Highland Fling Redux Pt 01

Highland Fling Redux Part 1

This is a reworked version of the story previously posted as "A Bridesmaids Highland Fling". It has the same beginning but I've made a major change to the plot that I hope fixes some of the issues with the original version. As before it's a slow burn erotic romance but will have some spice in each Part. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1: So Long, London

Chloe crept through the silent corridors of the castle before dawn, moving as quickly as she could while avoiding waking any of the other guests. When she finally reached her own room, closed the door and threw herself on the double bed she had to stifle a giggle: two different lovers in two successive nights? This was not the weekend she was expecting. But it was much, much better.

Thursday evening, just over 24 hours earlier:

"The fucking scumbag did WHAT?"

Even through text Emily's anger on Chloe's behalf was palpable. Chloe would have loved her even more for it, if it was possible to love her best and oldest friend (occasionally with benefits) more than she already did.

Chloe's boyfriend of two years had dumped her earlier that day. The same day they were meant to be travelling north to Scotland together for Chloe to be chief bridesmaid at that same best friend's wedding. She had dreamed of a romantic overnight train journey on the Deerstalker Express to a weekend long Highland castle wedding, where she would show off her handsome boyfriend.

Those dreams had been crushed in a five minute conversation and now she was alone, forcing down tears in London's bleakest train station surrounded by the boozy Drink After Work crowd and the weary Working Late crowd, all heading for late trains home. As she began to type a reply her suitcase toppled over with the weight of two dress carriers draped over the handle. She swore and choked back her anger and frustration;

I will

not

waste tears over him.

Her phone buzzed with a new message from Emily before she could finish her response.

You remember me telling you that Cameron's "uncle" James (not his actual uncle) was also getting the sleeper north? He's on tonight's train too. I've given him your number. He's going to help get you on the train with your bags and stuff x

Buzz.

Oh btw I'm NOT trying to set you up! He's like 50 something and just a really lovely guy. I'd trust him with the woman dearest to me on the planet x

Such an Emily thing to do; practical, thoughtful, trying to fix everyone's problems, thought Chloe, forgiving her friend for making her feel like a kid who needed a responsible adult to put her on a train. And she was exhausted. She had packed assuming she would have an extra pair of hands, even just someone to watch the bags while she went for a snack or for a pee.

She cursed herself for packing too much but in truth two dress carriers for two formal outfits, a tote bag for travel essentials and suitcase crammed full of everything else was hardly excessive for a three day wedding. It was that prick her ex's idea to come up on the overnight sleeper, so he didn't need to take a day off work. Just as she felt tears of anger and frustration welling up her phone buzzed again.

Unknown Number:

Chloe? It's James, Cammy's friend. Hope you don't mind but Emily gave me your number and thought you might want a friendly face amongst the drunks at Euston. I'm outside WH Smith. The guy with the beard. And the bags!

That was where Chloe was. She turned and saw a man with a silvered beard scanning the crowd, suit carrier draped over suitcase, like her. He was tall and rangy; his tousled hair more grey than brown, wearing a tailored jacket with jeans and a patterned scarf. He had a look of a University professor, or History teacher in a TV drama.

She messaged back "Spotted ;-)" and waved as she walked toward him.

"Ms Green I presume?" he said with a broad, open smile, "James McKenzie, at your service. Can I help with your bag?" he paused for her nod before lifting her suitcase. "We're just about to board. Platform 2. Shall we, or do you want to pick anything in the station first? I was in M&S when I got Emily's message anyway so I took the liberty of buying an extra bottle of water and chocolate and snacks for the train in case you hadn't had the chance. I'll admit to being a big fan of a midnight feast on the sleeper. Particularly partial to a Percy Pig at Crewe. But please don't tell anyone, it would destroy any lingering street cred I may still have."

Chloe's eyes moistened at his thoughtfulness and attempts to lighten her mood. He knew the circumstances in which they were meeting, of course Ems would have told him. But he was too kind to say, "Travelled on the sleeper before?" he continued, talking to put her at ease.

"No, never been to Scotland before."

"Really? Well I hope you enjoy your first trip on the Sleeper and you have a lovely time in my old country."

Despite everything Chloe still felt a thrill as they approached the platform, tickets clutched in her hand. In a few minutes she would be shown to her berth, where she would close the door and then that tiny cabin would be hers, her private space for the next twelve hours, to read and sleep, maybe play a little, and she could picture herself as a glamourous character from an Agatha Christie novel, maybe a young heiress or a spy, a femme fatale on the run.

They were greeted on the platform by an imposing turbaned Steward in a teal green uniform with meticulously combed whiskers who asked for their names to check against his clipboard. "Coach G for you Sir, your cabin is about in the middle. Now Miss, you're in coach A, the seated coach just here."

"What? The seated coach? Not a cabin?" Chloe stared at her ticket, realised how little her boyfriend had paid for the tickets and for the first time looked at more than just the departure time.

Seat 6A & 6B. Economy.

Seats. No mention of a sleeping cabin. The final insult, she had told him she wanted a cabin with a bed and the cheapskate had bought them the cheapest tickets available. "The Bastard!" she thought before realising she had spoken aloud.

Both men shuffled and kept a polite silence.

"Will you help me to my seat James?" She said in a flat voice as James answered by picking up her case and walking her to the seated coach.

"It's not bad." The seat was comfortable, she would have been delighted to relax in it for a journey of a couple of hours. But as fellow travellers streamed in it felt very far away from her vision of sleeping in a proper bed in a cosy, private sleeping cabin. It was much more like the 10:15 to Reading than the Orient Express. "it's

Fine

. I'm tired. I should get to sleep."

"Chloe. Listen. Let's swap. You can't spend the night on a seat. For someone young like you this would be OK to Edinburgh. But we're going all the way to Inverness. That's a twelve hour journey. Emily will need you tomorrow, there's bound to be lots of last minute things to do and people to organise. You need to be rested for that. I'll kip here. I can sleep anywhere. Really. It's embarrassing. I can sleep on the Tube. I fear it's an age thing. And all I really need to do tomorrow is not be the

most

annoying middle aged man at a rehearsal dinner. Even I should be able to manage that on a couple hours sleep."

"That's very kind. But I can't. My mess. My useless, selfish prick of an ex. Not your problem."

He winced. "Seriously. Think about it. Let me buy you a drink in the lounge car and promise me you'll consider it."

She nodded then looked at her bags in the open carriage. "But I can't leave all my..."

He had read her mind and gently interrupted, "Come to my cabin and we'll dump our bags, lock the door, and get a stiff drink. Deal?"

****

They sat across from each other, watching the London suburbs slip past, red roofs and church steeples giving way to fields and sleepy canals as they sipped their nightcaps. He was easy company and easy on the eye, for someone who liked older guys at least. She found herself looking into his eyes, and had to break off to avoid looking moonstruck. They were unlike anything she had seen before; a deep shade of blue but with a hazel sunburst around the pupil, and hazel flecks radiating outwards.

They shared stories of Emily and Cameron, she found out he had been Cameron's academic supervisor at the London School of Economics, where he still taught part time, along with vague consultancy work that was "

well paid but dull and not worthy of spoiling good conversation by dwelling on"

in his words.

They had worked together again after university and when Chloe had asked if he considered himself Cameron's mentor he shrugged, "I guess I was sort of an older brother figure to Cam."

"Brother? Emily said

Uncle

."

"Did she now!? And here I was thinking I liked that girl. Remind me to have words when we get to Ardkinglass."

Chloe giggled at his mock scowl. It was almost 10:45pm and the first time she'd laughed that day.

He told her he had planned to travel up with one of Cameron Uni friends which explained the bunk bed style cabin she had seen when they deposited their bags but the friend had cancelled last minute as "something had come up at work" and would fly up direct to Inverness on Saturday morning. "His loss. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, exploring the castle they've hired and getting to know Cameron and Emily's family better."

He lived in Greenwich but now his only son was at University he was thinking of changing career and leaving London, perhaps to move home to Scotland.

She nodded along with enthusiasm. "I've only lived in London for five years and I think I might be done already. I mean I love it, it's an amazing city, despite everything, despite working all hours to be afford to share a tiny flat in an unfashionable part of south London, not like you and your swanky Greenwich bachelor pad, "he started to protest but she talked over him, "But I'm a country girl at heart," she looked out the window as she composed her thoughts, "and I don't think London will ever feel like home. Great fun to visit. But not home. It's the London lifestyle that I don't like I guess. I don't want to settle down. It's not that,"

"I'm not jealous of Emily. Well maybe a little as she is just

so

sorted, has a job she loves, beautiful old house in Edinburgh with a garden and a cat and a fiancé who worships the ground she walks on. So ok maybe a tiny bit jealous." She giggled at his raised eyebrow.

"We are different people you know. She did her Masters at Glasgow Uni and but I came to London straight from Uni to be a writer," she lifted her hands in embarrassment at her naivety," did some temp work, admin stuff, just as a stop gap. Then I got a chance to be the assistant to the big boss for a few weeks. And you know that to live in London, and have a flat one nicer than a bedsit you very soon get trapped in this career hamster wheel. And one thing leads to another, you go for one job for a bit more money, then another, and now I'm a PA for a director in a big recruitment company. "

She paused and realised he was studying her carefully. It was a serious face, and there was no quip poised on his lips to dismiss her reflections and move the conversation to lighter topics. He nodded slowly, encouraging her to go on.

"It's a good job, I know I'm lucky and should be grateful but I don't care about my career in the Recruitment industry. I don't care about getting the next promotion, even though it might mean I could maybe afford something on my own. There must be more to life than this corporate

bullshit

. More than just Work, Consume and Die."

She was talking with passion, staring out the window and into space as the darkening English countryside rolled by.

"I want to travel. Properly, not just weekend mini breaks, I want to write. I want to write travel books for adults, and, "her eyes shone as she spoke, "adventure stories about spies and night trains for kids. I want kids to get the same thrill from my books as I did reading authors like Diane Wynne Jones, Rosemary Sutcliffe and Neil Gaiman."

"Sorry. Got a bit carried away there," she gave a nervous laugh as she turned back to James to see him with a look that she couldn't decipher. And realised she had confessed things to this virtual stranger that she had only ever shared with Emily.

"No, don't apologise. I agree. You should do exactly that, all of that. I know that feeling. Like I said. I'm at a time of my life where the things that stopped me..." He paused, searching for the right words, "the things that stopped me taking risks have now gone. And I want change." His words were simple but he said them with a force that surprised Chloe.

She told him about her loveable but flaky roommate Hannah and how she missed being close to Emily, her best friend since 15, and as the late Spring dusk slipped into night they talked of books that had moved them and cities they loved and places they wanted to travel. He listened well, laughed easily, and spoke with passion about what he knew and with thoughtfulness of things he didn't. He was an ideal travelling companion but as the night wore on Chloe realised how weary she was.

"I better try and get some sleep. I'm not going to make it to midnight and share your feast. You sure it's OK to leave my suitcase and dresses in your cabin?"

She cursed the ex one last time and slung her tote bag over her shoulder.

"I'd rather you were there with them. The offer stands."

"Thank you but I just need to Woman Up, use the complimentary ear plugs and push though. Goodnight!"

When she opened the door to the seated carriage the noise of snoring hit her first, but shortly after she registered the low chatter of several couples who thought they were whispering and finally the tinny sound of music being played through earphones. It was louder than the bar.

Fuck. This

.

She came back to find him sitting where she left him. He reached into his pocket and handed her his First Class Ticket. "No arguments."

"Only on one condition; we share. There's a difference between throwing you out of your own cabin and me taking a bed that's going to be empty all the way to Inverness. And I trust you are a gentleman and don't take that as an invitation to anything."

"Done and of course. You do not need to ask."

****

She got ready for bed while he nursed his drink waiting for her text to say she was decent and he could return. As she removed her makeup in the little mirror she appraised her newly single self and saw with satisfaction that her hair had kept its shape nicely from this afternoon's cut, loose dark waves tumbling down just past her shoulders.

She wished she was two inches smaller and considered cute and petite. Or two inches taller and thought of as tall and willowy. But no; she was stuck in the in-between space of

unremarkable

. Too small to be leggy and elegant, too big to be adorable and doll-like. A dress size smaller, maybe even two would be perfect but she was sick of dieting and at 27 had learned to accept this was her size and it was hard enough to keep it never mind go one down. Her hips were too wide, her bum too flat and her B cup tits too small but with carefully chosen clothes she could pass and entice a lover to get close enough to see her best features, her soft brown eyes framed with long thick natural lashes. She might have inherited her pale skin and her name from her kind, conventional English grandmother, but those eyes and lashes and hips were all from her wild, bohemian, Egyptian

teta.

She ruefully slipped on the silk Cami top and French knicker set she had packed especially for this trip. It had been a Christmas gift from her mother and immediately put aside for this trip where she hoped they would have been removed by a boyfriend who couldn't keep his hands off her.

Oh well, best laid plans

. But at least the silk felt luxurious against her skin and a little bit of the feeling of being a glamorous heroine from another age returned.

She climbed up to the top bunk of the little cabin, pulled up the covers and texted James it was safe to come back. She opened her book to read but closed her eyes for a moment and was sound asleep with the rocking of the train before he tiptoed back to the room.

****

"You awake?"

"Yeah. Just woke."

"Where are we?"

"Just north of Perth I think. The train splits there. It would have been the jolt that woke us both. You get some sleep?"

"I slept like a log. Thank you so much James. I feel like a different woman. I don't know how I would have coped on a seat for so long."

They talked a little and agreed neither would be able get back to sleep, especially with the grandeur of the Highlands rolling past outside.

"Do you mind if I climb down and sit with you? Feels odd speaking to a disembodied voice."

She climbed down

almost

elegantly as he was pulling a T-shirt over a body that was leaner and more toned than expected. His messy morning hair made him look almost cute in contrast to the serious, practical gentleman of last night. He looked sheepish when he saw the edges of her mouth twitch and he tried to tame his mop with his hands and with limited success. As he shuffled to give her room she saw his fresh looking but loose boxers that she didn't want to look at too closely, just in case. But she couldn't miss his long athletic legs as he propped up an arm with his knee.

She sat on his bed cross legged in her silk sleepwear as they watched dawn break over the moors and glens of the Scottish Highlands. They talked a little as the wild scenery spooled past, James occasionally pointing out some sights and she was proud to spot a lone deer bound away from the train just north of Kinguisse. When they went through thickly forested glens she talked of the similarities and differences between the Highlands and the New Forest, her playground growing up, and then of her last train journey home, with the ex who shall not be named and she stopped talking as the wound burst open.

And then tears came. And once the dam was broken they came in a flood, her shoulders heaving, hot tears running down her face. She cursed that she wasn't pretty when she cried but he just pulled her into his chest with both arms and held her there, gently stroking her back and saying comforting words in a low voice. Chloe didn't register what he said but the sound of his voice was a soothing balm.

"I'm sorry. You turn up at Euston expecting a relaxing journey north only to play babysitter to a pathetic mess of a girl who crashes your cabin then has a breakdown."

"I've found you a wonderful travelling companion. I've had a much better journey than I expected. And don't apologise. I've had my heart broken. I know how it feels. It gets easier."

"That's the worst though. I'm not heartbroken. Not really. I liked him, at his best he was fun. But I think I liked the idea of him more than the reality. And I think I knew I didn't love him. I just thought it would be lovely to have a boyfriend for Emily's wedding, not always be the pathetic single girl in her late 20s having to answer all the usual questions and make some half-hearted attempt with the single guys. Urgh. I'm more humiliated than heart broken."

He was stroking her hair now.

God it felt good

. She lifted her head slightly to fit in the hollow just below his shoulder, her eyes level with his mouth. And it was a very kissable mouth.

"Well I know almost no one at this thing. Not well. Other than Cam and Emily. I can be your date if you like?"

"God that's tempting James, but no. Emily would know. I don't want to fool her and it's not like she can't keep a secret but..."