literature

Mark and Jenny

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Jenny and I sat down at a table in the corner of a café. We'd only met earlier today, but it seemed as though time had stood still for us as we walked through London. Tonight, all the bright lights of the city blurred together like an oil painting, as did the details of our life. The only thing I could think of now was the person sitting in front of me. Completely, and utterly, lost in the moment.

We both ordered a cup of coffee. Jen stared at me like she was plotting something, and I saw a smile slowly creep out from the side of her mouth. “What?” I asked.
“It's nothing. I just thought of a game we could play” She replied.
“If it's strip poker then I'm not playing” That made her chuckle.
“No you pervert, it’s not strip poker”
“You sure?”
"Of course I'm sure"
“Hmm I don't know. I'm not too convinced. Besides - you had that look in your eye”
“What look?”
“Like somebody who wanted to play strip poker”
“Oh my god, we're not playing strip poker in the middle of this café ”
“That's fine by me, I'm terrible at poker. Plus I think public nudity is supposed to be illegal or something."
“Well if we did ever play strip poker, I'd let you win anyway” She had this cheeky look on her face while she drank some coffee.
"Oh come on that's not fair. Now you're just teasing me"
"Yeah, so what."
"Ever heard the saying, don't wave a red flag in front of a bull, or you might just get the horns"
"Let me guess - You're the bull and you're gonna give me the horns right?"
"I'll give you more than that" I winked at her while I was sipping my coffee. She was giggling so hard she could barely hold her own cup.


“Umm, what was I saying again? Oh yeah that's right. So about this game I was talking about. You’re gonna pretend that you’re my friend back in the states, and we're gonna have a conversation, okay?” She said.
“Sounds like fun” I replied.
“Okay here goes. Hey Lisa, long time no see”
“Oh hi Jen, how ya been” When I spoke, I pretended I had an American accent. I tried to emulate your typical, perky, all american cheerleader from every american high school film you've ever seen. Imagine inhaling the helium from a balloon, and then working behind the cash register at a fast food restaurant. That's how it sounded. Jen found my attempts hilarious of course.
“I’ve been okay. I've just come back from London.”
“Oh wow you went to London. Did you meet any British guys over there? You know, I always thought British accents were kind of sexy” She burst out in laughter.
“The funny thing is – is that I actually did meet someone in London”
“Oh my god, you have to tell me everything right now and don’t spare the details.”
“Okay. Well I was at the south bank admiring the sights and I needed directions on how to get to the London eye. But the problem is, I had no fucking idea how to get there. So I went up to this guy who was taking pictures of Big Ben and asked him for directions. He even offered to walk me there and we kind of got talking”
“He sounds like a real charmer. Was he hot?”
“Smoking"
"You should have gone back to his place and fucked his brains out"
"Lisa!"
"Well that's what I would have done. So what happened afterwards?"
"When we got there he offered to take a ride on the London eye with me”
“Well?”
“I said yes and then halfway through the ride we ended up kissing”
“You naughty little devil! So was he a good kisser?” I leaned towards her in anticipation.
“Oh yeah, he’s a real Casanova”
“Sounds like you really hit the jackpot with this one Jen. So tell me more” I said.
“I found out he’s actually a photographer.”
“A photographer huh.”
“Yeah, his name is Mark and he wants to become a war photographer one day. Hey, you wanna know something funny”
“What?”
“When we were at the London eye, I was about to ask him if he wanted to join. But then he asked me first. He probably thought he had to work really hard to woo me over and everything. He didn't even realise that I'd already fallen for him. Men are so easy sometimes aren't they” I had just realised what a fool I’d been. I returned to my normal voice
“Yes. They really are." That made us both laugh. "So what made you fall for him?”
“I don’t know. When we were talking with each other, we just kind of connected. Look, to be honest with you Lisa - I've been travelling around Europe trying to forget about home. I could be enjoying a meal with all my friends and feel like the loneliest person in the world. Travelling around Europe was amazing and I was ready to fly home that same morning too. But the only tickets they had available were for tomorrow morning. So I got one of those tickets and remembered I hadn't ridden the London eye yet. When I went to the south bank that afternoon, he was there. In the perfect place, at the perfect time, waiting for me to come over and ask for directions. And even though I had to fly home the next morning, I wanted to enjoy the time I had left with him." The expression on her face went a frown to a smile in an instant. "The charming bastard reeled me in. Hook, line, and sinker – now wipe that grin off your face because it’s your turn”

“Alright here goes. Dave mate, it’s good seeing you again” I said.
“You too mate. Fancy going for a pint in the pub?” I was cracking up at her attempt at a British accent. It was like your run of mill football hooligan.
“Nah it's okay mate, I think I’ll give it a pass”
“Ah come on mate. What’s wrong with you? You gay or something” She was really getting into this.
“Perhaps mate, perhaps. Anyway, How you been recently?”
“Oh I’ve been rosey mate. I’ve been sitting around watching soccer and downing pints of lager”
“Don’t you mean football mate”
“That's right, I meant football. Only yanks call it soccer, and I’m not a bloody yank now am I”
“Well you could have fooled me Dave”
“So how about you? Anything interesting happen recently?”
“You know it’s funny you say that Dave. I actually met this American girl the other day when I was taking photos on the south bank”
“Oi oi, get in there Mark. So was she fit?”
“Yeah mate, she was absolutely gorgeous, you should have seen her”
“Well don’t leave me in suspense mate, how did you two meet?”
“She came up to me out of nowhere looking all lost and confused and asked me how to get to the London eye. It was very cute”
“So did you give her directions”
“To be honest mate - I didn’t just want to point her in the right direction, or explain how to get there and never see her again. So I offered to walk her there instead. Afterwards we got talking and that's when the real magic happened, and mate let me tell you something. From the first moment I laid eyes on her, infatuation smashed me in my face. I don't know why, but it just did. I knew if she left and I didn't see her again, I would be up all night thinking about her and what would have been."
“What did you talk about when you walked to the London eye”
“A lot of things mate. This girl's just unbelievable. Her name's Jenny and she's spending the summer travelling around Europe. She told me how she wants to be a Journalist one day. In fact she’s attending Journalism school back in the states right now”
“Sounds like you really like her”
“I do” There were a few seconds of eye contact before she broke the silence and spoke.
“So what happened when you got to the London eye” She was speaking in her normal voice again.
“I was dead nervous. My heart was pounding like a pneumatic drill. I kept telling myself that I had to say something or she’s gonna slip away. Eventually I plucked up the courage and asked her if she wanted to ride the London eye with me”
“And what did she say?”
“She just smiled and said she was up for it. She has a really pretty smile too” Jenny smiled when I said that. I pointed at her and said “That’s the one”
“What happened afterwards?”
“Well we ended up sharing a kiss halfway through the ride. The sun was going down and you could see the city, and buildings, and lights far off into the distance. Very cliché I know. You would have hated it Dave”
“Ah mate, it sounds awful." She returned to her imitated British accent.
"Not really your thing now is it."
"Not at all. I don't know why girls are into all that romantic stuff anyway. Life would be so much simpler if we all just walked around grunting and dragging our knuckles along the floor, don’t ya think” We both started laughing but it was short lived. Something had been on my mind all night and I had to ask her. So I reached out and held her hand.

“Look Jen - I know you have to fly back home tomorrow morning and everything. But where does that leave us? Am I ever going to see you again?”
This is a short story I wrote. I wanted to write something out of my comfort zone. Depending on how I feel I may expand this story with more chapters, but for now it's just a short story.

This was inspired by the films 'Before Sunrise' and 'Before Sunset'.
© 2013 - 2024 shadowrunguy
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Chezzy-Am's avatar
:clap: I am so hopelessly inspired into watching that movie "Before Su nrise" (because I've actually made a reference to it myself in one of my stories) that I really don't know how I am going to actually help you in improving this work.

Its drop... dead... clear; the minimalism of environment was perfect; the characters were real; the dialogues were on que; the blending of emotions was so fragile and so well done, I fell hook, line, and sinker for the plot, and its delivery.

You sir, are a genius of a writer. This, combined with the dreaded interview, are works which have most definitely left a deep impact on me. Cheers. And keep posting.