Sunrise in Bali - Across the Pond Trilogy (Book 1) (3 page)

After
the odd grumble, the group began to get up and leave the table. Sarah
and Mark, having sparked up a bit of interest in each other over the
previous couple of days, wandered off down towards the lake. Eno, the
chief grumbler concerning the early morning get up, trundled off to
his room for a good nights sleep, while Miley, Andrew and Andy each
said their goodnights and went their separate ways. Before she knew
it, Jenny was sat alone at the table with Henry, both of whom had a
half glass of local wine left to finish.

“
I
guess I'll leave you to it then Henry.” Jenny had gotten the
feeling that perhaps he'd rather be alone. “Have a good night”.

“
Leaving
so soon?”

This
caught Jenny off-guard. “Um, yeah I suppose it's best to get some
rest before tomorrow, don't you think?”

Henry
looked at her and smiled. Jenny's heart missed a beat, and she coyly
smiled back. He had beautiful white teeth and a dashing smile. “I
don't think I'll be going to bed for a little while yet. Maybe it's
the university life, but I can never seem to get to sleep before
midnight. Won't you stay and have a drink with me? As long as you
don't mind me smoking?”

“
No,
not at all. Um, OK, I guess I can stay for a drink.”

With
that Henry stood up. “What would you like?”

“
Another
glass of wine would be lovely, thank you”

Henry
nodded and strolled over to the group of waiting staff that had
gathered over by the bar. He carried himself so well, immediately
engaging the waiters, who smiled at him as he made his request.
Within a moment he returned, cigar in one hand and a pack of matches
in the other. Jenny was struck by his assertiveness, his calm
demeanor, and his confidence. Confidence, not arrogance, Jenny
realized... confidence.

“
So
how are you finding the tour so far,” Jenny asked as the waiter
brought over their wine and laid it down in front of them.

“
Excellent,
and you?”

“
It's
great, just what I needed right now, certainly makes a break from New
York life.”

“
I
would have thought New York life would be quite exciting,”
responded Henry quickly, enquiringly.

“
Well,
yes, and no,” she said, dropping her voice. “I guess when you're
so used to somewhere it's not that exciting anymore.”

“
I
suppose I know what you mean. The grass is always greener on the
other side, as they say. I'm sure when you get back from this trip
you'll perhaps feel differently.”

Henry
spoke those words carefully, knowingly. It was as if he knew what she
was talking about, that she was escaping a break-up; mending a broken
heart. He looked at her and continued: “So how long are you here
for? Is it just the tour, or are you going anywhere after?”

“
Well,
we have a week in Seminyak after the tour ends before we have to
catch our flight. Do you know it?”

“
Yes
I do as it happens. Mark and I were staying in Kuta last week, and
it's just down the road, all part of the same coastline. It's very
different from what we've had on this tour so far. Full of bars and
nightlife – it's where all the Aussies flock to for their summer
holidays.”

Jenny
responded that she was looking for an authentic experience, but that
a little extra fun might be good at the end of the tour. “And you,
are you staying on after the tour?” Her question was hopeful.

“
Not
really. We have a day or two when the tour ends but have a scheduled
flight to Singapore to catch. All part of our round the world
ticket.”

Jenny's
heart didn't quite sink, but it certainly dropped a little. “Well,
hopefully we'll be able to get to know each other a little better
before you have to leave,” she said, the words springing from her
mouth unexpectedly. She blushed, and took a sip of wine.

“
I
certainly hope so,” said Henry, looking straight at her. “I think
we'll get along well.” They both smiled at each other.

They
continued to chat for a little while, seeing Mark and Sarah pass by
and head off into their own rooms, both of whom offered surreptitious
glances to their friends as they went. Jenny spoke about her life at
college, her degree in medicine, and her family. Henry reiterated her
sentiments about parents – both had experienced broken marriages –
and described his love of sport, passion for animals, and ambitions
to be a writer. He wasn't as she'd expected, and nothing like the
“jock” types she'd seen so much of back home. He was more mature,
seemingly less inhibited by expectation and social pressure. Whether
he was like this where he lived she didn't know, but she did know one
thing – she wanted to know more; she wanted to spend more time with
him.

As
midnight approached, Jenny glanced at the clock hanging up over the
bar. She didn't want to go to bed, but felt she must. Henry noticed
her concern, and quickly pointed out that they should probably call
it a night. The way he said it, and Jenny's expression when she heard
it, showed both their desires were to the contrary.

They
stood up and felt an immediate chill in the air, a cool breeze
brushing over them from the lake. A light fog was beginning to
settle, creating a beautiful glow over the water from the light of
the moon. They stood there together for a moment in silence, gazing
out over the water and mountains beyond, thousands of stars sparkling
in the distant skies. “It really is beautiful isn't it,” Jenny
said.

“
Yes....beautiful,”
replied Henry, turning to look in Jenny's deep green eyes as he did.

With
that, they turned together and walked back to their rooms.
“Goodnight,” they said simultaneously, before turning away and
disappearing from each others sight.

Beep!
Beep! Beep!

Jenny's
alarm blazed into life at 4.15 am after only 4 hours of sleep. She
rubbed her eyes, sat up in bed, and had an almighty stretch. Sarah
strolled out of the shower, towel around her body. “Have fun last
night did you?” She had a cheeky smile on her face.

Jenny
couldn't resist a smile of her own. “Yeah, it was nice,” she
said, trying to keep casual. “Nothing happened really, just
talking, you know.”

“
Sure....talking.
I'll bet!”

“
Well
what about you,” Jenny exclaimed, trying to divert the attention
back to her. “You and Mark seemed to be getting along very
well...taking a romantic walk down to the lake, what's that about?”

“
Oh
nothing really, just kissed, nothing much.”

“
You
kissed!” Jenny didn't know why she was no surprised, Sarah was very
popular with the men.

“
Easy
there Jen....yep we kissed, it's not exactly headline news! He's cool
though, I LOVE his English accent, makes me swoon!”

They
continued like this for a few minutes, back and forth. Sarah seemed
convinced that something had happened, and wasn't gonna let Jenny
give her nothing.

“
Why
are you so convinced something happened? Yesterday was like the first
time we actually talked, why would I go kissing him straight away?”

“
Oh
I dunno, maybe because he likes you and you like him? That's usually
a good enough reason Jen!”

Jenny
couldn't help but pick up on Sarah's comment: “Did you say
he...likes me? What makes you say that?”

“
Just
something Mark said.”

“
What
did he say?” The speed of her reply shocked even Jenny herself.

“
Ummmm...just
that he...likes you. Haha Jen, is that so hard to believe? What do
you think guys talk about? They're probably talking about us right
now just like we're talking about them....it's a two way street you
know.”

Jenny
was finding it hard to contain her smile, which was clearly noted by
Sarah: “Look at you, you're beaming! Christ Jen he's not that
great! Or is he...haha! What the hell happened last night?!”

With
that Jenny got up, grabbed her towel, and walked towards the shower.
“Nothing!” she exclaimed as she walked through the door. “Not
yet, anyway,” she mumbled to herself with a hopeful smile.

Outside,
the rest of the group were already waiting. Over at the bar, Mark was
stocking up on what seemed to be super-strength Red Bull capsules.
According to Andy, they were illegal in many first world countries,
something Mark took as an immediate green flag. “If they're illegal
in England, they sound about right to me!” With that, he necked his
first shot, before gulping down another. “That should give me some
strength for the rest of the day,” he said, shooting a suggestive
eyebrow up in Sarah's direction.

Henry
was sitting at a table nearby, nursing a coffee. He looked up at
Jenny and smiled, before turning his attention to his book and
jotting down a few more notes. Jenny was still curious as to what
exactly he was doing, but she refrained from interrupting him for
now.

“
OK
gang! It's time to get going. It should take us a couple of hours to
get up to the platform for sunrise, so let's get started. Are you all
wrapped up warm? Great, jump in the van and we'll head off to the
starting point.”

Jenny
was glad that Andy had reminded them to dress warm. It seemed so much
colder than it had just a few hours ago, although a few glasses of
wine will often inhibit your ability to tell, she thought. They
packed their bags into the van and then piled in. There seemed to be
a surprising amount of energy in the group for so early in the
morning, unless Mark had been secretly feeding them all his 'drug'
without her knowledge.

After
a short drive in the dark, they stopped and got out. “Alrighty guys
and gals, you can leave your main bags in the car here. What you'll
need is your daybag, an extra layer if you're cold, some water, your
wallet, and your camera. Don't go forgetting that last one, trust me,
you're gonna need it.” Andy always seemed to be upbeat. “Oh, one
more thing. Some of us might wanna stretch our legs a bit up there –
guys I'm looking at you,” he gestured towards Mark, Henry and
Andrew. “If anyone wants to crack on at a quicker pace, I can lead
that group, and Wayan here will tag along at the back. Oh shit, sorry
– Wahan here is a local guide whose joining us to the top. Guys,
meet Wayan”

Everyone
quickly shook Wayan's hand.

“
We'll
all start off together, but if some of us start stretching off at the
front, you guys behind stick with Wayan, OK? Now as I told you last
night, the route is easy, but it can get a little steep at times, so
just go at your own pace and if you can't keep up, Wayan will be
there to help. Righto...let's get cracking, shall we?”

With
that Andy launched off towards the base of the mountain, flashlight
in hand. Henry immediately followed, with Mark and Andrew close
behind. “Boys,” thought Jenny as she joined in towards the back
with Sarah. “Why do they always have to be at the front? So
competitive!”

Within
about 30 minutes the ascent was starting to pick up. Andy was right
in saying that it wasn't difficult – you simply had to follow the
well marked path – but is was definitely steep. Jenny started to
wish that she had got a longer nights sleep, or at least that she'd
taken Mark up on his offer for one of those super Red Bull's he had
packed in his rucksack. Unfortunately it was a little too late: the
boys had already sped off, and Jenny found herself towards the back
with Sarah, Eno and Miley. Unfortunately, the latter two were now
pegging Jenny and Sarah back, but they had to stick with Wayan for
safety reasons.

They
continued like this for a further hour, plodding along and stopping
for the odd short break. Soon the light of dawn began to appear, a
precursor to the actual sunrise. By this point though, the climb had
begun to level out, and they were making good progress. Wayan assured
them that they'd get to the platform for sunrise, so they didn't fret
too much.

With
the light getting steadily brighter, they spotted the lookout point
about 50 meters ahead. Mark and Henry were both sat on a bench,
gazing down towards the lake below and the mountains in the distance.
They were both busily fiddling with their cameras, trying to alter
the settings to capture the most spectacular sunrise pictures
possible.

As
they did so, the hue around the fringes of the distant mountains
began to grow more intense; more colorful. Gradually, the golden smog
burst to life, the sun peeking out over the side of the hills and
casting a ferocious glow over the landscape below. The lake sparkled
and shone, while in the distance the coastline of the island grew
ever more clear, casting a light over the Lombok Strait, the
interconnecting body of water between the two neighboring islands.

Jenny
had never witnessed such a sight. She gazed down at the beautiful
blends of color filling the valley below, transfixed by the majesty
of it all. As she did, she felt a hand touch her lightly on the side,
and turned to see Henry standing next to her. He was close, his body
and hand warm despite the cold. He turned to her and bent down
towards her ear: “do you want a perfect moment?” he whispered.
She turned her head and her eyes caught his, a glint of orange light
illuminating his hazel browns. She nodded, and he slowly drew his
lips towards hers, pulling her into a deep, longing kiss. His warm
lips moved over hers perfectly, like two cogs in a machine,
lubricating her senses. Her mind was a whirl, her heart aflutter.
Then, as soon as it had began, Henry's lips slid from hers, casting
them back into the cold air.