Manzanillo Nights, London Days

You said you wouldn’t ever say that! You swore it,” the angry words dripped from her lips like the tears on her cheeks. “I knew this was a mistake.”

“Lexie, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t call me that. Don’t ever fucking call me that.”

“What? Now I’m supposed to just act like we never met or something? Like we aren’t what we are?”

“We aren’t.”

“That’s a lie, and you know it!”

An express train clattered quickly by the platform drowning out Alexandra’s next words. For a moment, she was grateful for the noise. Her passion was in control now, and the words had been too harsh, even for this betrayal. As the disturbance faded into the distance, she sighed, “Ry, I can’t do this.”

“Oh so you can call me Ry, but I can’t call you Lexie now?”

“You should’ve heard what I called you when the train was going by,” Lexie said through gritted teeth as she looked at the ground.

“I did.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, Ryland. I need to go. I need you to go.”

“Your train isn’t here yet, Alexandra. Just talk to me.”

“God, don’t call me that either. I just - you promised. We promised. Everything was perfect. Then you went and ruined it.”

“So, what? We were just supposed to go on forever like we were?”

“Yes! Or until you got sick of me or I got sick of you or one of us died which is highly likely in the near future and now, because of you, it’s going to absolutely kill me if you go first. Don’t you see how selfish you are?! And you didn’t make it easier on me if I’m the one who goes first. You screwed everything up.”

“I’m not going to die anytime soon…Lexie…” Ry tested the waters before continuing. “I know you’re scared. I understand that, but I’m very good at what I do, and I’m not going to die.”

“You don’t know that. And please don’t make another promise you can’t keep. Anyway, we both know it’s me who’s going to die first. They gave me 6-12 more, max, and you knew that. You could’ve just left things as they were. You don’t think it’s hard enough knowing the end is stalking me. Everyday, that could be it. And if you’re just a guy - just a random guy from a random beach bar that I met on vacation when I wanted to go a little wild after getting a death sentence - well, it’s just easier that way.”

“Random guys don’t follow you back to London and take care of you on the bad days and your damn cat every day. I stopped being a random guy the minute we got on that flight together. The minute we fell into your bed, barely coming up for air for a week. The minute I met your friends at the pub. The minute you asked me to take you to the doctor when you started feeling worse.”

Lexie stared down the tracks as her eyes swelled again, her throat joining in - where was that damned train? She composed herself and turned back, “Well, you put yourself right back into the random guy status when you agreed to do this job.” Her eyes stared defiantly into his, glistening, but unblinking.

“Just because I lo-”

“No! Don’t you dare say it again. If you care about me even one tiny bit, you’ll never say it again.” Rain began to fall from the gray London sky as Lexie turned back to stare down the empty tracks.

Ry felt silence fill the air beneath the train platform awning, building a wall between him and the random girl who sat down on the barstool next to him in a Mexican beach bar 8 months ago. “I’m not going to be gone long. You know that. 2 weeks, tops. It’s not like I can say no.” The wall continued to grow, each word from Ry’s mouth a brick of its own.

“Would you, though? Would you say no, if you could?” Lexie focused on Ry once more. His eyes met hers and then looked away as his jaw tightened. “I didn’t think so.”

“Lexie.”

“It’s Alexandra.”

“Oh come on. No. It’s Lexie. And you know I wouldn’t say no to this job, but I would to a thousand others. If I could. But he's a friend. A very good friend who’s helped me out more times than I can count.”

“Can’t they send someone else?”

“Would you respect me if I let someone else risk their neck for my friend?” Lexie looked back at the ground. “Plus, we’ve been over this - as much as the movies would like you to believe it, there aren’t that many guys who have black ops experience and special forces training who also got into enough trouble to pretty much owe their lives to the US government till the end of time. Oh and who are also ruggedly handsome, charming, and can talk their way out of pretty much any bad situation.”

Lexie smiled slightly, but then caught herself. “Except for this one, Ry.” A black spec appeared on the horizon as the sound of a clacking reappeared amidst the gentle storm. “My train’s here.”

“Where are you going? Lexie - don’t…”

“You’re going to South America tonight. I could be dead by the morning. You could be dead by the weekend. We promised, Ry. And you broke that promise.”

“You broke it, too. Maybe you didn’t say the words, but you did. So, don’t get on that train. Two weeks, tops. I’m going to knock on the door of your flat, and we’re going to live the rest of our lives together. However long that is. Two people in -” Lexie dropped her bags and her lips were on Ry’s, cutting him off. The wheels of the train squealed softly as they came to a stop at the platform. The doors opened and people poured off the train enveloping Ry and Lexie as time seemed to slow.

Lexie pulled her lips away and as her hand slid down the back of Ry’s neck she whispered, “I’ve got to go. Try not to get yourself killed, okay?” Slowly she backed away, picked up her bags, and boarded the train. Ry watched the doors close as his phone rang.

“This is Ry.”

“Damn, amigo. You sound like your dog just died or something. You sure you’re up for this?” As Ry watched the train pull away from the station, he saw Lexie seated by the window. She looked at him and blew on the glass. Slowly she drew an I, a heart, and the letter U before turning to face forward and settling in for the ride. “Hola? Earth to Ryland. You there?”

Ry smiled and shook his head, putting the phone back to his ear. “Yeah, I’m here you dusty old cabrito. What do you want?”

“Cabrito? Your Spanish is what’s going to get us killed. You got the ticket, right?”

“Yeah, I got it. See you in a few hours,” Ry started to end the call, but paused. “Oh, and Raul, you remember that girl from Manzanilo?”

“Lexie? She’s not a girl anyone forgets, amigo.”

“Yeah, well, you’d better keep me alive because if I’m not back in London in 2 weeks, I think she might hunt you down and kill you.” Ry slipped the phone back in his pocket as he turned and walked towards the taxi stand.