Chapter 5

As expected, their four young cousins had a great time in the pool at the condo. William was a favorite with the cousins as he would let them climb on his shoulders and jump off into the pool. Lizzy was caught staring at him a few times by her Aunt.

"He's great with the kids, Lizzy." her Aunt started.

"Yes, he is." was all Lizzy responded.

"Have you talked about when you get home?" her Aunt continued.

"Hmm? Um, no, Aunt. He's made it clear that he's not looking for a relationship while he is in school." Lizzy stated without moving her eyes from William. Despite being a bit pasty, he cut a fine figure in swim trunks. Her Aunt made no reply and let the subject drop.

Charles ordered in Pizza and they ate poolside. After dinner their Aunt and Uncle rounded up the kids to head back to the hotel. "We'll see you later Jane and Lizzy. Don't forget we want to be on the road by 9 AM tomorrow. Charles, William it was nice to meet you. Thank you for dinner. Have a safe flight home. Charles, we might see you in London if we get back during the year." Their Aunt shook the gentlemen's hands as did their Uncle before they herded the kids out through the lobby.

William turned to Charles with a surprised look. "They invited me to visit their house in London, you know, where Jane lives during the school year." Charles was the only one who heard William whistle under his breath.

The rest of the evening consisted of the two couples in quiet conversation.

"Did you know your Aunt and Uncle invited Charles to visit them in London?" asked William.

"Yeah, Jane and I talked about it last night. Since they both live in London and both only have one year of school left, I think they want to give it a try. I think they are cute together. I think he is good for her, brings her out of her shell a bit." Lizzy had a far away look in her eyes that William could not decipher. "Yeah, I know, no one ever had to try to bring me out of my shell." laughed Lizzy.

William chuckled. "I'm not sure anyone could bring me out of my shell."

"Is that a challenge, sir?" asked Lizzy with an arch look.

The conversation faded out after that. Lizzy felt foolish for being so open with William when she knew he was not looking to forward their relationship once he returned home. She needed to remind herself of that more often. "Spring Break fling" remember? Neither one talked much for the rest of the evening. Neither of them were willing to raise the question that they both wanted an answer to and were afraid to ask: "What now?"

Again as it approached midnight, Jane said that they needed to get going. Jane and Charles already had plans for when they returned to the UK so their conversation had more to do with future plans and favorite restaurants in London. Lizzy and William couldn't seem to find a topic they could discuss for more than a few minutes. School, family, books, theater, TV shows. Nothing could hold their attention. It was a relief when they made it back to the hotel.

As before, Lizzy and William stayed in the car as Charles walked Jane to the door. "Give them a moment." was all Lizzy said.

"I hope you have a safe flight home and good rest of the school year." was William's lame attempt at a good-bye.

"Yeah, you too. Thanks for dinner. And for putting up with the third wheel this week." With that, Lizzy got out of the car and went into the hotel without looking back. She couldn't. She wouldn't cry where he could see her.

She passed Jane and Charles just as he was giving her a good night kiss. "See you soon." he whispered as he turned to go to the car. Lizzy kept on going straight to their room. She didn't want to talk to Jane. She didn't want to talk to her Aunt. Right now, she needed to be alone. She ignored Jane coming into their room as she turned on the shower and allowed the water to attempt to wash away her feelings. It didn't work and she let herself cry it out. Tomorrow would be a new day, she reminded herself.