What the hell was I doing? There was seriously something wrong with me. I could claim that I had enough willpower to resist spending time with Tom, but that would be a downright lie. Because he was sitting approximately two feet away from me in his car―windows down, music blaring―to some unknown destination that lay at the end of the road.
Two hours earlier, I was sitting on the couch in my flat flipping through countless channels on the television. Grace was taking Henry to her parents for the weekend, and I was enjoying some well-needed time to myself.
Three quick knocks on the front door meant that I had to get off the couch—much to my reluctance. My feet got tangled in my blanket as I stumbled to the door, grumbling under my breath.
Tom was standing out in the hall, looking disheveled and out of breath. His hair stuck up at weird places, and he must have picked out his outfit in under 10 seconds, grabbing the first items he saw.
"Come with me," he breathed, before I had a chance to say anything.
"What?" I asked in shock.
"Please," he pleaded. "For the weekend. We can drive somewhere, anywhere."
"What about Nicole?"
He acted as if he hadn't heard me. I was worried, he looked like he was about the break down. "Charlotte, please?"
"Uh yeah, sure. Sure."
He followed me into my bedroom as I pulled a duffle bag out from under my bed and began shoving random clothes into it. After I grabbed my things from the bathroom, Tom pulled my bag across his shoulder and started to walk out.
"I'm official crazy," I muttered as I followed him.
Still a little overwhelmed with the whole situation, and with nothing better to do, I took up drumming along to the radio with my fingers against the dashboard. I was getting into an intense drum solo when Tom placed his hand over mind and intertwined our fingers together.
"Hey, you interrupted me," I complained with a smile.
"Sorry!"
"No you're not!"
He turned to me and laughed, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. This was so wrong. I wanted to ask him what had prompted this random trip, but I was too scared to bring it up just yet. He looked a lot happier than he was when he showed up at my door, and I didn't want to bring him back into that mood just yet.
"I'm hungry." Tom stated after a long period of silence.
"Same," I agreed. "Did you bring any snacks?"
"Nope. Shall we stop somewhere for food?"
"Is that even a question? Of course!" I told him. God, I love food.
We stopped at a restaurant located just off the road. It looked ancient with old-style décor you would find in my grandma's house. The food, however, was delicious, and I probably could have spent the rest of the day sitting in the cracked, vinyl booth, ordering piles of food.
"Are you ready to leave?" Tom asked as I finished the last fry—or chip as they say here in England—on my plate.
I said I was, and we went up to the front counter to pay. I fished around in my bag to find my money, but Tom paid the lady before I even had the chance.
"I could've paid for my own meal," I told him. Just because he was all famous and rich and stuff, didn't mean he had to buy things for me. That always bothered me a little when we used to date.
"I know," he said with a soft smile. "But I dragged you all the way out here with me. The least I could do was buy you food."
"You have a point!" I laughed.
"You two make a lovely couple," the woman behind the counter told us as she handed Tom the receipt.
"Oh, we're―"
"Thank you!" Tom butted in before I could finish.
I don't understand Tom in the slightest. First, he drags me on some spontaneous adventure like I'm Bilbo fucking Baggins, and then he doesn't find it in his power to deny that we're dating. All when he has a girlfriend. I had nearly forgotten about Nicole. I should have stopped right there and told Tom that we were being irresponsible and reckless, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I pushed my worries to the back of my mind, not even protesting when he grabbed my hand again and led me back to the car.
"Where are we?" I asked Tom after we had been driving for a while longer.
"No idea. Check the map on your phone."
I had completely forgotten that I even owned a phone. But it proved to be rather useless when I realized the battery had long died. And I had forgotten to bring a phone charger.
"Tom, do you have an phone charger with you?"
"No, sorry."
"How were you planning on charging your phone?"
"I didn't bring my phone," he said simply. He kept his eyes fixed on the road even though there were no other cars around.
"You didn't bring your phone?!" I was beginning to panic. "I completely forgot to tell Grace I was leaving!"
"Charlotte, relax. You can call her once we find somewhere to stay."
I took a deep breath and tried my best to relax. It wasn't actually that hard with Tom next to me. His presence was always comforting. I rested my head against the cool window and napped until Tom woke me up.
"We're here!" I heard him yell into my ear.
"Where's here?" I mumbled, refusing to open my eyes. I really love sleeping.
"Come on, love," I felt him tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear.
I reluctantly got out of the car and grabbed my bag from the back. We were parked outside of a cozy-looking B&B, and somewhere in the distance, I could hear waves crashing against the shore. It was too dark to tell where they were. Tom led the way to the front desk and asked the lady for a room with two beds.
"Sorry sir, those rooms are all occupied."
Of course. We ended up booking a room for the two of us to share. I left Grace a voicemail the second we were in our room. I told her that Adam invited me to his parent's house for the weekend. Lying to her made me feel guilty, but it was necessary. I decided to shower afterwards, hoping when I was out, Tom would tell me what was going on. But, naturally, he was fast asleep under the duvet. Guess I was going to have to wait until the morning.
