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Chapter 13
Clara slammed the cabin door shut behind her, making Amy shoot around instantly.
"Okay, you seem angry," her friend noted, "What happened?"
Clara didn't reply at first, instead she made her way towards their wardrobe, looking for her sports bra. She needed to vent her anger somewhere. "Nothing happened. Well, a kiss happened. And then he said I was a nice girl."
Amy hissed behind her. "Ouch. And now?"
Clara inhaled sharply. "Now I'll go and blow off some steam in the gym and forget about John. He's an idiot," her clothes now in her hand Clara turned around to look at Amy, "What about you? Have you decided what you're going to do about Rory?"
With a sigh Amy sank back down on her bed, shaking her head at Clara. "No. You're right, I love him and I have no doubt that he would take me back in a matter of seconds, but the old problem is still there. He wants kids, I can't give him any. The question is whether I'm going to be selfish or not."
Clara granted her the warmest smile she could come up with at this moment. "You don't have to decide right away. Can't really do much from here anyway. Now, do you want to come to the gym with me?"
"Nah," her friend shook her head, "I'm starving. I'm gonna check out the breakfast menu."
Clara shrugged. "Alright. If you meet John kick him where it hurts."
That had gone anything but well and John was fully aware of that. It hadn't been his intention to insult her, he hadn't even thought she would take it as an insult and now he was beginning to regret every word he had said to Clara. If he hadn't stopped her they would probably still be lying in bed and he would be happy, despite getting his heart broken at a later point.
Feeling the need to clear his mind John grabbed his sports clothes and a towel and headed towards the gym. His arms still felt a little tired after carrying Clara back to the cabin last night, and he really needed to ban these thoughts from his mind, and so he decided to go for a run on the treadmill first. Unfortunately he could run as long as he wanted and he still wouldn't be able to run away from the terrible music they were playing through the gym's speakers – or his thoughts about Clara. So he decided to block them out and instead stare at the ocean ahead of him. Tomorrow they would land in Italy and somehow the prospect of visiting a new and beautiful country didn't appeal to him so much anymore. He wished he could have Barcelona all over again, just him and Clara, even though he knew that it was crazy. She was practically still a stranger and yet-
Suddenly his treadmill stopped and when he looked down to see what the problem was he stared right into Clara's angry face.
"Did you follow me here?"
John frowned at her, for a moment not knowing what to say.
"Or did you just happen to stroll into the gym when I had just settled on the bike on the other end of the room?"
He looked around and sure enough there was a row of bikes that some people were using, then his eyes wandered back to Clara. He hadn't paid any attention to his surroundings at all, being so lost in his thoughts, so of course she would assume he had followed her.
"I think this is just our rotten luck, always running into each other," he spat back.
"Well, I was here first," Clara said, crossing her hands in front of her chest.
John looked at her and considered his options. He wanted to apologize to her but not in front of everyone else and he wasn't so sure she would even listen to him but he had to at least try. Gently John grabbed her arm and started pulling her towards the door.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" she protested but John had already dragged her out of the gym door. Unfortunately the corridor didn't provide the necessary privacy either.
"I want to talk to you in private," he said and opened the next door to see what was inside. Fortunately for them it was a hall that held another unused playground, this time indoor, and John shuffled the grumpy looking Clara inside.
"I don't get what we need to talk about," she complained as she sank down to sit on the edge of the ball pit, "You don't take me seriously, so why should I even talk to you?"
John groaned as he took a seat next her. "Clara, who ever said I wasn't taking you seriously?"
"You called me girl," she glared at him, "And I get that. You're ancient. For you I must be a girl."
John opened his mouth to speak but for a moment he was lost for words. Ancient? He was sure that Clara could come up with better insults than that and it still hurt his pride just a little.
Suddenly one of the balls hit him across the chest and John noticed that Clara had picked a couple of the out of the ball pit before she threw another one at him.
"Hey!" he complained loudly.
"What?" Clara shrugged, throwing another one that he was able to dodge, "You think I'm a kid, so you won't mind me acting like one."
"Clara," he reached out and took the last of the balls from her, "Stop it. I never said that you were a kid and I never said that I'm not taking you seriously. Girl was probably not the right choice of words, but I never meant it like that."
Clara cocked her eyebrows at him and suddenly John started to laugh. "When I started medical school I lived in a tiny room in an old couple's house for the first few months. They were both over 60 and he only referred to his wife as his girl. He never used her name unless they were fighting. You see? It has nothing to do with age and I didn't mean to insult you with it."
Finally the frown lifted from her face. "What were you going to say to me?"
John took a deep breath. This morning he had meant to say anything to stop her but now he wasn't so sure anymore. Just thinking about spending the day in Italy tomorrow without her made him change his mind.
"I like you," he confessed eventually, "And it's all very confusing and very complicated. We got married and we have to get an annulment as soon as we're back in England. And I'm afraid that if we-," he paused, trying to find the right words.
"Have sex?" Clara asked blatantly, looking at him as steadily as if she had asked him about having a cup of tea together.
"Yes. I'm afraid that could complicate things even more. Legally and. . . between us."
"I get that," she replied, "But I like you, too."
"Really?" John asked jokingly, "And you're still attacking me with balls?"
Before he could react Clara had leaned forward with all her weight and he was pushed straight into the pit. When he turned around he saw Clara standing over him, laughing. Then his mind came up with an idea and he distorted his face as if in pain, groaning while has hand wandered to his back.
"Oh God, did I hurt you?" Clara asked, the laughter dying as she bent down to get a better look at him, "Are you okay?"
"My back," he growled and held out his hand, "Can you help me out?"
As soon as he had a tight grip on her hand John used all his strength to pull and just a moment later Clara landed in the ball pit next to him, laughing and cursing at the same time.
"I should've known," she giggled, "You fiend!"
John looked at her and couldn't contain his laughter upon seeing how insulted she looked about having fallen for the cheapest of tricks.
"Yes, you find that funny. I was actually worried for a moment. Well, I know not to make that mistake ag-"
He couldn't help himself. He simply couldn't. While Clara was lying next to him among the balls like that, laughing and complaining, his resistance simply crumbled away and he leaned forward, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer for a kiss. When she moved towards him they sank deeper into the balls and she laughed into his mouth, their lips never parting. But Clara had said that she liked him. Maybe there was a chance that this story would end without heartbreak.
When they finally came up for air Clara was still smiling at him and John couldn't help but smile back at the beautiful woman lying in his arms.
"So, all day on a cruise ship. What do you wanna do?" he asked.
Clara considered it for a moment. "I don't know. I haven't really gotten around to get a look at everything they're offering."
John shrugged. "Me neither," he admitted, "How about we do a bit of everything we see?"
"Great idea," Clara agreed before she bent down to kiss him again.