An Untimely Romance: A Time Travel Romance by J Wells, L Wells Page A

stinging with tears, which she quickly wiped
away.
    “You’re so wrong,” Beth
laughed, lowering herself onto the side of the bath to be face-to-face with
Heather. Her damp skin shimmered as she pushed her wet hair behind her ears.
“It’s not like that at all.” She reached for Heather’s hands reassuringly.
“You’ve got absolutely nothing to worry about. We are just friends. I think
you’re good for Ruben, what he needs. You’re jumping to all the wrong
conclusions, and ruining something good before it has time to start.”
    ~•••~
    Heather sat down for breakfast, her
earlier conversation with Beth playing on her mind. She watched as a
semi-dressed Ruben walked from the bedroom, his top draped around his
shoulders.
    “Morning,” he yawned,
sneaking up behind Beth who was busy cooking breakfast and pinching a small
piece of bacon.
    “Oi!” she scolded,
slapping his fingers, before cracking two eggs onto the hot plates heating
nicely above the wood burner. Turning to Heather, she asked, “Would you like
one with your bacon?”
    “Can do,” Heather
replied, suddenly losing her appetite as she watched the interaction and body
language between the two. They made so little effort, yet seemed so at ease in
one another’s company.
    The door to the second
bedroom was slightly ajar, and Ruben peered inside before opening it wider for
a better view.
    “Bloody hell, Beth,
where did you go last night?” he asked, looking at a semi-conscious Frank lying
in the bottom bunk. “He looks bloody awful.”
    Laughing to herself,
Beth replied, “Took a drive out, found a few night clubs on the way, ended up
in Artemis. The music was great; he was dancing on the bar by the end of the
night.”
    “How much did he have
to drink?” Heather enquired, leaning back on her chair and noticing a bucket on
the floor beside the bed.
    “He had exactly the
same as me,” Beth said, looking under her eyes at Ruben.
    “I know what that means,” he laughed. “Up to your old tricks?”
    “What?” Heather asked. Another little joke they had between them , she thought to herself.
    “Well, for every Red
Bull I ordered for myself, I ordered our little friend the same with a double
vodka... Don’t forget, I was driving,” Beth said innocently, twizzling the ends
of her hair between her fingers. “I feel great, bit tired mind, but nothing a
strong cuppa won’t put right.”
    “Well, he’s absolutely
smashed,” Ruben laughed, clapping his hands. “Beth, you’re a legend. Would have
paid to see you get him up those stairs.”
    Imitating her actions,
Beth replied, “Just stood behind him, shoved and hoped for the best.”
    “Oi, Frank, fancy a
bacon sarni? Or runny eggs, or both, mate?” Ruben said, taking great pleasure
in rubbing it in.
    Only a half-hearted
groan came back.
    “Don’t be nasty,” Beth
responded, poker-faced but laughter lines not far away.
    Ruben’s gaze wandered
to the patio windows. A thickening mist hanging over the trees had replaced
yesterday’s sun.
    “Typical,” he grumbled.
“Looks like we won’t be flying today after all.”
    “Flying?” Heather
asked, a sudden rush of excitement taking hold.
    “That was the plan. The
airfield’s only a forty-minute drive from here. Got me licence this time last
year. Oh well, maybe tomorrow...”
    Beth picked up on
Heather’s disappointment. “I have an idea,” she said, taking her phone from her
handbag. “Ruben, be a love and finish the bacon off.”
    Pressing a number into
her keypad, she disappeared into the bedroom. A few seconds later, she poked
her head round the door.
    “Heather, have you got
any skin allergies?”
    “Not as far as I know.
Why?” 
    “That’s great, sorted,”
she announced. “We’ll see you at half eleven. Thank you,” she said, ending the
conversation.
    She pulled out a chair
and sat next to Heather as Ruben plated up their breakfast. Beth dominated the
conversation while they ate, mainly telling them about her