from the club and towards a small park that was about 10 minutes away. It was almost 11, so there were very few people in sight. “So, have you decided how long you’re staying?” I asked him as we sat on a bench.
“Not yet,” he smiled.
“It must be great just being able to pick up and leave whenever you want,” I said, staring into the darkness.
“Well, you’re a writer, surely you can do that from anywhere?” he asked and I sighed.
“I…I have a boyfriend,” I told him. Alex was silent for a minute.
“Oh,” he said. I suddenly felt really bad for not telling him sooner. I knew that Alex liked me…and I’d just led him on. “So, you didn’t ask him to come tonight?”
“Yeah, I did,” I said, “he wanted to work.” Alex was silent. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I should have.”
“It’s okay,” Alex shrugged, but I could tell by the change of his tone that things had changed. “How long have you two been together?”
“Just over 3 years,” I said.
“Wow,” he murmured.
“Yeah,” I said.
“You love him?” he asked and I hesitated.
“I…” I whispered, but then broke off with a frown. “We’ve been together for forever.”
“That isn't an answer,” he said.
“I know,” I whispered. “I…I don’t know anything else. So, yeah, maybe I do love him.” Alex just made a noise in the back of his throat. I wasn’t sure what that meant.
“What do you want?” he asked. “Do you want to just pick up and leave?”
“It would be nice to have the option,” I shrugged. “But I couldn’t leave Dave. I’ve been waiting for him to propose.”
“You want to get married?” Alex asked and I could hear the tone of surprise in his voice.
“Yeah,” I said.
“To Dave?” he asked and I hesitated once again. Why was it that Alex managed to ask questions that I didn’t really know the answer to? No, that was a lie. I did know that answer, I just didn’t want to.
“I…I’ve been waiting so long,” I said. “What the point of waiting so long?”
“You shouldn’t have to wait,” Alex said. “You deserve to have everything you want.”
“You don’t know me,” I smiled, turning to look at him.
“I know that you shouldn’t be waiting around for something for so long,” he told me. His hand came up to cup my jaw tenderly. “He should be excited to be with you for the rest of his life.” I looked up into his eyes and felt my heart melt a little. “You shouldn’t have to wait; your life should be filled with spontaneous moments that make you happy.”
“I can't remember the last time I did something spontaneous,” I whispered.
“Come with me,” he whispered.
“Where?” I asked.
“When I leave,” he said and my eyes widened.
“What?” I asked in shock, moving away from him slightly.
“You heard me,” he said. “Be spontaneous.”
“I can’t,” I said and Alex nodded and stood up.
“I’m catching a train tomorrow at 9 o’clock, if you change your mind,” he said and I frowned and stood up, too.
“I thought you were staying for a couple weeks,” I said and he shrugged.
“I said it depends on what I find in town,” he said and I frowned. “I found you. But you already have someone in your life.” He then turned to walk away and my lips parted in shock. I wanted to say something to stop him, to ask him to stay. But nothing came to me. Instead, I just watched him walk away.

I continued to sit on the bench for a while, and then stood and headed home. It wasn’t fair of me to even consider leaving Dave. We’d been together for years and so what if things weren’t moving in the direction I wanted them to? I just had to be patient.

I got home a lot earlier than I had planned, so I thought that maybe I would be awake when Dave got back from his shift. But when I walked through the front door, the lights were all on and I realised that he’d got home before me anyway. I set my phone, keys and wallet down on the table and locked the door behind me before I silently made my way to our bedroom in case he was sleeping because I didn’t want to wake him up. As I reached our bedroom, however, I stopped just outside the door. I could hear Dave inside, but he was definitely not alone. My heart was suddenly racing. Part of me was terrified to open the door, but another part of me wanted to do just that. I pushed the door open, and the two people on the bed sprang apart. Dave was staring wide-eyed at me as the other guy on the bed grabbed the blankets to cover him.

My brain suddenly decided to remind me of the time when this had happened before. It had been just over a year ago that I had caught Dave cheating on me. I had forgiven him that time.

This time, instead of even waiting for him to say something, I turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me again. I grabbed my wallet and phone from where I’d left them, but left my keys. I slammed the door behind me and headed out into the night. It was almost midnight now, but I couldn’t stay in that house. He’d sworn to me that he’d never cheat on me again. And he had. For all I knew, he’d been cheating on me the entire time. I should never have forgiven him the first time. I should have walked away as soon as I realised what was going on. But I hadn’t. I’d been so stupid. I’d wasted so many years of my life.

I was tempted to phone Alex, but I didn’t. I knew I’d hurt him by not telling him that I had a boyfriend, and I was probably the last person he wanted to speak to now. Instead, I headed to the train station. I had to hope that when he arrived at the station tomorrow, I would find him before he left. Thankfully, the train station is open all hours of the night, as it’s a pretty busy train route. I headed inside and sat down on a bench. There was no one else around and it was pretty cold, so I just pulled my knees up to my chest and tried to keep warm.

My phone rang about half an hour later and I looked down at the screen. Dave’s name was flashing and I sighed. I knew I had to talk to him at some point, might as well get it over with. “Hi,” I said after answering the call.
“Babe, where are you? Come home, please,” he said.
“No,” I said. “We’re over, Dave. I shouldn’t have even taken you back the first time, so I’m definitely not going to forgive you this time.”
“But it was just a mistake. It won't happen again, I promise,” he said and I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut.
“I can’t believe you, Dave,” I told him. “And I think it’s come at the right time anyway. We weren’t going anywhere, but I wanted to hold on to us just because of how long we’d been together. But I won't do it anymore. We’re over and I’m not coming back this time. Bye, Dave.”

With that, I hung up. My heart was racing. I’d never really stood up for myself before, especially not to Dave, and I felt kind of good about it. There was so many things I wanted to let out of my system, to point out to Dave. But I didn’t need to now. We were over, I could let go of all the things I felt Dave had done wrong by me. And now I could focus on something else, something new. And I was kind of excited about that.

--

I hadn’t realised I’d fallen asleep, but the sound of a train’s whistle startled be awake. I sat up quickly, kind of embarrassed that I’d been sleeping on a public bench. I checked my phone and felt my heart sink as I realised that it was 9.45 – I’d missed Alex. I’d slept straight through. I lowered my head and sighed. Now what was I going to do? I couldn’t go back to Dave and I had no idea where Alex was headed.

“Can I ask you a favour?” a smooth voice behind me asked. I quickly turned to see Alex sitting on the bench behind mine.
“Alex?” I whispered, leaning over the backs of the benches to wrap my arms around his shoulders tightly.
“Can I?” he asked again, pushing me back slightly. I frowned in concern but nodded anyway. “Forgive me?” he asked and my heart melted.
“There’s nothing to forgive,” I said honestly. “I’m the one that should be apologising.”
“I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did,” he said, shaking his head. “And it wasn’t fair of me to ask you to leave your boyfriend.”
“I left him,” I said quickly. Alex’s eyes widened.
“Oh, God, Jamie, I didn’t mean to ruin things between you,” he said. “You shouldn’t have left him for me.”
“I didn’t,” I smiled. “I left him for me. You were right, I was waiting around for something that was never going to happen. He was cheating on me.”
“I’m sorry,” Alex said and I smiled and shook my head.
“I’m not,” I said. “It made me realise that I don’t belong with him.”
“So…where do you belong?” he asked and I looked into his eyes and smiled softly.
“I’m not really sure yet,” I said. “But I was kind of hoping you’d help me figure it out.” Alex smiled and rose from the bench and came around to sit beside me.
“I’d be honoured,” he smiled and I grinned.
“So, did you miss your train?” I asked him, looking around the station.
“Yeah, but it’s okay,” he said, raising his hand to my chin to turn me to face him. “I found you instead.” I smiled up at him and then he leant forward and closed the gap between us. My eyes slid closed as I felt Alex’s lips on mine and my hands moved to the back of his neck. I’d never felt anything so close to perfect in all my life. The way Alex’s lips felt on mine, the way his fingertips gently stroked my neck. I felt like I could just turn into a puddle at his feet. And I’m pretty sure I would have if we weren’t sitting on the bench.

After a short while, Alex pulled back and smiled at me. “You know the other night you said you wanted to get married?” he asked and I frowned in confusion once again.
“Yes,” I said softly, my mind still a bit fuzzy from the kiss.
“Marry me,” he whispered. The fuzziness instantly vanished and I pulled back to look at him properly.
“What? You’re kidding,” I said, trying to wrap my head around his attempt at humour.
“No I’m not,” he said, taking my hand and linking our fingers.
“We’ve only known each other for 3 days!” I told him.
“So?” he asked. “I only needed 5 minutes to completely fall for you. You said you can't remember the last time you were spontaneous. So be spontaneous right now. We could go and get married right now.”
“You’re insane,” I whispered, but a small part of my brain was actually considering this. “We can’t…”
“Why not?” he asked. “What have we got to lose?”
“We…We don’t even have anywhere to live,” I pointed out.
“So we’ll find somewhere,” he said, like it was the most straightforward thing in the world. He looked into my eyes and then slid off the bench to kneel in front of me.
“Alex,” I whispered, desperately fighting a blush.
“Marry me, Jamie,” he said. “I already know that we’ll spend the rest of our lives together, so what does it matter if we get married now, or in 5 year’s time? I know I will be marrying you eventually.”
“You’re crazy,” I whispered, but a small smile had started to tug at the corners of my lips.
“Is that a yes?” he asked, his eyes twinkling.
“Yes,” I whispered, agreeing to what was probably one of the craziest things I had ever been a part of. But the smile on Alex’s face was completely worth it. He rose from his knees to sit beside me once again, before he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me for the second time. I found it slightly insane that I had agreed to marry him before we’d had our second kiss. But it felt kind of right. With Dave, I’d been waiting around for something that he clearly never had any intention of doing. But with Alex…he hadn’t wasted a minute.

The kiss broke, but I kept my arms around Alex as I just held him tight. And I knew that although we had nowhere to live, we would be okay.