I sat on the plane, feeling giddy and anxious and excited. I couldn't believe I was on a plane to Scotland. I tried to do as much research as I could about the beautiful country but in the end, I decided to experience it for myself. But from what I did research, I had nothing to worry about. It was voted one of the friendliest countries in the world.
Daniel sat beside me, chatting about everything he had researched about the country, so I suppose there was no need for me to do my research. He was just as excited as I was and was desperate to try out haggis.
About fifteen people from the office were selected to go to the Scotland office. Most people couldn't go due to other commitments but most of us who put our names down managed to get a place. We were all excited about visiting a new country and seeing the new office and meeting those in the Edinburgh office who we had emailed but had never seen before.
Jason sat a few seats behind us. We hadn't really spoken much. We had only greeted each other with pleasantries at the airport but there was still an awkwardness between us. I had hoped we would at least be on speaking terms before the trip, but it didn't seem like we were there yet. Maybe once we arrived, things would we different.
Before I knew it, we had arrived at Edinburgh airport. We had to take a taxi into the city centre, where we would be staying. I didn't take my eyes of the window as the taxi made its way to the hotel. The skies were grey as rain trickled down the window. We drove along, greenery on either side, brightening up the dull day. The greenery soon disappeared, and buildings took its place. Houses replaced the green farmlands on one side, and businesses on the other. People walked in the streets, holding tight onto their jackets as the wind threatened to blow them away.
"Hey, look over there" Daniel pointed out. "It's the zoo". I smiled as we passed by a huge building, pictures of pandas and penguins on the outside, a large 'Edinburgh Zoo' sign displayed at the entrance. "Did you know that Edinburgh Zoo is the only zoo in the United Kingdom to home pandas?"
I raised my eyebrow "How much research did you do of Scotland?"
"I may have done quite a bit of research" Daniel replied, rubbing his hand against his neck. "There was just so may interesting facts about Scotland to find out, I couldn't help it"
"The buildings all look so old and historic. It's amazing" I said in awe as we passed by some large stone houses.
"Just wait until you get to the city centre. There is so much history to see there"
The closer we got to our destination, the more excited I was to discover Edinburgh. The roads suddenly got busier and large buildings took over. It looked like we had made it to the city centre. More people were about, running away from the rain that was starting to pour down, we passed rows upon rows of colourful shops, with kilts and tartan gifts on display. I would definitely have to get some gifts from the gift shop at some point.
Our taxi stopped at the hotel and my heartbeat faster. I couldn't stop the grin that overtook my face. I couldn't believe I was here, in Edinburgh. I looked up at the large building that overshadowed us, all medieval like, and my heart fluttered at the excitement of this new adventure. In the distance loomed the castle, adding to the medieval feel of the city.
We entered the hotel, where the rest of the team were waiting in the lobby. The first thing I noticed was the blue and beige tartaned chairs, that some of the team were currently sat on. How very Scottish. Chandeliers above lit the lightly dimmed room. As it was evening, the lights were lowered, a screen on the wall showing a fireplace, giving the lobby a cosy feeling. I looked around in awe as I stared at one wall of the lobby which had pictures of what looked like Victorian royalty.
"I wonder who they are?" I wondered aloud to Daniel.
"Eh...that's one thing I don't know" Daniel chuckled.
Victoria, who was one of our sales managers and responsible for organising this trip, had finished checking us in and came over to our group, informing us of what rooms we were in and checking of her list at the same time.
"Oh, Rosie and Jason, I need to speak with you both". We both walked over to Victoria, purposefully avoiding glancing at each other.
"Is everything okay?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, yeah, everything is fine. It's just that we hope it's okay that you will be sharing a room together" she explained. We both stared at Victoria, stunned into silence.
"It's just the way it turned out, with the numbers and everything. Plus, we figured since you two know each other already, that it would be okay". When we didn't respond, she rambled on. "Don't worry, there are two separate beds, so you won't have to worry about sleeping arrangements" she chuckled before handing us our room keys and walked away.
I took that moment to look at Jason, who had also turned to me, pursing his lips and shrugged as he made his way to the elevator. At this point, the lobby had cleared out, leaving just the two of us to take the elevator. The silence between us was deafening, you could cut the tension with a knife. I didn't know how we were going to cope sharing a room together if we weren't even speaking.
We arrived on our floor and made our way to our room, where Jason opened the door. He signalled for me to go in first. I smiled and walked in, glad to get a chance to relax after a long flight, but as I walked into the room, I knew there was no chance of relaxing as my eyes widened at what I saw.
The room was beautiful, we had a view of Edinburgh city centre from outside our window. A television stood on the wall, with a small desk by the window. The room was small but comfy, there was just one issue. I could hear a thump of a bag behind me as Jason dropped his bag to the floor, also looking at what I had just discovered.
Instead of two beds as we were promised, right there in the middle of the room, lay one double bed.
I turned to Jason to see his mouth had dropped, mirroring my own shock. I shook my head, chuckling at the situation we were in. "Well, what a way to start an adventure"
Jason also laughed, "This is certainly not the way I thought I'd start of this trip. I suppose I better go tell Victoria about the mix up"
"Wait" I said before he could take a step, stopping him. "Victoria will probably be in her room relaxing right now. She might even be jetlagged and will be catching up on her sleep. Its best we don't disturb her, besides, we can sort out sleeping arrangements later"
Jason pursed his lips, thinking this through. "Okay, what do you suppose we do in the meantime?"
"Are you tired just now?" It was evening time here which meant it was still afternoon back home. As much as I wanted to sleep off the jetlag, I wasn't that tired, my mind still wide awake with the time difference.
"Nope, not really" Jason shrugged.
"Then, why don't we go out exploring" I smiled.
We didn't venture far from the hotel for fear of getting lost. The rain had stopped thankfully, but there was a slight chill in the air. We walked up the hill outside our hotel, taking in the sights that was Edinburgh. The cobbled streets made me feel like I was in some Victorian drama, like I had been transported to the past. Scotland, especially Edinburgh, had a lot of history, and it was nice to see that they had still preserved some of it. Even the buildings surrounding us, were large stoned buildings, giving off that Victorian vibe.
I raised my eyebrows as we passed by a set of stairs that seemed like it lasted forever "Woow, I do not want to be climbing those stairs. That looks like it would be a nightmare to climb"
Jason laughed "I'm sure there must be some story behind that. I can see that being some sort of servants entry to the castle or something"
"It could be. Daniel might know something about it as he seems to have researched everything there is to know about Scotland" I laughed.
We continued walking up, passing gift shops, cafes and restaurants that were all starting to close up. The streets were quiet, save for a few people milling about. The workday was over, and most people were probably at home, relaxing or tucking into their dinner.
"What do you think of Edinburgh so far?" I asked, trying to make small talk. I was hoping we would be on good ground soon, especially since we were sharing a room.
"I'm loving it so far. I can't wait to explore more of it. I can't believe we get to spend a week in this amazing place"
"It seems too good to be true. Although, the weather could be a little better" I laughed.
"I suppose there's not much we can do there. We can't let a little bit of rain deter us from exploring this amazing city. There so much to see and do, I don't know where to begin"
"I'm sure Daniel can point you in the right direction. He's got a list of everything he wants to see. I'll be surprised if he can get through that list by the end of the week"
Soon enough, we had arrived at the top of the hill, which led to another cobbled street filled with lots of shops. We continued walking, taking in the streets of Edinburgh. I paused as I saw the sign for something that looked familiar. "Hey, I think this is something from Daniels list. This is Mary Kings Close" I said, taking a peek into the eerie alleyway. "There is some history behind it, but I can't remember what Daniel mentioned about it"
"It seems really creepy" Jason shivered.
"I think that's enough exploring for one day" I said, now creeped out.
"Yeah, I think we should head back. Shall we grab some takeout to take back to the hotel?"
On cue, my stomach grumbled.
"Hungry, are we?" Jason chuckled.
"Maybe" I said, my face heating up slightly in the chilly night.
We found someplace nearby that was still open for takeout and walked back to the hotel. I loved the cobbled streets of Edinburgh; I don't think I could get enough of them.
I sighed, needing to get something of my chest before we went back to the hotel. "
"Me too. I'm sorry if I've been acting strange lately. I just didn't like Max and didn't want to stand in the way of you two"
I gave a light chuckle "Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore. We are no longer together"
"Really?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yep. He's moved on"
"Are you okay?"
It was crazy how alike he and his sister were. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm not even that upset about it. I don't think I should have got back together with him in the first place. There was a reason we didn't make it the first-time round"
Jason nodded, turning his head slightly to hide the smile that he was badly trying to hide.
"Are you laughing at me?"
"Nope, of course I'm not" Jason snorted.
"Ah, I knew it. You're laughing at my pain"
"Hey, you said you were fine so technically you are not in pain"
I rolled my eyes "Fair enough"
Moments passed as the sunset was drawing in on Princes Street, falling beneath the high street stores.
"I've missed seeing you in the office" Jason spoke, breaking the silence.
I sighed, feeling much lighter having confessed everything that I needed to "Me too. It was stupid of me to ignore you. I just thought it was better for both of us that we didn't speak to each other. I just didn't want things to be awkward between us after our kiss and really didn't want to upset Liz. But now I see that was a bad idea. Instead of enjoying this trip, I've been worried about bumping into you and what to say to you."
"And now were sharing a room together, so that would have made things embarrassing if we still weren't on speaking terms"
"I don't think our little feud would have lasted long anyway"
"Your right, you would have eventually caved in and would have had to speak to me at some point" Jason smirked.
"If anyone was going to cave, it would have been you. You would have needed someone to talk all about Aliyah with. 'oh, did you know Aliya was a model. Did you know she has smooth silky hair? I just miss her so much, blah de blah de blah'" I said, imitating Jason.
"Okay, first of, I do not sound like that. And secondly, it sounds like someone is a little jealous"
"Pfft, me jealous." I scoffed. Then after a few seconds, I decided to just say the truth "Of course I am. I mean, have you seen her, she's this gorgeous model, who wouldn't want to be near her."
Jason laughed as if it was the funniest thing he had heard. "Well, you're not wrong there, she is gorgeous. But I don't think I'll need anyone to discuss her with. We're just friends"
"Really?" I asked, my heart skipping a beat at hearing those words.
"Yeah. And besides, you know yourself it's never a good idea to get back together with an ex"
"Been there, done that, came to Scotland to forget all about him" I scoffed.
I was glad to be back on speaking terms with Jason. Now I could fully enjoy this magical trip.
We arrived back to the hotel and scoffed down our meal, not realising how hungry we actually were. We lay on our bed afterwards, the television providing background noise as our eyes slowly fluttered closed.
"I suppose we better get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow" Jason yawned.
"Yeah, I'm ready to sleep now" I agreed.
"I guess I'll take the floor then, being the gentlemen that I am" Jason said, starting to get up off the bed.
I shot up of the bed, grabbing his arm to stop him "Wait, what do you mean?"
"Well, we both can't sleep on the bed, so I'll just sleep on the floor"
"Don't be ridiculous. You didn't get much sleep on the plane, so if anyone is sleeping on the floor, it's me" I said, grabbing my pillow to take to the floor.
"No, you won't" Jason argued back. "I'll be fine on the floor"
"But I'll feel guilty that you're sleeping on the floor which will mean I won't be getting any sleep, so I'll just take the floor"
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine on the floor"
"I don't care, you're not taking the floor"
Jason shook his head and took a pillow, placing it on the ground. I groaned, placing my hands on my face.
"Its fine, really. The floor is carpeted, so it'll be comfy" Jason defended.
"I'm not having you sleeping on the floor. I'm not expecting you to sleep there all week"
"Will you stop worrying, it's fine" he shrugged.
"I would rather sleep on the floor than let you sleep there" I said, folding my arms.
He sighed "Fine, what do you suggest we do then?"
"Well, we're both adults, so we can just sleep in the same bed" I shrugged, my face flaming at the suggestion.
"Are you sure?" Jason asked, running a hand through his hair.
"I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't. c'mon" I said, patting the space beside me "I don't bite"
Jason chuckled and reluctantly took the space beside me, his body heat enveloping me in an instant.
I don't know why my heartbeat erratically at the close contact, but if this continued, I think I would have had to take a place on the floor instead.
No words were spoken between us. I gave Jason a small smile and snuggled into the bed, purposefully facing away from him in the hopes that I would forget that he was right beside me. It seemed to work and before I knew it, I had drifted off into a deep sleep.
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I know there was a lot of the word 'floor' near the end there but I didn't know how else to put it, haha.