A Brave Start Read online

  Suddenly she heard Mark’s voice break through her thoughts, “Where did you go just now Sugar?”

  “Sugar? I don’t think anyone’s called me that before,” Eleanor said with a laugh.

  “Oh no, I’m sorry! That was probably a bit forward of me,” Mark said in a rush, looking a bit embarrassed.

  Realizing how he had taken her comment Eleanor said quickly, “No! It’s fine, really. I don’t mind. I’m just not used to it,” smiling generously.

  Smiling back at her, “Ok, as long as you’re sure. I wouldn’t want you to think I wasn’t respecting you or anything. I think you’re grand Elle, I really do. Oh, shoot, do you mind my calling you Elle? I know Jon calls you Ellie sometimes.”

  “Eleanor, Elle, Ellie, E...Sugar,” she smiled and continued, “I’m good with any variation.”

  “Good,” Mark said with a smile. “But back to my previous question. You disappeared for a moment, you weren’t here having dinner with me. Where did your mind go?”

  Cringing slightly, “I’m sorry, I do that sometimes. I wasn’t thinking anything really, just that I am having a really lovely time this evening.”

  Grinning widely, “Good! I’m glad,” Mark replied. “I’ve been wanting to ask you out since that first night we met in the pub. But Jon had mentioned to us before you arrived in London that you had just gotten out of a relationship and I didn’t want to overstep.”

  Eleanor’s smile slipped slightly at the mention of her failed relationship and Mark quickly said, “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s your business, and I’m sure you don’t want to talk about it.”

  Cutting him off before he could make himself feel worse, “No, really, it’s fine. It’s a bit of a long and really boring, stupid story. I don’t mind talking about it but I’m happier talking about being here with you.”

  “Fair enough. And I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself tonight. You looked like you were having fun last week at your party but the other times I’ve seen you recently you’ve seemed a bit distracted. I hope things are going well for you here,” Mark asked, voice tinged with concern.

  “Oh yes, they are. Much better than when I started. I guess I’m just noticing how quickly the year is going, it will be the holidays before we know it.”

  “I know, I need to start my shopping, or my mum is going to be very cross with me come Christmas.”

  Eleanor laughed, “Well, you don’t want that, do you?”

  “No, I don’t!” Mark replied laughing.

  They laughed together for a moment and then Mark suddenly looked at Eleanor quizzically. “The thing is,” he started cautiously, “I’m trying to figure out how any guy would let go of a woman like you? And how there weren’t at least a dozen guys lined up waiting to step into his place when he did?”

  “I don’t know…,” Eleanor started, faltering, trying to answer Mark’s questions, “there just weren’t, and he didn’t want to be with me anymore. Pretty simple really.”

  “Are the men in your town just blind and stupid?”

  “Yes,” Eleanor answered a little too quickly, and perhaps a little too bitterly. “I mean, no. I’m sure there are some perfectly lovely men back home, I just never met them. I thought I had...but...well, it didn’t work. And now it’s done and I’m here in London and out with you,” she said, attempting a smile.

  “And I’m very glad for that,” Mark said genuinely. Looking around Eleanor to peer past her towards the front of the restaurant, “Well, we don’t have to go home just yet, but they do close around now, shall we get the bill?”

  “Of course. Yes, I’m sorry,” Eleanor started, apologetically, “I shouldn’t keep you out all night anyway, I’m sure you have work to do.”

  “Not at all, I’m right where I want to be,” Mark said with a grin. “It will be a bit chilly outside, but we could go for a bit of a walk, take the long, scenic route home?”

  Smiling, Eleanor replied, “That would be nice.”

  Mark paid the bill for their meal, and wouldn’t even hear it when Eleanor tried to contribute for her part of it.

  “It’s a date! What kind of wanker would I be if I expected you to pay for half the bill?! Do American blokes do that?”

  Sheepishly, “Some do, I’m sure some British men expect to split the check as well. Not everyone is as generous as you.”

  With mock seriousness as they walked out of the restaurant, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. All British men are gentlemen and we all take care of a lady when we are fortunate enough to be in the presence of one. Split the check? Silly American men. They should learn a thing or two from one of us proper English gentlemen,” he finished, puffing his chest out and lifting his chin pompously.

  Poking him in the side as she slipped on her gloves, “Alright you, point made. I’m in the presence of a gracious and generous gentleman, I curtsy to your superior ways compared to American men,” Eleanor replied with mock seriousness, slipping one foot behind the other and dropping into an exaggerated curtsy.

  “Hey, not bad. You could be presented to the Queen with a curtsy like that,” Mark said with a laugh.

  Slapping the back of her hand against his arm gently, Eleanor shifted her handbag up onto her shoulder and laughed, “Oh yes, my date at court is next week, I’ve been practicing.”

  Taking her hand and slipping it through his arm again, Mark laughed and then smiled sincerely, “You would look ravishing at court.”

  “You say that like you’ve been,” Eleanor said with a laugh.

  “Well, I haven’t been formally presented, they don’t really do that anymore like they did in the old days, but I have met several members of the Royal Family. Both my parents work for them in different ways,” Mark said, his voice getting a little more serious.

  “What?” Eleanor said, startled at the news. “Are you serious? How did I not know that? Does Jonathan know?”

  “Oh yeah, my closest friends do. Which is why I’m telling you now. I don’t broadcast it,” Mark said, looking at Eleanor cautiously.

  “Well, I won’t say anything, of course. But what do they do?”

  “Dad works high up in the bank that keeps most of the family’s personal finances. He’s constantly getting invited to different events and parties and is on close terms with Charles, William, and Harry. Then Mum has always been a society darling, as Dad calls her. Growing up she was what you would have called a socialite, they still exist in the younger generations today but not like then. My grandmothers, in fact, were both part of the last generation of debutantes to be officially presented at court, one was presented to King George VI and the other a few years later after Queen Elizabeth became Queen. The official presentations ended in 1958 so mum missed out by a couple decades, but she’s still very much part of that social crowd. She’s involved in a number of charities that have attracted the attention of various royals, so if there’s a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Queen or Camilla, Kate, or Meghan, even sometimes Beatrice, Eugenie, or Sophie, Mum is usually there in the background. I’ve lost count of how many charities she’s on the board of or volunteers with. Especially once I went off to boarding school.”

  “Wow...that’s impressive. I had no idea I was on a date with someone from such a connected background,” Eleanor said with a grin.

  “Well, at the risk of making you change your mind, I’m not the one who’s ‘connected’, my parents are. I’ve been invited to a few of these things, but usually through my parents or when I was working at my father’s bank between undergrad and going to LSE. I don’t know any of these people personally, just been introduced here and there. And I think I was about 10 when I met the Queen, so it’s not like I was hanging out with her just last week.”

  “Still, you’ve met the Queen. The Queen! I can’t say that about myself,” Eleanor said in awe and with a laugh.

  They walked in companionable silence for a while, eventually arriving at the river. Lights glittered off the water and after they’d
walked along the river for a while they could see Big Ben lit up in the distance. Eleanor still hadn’t gotten used to seeing London’s iconic landmarks every time she turned a corner. Every time she did it always gave her a thrill and she fought the urge to pinch herself. There was a cold wind blowing up the Thames. Despite her coat, Eleanor still felt the cold and shivered. Mark let go of her arm and placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him as they walked.

  “Getting cold?” he said with concern.

  Laughing, “Maybe a little, but I still enjoy it. It’s still mid-90s back home right now. The cold is a novelty.”

  “Mid-90s? What’s that in Celsius?” Mark asked curiously.

  “Umm, low 30s? Something like that,” Eleanor replied laughing.

  “Bloody hell that’s hot! How do you all stand it?” Mark replied incredulously.

  “Air conditioning. We stay indoors a lot,” Eleanor replied matter-of-factly.

  “But still, this late in the year? And still that hot?”

  “Some people get used to it. I only got less tolerant. So I’m enjoying being here,” Eleanor said with a smile.

  Mark stopped them and stepped in front to face her, “I’m enjoying you being here as well.”

  The look on his face was much more serious than the casual statement Eleanor had been making about the weather and London and it made her catch her breath. Before she could speak he placed his hands on both sides of her face and tilted it up, his lips meeting hers. Soft and inquiring at first, the kiss soon became heated and demanding as his mouth explored hers. She’d never been kissed like this. Eleanor felt a warmth spread throughout her entire body, in a way that the cold weather couldn’t penetrate. With Michael it had always been very mechanical compared to this. Eleanor almost hated herself for comparing them but she couldn’t help it. Michael had been her first kiss, so it was all she had to go by. With Mark, he seemed so enthusiastic and excited. It was a bit of a challenge for Eleanor to keep up.

  Both the night of her party and tonight she felt out of her depth and swept away when Mark was kissing her. It made her both nervous and excited. Even when she and Michael had first started dating he’d never seemed this attracted to her. She’d always felt simply accepted as a part of his life, like she ticked a box on a list of his.

  Eleanor tried to stay focused on the moment, Mark seemed in no hurry to stop kissing, but despite her warm coat and his arms wrapped tightly around her she couldn’t help shaking from the persistent cold. Mark slowly pulled his lips away from hers and looked down at her with concern as Eleanor began to shake even more.

  Rubbing his hands briskly up and down her arms, “You’re freezing! You should have said something.”

  “I didn’t really notice it until I started shaking,” Eleanor said with a small grin. “You’re very distracting.”

  Smiling broadly, “I’m terribly sorry to say that I’m not sorry in the slightest for distracting you from the cold. I quite enjoy kissing you.”

  “I enjoy kissing you as well,” Eleanor replied shyly.

  “Still, it’s getting late and you’re freezing, so we should probably get you home.”

  Eleanor was going to protest, but her chattering teeth told both her and Mark that it probably was time to get home.

  “I guess I’m still getting used to the English cold after years of Arizona heat,” Eleanor said laughing.

  Mark laughed as well, then rushed to the side of the road and was able to wave down a cab. He gently helped Eleanor get in and then slid in beside her, reaching his arm across her shoulders and pulling her close for warmth.

  Within minutes they had pulled up in front of Eleanor’s flat and Mark walked her upstairs to the door to the flat.

  “When can I see you again?” he asked, staring down at Eleanor intently.

  Again, she felt something inside her twist under his focused attention, but pushed it aside. “I’m busy working on a project for school this weekend that’s due on Tuesday, but I’m free after that’s turned in.”

  “Tuesday evening for dinner then? Or Wednesday if you’d rather take the night off, but maybe we could celebrate it being finished,” he said with a hopeful smile.

  “Tuesday evening would be nice, but I already have plans with my classmates to celebrate that night,” she replied with an apologetic smile. “We’ve all been stressing about it. But Wednesday would work,” she finished, looking up at him hopefully.

  “Wednesday it is. I’ll plan something special and you can celebrate finishing your project twice.”

  “Deal,” Eleanor said with a laugh.

  Mark reached up and pulled her close again, leaning down to give her another kiss, this one just as insistent and mesmerizing as the others. When he stopped Eleanor felt as if she was swaying. They said goodbye and Eleanor somehow managed to get inside to her room. She shrugged out of her coat and quickly changed into her yoga pants and U of A hoody that she’d brought from home.

  Looking at herself in the mirror she tried to see what Mark saw in her. She barely recognized herself anymore. Jonathan and Jack were right. She was a different person, in a lot of ways, than she was when she arrived. She was wearing her hair down more often, because it wasn’t a million degrees outside. Her skin seemed to love the bit of humidity in the air and was clearer than it had been in years, and thanks to some new skincare products her girlfriends at school had recommended her skin was practically glowing most days. She hadn’t lost weight, but she found she wasn’t as self-conscious about it in London, seeing so many different body types around her, and with all the walking she did on a daily basis she just felt better in her body, even though her clothes all still fit the same. She was feeling better about herself physically and mentally, feeling so much more confident in her writing abilities and feeling like she was making friends and connections and building a life for herself in London. She no longer felt like the awkward tourist pretending to fit in.

  But in so many ways she was still the shy and awkward girl who’d just “gone along” for years in order to maintain her relationship with Michael. With Mark things felt completely different, but almost to the other end of the spectrum. He was so interested and attracted to her, even Eleanor had to admit that. But did she feel the same way about him? They seemed to have a bit in common, conversation was always easy. He was happy to listen to her talk about school and her life back in Arizona. But part of Eleanor wondered if she was more attracted to the idea of him than anything else. It felt nice having someone pay so much attention to her. She liked being liked. But did she really like Mark as much as he seemed to like her? Was she ready to dive into another relationship with someone that she wasn’t sure about? This whole year was supposed to be for Eleanor to focus on her writing and focus on herself. She was afraid to lose herself in another relationship and things with Mark felt like they were moving so fast.

  Suddenly feeling very tired Eleanor quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth and then crawled under the duvet and fell asleep. She’d think about all of this later.

  Chapter 8

  The weekend went by in a blur of writing sessions in various coffee shops around London and at school, sometimes by herself, sometimes with Jack or other classmates. This project that had carried on from the first term was killing them all but Eleanor was happy for the distraction. Jack tried pressing her a few times for details about her date with Mark, so did Jonathan, but she managed to evade them each time. Tuesday finally arrived and Eleanor actually felt fairly confident about her work when she submitted it. She knew it wasn’t perfect, nothing ever was, but it was one of the best pieces she’d written in a while. That night a group from school went out to the Knightrider pub near their building and ate way too much fish and chips and drank a lot of ale and cider. They were happy to be done with the project and excited about what the new term would bring and the new workshops they’d be attending. The Harrison didn’t operate on a normal academic schedule, and Eleanor loved the workshop and project
based format of it. It was the complete opposite about how her MA program had been set up.

  The next night Eleanor got ready for another date with Mark. He hadn’t told her where they were going but had said that she should wear a dress and that he was picking her up in a cab if she wanted to wear heels. On the one hand, she was impressed by his thoughtfulness to let her know about the dress code and that he was willing to get a cab for them, but on the other hand she kind of wished the date would be a little less formal. She’d been hoping for something more casual.

  She pulled her hair up into an elegant twist in the back, securing it with a crystal encrusted clip she had found at Accessorize, which had quickly become one of her favorite shops, and applied her standard evening makeup look, slightly smokey eye, lots of mascara, a bit of blush and highlighter, natural lip. She dressed in her plain black shift dress from Hobbs, its streamlined darts accentuating her waist and its simple three-quarter sleeves able to provide just enough warmth wherever they ended up. She added a large statement necklace from Zara that framed the collar of the dress perfectly and then slipped on her usual stacking rings that she’d brought with her from home, each one a gift from her mom and aunt for various occasions, milestone birthdays, graduations, and the most recent one from her mom before she left for London.