The Passenger by Daniel Hurst (great book club books TXT) 📕

I’m not. Remember what you told me once. Guys don’t mature as quickly as girls do. I was way too immature to have a relationship when I was your age.’

That is partly true. It’s definitely taken me a while to mature, and I did spend a lot of time messing around over the last few years although I don’t mean just drinking and partying. I mean three years spent in a prison, but I can hardly just drop that into the conversation and expect to get away with it. Therefore, I’ll stick to either being vague or just plain lying.

‘So what makes you think you are ready for a serious relationship now?’ Louise asks me as she snuggles into my chest.

‘I guess I’ve finally met the right girl,’ I reply, and I expect such an answer is going to score me some serious brownie points. That is confirmed when Louise leans up and gives me a kiss on the lips.

She’s so easy to manipulate, and I almost feel a little sorry for her considering what I am going to do.

Almost.

‘What do you want to do with your life? You know, now you’re Mr Mature,’ Louise asks.

I take a moment to give an answer, not because I am stuck for one, but because I have to make one up. The real answer to that question would be to live abroad, somewhere sunny, preferably Ibiza, where I would enjoy a luxurious lifestyle selling drugs to all the tourists who visit the island to party and blow their cash. But I don’t think Louise will be thrilled if I say that, so I’ll just play it safe and lie again.

‘I wanted to be a doctor when I was younger,’ I reply, deciding that is a more socially acceptable choice of profession to have than drug dealer.

‘Really? You? A doctor?’

‘Hey! What are you getting at? I’m smart enough!’

‘Whatever you say.’

Louise laughs as I pull her in close and give her another kiss. Despite everything that is about to happen, I will actually miss her after today. Not enough to cancel the plan, obviously, but enough to look back fondly on these times when I am sitting enjoying a cold drink by myself in twenty-four hours’ time. We have had some fun together since we first hooked up a month ago. Back then, I was just out of prison, and all I was looking for was a casual relationship with any woman. That’s the thing about spending time inside. You aren’t exactly fussy about who you date when you get out. But far from just being a casual fling, this relationship quickly turned out to be so much more. That’s because ever since I met Louise and learnt about her life, my dilemma about how I was going to make money on the outside slipped away. It was as if we met by fate rather than the simple swiping of a thumb on a mobile phone app.

‘What would your dream job be?’ I ask, figuring that making this conversation a two-way thing will keep us lying here for longer.

‘I don’t know,’ Louise replies. ‘I like animals, so maybe a vet.’

‘Don’t you have to be really clever to be a vet?’

‘Hey!’ Louise hits me playfully across my bare chest, and I grab her hand before she can remove it. Then I pull her in for another kiss, and this time we don’t go back to discussing our dream jobs. We’re far too busy passing the time in another way.

7 AMANDA

I always feel better once I’ve lost myself in my writing. All of life’s problems seem to fade away into the background, and I’m free to just focus on what I enjoy. That explains why I’m so focused on what I am typing that I fail to notice that the man opposite me is trying to talk to me again. It’s only the fact that he waves his hand in front of my face that diverts my attention away from the laptop screen.

‘Sorry,’ I say as my fingers come to a stop inches from the keys. Once I get started, I don’t usually stop until the end of the line. But no such luck today.

‘I was just saying that you’re going to wear that keyboard out if you’re not careful,’ he tells me with a warm smile.

‘Oh, right. Yeah,’ I reply, returning the smile even though my brain is still deep in the story I was just writing.

I’m not really sure that what he just said was worth him interrupting me for, but never mind. I’m just about to get back to work when he speaks again.

‘That’s the strangest way of playing solitaire that I ever saw.’

I laugh at his witty observation, and my loosening up obviously gives him the confidence to carry on.

‘What is it you’re writing? If you don’t mind me asking.’

I do mind, but I’m too polite to let it show. While I appreciate the attention from the handsome man and even feel a little flattered that he is interested in me enough to try to make conversation, I really would rather just focus on the task at hand. Maybe this guy is looking for something to do to pass the time until his stop, but I don’t have that problem. I know exactly what I need to be doing, and it’s not engaging in chit-chat.

‘It’s nothing,’ I reply with a shrug, but he doesn’t let me get away with it that easily.

‘Hmmm. If it’s not work, and it’s definitely not solitaire, what could it be?’

Even though I’m a little irritated, I smile at the man, mainly because he is still smiling at me. As I look at his brown eyes, his slick black hair and his designer stubble, I feel a slight bubble of excitement inside me that comes from being around somebody attractive. I really should concentrate on my work. But the more he looks at me with those dreamy eyes, the more I’m hoping he keeps on talking.

‘I think