London Love

Once she received a text from Michael, Catherine propped the door of her hotel room open before going to the bathroom. She had been listening to the music on her ipod for the past hour, hoping it would calm her down. It didn’t. Each song only brought up the issues her mind was trying to suppress. She needed to collect herself before Michael walked through that door. It was bad enough that he would end up learning her dark secrets.

When Michael arrived at Catherine’s door, he found it propped open, gently he knocked to alert her of his presence. He heard her say “come in,” and entered the room, closing the door behind him. She was standing at the foot of the bed, her laptop open and playing classical music softly, while she folded clothes and placed them into her suitcase. Since she was leaving late the next day she felt it was time to start packing, and figure out how to get everything into her suitcase and carryon. He walked across the room and stood next to her. She paused before turning to look at him. The height difference still drove her crazy, but a good crazy.

“You said you wanted to talk to me,” he spoke, his voice gentle. Remembering her behavior from the past few days made him cautious. She nodded and pointed to the couch and chair that were placed in the corner. They sat down, next to each other, but not close enough to be touching. Her distance made his mind spin; she didn’t seem to mind it previously. He gently laced his hand on her knee, hoping it would help her open up to him. “Come on Catherine, talk to me, tell me what’s going on. Did I do something wrong?”

She shook her head no, he assumed, to the last question. He could see her trying to figure out what to say, and not cry at the same time. He had never been good with emotional women, but he felt some inner need to make her feel better. “Please,” he whispered.

“I’m trying, Michael, just not sure how to say what I need to say,” she replied, her voice shaky.

“One sentence at a time. I’m here to listen,” he prodded.

“Ok,” she took a deep breath and her mind began to formulate what to say. “I’m going to be completely honest with you. This….this scares me. I don’t know what exactly it is, but I know it’s something. And it makes me happy but scared out of my mind. Please, let me finish, before you respond, promise me.” He nodded and reached for her hand, trying to reassure her. “I’ve never felt good enough, never felt pretty or attractive. I’ve always been the girl that is either completely invisible, or stuck as just friends. So having you, and the other guys here, pay attention to me is completely overwhelming. I’ve been crushed by so many guys who I was just friends with, or was introduced to by other girlfriends that I don’t go searching for a relationship. Even with my male friends I wasn’t comfortable, especially not when it comes to physical aspects like hugs.” Michael knew she wasn’t quite done, but he had to say something.

Running his thumb over the back of her hand he made her look up at him. “You may not have believed it in the past. But you are absolutely stunning. You are funny, and sweet, and caring, and intelligent, and so so beautiful. Please believe me,” he told her.
His words made her cry, but at the same time, she couldn’t will herself to completely believe him. How could she when he could have any girl in the world that he wanted. He was Michael freaking Phelps for goodness sakes. “Hey, look at me, I have been with models and plenty of other girls, no one comes close to being as special as you are. No one has ever held me as captivated as you have. And I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t completely mean it,” he explained. She could hear the honesty and affection in his voice and it caused her to shiver.

“Michael….I’m 21 and I’ve never been on a date, never been asked. I’ve never been kissed or anything like that. I’ve never had a relationship that was anything more than friendship. I need baby steps,” she vocalized.

“Trust me, I can do baby steps. Especially for you. I want to try this with you. I like you, and I think we’re worth a shot. Go to breakfast with me in the morning, I can even have my mom and sisters come with us if it would make you more comfortable. Plus I know they want to see you before you leave tomorrow.”

“I can do that,” she smiled. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that he didn’t run for the hills. Seeing her smile made Michael happy, and another little piece of him fell for her.

“Have I mentioned how gorgeous your smile is?” he asked. She blushed and shook her head. “Well it is. Do you mind if I stay and just spend time with you, we can lie on different beds, I just want to spend some more time together.”

“As long as I can finish packing. I’d like that.” They spent the rest of the day just enjoying each other’s company.