Chapter 4: RIVER

“My flight was awful. “ I whine into my phone to my mom. “It was delayed by 2 hours, so I didn’t get to the hotel until around 5 am.”

“Oh honey, it happens all the time. Just get some rest and you’ll be able to enjoy the rest of your time. You still have 3 months you know. “ my mom says. She always has the most positive outlook.

“I know mom, but I’m only in London for a week.” I grumble. “So just stay in London longer. You have your whole life to see the other places baby.” She says. “And you never know. You might stay there the whole time. You’re going to fall in love with London. I just know it!” She smiled. My mom went to London when she was my age. Though she has never told me the stories of her time here. I know she loved it just as much as I will. “You’re going to have to tell me all of your stories some day you know.” I giggle. “I want to know what you did while you were here.”

“One day when you’re a little older I will, honey. But until then, my lips are sealed.” She says. I smile while plopping down on the couch in my room. I hear the bell at the fire station go off and my mom says her goodbyes. I tell her to kiss dad for me and hang up.

I walk to the balcony of my room and step out. This place is so beautiful. I can’t wait to explore it. ‘I should have made an itinerary for the time I’m here’ I thought to myself. There’s so much to do and so many places to see. I smile out on the city and walk back to my room. I put on a cute black lacey dress and a teal green sweater and my black strapy heals, grabbing my purse from the table on the way to the door and walk out of my room.

I get outside and wonder what café has the best coffee because I feel like I might die if I don’t get some in my system soon. As I walk, I snap some pictures of the beautiful old buildings, while humming ‘I’m walking on sunshine’. It’s such a beautiful day out.

I finally find a café and I thank the stars and all the gods for bringing it to me. I open the door and run smack into a hard back. I let out a little yelp. “Oh my goodness, I’m sorry!” I say to the strangers back. I hear the deep voice say “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

He turns around and he has got to be the most beautiful man I’ve ever laid eyes on. His perfect light brown hair and bright blue eyes. His strong jaw and the light dusting of hair there. He has broad shoulders and the button up shirt he was wearing was snug. I could tell he was fit. He has to be at least 6’4” and he had the most perfect smile. I blush and look away as he kept staring at me. I was wondering if there was a bug in my hair or something.

“It’s okay, you didn’t even scuff my shoe.” I say smiling. When he doesn’t say anything else I walk to the counter to order my coffee. The adorable older lady behind the counter smiles “hello, what can I get started for you?”

“I’ll just take a small black coffee to go please.” I say. She goes and starts making the coffee when I hear a throat clear next to me. I look up to see the handsome man smiling at me. The baristas clears her throat and the man finally speaks “hmm, yes, I would like to pay for your coffee. To make up for nearly crushing you.” He says with a smile. I cannot believe this beautiful man wants to do anything for me. “I would like that.”

He hands the barista the money and reaches for my coffee before handing it to me “hello, I’m Jace.”

“Hi Jace, my name is River. “ I say while taking a sip of my coffee to hide the blush on my cheeks. He was literally the sweetest guy ever. And his goofy smile made my heart thump and cause butterflies to erupt in my belly. Why did I feel like this around a total stranger?

“River, would you like to join me for a walk?” The man asks. That was out of nowhere. And a part of me really wanted to but the other part wondered why a man as charming and attractive like him would want to hang out with me. I haven’t slept yet. I probably look like a hot mess.

“I don’t know” I say while playing with the lid on my cup.

“I promise he’s not always this weird. I think you make him nervous.” The barista who I now know from her name tags name is Shirley says from behind the counter. And I giggle at his reaction.

“You’re not an axe murderer, right?” I ask him quietly.

“No!” He says shaking his head.

“See, that’s exactly what an axe murderer would say.” I say while trying not to laugh.

“Fine.” Jace says. I look at him confused.

“How about we walk across the street. There is a beautiful fountain over there. We can just sit and chat. And if you get bored you can leave.” Jace states, and I really didn’t have to think about it much.

“Okay.” I said.

As we’re walking, I can feel him looking at me. I start to feel nervous and fluttery and I can’t figure out why.

“I can feel you staring at me. Is there something on my face?” I ask while wiping my sleeve across it.

With his beautiful smile on he says “oh no, I just think you’re so beautiful.” He looks down, his cheeks a red so bright it could light up a dark room.

“What is your favorite thing to do around here?” I ask him curious about what he will say. I genuinely wanted to know everything about this man.

“I am an artist” He says “would you like to see?”

“Yes” I say with a big excited smile “But first, I need to know more about you. How old are you? What’s your middle name? What’s your favorite color?”

“I’m 19, my favorite color is green. And my middle name is Henry.” He says with a grin.

“How about yourself?” He asks.

“I just turned 18 two weeks ago. My middle name is Arabella. And I love the color yellow.” I say.

“Arabella is a beautiful name.” Jace says with a smile. “How long will you be here River?”

“I leave September 5th, I start school at Princeton University on the 17th. I wanted to travel a bit before I get back to school.” I reply.

“What are you studying?” He asks.

“I want to be a lawyer. I love helping people.” I say. I sigh as I look out over the street “Would you still like to show me your art?” I ask him.

“Yes, I would love to.” He answers with so much excitement I think he might start jumping.

He grabs my hand while he’s standing and we walk around the fountain to go to his art studio. He holds my hand the whole way there, and nothing has ever felt more right. It’s like his hand was made to fit in mine.

As we’re walking I keep wondering if my mom knew this would happen. I keep wondering if she knew I’d find someone here and that my life would never be the same. Because as crazy as this sounds, and it’s going to sound crazy. I felt like he was my soulmate. He was the one I’ve been waiting for. I know crazier things have happened but this was just nuts to me. I felt like I couldn’t go one more day after this not holding his hand. I felt like I couldn’t go one more day without knowing everything and anything about him.

When we finally get to his art studio, he lets go of my hand to unlock the door and I kind of miss having it in mine. ‘Jeez River. Get a grip, he has to unlock the door.’ I scold myself. He looks at me and smiles as he opens the door and he grabs my hand again. We walk up what feels like a million stairs and I swear my world was rocked. His art was wonderful. He lived in a 2 story house. The whole upstairs was an art studio. He had paintings on the walls and the floors. Some were on the desks and some were half complete, some looked completely finished.

I walk up to one in particular, it was of a beautiful woman. Her legs were pulled to her chest and her head rested on her knees while she looked out a window. She had long blonde hair that laid down the side of her body and beautiful grey eyes. I couldn’t tell if she was sad or hurt. But I just loved it.

“I love this one.” I say grazing it with the tips of my fingers. It spoke to me, in a way an art piece never has before.

“That one is one of my favorites as well” Jace says.

“Why does she look so sad?” I ask

“She just lost her best friend. Her person.” He says with a sad smile.

“Do you know her?” I ask him.

“Not very well. She came in for a different piece to be done and this was the most beautiful thing I had seen from her all day.” He says. Walking up behind me and following my fingers path with his. I look up at him over my shoulder and I could see the heartbreak that he felt for her. Like he could physically feel the pain that she had felt. I’ve never wanted to hold someone so bad before. I turn around to face him. My hand goes to his cheek and when he looks at me, I just feel the overwhelming need to just hold him. For as long as he needed.

I move my hand away when he looks at me “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I did that.” I say blushing. He grabs my hand and puts it back.

“It’s okay, I liked it there.” He says looking me in my eyes. I want to kiss him. I want to feel him. I want him. ‘Just kiss him River. What’s the worst that could happen?’ I thought to myself. I move closer to him, my hand still on his cheek. While one of his hands rests on mine, his other goes to my hip. He leans closer to me and I reach up and kiss him. It was one of those “right times” kind of kisses. My hands slide over his shoulders and to the sides of his face while his hands did the same. It was a passionate, soft kiss. When I pull away he rests his forehead against mine “what was that for?” He asks with a smile.

“I think the universe made me do it.” I giggle.

“Well, I think the universe knows what she’s doing.” He says with a smile. I back up a little bit and grab his hand. I walk over to look at the other paintings while he explains the different ones to me.

As the day goes on, the tiredness finally starts to hit me.

“I should head back to my hotel.” I say with a sad look.

“Oh, I’ll walk you.”

Grabbing my hand and walking out of the door. When we make it back to my hotel he walks me all the way to my room.

“I don’t mean to sound forward or anything but could I see you tomorrow night?” Jace asks. I smile because I didn’t think he would.

“Forward is your reserved right, for me kissing you out of nowhere, I think. “ I say with a smile.

“Well, I happened to really like that kiss.” He says. I open my room door and grab a pen and paper. I write my number down and hand it to him. Hoping he’ll use it.

“Call me?” I say. He leans down a kisses my cheek. “Goodnight, River.” He says with a sweet smile.

“Goodnight, Jace.” I tell him back. I close the door and lean against it with a big goofy smile on my face. I walk to my bed and flop down. I can’t stop smiling. I don’t think I’ll ever stop smiling.

My phone pings on the table. I grab it and see a message.

“I had the most wonderful time with you today. I’m taking you on a date tomorrow night. Wear something warm. I’ll pick you up at 10 am. Sleep tight. X Jace” the text reads. I clutch my phone to my chest and smile so big. I’ve never felt this way before. Not even when I was with Landon did I ever feel this much joy. I can’t wait for what’s to come.