23 | get packing

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CHAPTER 23

The dial tone sounded, a sharp ringing that travelled through the air as I waited for Lucy to answer the call.

"Hi Cora." She yawned into the phone.

I suppressed a smile. "Are you still in bed?"

The silence that I received was answer enough, and I burst out laughing. "Luce, it's 12 'o' clock in the afternoon.

Her sleepy voice responded. "I know. Way too early for me to be awake."

"That's not really what I meant." I said with amusement, shaking my head at how predictable she was.

I had lost count of how many times I had phoned her in the middle of the day to find that she was still half asleep. It was only a matter of time before I started to hear snores instead of words.

"Well when you're ready to wake up can you come over?" I asked, needing to catch up with her after the blur that was the last few days.

I had also left packing for Cornwall to what literally the last minute - the train was coming in five hours - and I knew that I would lose motivation if I didn't have someone to talk to while I did it.

"Sure. I'll be at yours in an hour." She replied.

A small smile slipped onto my face because I knew that couldn't be further from the truth. At best she'd be here three hours from now, but I humoured her and replied, "See you then," before ending the call.

I hummed to myself as I padded through my apartment, trying to decide what to do until she arrived.

My eyes found the sketchbook that was lying on the counter and I walked over to it, listening to the beaconing call of the smooth paper on the inside.

I bent to pick it up, knowing that one of the best ways to improve my own art was to study other people's. I smiled when I remembered the reason I knew that.

One of the only good things that had come out of the boarding school which I dedicated far too much of my life to was Edna, a school councillor of sorts. Although it wasn't her official title, she still took it upon herself to solve the problems of every pupil that came to her.

I wasn't one of those pupils, and probably would have never even spoken to her if she hadn't approached me first.

Having been an art teacher at her former school and noticing my passion for it,  she taught me everything she knew, including the reason why I had this sketchbook in my hands.

I had turned it into a scrapbook of sorts, sticking on paintings that I found interesting and making little comments next to them. The occasional doodle found its way onto the pages too, and it was just comforting to hold in my hands.

The weight of the world on my back seemed insignificant when compared to the weight of the book between my fingertips.

I flipped through the pages slowly, feeling my creativity spark as I looked at what it had done for other people.

That familiar tingling sensation that I got whenever my fingers itched to pick up a brush made an appearance, and I cursed the timing.

A glance at the clock reminded me that Lucy would be here relatively soon, but I knew she wouldn't even blink if I answered the door covered from head to toe in paint. She had seen it that many times.

After picking up a paintbrush, dipping it into a dull off-white colour and touching it to the canvas, I found my mind running away with me.

That kiss.

The strokes of my brush reminded me of the way Gabriel's lips had felt against mine a few days ago - careful and soft, but with an understated confidence.

Every time he smiled against my mouth or touched his fingers to my face, I could tell he knew exactly the effect he had on me.

He may not have been able to paint, but in that moment my mouth was a canvas and he already had the finished piece in mind.

Not only that, but he knew just how to get there. The ink was the strokes of his tongue, and the flow and pressure something that just came naturally.

My lips began to ache for his, and I stopped myself before it could escalate any further.

Shock flooded over my face as I returned my focus onto my own canvas and realised with a start that I had depicted the exact kiss my mind had been rehashing.

The painting itself was a little off in terms of proportions but I chalked that up to my loss of focus and knew that it wouldn't be hard to fix. Instead, I gave my attention to looking at it for it truly was.

At some point during my trip down memory lane, my hands had switched from the off-white colour I began with into a caramel brown, one that darkened to a bronze for the features furthest away from the viewer.

This same technique had been applied to both subjects of the painting until they looked almost exactly the same.

There was no obvious gender or race to either of them, giving it a universal quality. Love and passion sang from the deepest corners of the canvas, and it was because there was nothing in the way of their relationship.

I slightly envied them because of it.

The small black space in between their chests was the only way in which they were separated, the rest of their bodies entangled until you couldn't tell where one ended and the other began.

They were fully connected, and it was clearly on a deeper level than just the physicality of the kiss. They were part of each other.

I knew then and there that this would be the second out of the three paintings I had to make for the art exhibition, and rushed to place it next to the other one.

They looked good together, and I noticed it as soon as I stepped away.

The urge to eat something sugary came through as it often did after I'd painted something, and I audibly groaned when there was a knock at the door before I could get to the kitchen.

I looked at the clock hanging at the wall and laughed internally at the fact that it had been four hours since I called Lucy. So much for "I'll be at yours in an hour."

I opened the door to be met with a beaming smile and those golden waves that danced even without breeze.

My best friend was stunning and she knew it.

She slipped past me and into the apartment, pausing to turn around mischievously. "Aren't you coming in?"

- - - -

I folded my legs to make room for the suitcase I had in front of me, raising my head to look at Lucy. "So, what did you think of the new guy?"

It had been her turn to teach Drew everything she knew about working at the cafe yesterday, and we were yet to share notes on our first impressions of him.

"He was very... polite." She answered, lips curving up at the corners.

I sniggered. I knew Lucy and this wasn't her. "Not buying it. What did you actually think of him?"

Mischief swirled around in those eyes of hers when they finally met mine. "Let's just say that if I wasn't dating Danny, I'd probably have jumped on him by now."

She laughed at my widened eyes, elaborating on her statement. "But I am dating Danny and I really like him, so you can have the Abercrombie & Fitch model."

I lifted my hands from the top I was folding in a gesture of agreement. "That's exactly what I thought. He looks like he should be in a magazine or something. And I don't want to have him." I added, giving her a dry look.

She put her hand on her heart teasingly. "Oh, that's right. I forgot you were on a self-imposed man fast."

"Man fast?" I repeated, feeling a smile pulling at my lips.

She nodded. "Like a fast for food, but you're deprived of physical touch instead of hungry."

"I hate you." I joked, throwing one of the socks that was lying around in her general direction.

I wasn't actually bothered since she couldn't be further off base, my body shivering slightly as it conjured up the memory of Gabriel's hands on my skin.

"At least you have me." She said, moving to give me a hug.

"I know. It's such a tragedy." I said when she pulled away, earning a sour look.

"We're yet to talk about what you think of the new guy." She said, eyelashes batting in a way that I found suspicious.

I ignored her strange behaviour, thinking over my answer instead. "He was nice I guess. Listened to everything I told him and did his job well."

"Mhm." She commented, watching me closely. "Is that all?"

"Yeah?" I answered, confusion crossing my face. "What did you want me to say?"

"Oh, nothing." She replied coyly. "It just seemed like more."

"Luce, what are you not telling me?" I asked, failing to understand what she was getting at.

"Just that I don't think the new guy has gotten the message that you're not interested in him like that." She said, eyes meeting mine in a sly smile.

I paused with a t-shirt in midair, completely taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"It felt like all of our conversations ended up being about you. And I mean every single one." She emphasised.

"It definitely wasn't my fault, because as much as I love you, I love to gossip more." She said, earning a frown from me.

"Just kidding." She laughed, blowing me a quick kiss. "But whenever I tried to gossip with him, he started talking about something to do with you and a window."

My memory jumped to the moment that I wrote 'Cora was here' on the fogged up glass, and I knew exactly what Lucy was talking about.

I tilted my head quizzically. "That's strange."

She shook her head, eyes glittering with amusement. "Not really. I'd say the new guy has a crush on you."

I froze in place. "Definitely not. We hardly know each other."

"Whatever you have to tell yourself. But I think you've got a basketballer and a wannabe model vying for your attention."

A wicked grin slid onto her face. "That sounds like it would make a really good TV show."

I shook my head at her antics, smiling in spite of myself. My hands picked up a pair of trainers and put them in the furthest corner of my open suitcase, moving a couple of things out of the way to make some space.

"What are you packing for?" she asked, gaze trailing over the floor and pausing on the piles of clothes that were spread haphazardly around the suitcase.

"A trip." I said, eyes darting away from her.

I knew she was gearing up to do that thing where she analysed every single move I made and word I spoke, so I was doing everything in my power to give her nothing to work with.

She had a gift for getting me to admit the things that I was trying to ignore, which is why I was putting off telling her about the kiss. It was too hard to play down how I felt about Gabe to the person who knew me better than almost everyone else.

A knowing smile fell onto her face, telling me that she was already about five steps ahead. "A trip where?"

"Cornwall. With Gabriel." I said quietly on purpose, rolling the t-shirt I had in my hands into a cylinder shape and slotting it into a space. Anything that kept me from watching Lucy's reaction was a good thing.

She cupped her hands to her ears, shuffling closer towards me. "Sorry, I think I must have heard you wrong. It sounded like you said you were going to Cornwall with Gabriel."

"That is what I said-" I began, stopping when I saw the look on her face.

I rolled my eyes playfully, hitting my shoulder with hers. "You heard me perfectly well and you know it."

"I did." She admitted with a gleeful smile.

Her eyes blazed when she looked at me again. "You like him."

There was no point in denying what she already knew, so I blurted out what had been on my mind since it happened. "We kissed."

Her eyes grew wider than I'd ever seen them as she took a second to digest what I'd just said, before returning to the usual happy expression that she wore. "Finally!"

"Was it amazing? Actually don't answer that, I've seen him. I know it was." She laughed. "Now he just has to hurry up and ask you out so we can go on double dates." She added, clapping her hands together.

I brought my bottom lip between my teeth, biting it. "Actually, I don't think that's going to be happening. I'm still not really there yet. Especially with everything that's going on with the art gallery."

If Lucy was disappointed then she didn't show it, nodding her head understandingly. "I get it. Take your time and don't let him rush you."

I already knew that Gabriel rushing me wasn't an issue, and he would go along with whatever I told him. The problem was me, and I couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

I'd said that I wanted to stay as friends but sent him a completely different message when I let kiss me.

I really needed to choose one or the other and stop dancing in the space between. I had to say though, grand jeté-ing over my problems sounded pretty good right about now.

"You know, I've been trying to place his accent for ages." Lucy began, voice breaking through the silence that had grown while I mulled things over. "I was thinking Devon or Somerset, but now that you said Cornwall I feel like that's it."

"Have you considered that he might be taking you to his hometown?" She asked, eyes meeting mine. "Cause that's a pretty big deal."

My eyes widened. I most certainly had not considered that, but only because until now it had seemed outside the realm of possibility. "You might be right. Do you think he's seeing family? And why would he take me?"

She shrugged. "I think those are questions you need to ask him."

I stood up, putting the last piece of clothing into the suitcase and standing up. It was a swimsuit, and I had been deliberating over it since it was more revealing than what I was usually used to. I threw it in at the last minute with a 'screw it' mindset, deciding that I might as well.

"You're right. Let's go." I said, picking up my keys and throwing on a jacket. A glance at my watch told me that it was perfect timing since I was supposed to meet him soon anyway.

Thirty minutes and a few texts later, I was standing at the train station with Gabriel next to me.

Getting Lucy to leave us alone was hard since she had been set on me hiding her away with the rest of my luggage, and only left when I agreed to send her pictures of me at the beach so she could "photoshop herself into them and pretend she was there".

The 7pm train to Cornwall was now boarding according to the neon orange lettering of the board, and it was growing increasingly difficult to ignore the question that was burning on the tip of my tongue.

"Are you going to tell me why we're going to Cornwall yet?" I asked over the noise made by the people making their way through the station.

The hood of the jacket I was wearing obscured part of my vision, but I could just about make out the smirk that had appeared on his face.

"Where's the fun in that?" He replied, grabbing my hand and dragging me straight into the lion's den.

I needed to give you guys a chapter with

Lucy in it because the next few will be heavily focused on Gabe and Cora :)

Lots of things are going to go down

in Cornwall so be excited hehe