The Publisher

I was on my way to a vacation and I hoped it would help me clear my mind from any distractions. Being a writer has its good days and bad days. I was in those bad days. My mind was stuck and I could not think of anything to write. I had to come up with something soon, as we would have a new publisher next week. My boss was about to retire. I would want to present a new storyline for an upcoming book and impress the new boss. To be on the right track, I was set to a place where I had never been. The Bay City was popular for its magnificent beaches and nightlife—the best of both worlds. Surely, by the end of the week, I would have had a lot of things to write about. Pulling my luggage behind me, I looked for my cabin. It was my first time to experience riding an overnight train, and I was excited about this new adventure that awaited me. Unfortunately, the train didn’t have private cabins, so I had to share the space with another person. However, when you think about it, I might as well try to mingle as it was the point of my holiday. Be a sponge and get as much experience to write about. I found my cabin and opened the door. “Oh, I must have the wrong cabin. Sorry.” I quickly voiced my apologies, realizing I had walked into the wrong cabin. A man in his early thirties looked up from the lower bed and showed his pearly whites at me. “No worries.” He shrugged his shoulders and smiled at me again. Smiling back, I swiftly closed the door. I felt myself blush as I strutted my five-foot-six-inch tall, curvy body along the narrow hallway. Thinking of the handsome man I had encountered, I thought I was not bad-looking myself. With my light brown hair, hazel eyes, pouty lips, high cheekbones, and tanned skin, I could get men to line up for me. Anyway, it seemed like I was hypnotized after the encounter. I didn’t know where I was supposed to go until I got to the end of the car. I turned around and, one by one checked the cabin labels. I then found it! Before I went inside, I checked my ticket again. I slid the door open, and there he was again. “I think this is where I am supposed to be,” I said nervously. I went inside and closed the door behind me. “This is my first time riding the train, and I thought they would pair me up with another female traveler.” I then showed him my ticket. “Oh. It is my first time, too.” He reached for my ticket and looked at the details. “Your name’s Eli?” “Yes, short for Elisha.” “Did you book this yourself, or did somebody else book for you? It says here your name is Eli, and you’re a male. So that’s why you are here in this car.” He pointed to me the details which I had overlooked. “Oh, f**k,” I muttered. “My friend booked this one for me. She has a travel agency.” I cursed my friend in my mind before thinking of ways to what to do next. The problem was it was already late at night and I didn’t want to do unnecessary things anymore. It was such a hassle on my holiday. I was sure my friend intentionally did this to me. “If you want to change cabins, definitely you cannot travel tonight. The train leaves in five minutes,” he said as he stood up from the bottom bed. He was so near me I could smell his body's scent. Intoxicating. Making me want to jump on him. “I could sleep at the top. Don’t worry about me. I’m a good person. Promise.” He raised his right hand beside his head before making an ‘X’ mark on his chest. “Um, okay. Will this get me in trouble with the conductor?” I asked nervously. “I don’t think so. We can just say that the agent got the wrong details. And that it’s okay for us to stay together because we are friends.” He shrugged his shoulders before clearing the bottom bed of his few belongings. I was waiting for the siren in my head to sound off or the warning bells, but nothing. There was nothing negative I could feel from him. “Okay. So, if you are a friend, what could be your name?” I asked. “It’s Colton.” He reached out his hand for a handshake. “Nice to meet you, Colton.” I accepted his hand and tried to keep calm as I felt myself blush at the touch. “Nice meeting you, too, Eli.” Chuckling, he added, “You’re cute when you blush.” “Oh, thanks.” I lowered my head so I didn’t have to look at him. Not wanting to be stressed about the intentional mistake, I accepted the fact that I would stay in the cabin with Colton. My friend would not put me in harm, would she? Colton had shown he was a good person by staying out of my hair over the night. It partially eased my worries, but I was still on guard. I was awake most of the night thinking I could get some sleep when I arrived at the hotel. It was better to be safe than sorry. It was morning, and we woke up at the same time. He let me use the washroom first, which was another plus point for him. After we were both done, we got our breakfasts and got to talk about ourselves. I found out that he had just turned thirty-one. Then I told him I was twenty-seven. “Are you on a holiday or business?” Colton asked as he sipped his coffee. “Both.” I sighed. “I’m a writer having writer’s block. I need this holiday to get away, find new inspiration on topics to write about.” “What do you write?” He leaned forward, looking interested in what I was about to say. “I’m into romance.” I shrugged my shoulders. “That’s tough. I mean, the situation you are in. Writer’s block is tough. Of course, romance is always a sure hit for women. Do you write spicy s*x scenes? Something erotic?” “At times.” This talk is already making me uncomfortable. I was not used to talking about my work like that with anybody else. “At times? Maybe you should put in a little more.” He grinned mischievously. He looked at me as if gauging my reaction before speaking up again. “Think of something unusual. Put a little mystery or make it a suspense-thriller. Or romance with heavy drama.” He talked further but then stopped to take a sip of his coffee. It was surprising he knew a lot of things about writing. I was about to ask him if he had any experience when he spoke up again, cutting my thoughts. “Anyway, what is your itinerary? I mean, you wouldn’t want to be locked up in the hotel room waiting for inspiration to happen, right?” “I don’t have one. I’ll just go with the flow,” I confessed. “That’s cool, but better to have something in mind, or else you might get stuck in the wrong places. I’m actually on holiday, using this time to unwind before I start my new work on Monday. It might take a while to get time to have another vacation. Anyway, I’ve been to the bay a few times before. I’ll offer you myself as your guide.” “That’s nice, but I don’t want to trouble you.” “No trouble at all. I know where you can get all the inspiration you want.” He winked at me. “I promise you will find lots of inspiration on this trip.” “Okay, sure.” I chuckled. We exchanged numbers, so we could meet somewhere. “I’ll be staying at The Bay Hotel,” Colton said. “Hey, me too!” I replied rather enthusiastically. “That’s great! Then we won’t have trouble fixing our schedules.” We got to talking about the place, and Colton showed me the photos of his last visit. Some of them were with a beautiful woman, who I thought was his girlfriend. But then, he told me it was his sister. They usually travel to the bay by plane. However, since he was going alone this time, he wanted to try something new. We got to the hotel just in time for check-in. I got my key first, then I waited for him to get his. “What do you mean, I’m not booked? I have been staying here ever since. Here’s the confirmation I received. Check it again in your system.” I heard Colton arguing with the receptionist, who was trying her hardest to pacify Colton. “Hey,” I said to him softly. “She’s saying that I’m not booked.” He motioned to the lady in front of us. “But I have received confirmation. I booked this myself.” “It might take a while for them to find out the problem. Would you like to come up first to my room to freshen up?” I could not believe what I did. Shocked as I was, frozen on the spot, I could not retrieve my offer. Colton was certainly attractive, a head-turner, but I still didn’t know him enough to invite him to my room. A night with him says nothing. I didn’t come to the place to flirt. I came with a purpose and I didn’t want to be side-tracked. My heart was pounding loudly, it was deafening to my ears. However, I could still hear clearly what Colton said. “Come on. Let’s go.”