Currents

Thirty-two ~ Surprise

Thirty-two ~ Surprise

"Why didn't you warn me?" I said down the phone to Mia, glancing over my shoulder towards the men's toilets.

"It was supposed to be a surprise. If I'd warned you, it wouldn't have been a surprise."

I groaned, rubbing at my head to soothe the painful ache, undoubtedly brought on by the stress of the situation.

"I thought you'd be happy," Mia said, sounding sad.

I sighed and took a couple of deep breaths. "I am happy. It's just a shock. It's caught me completely off-guard."

"I know, I'm sorry. You've just seemed so miserable lately that I didn't have the heart to tell you I couldn't come. I promise to visit at Christmas, though, when I'm back from college."

Guilt coated her rushed words, and I worried that my panic was presenting itself as ungratefulness. I reassured Mia that I truly did appreciate the gesture, and we wrapped up the call as Brent emerged from the toilets.

If being back in London had felt strange, it paled in comparison to being back in London alongside Brent, my biggest association with North Carolina. An overwhelming awkwardness accompanied us as we left the airport, and I hoped conversation would ease it.

"How was your flight?" I asked.

"It was good." He shot me a tight-lipped smile. "Thank you for, you know, paying."

I'd noticed our driver further along the drop-off zone and was mentally preparing a speech to explain the presence of a boy and not a girl, so Brent's sentence didn't register until seconds later.

"Paying?" I repeated, coming to a halt at the car and glancing up at him.

"Yeah, for the flight."

His eyes remained on me, that same fearless stare I'd grown so accustomed to. For a moment, we could have been back on the sunny, warm beach, not outside a chilly Heathrow Airport underneath a veil of black clouds.

"I paid for Mia's flight," I replied, confused.

"No, that was mine. I was sitting out of view in case she needed any information that wasn't on my passport."

Horror trickled through every vein in my body. It wasn't embarrassment from being so easily tricked, but mortification at realising Brent had witnessed every word of our candid conversation.

We didn't talk much on the journey into London. He stared out of the window for most of the ride, but his eyes glinted with interest rather than boredom. When we walked into the hotel's best suite, however, the silence spoke volumes. It reminded me of when he'd seen my Camberley house for the first time, and he'd made a resentful comment about how the other half live.

"So, whose idea was it?" I asked, perching on the edge of the bed.

No doubt he wanted to rest after the long flight, but leaving so soon after his arrival seemed heartless on my part—especially when I'd already given off ungrateful vibes to Mia.

"So you know who to be pissed at?" Brent didn't turn around from where he stood at the window, admiring the view.

"Not at all," I replied, my tone clipped. "I'm just shocked. That was the point of your surprise, wasn't it? To surprise me?"

"Jesus, you've only been back in London a week and you're already as bitchy as you were when we first met."

I narrowed my eyes at his back. "I'm not being bitchy. I'm trying to think of how this is going to work. Everyone is expecting Mia. People believe Alastair and I are still together. When they realise you're here—surprising me, no less—it's going to raise suspicions."