“You don’t need to come with me,” she said.
She was fidgeting, her fingers twitching. I just smiled.
“I already told you last night I’d take you home, right?”
She chuckled. “You don’t need to, though. I know I’m younger than you, but I’m not a kid, I can get myself back home just fine.”
“But we’re on the way right now anyway, so it’s fine, right?”
The more I insisted, the more nervous she started acting. She was rapidly taping her fingers on top of her bag, and chewing on her lip.
It was pretty clear she was trying to hide something from me. I was no longer content just to wait until she told me, considering what I was coming up with on my own.
We encountered some traffic on the way. When the car slowed to a stop, Klara suddenly leaned forward.
“Sir? You can just let me off here, thank you.”
She pulled out cash before I could and handed it over to the confused taxi driver, then jumped out of the car. I waited a few seconds, then followed.
A part of my mind was telling me what I was doing was wrong, but I didn’t care. Klara meant too much to me, a lot more than I’d realized. The total time I’d spent with her didn’t even amount to a week yet, but it felt as if, if I let her go, I would regret it for the rest of my life.
I wasn’t particularly trying to be discreet, but either Klara was paranoid about her secret, or she knew I was following her because she kept changing directions.
Not being a New York native, and had only been around a few times, I found myself in unfamiliar surroundings the longer we walked. It wasn’t until twenty minutes later, when she moved to a more crowded street, that I lost her. There were just too many people, and the distance between us wasn’t small, either.
I felt frustrated, but I gave up. It was Saturday, and her school wasn’t even close in this direction, so I had no way of knowing where she could have gone. I walked around a little more, trying to trace my steps back, and in the end resorting to asking for directions, before I got back to a familiar street. I could have just taken a cab, but the walk made me feel a little better.
By the time I arrived at the hotel, my mind was a little clearer. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and made a call.
Klara had the right to keep her secrets, but I needed to know. If she had someone else, then I wasn’t going to put any blame on her. I’d just say goodbye and leave, and we’d both go back to our lives. It was better than wasting my time here without realizing, if we’d never get anywhere, anyway.
I startled myself thinking like that.
Do I want a relationship with Klara?
The answer was easy, and it surprised me. Yes, I want a relationship with Klara. I’d never been this serious about a woman before, and if it wasn’t the same for her, I’d be even more devastated leaving than I had been when I arrived here.
“Hello?”
I blinked and came back to myself at the voice coming from the other end of the line.
“Hey, Bryan,?
?? I said. “It’s me, Jake? I know it’s been a while…”
“Jake? Man, how’ve you been? I haven’t heard from you in ages!”
I chuckled. “That’s more your fault than mine. Who told you to live so far away, huh?”
“I lived in New York before I went to college in Cali, okay? Anyway, how’ve you been? And, no offense, but why are you calling?”
“No offense taken. I’m actually in New York right now. I came over with the old man for something, but it’s over, and I’ve got some free time.”
“Don’t tell me; you want to meet up for old times’ sake?”
“I wouldn’t mind, but I have a problem. I was wondering if you could help me with it.”
“Sure. Lay it on me.”