It was my first time traveling alone after finishing school. I was 19 but feeling very young living with my parents and being very protected all my life. Going on this interrail train trip across Europe to meet Maria, my online girlfriend which I kind of dated for the last months was a big step for me in becoming independent. Or at least that was what I thought.
My name is Martin and I am a little on the short side and also rather slim and narrow built. I usually am very introverted and always tried to avoid the bullies in school knowing that I wouldn't stand any chance in any confrontation. The last few weeks I was either anxious to the point of nauseous about this trip or excited to finally proof to myself that I am a grown man and not a wimpy child anymore. Maria helped me greatly with my decision to do this. She is 25 and although she is quite a bit older than I am she still showed so much care and interest in me during the long hours we chatted online. She is beautiful, also short but well curved and fit. She has dark curly long hair and dark brown eyes. She is a real Spanish beauty and I still can't believe that I will finally meet her in person. For the first time that we chatted and only sent texts and pictures I thought she was just some old fat guy catfishing me until we finally video chatted and I saw that she was the real deal. She made no fuss about being more experienced and having dated more than one guy in the past but she was so comforting and sweet that I didn't mind.
With all that excitement stored up in my belly I was now on an overnight train on my way to Barcelona where we were supposed to meet. It was already after ten p.m. and I was not tired yet. As I tried to save money on my trip I didn't upgrade to a sleeping cabin so I was sitting in a second class compartment with six seats. The train was rather empty so I was hoping to convert two of the six seats to a makeshift bed and spend the night in relative comfort. It was after our last stop before a long stretch without any stations that another guy got on the train and entered my compartment. It was a bulky built guy around 50 with a rather hairy look to him except for the balding spot on top of his head which he tried to cover up with a comb-over. I greeted him with a rather small voice and he frowned at me and nodded, shoving his business trolley into the overhead storage then dropping down into the seat right diagonal to mine and loosening his red tie. The smell of a manly perfume and of cold cigar smoke filled the air of the compartment and I frowned out of the window.
I can do this. One other passenger is not so bad. Especially if he is seated on the opposite corner. We could still both lay down and have two seats between us for the night. He had quite an alpha male vibe to him and my bully-senses made me shrink into my seat staring out the window even though I couldn't see anything in the dark. Due to the light of the compartment I could at least watch him in the reflection of the window without obviously staring at him. My heart picked up its pace and I hated myself again for being such a pussy and being unable to not care when someone else was around. I put my headphones in and tried to listen to a podcast but couldn't concentrate so I switched to some music but I also turned that off once the intrain service entered and the guy ordered some food and drinks. I just kept my earbuds in but strained to listen to his order. He had a deep commanding voice and he seemed very rich as he ordered quite the expensive things from the menu as if it was just a minor thing. Also his dark blue pin stripe suit, his luggage and his red silk tie made him look more than wealthy. He kind of looked like the CEO of a big company or maybe a crime boss, at least like something in between.
I still watched him as his food got served, sitting there with my earbuds in, shrunken in place, watching like a mouse watches a cat hoping to not get noticed. And he didn't seem to mind me at all. He just munched away on his shrimp salad smacking loudly, slurping up some wine as if I wasn't even there at all. Once he looked over to me and I quickly gazed away so our eyes wouldn't meet in the reflection. I cursed myself inside as another rush of adrenalin shot through my body. Did he notice that I stared at him? Did he even care that I was here in this rather small space with him? My body was cramped up from sitting in one spot for quite a time now but I didn't dare to make any big moves. After I heard him munch and slurp away again I risked to glace over again through the reflection and thankfully he hadn't caught me staring as he finished his meal and called for the staff to carry away his tray.
I tried to relax a little and shifted position as silently as possible. Finally some sleepiness from exhaustion hit me but I didn't dare to lay down on the seats until he himself would do the same. I just had to wait a bit because he surely wouldn't stay up all night. Only a few moments passed until he kicked away his black shiny business shoes and put his feet up on the seat opposite of him. He also wore red socks matching his tie which now loosely hung around his neck with the top buttons of his shirt open revealing part of his hairy chest. 'Damn!' I thought to myself. I was sitting in the window seat and he was sitting in the seat next to the compartment door, which meant that I had to disturb him to get to the bathroom. Luckily I didn't have to go right then but this could have become a really uncomfortable night. I was still thinking about this as he was rummaging in his jacked and producing a little leather case from which he pulled a massive cigar.
