Three Thousand Miles To You

by Delia Longford

  The hotel is charming from the outside with its brownstone walls and white pillars the doorman I dressed in a white and black suit and is extra friendly. The lobby is something quite spectacular with its wide hallways and lashings of flower arrangements the lady behind the desk is also extra friendly she welcomes Adrian as if he is royalty. With a smart skirt suit on and her dark hair in a perfect bun I can’t help but feel underdressed in my skinny jeans and flats. My hair looks like a bird has tried to make a nest in it. I smooth myself out as the bell guy takes my bag from Adrian and shows us the way. The room that Adrian has booked is quite frankly the best room in the hotel. It has four bedrooms and four bathrooms and a living area the size of my whole house in the Hamptons. There are marble floors and a fire place that’s so large it takes up half the back wall. I lay my handbag down on one of the many sofas in the huge over the top room. “Alanna I will show you to your room come with me”. He leads me along the hallway that’s filled with flowers and candles, elegant paintings hang on the wood lined walls and I gasp as gaze upon the spectacular surroundings. The room that Adrian has given me is amazing with a massive four poster super king bed that stands in the middle of the floor a flat screen TV mounted on the wall and furnishings that are too elegant. “Is this ok?” “It’s perfect where are you sleeping?” “I will be in the next room I will give you a few minutes to settle shall I order some food?” “Yes that sounds good I will have a quick shower” I don’t why I told him that why should he care if I shower or not. My face flashes a little red and I say “I won’t be long” I close the door and flop myself down onto the bed”. What will I do? He is too perfect. I focus my mind back to the way his face looked when I first opened my eyes I couldn’t believe that he was there however I can’t help but think of Sophie I really don’t understand why she is acting the way she is. I try to put it out of my mind I don’t want to ruin this time I have with Adrian thinking about Sophie and her games. Once I have my shower I start on what I am going to wear tonight. I think that a long black and white striped maxi dress will do the job it’s comfortable and also quite flattering. I let my hair hang loose and apply some lip gloss. I take a deep breath and I walk out of the room and back into the lounge area. I see Adrian sitting at the dining table with a glass of water he looks so breathtaking I have to take a moment to look at him. He has also changed into something more comfortable he is now wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal a massive gold Rolex. He has swapped his suit trousers for a pair of dark blue jeans. He looks to me as I start to walk over to him he stands and pulls out a chair for me when I finally reach him he takes my hand and kisses it gently. I take the seat and he sits opposite me at the grand dining table. “I wasn’t sure what you liked to eat so I ordered one of everything” he points to the massive silver trays that lie before us. I take of one of the lids to see a lobster I immediately place the lid back on “don’t you like lobster?” “Not really” I say shyly “ok then what do you like?” “I usually eat salads and that type of stuff” “you can’t survive on that here have some steak” he lifts off another lid and takes out two steaks and places one my plate and one his. “Now would you like some potatoes?” “I guess so” I say and he hands a huge platter filled with potatoes and vegetables of every kind. “Are you enjoying the food alanna?” “Yes its wonderful Adrian everything is perfect” I place my hand on his and feel him pull away a little. “Is everything ok” “yes would you excuse me a minute?” “Okay” I say feeling a little rejected. I can’t help but think did I offend him maybe I took things to far maybe he only wants to be friends a million things are going round in my head. “I am sorry for that alanna” “it’s ok but May I ask what happened did I do something?” “No its not you it’s me” “I just get a little distant whenever someone gets close to me and especially you” “why” “I guess it all goes back to Alice and the way she was with me I can’t think that anyone wants to be good to me” “I see” “anyway alanna there is something I need to talk to you about” “ok go ahead” “the other day when you went off with that man what happened I need to tell me everything so I can protect you from him” “he had three pictures in a brown envelope one of a man another of women that I saw before and one of you” “this woman you know of who was she?” “I don’t know I just saw her once before at the beach in the Hamptons” “what did she look like?” “she was dark haired and was very skinny in the picture but when I saw her at the beach she was quite plump and her hair was grey she looked as if she aged about twenty years between the picture and now” “alanna that was Alice!” “What?” “The photo and older lady you saw was my mother Alice” “how can it be?” “Why not?” And suddenly it all makes sense the reason I was so drawn to her was because she reminded me of Adrian why didn’t I see it before? “Adrian your mother is here in the vicinity of New York how do you feel about that?” “I have no feelings towards her she means nothing to me” “but are you not surprised that she is here?” “No she is from here why would I be surprised!” “I didn’t know Alice was an American” “my father was from London when Alice was sixteen she ran away from home and went straight to London he met her while she was working as a barmaid in one of the bars in town. She said he took to her straight away and they quickly began dating after that” “there must have been some happy times then?” “For them yes but as for me I only have one memory that is worth remembering!” “What is it?” he takes a deep breath “I was eleven and it was Christmas time Alice had gone out the night before drinking and It was so cold in the house that my hands were frozen solid so I went outside to see if I could steal some wood for the fire from one of the neighbors. Although it was just an empty shell of a house in a rough neighborhood there was one woman that always seemed to be helping others. I went over to her house and knocked on her door. When she came to answer she was surprised that it was me. She tried to speak to me a few times out on the street but I was warned not to speak to her or encourage her in anyway by Alice. Anyway to cut a long story straight the woman invited me into her home she sat me by the fire with her two boys she told us all a story about Father Christmas and fed me with sandwiches and hot chocolate. I know it doesn’t sound like much alanna and to you it must seem so little but to me that was the best memory that I ever had as a child!” “Adrian I am not going to lie to you but I never had to go through anything like that. I had a happy childhood so I can’t begin to describe or understand how awful it must have been for you!” “I don’t want sympathy that’s not reason I am letting you know these things” “I know but I can’t help but feel it towards you” “why?” “I care about you I hate to think that you have had all these things happen to you” “but I am bad alanna I can’t see why you would care about someone like me” “I have never seen anything yet that proves that you are bad” Adrian sighs and he begins to say something. “alanna I love you but I don’t feel that I deserve to” “I love you too and don’t ever think like that” “I can’t believe you said that is it true or are you just saying it?” “Of course it’s true I love you Adrian!” we talk for ages about many different things however his childhood or anything that has happened to him or the fact that he has secret and that there are people after me hasn’t come up since. He talks to me about my life asking me about my family telling me that I should try to mend things with Sophie. After all she is my best friend and I know that it’s the right thing to do. So I have decided I will talk to her when I go back to Columbia. As for now all I can think about is Adrian. How strange this all feels for me. I only ever saw him twice before and one counter with him wasn’t the best experience. He was being rude and I thought he was an arrogant ass. When the gifts were coming regular every day I never thought for one second that it would be him. He never crossed my mind he had no reason for doing it as I thought that he hated me. “Adrian can I ask you something?” “Depends on what it is” “it’s about when we first met” “ok then go ahead” “the first time I saw you remember at the met gala?” “How
could I forget” “you were kind of rude to me what was your reason for that?” “I am sorry that I did that but I was taken in by you I had never seen anyone like you before you were exactly the type of girl I would go for but you had this aura around you that screamed out to me that you were not like everyone else” “I thought you hated me” “hated you how could I ever?” “I don’t know but I thought you did, you were so rude and obnoxious but somehow I was drawn to you and that shocked me” “when I saw you walk in I knew that you were what I wanted” “now it’s getting late I will walk you back to your room now” “I am not tired just now can’t we talk some more?” “no you are here to rest we can talk all you want tomorrow but as for now you are going to bed I won’t have you sick like that again” I give in and take his hand he walks me back to my room and places me onto the bed. “Alanna would it be ok if I gave you a kiss?” I stare at him wondering why he asked and not just did it. “Yes” I whisper. He stands me up and takes my face in his hands he looks into my eyes then it happens. His lips are on mine they are soft but strong. The smell of his cologne so strong and masculine. As he pulls away I can’t open my eyes I am too engaged in him that I don’t want him to stop. He begins again this time for longer and with more passion. He pushes me down onto the bed and the kisses begin to get more fast and powerful. He has his hands in my hair and I am frozen stiff I lay there taking it in but I feel uneasy so I push him off me and stand up. “What’s wrong did I go too far?” “No its not you I just I don’t do that kind of thing” “okay no problem I won’t do that again” I sigh thinking that I have ruined everything. But Adrian reassures me that things will carry on the same. “Alanna I don’t need that to love you” he kisses me softly once again and makes his way out of the room.

  The next morning I wake with a spring in my step. I bounce out of bed and into the shower. I wrap a towel around my hair and put on one of the many bathrobes that hotel has provided. I quietly open my door to check if Adrian is anywhere to be seen. I don’t see him but I can hear him talking on his phone. I feel so hungry now that I can’t wait for food. I walk into the lounge area and there are huge new displays of flowers that hotel must have brought up. Over on the dining table there are platters of strawberries bagels waffles and bacon. The smell of fresh coffee fills the room and I make my way over to the table. I sit down and help myself to a plate of food. Adrian is still in the other room. I take this time to tighten my robe I don’t want anything to go wrong today I won’t let it. “Did you sleep well alanna?” Adrian says as walks over to the table he gives me a kiss and takes a seat again opposite me. He is wearing another dark suit today this time with a light blue shirt and he has a pair of aviator sunglasses in his front jacket pocket. “Yes very well” I say with my face hot and a smile on my lips. “Did you?” “I never sleep” “why?” “I don’t know ever since I was a child I have had insomnia” “you don’t you sleep at all how can that be?” “No some nights I manage an hour or so but it doesn’t really affect me.” “Alanna I have plans for us today is that ok?” “Sure what are we doing?” “I want to take you shopping and after maybe we can see a show or something would you like that?” “I always like to shop the show not so much” I say giving him a little smile. “Shopping it is then” “I will go get ready I won’t be long” I rush back into my room and search for something to wear. I rummage through my brown Louis Vuitton carry bag and take out a pair of black skinny jeans a white turtle neck sweater and my trusty loubotins. I assemble my look and take a glance in the mirror as I leave. I walk out into the large oversized suite. Adrian is on his phone again this time in the lounge area he is pacing up and down the room He looks worried. I go over and take a seat on the sofa in the living area and wait for him to finish his call. As I wait again I can’t help but stare at him he is too good looking that it makes it impossible not you. He ends his call and puts his phone in a pocket inside his jacket. “Let’s go” he says and he takes me by the hand and leads me out the door into the elevator. He looks at me “alanna if you feel at all unwell today you have to make sure you tell me ok?” “Yes I will but I feel fine” and I wasn’t lying I do feel fine in fact I feel so good. For a while I had kind of lost my way but now I am felling my old self again. We walk into the lobby of the Chatwal hotel and we are greeted by a few members of staff. “Your car is here Mr. Black” “thanks” Adrian says to the bell guy and he gives the guy a tip. I am not sure of how much but I didn’t look a small amount that Adrian handed over and judging by bell guy’s face he didn’t think it was small either. He walks me out the front door of the hotel and their waiting for us is a black Rolls Royce. “I was sick of cabs” he says with a smirk. “You only went in one” “yes but that was one too many” I laugh as Adrian opens the door for me. He follows behind me but before he does he makes sure that he gives the door man the same type of handout that he had with the bell guy. He takes a seat next to me closes the door and the car begins to pull away. He leans over and opens a little door to reveal a bottle of champagne and two glasses. “Would you like a drink?” “Sure” he takes out one glass and begins to open the bottle of champagne as he pours I say “aren’t you having some?” “No I don’t drink” “I thought I saw you with a scotch before in London” “yes you did but that wasn’t for me” he hands me the glass and I take a small sip. He reaches over to another door and pulls out a bottle of water for himself. I glare at him frozen not able to speak and I am glad I can’t as He leans over and kisses me. His phone begins to bleep in his pocket so he pulls back “sorry I will have to get this” he answers the call and from what I can make out it is a business call. He is talking about large sums of money and investing in property of some kind. I don’t even hear the words he says I am too ecstatic and excited to even take them in. when the car comes to a stop Adrian opens the door and takes my hand. “Do you like Fifth Avenue?” Adrian says raising one eyebrow and with a smile across his face. “Yes I love it, it’s always been my favorite ever since I was little. “Then what wait are we waiting for” he walks me down the cold street that’s so busy. He has his arm around my waist and I can honestly say that every woman I see his making evil eyes at me. But I don’t care I feel so amazing right now that nothing could spoil this moment. “Let’s go in here” Adrian whisks me into the Rolex store. “Hello welcome to Rolex how can I help you” the shop assistant says not looking at me but with her eyes fully placed on Adrian. “I would like to see some ladies watches” “no problem come on over” Adrian takes me over to the counter where the lady is taking a tray of watches out of the glass cabinet. She places them carefully on the glass polished counter not taking her eyes off Adrian. “Which one do you like?” I look up at him with look of annoyance. “Adrian you can’t” “which one do you like?” I sigh “they are all so nice” “witch one alanna?” “You choose I couldn’t possibly and you seem to know what I like so you pick one” Adrian exhales and looks a little annoyed with me. He starts picking up a few but putting them straight back down. “Do you have one that’s similar to this one” he pulls back his sleeve to reveal a massive yellow gold diamond incrusted watch. “I will have a look in the back” I look to Adrian “you don’t have to do this” “do what?” “You know buy me a Rolex I don’t need things Adrian” “I know you don’t but I want you to have them so please let me” I sigh “I am never going to win this argument am I?” “No” he says and kisses me again the shop assistant comes back and places a smaller but equally the same yellow gold diamond Rolex in Adrian’s hand. He looks over it and he takes my arm and puts the watch on and says. “Do you like this one?” I look down at the watch and I do like it. “It is beautiful Adrian” “I will take this one” he says to the shop assistant. “Do you want to keep it on miss or shall I wrap it up for you?” “Either way is fine” “just give us the box my girlfriend will keep the watch on” did Adrian just call me his girlfriend? I look to him “Adrian you just said I was your girlfriend” “aren’t you?” “Yes but hearing you say it is a little surpris
ing” he smirks and shakes his head. Adrian goes over to pay for the watch and the shop assistant is being too flirty with him she is glaring into his eyes touching his arm and letting out little giggles. I would be a little mad but how can I get mad for something that is so there in your face. There is no way he can look like that and not have woman everywhere he goes flirt with him. It is just something I will have to get used to. When he is finished paying he gives me the bag and wraps his arm again around my waist. We walk out into the busy street once again. Adrian has a smirk on his face too big that I have to ask him about it. “What’s up?” “Nothing I just know now that I have found my girl”” ah that’s too cute you are blushing” “no I am not, witch store do want to go in next?” Adrian quickly says trying to get me to change the subject. So I give in and say “whatever one you want” “I notice you have Louis Vuitton bags would you like to go in there?” “no its fine I have them already lets go get some coffee” I say trying to get him to walk away from the stores I know most girls would love all this a handsome guy buying you gifts but me I don’t really feel comfortable accepting these over expensive ones. I would rather he bought me dinner and sat and talked me all night than spend his money on fancy watches and handbags. Although I can’t deny the watch Adrian bought me is gorgeous. And I know that he is just the type that wants to buy me gifts all the time. But sometime I will have to draw a line under it. “Coffee it is” we walk along the street in silence until we spot a little chic coffee shop. We enter and Adrian grabs us a table at the back. I order a latte for me a tea for Adrian. As I take the drinks over to the table I look out the window and there it is again the black Lamborghini. My heart starts to thump and I can’t begin to breathe. “Adrian the car the Lamborghini it’s there again!” “Where?” “Out there look out the window you will see” Adrian rises up so furiously he looks out window but as he does the car speeds away. “Come on we must go” Adrian grabs my arm and pulls me out the coffee shop and onto the street. “What are you doing?” “We have to go it is not safe” “Adrian they are gone now it’s ok” “no its not they have seen you with me now that’s it it’s over” “what do you mean?” “Do you still not believe me alanna that you are in danger?” “No I do but I it’s just” “there is no time alanna come on” Adrian walks so fast that I almost can’t keep up he is dragging me along after him holding onto my arm. “Adrian you are hurting me” I say as my feet can’t keep up any longer so I stop and look at him. “Alanna I didn’t mean to please will you just come on” “no I won’t I can’t until you tell me what this is all about!” “Alanna don’t make me do this” “do what” I look at him a little scared. And before I can breathe Adrian has walked over to me picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. He starts to march up the street again so fast. “Let me go” I shout but he does not even hear me. This is so embarrassing I could kill him I start to punch his back but he doesn’t even feel it. So I hit him harder and still he doesn’t even flinch. We arrive back at the car and Adrian finally lets me down. I am so annoyed with him that I can’t even look at him. He tries to take my hand but I push him away. Looking at him with such anger in my eyes who does he think he is? More to the point what does he think that I am? Some little dog he can pick up and throw about whenever he wants. The way he grabbed my arm I felt like it was going to fall out the socket. Who is this person? “Alanna please get in the car” I don’t respond I just turn my head away from him which only seemed to anger him more. “Alanna get in the car!” “No why should I do anything you say?” “I am trying to keep you safe are too stupid to understand that?” “Don’t speak to me like that who do you think you are?” “Alanna if you don’t get in the car right now I will throw you in it’s your choice” he shouts and he takes my arms and looks directly in my eyes. I feel like maybe I should do as he says but no I don’t have to he doesn’t own me. I break free and turn my back on him. “Get in now!” The look on his face and the depth in his voice I have never heard or seen before what kind of person is he? I turn back around to him look him in the eyes and I give up and get in the car.