Jedda’s boyfriend was becoming increasingly distant, so she decided to do some sleuthing…
I grabbed a glass of wine from the bar, turned around and locked eyes with a guy across the room.
He was gorgeous and I blushed, looking away quickly.
I was on a trip around Europe alone, after my friend had pulled out at the last minute.
Luckily, the tour company paired up solo travellers. I’d met Caitlin and we’d grown close.
‘Do you know that guy?’ I asked my new pal, pointing him out to her.
‘Oh, yeah,’ she said. ‘That’s Mitchell, but I think he has a girlfriend.’
I was disappointed, but shrugged it off and carried on with our night.
But a few drinks later, Caitlin introduced us.
‘Nice to meet you,’ he said in a sexy American drawl.
I melted as he spoke. I’d always been obsessed with the USA.
As a teenager, I’d had posters of the Hollywood sign taped to my bedroom wall, and my 16th birthday present had been a trip to New York — which as it turned out, was Mitchell’s home town.
We chatted all evening and discovered that we had lots in common, including a love for cats.
‘I have three rescue cats,’ I explained. ‘They’re my life.’
‘I’d love to meet them,’ he replied.
After a few more wines, I plucked up the courage to ask if he was single — but he quickly changed the subject.
The next day, I asked some of Mitchell’s friends about his relationship status, but I got a different answer from each one.
Later, I sat next to Mitchell at dinner and as we continued our flirty chat, I blurted out the question that had been gnawing away at me.
‘Do you have a girlfriend or not?’ I asked. ‘I’ve been getting mixed signals.’
‘I’m single,’ he said.
‘That’s not what your friends say,’ I countered, raising an eyebrow.
He explained that he had been seeing someone before he began travelling, but the distance had put a strain on the relationship.
‘So you’re definitely single?’ I asked.
‘Definitely,’ he replied.
I was thrilled, and later that night we shared our first kiss.
Mitchell took me on dates to theme parks and even a cat café.
Before long, we were spending every second together.
When my trip came to an end a couple of weeks later, Mitchell was due to carry on travelling for a few more months.
But as luck would have it, in a few weeks, he was meeting his brother in a city that wasn’t far from where I lived.
‘I’ll come and see you,’ he promised.
I arrived home with a dose of post-holiday blues, but the sadness lifted when I spoke to Mitchell on FaceTime or received messages from him.
My friends were gagging to meet my hot American guy.
‘It’s like something out of a movie!’ they gushed. ‘Is he your boyfriend?’
Hmm, I thought. Is he?
We hadn’t discussed labels, but we definitely acted like a couple.
When he finally arrived, every time we went on a fun trip or out for a meal, I hoped that he might ask me.
By the last night, he still hadn’t, so I took matters into my own hands.
‘When are you going to ask me to be your girlfriend?’ I said.
‘You are my girlfriend,’ he replied.
‘Right,’ I said. ‘Is this you asking me then?’
‘Sure,’ he shrugged.
It wasn’t the romantic moment I’d hoped for, but I was happy nonetheless.
We arranged for Mitchell to visit again in a few months’ time.
It was difficult being apart, but knowing a flight was booked kept me going.
The night before Mitchell was due to arrive, he told me he was going out drinking.
Are you sure that’s a good idea? I messaged.
It’ll be fine, he replied. I can’t wait to see you.
But the next morning, there was no word from him.
He’s probably busy packing, I reasoned.
But as time went on, I started to worry.
Then, my phone buzzed.
I’m really sorry, but I’m too hungover to fly today.
My heart sank, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.
A few days later, he finally arrived, and everything seemed normal.
We arranged a double date with my friend Kiera and her boyfriend.
At the restaurant, I bit into a bread roll before realising it was filled with paté. As a vegetarian, I was upset.
I explained what had happened to Mitchell hoping for sympathy, but instead he just roared with laughter.
The dinner was tense after that, and when we arrived home, Mitchell chatted away to Kiera, completely leaving me and her boyfriend out of the conversation.
Later, I confronted him.
‘I’m sorry if I came across as rude, I love you,’ he grovelled.
‘I love you too,’ I said.
When it came time for Mitchell to leave, I waved him off at the airport, feeling much better about our relationship.
But over the next few months, Mitchell became very evasive. I tried to make plans to visit him, but there was always a reason why he couldn’t have me over.
It began to feel like he didn’t want me to come.
Then one day, he told me he was visiting friends and a girl he used to know would be there.
When I asked who she was, he went AWOL.
I waited days for his reply, but nothing came.
Anger rose in my chest. Wanting answers, I took to Instagram.
I looked through Mitchell’s followers and found someone called Alice had liked lots of his posts recently.
I clicked through to her profile and watched her Instagram story.
It was a picture of a breakfast burrito — Mitchell’s go-to order.
I zoomed in and noticed a thumb in the corner.
That’s Mitchell’s thumb! I thought, with a sick feeling in my stomach.
I took a screenshot of the photo and sent it to my best friend.
Tell me if I’m being crazy, but is this Mitchell’s thumb? I typed.
You’re crazy, she replied. Even if it is him, it doesn’t mean he’s cheating.
But then I scrolled down Alice’s profile.
I froze when I spotted a pic from Valentine’s Day at Mitchell’s favourite restaurant.
It was too much of a coincidence.
So I went with my gut and messaged her.
I sent her a screenshot of some of mine and Mitchell’s messages and wrote: It looks like you’ve been dating him too?
Meanwhile, I called Mitchell.
‘I need you to be honest with me.’ I said. ‘Are you seeing somebody else?’
‘Urm, my mum is calling, I’ve got to go,’ he waffled.
Then my phone lit up with a message.
I think this is something you need to speak to Mitchell about, Alice had written.
He won’t speak to me, I replied.
It took a few days, but eventually, Alice got back in touch.
It turned out they had been dating for months and she’d had no idea who I was.
Later, we agreed to speak on the phone and compare notes.
We discovered the timelines overlapped completely.
When she confronted him about it, he claimed we had never dated and that I was just someone to spend time with while he was travelling.
He even told her the only reason he came to visit me was because he wanted to meet my rescue cats.
The liar!
‘He said he felt sorry for you because you’re unstable and that’s why he didn’t cut you off,’ Alice said. ‘I knew it was a lie, because he was still liking your selfies.’
As we were talking, I was sitting in my living room next to a parcel I had received just the week before, full of presents from Mitchell.
He was a joke.
To this day, Mitchell has never admitted to cheating and we haven’t spoken since.
I’m now single, but I haven’t completely ruled out dating again. I’m not about to let him ruin my happiness.
I thought I’d bagged an American dreamboat, but that Yankee can doodle do one!
Jedda McLaren, 30