The connection
Amy had met someone special on her commute, but could it all be too good to be true?
Amy couldn’t remember the last time she had butterflies in her stomach, but here she was climbing aboard the 8.04 to Waterloo with her belly doing somersaults. “Look at you, you’re practically shaking,” said Kate, laughing.
Clutching her bags to her chest as she walked down the carriage, Amy secretly wished that just for once she wasn’t catching the same train as Kate. They usually caught the 7.34 and over the years they, along with a couple of other women on the same commute, had become friends. Only, last week, Amy had missed her train – and she’d met a man...
“I know. I’m so used to meeting guys swiping on apps and vetting them on socials before we’ve even come face to face. It’s exciting knowing next to nothing about this guy.”
Amy settled into the last set of the four seats that had become “their spot”.
“It’s proper old-skool,” said Kate, sitting down opposite her.
The train pulled away and the agonising four-minute ride to the next station began. Kate chatted away about how she’d met her boyfriend Mac, but Amy was barely listening. She could only think of James.
She’d been gutted when she’d missed her normal train last Monday, but then she had sat opposite him and they’d swiftly moved from shy smiles to a long conversation. And she’d found herself catching the later train every day that week to continue their chats.
Kate raised her eyebrows as the train pulled into the next station and Amy’s stomach notched up to levels rivalling the final spin of a washing machine.
There he was. She watched him walk through the carriage, a smile spreading over his face when he saw her – only for it to slide right off when he saw Kate. Amy could tell he was just as disappointed as she was that they weren’t alone.
“Hello, you,” said Kate, with an almost purr. “What’s with you getting out of bed this early? Amy, this is Mac, my boyfriend.”
Amy froze. She stared at James and saw the redness creeping over his face.
“I… um… nice to meet you, Mac.” His name got stuck in her throat.
“Kate’s the only one who calls me that,” he said, not meeting her eyes.
“His friends call him Jimmy, so I call him Mac, like the song. Always sounds silly when you explain a nickname, doesn’t it?”
Kate patted the seat and James hesitated for a moment before the train lurched out of the station and he sat down.
“So, where’s your hot man, Amy?”
Amy wished her seat would open up and swallow her. She wanted to tell Kate the truth, but what would she say? That she’d got it all wrong, that he wasn’t flirting. Or worse, that he was. Would Kate want to know what her boyfriend was really like?
As she agonised over the situation another male passenger suddenly sank into the spare seat next to Amy and she shifted her bags to make room.
“Sorry about that,” he told her. “I thought I’d dropped an Airpod when I got on.”
Amy looked at him, not quite understanding why he’d bother to tell her this information. He seemed familiar. She’d probably shared countless journeys with him before.
“Oh, hello,” said Kate. “We’re so excited you’re here. Amy’s been lit up like a Christmas tree since she met you.”
Amy opened her mouth to correct her, but the man nodded.
“Me too. Good weekend?” he asked, turning to Amy. She could feel Kate’s eyes burning into her, watching for her response, and it hit her what this stranger was doing.
“Oh, it was ok,” she said, trying to play along. “I went to see the new Marvel movie.” “Better than the last one?” he nodded.
“So much better.”
He smiled and Amy noticed the little dimples forming on his cheeks.
“Urgh, we hate all those comic book movies, don’t we Mac?” said Kate. “Give me a Jason Statham movie any day.”
She patted James’ legs and he nodded. He was far from the chatty man that Amy had met last week. “The only thing worse than comic book movies are Star Wars ones.”
“What?” Amy and the dimple-cheeked stranger blurted out in unison. They looked at each other in surprise.
“Now, you’re wrong about that,” added Amy, and the two of them set about pointing out the error of Kate’s ways as the train rumbled down the tracks.
“No, you’re never going to convince me,” insisted Kate, standing up as the train pulled into Clapham Junction. She patted Mac’s arm. “Come on. See you tomorrow, Amy.”
Amy nodded and watched the pair go, before she turned to her new travelling companion sat next to her.
“Thank you for…” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.
“That’s ok. I’m sorry for butting in. I would never usually do that, it’s just I saw you two last week, and I’ve seen them together and –” “You knew this would happen eventually.” He wrinkled up his face. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok,” she said with a pathetic laugh.
“I just feel so stupid for thinking I could meet anyone on the commute. Like that ever happens.”
“I’m sure it does,” he said, shifting in his seat.
“I guess the upside is that I can go back to catching the earlier train and I won’t have to run all the way to the office.”
“I was actually thinking of getting the 7.04 tomorrow, maybe having time for a coffee and a croissant before work,” he said with a shrug.
Amy took in the way his hair fell over his hazel eyes. This was a man that she must have passed on multiple occasions before and yet she’d never properly noticed him.
“The 7.04, huh?”
The early train suddenly felt tempting. He smiled at her and she saw a twinkle in his hazel eyes. Maybe it wasn’t so ridiculous to think people could meet on the commute, after all.