"Ma'am? Do you want to have anything for a drink?" I look at the flight attendant, waiting for my response.
"No, I'm good. Thank you." I smile at her and go back to looking out of the window. I sighed deeply and placed my hand on my forehead. I was going insane. Literally.
I got so angry when James said that he was leaving for a business trip, right after the marriage. Who does that? I didn't' even think for a second before my hands reached out to grab his arm.
"What do you think you're doing?" I asked him.
He turned to look at me, almost surprised. He looks down at my hand and then back to me. I let go of his hand and crossed my arms waiting for an answer.
"I have to go, it's urgent. It's better if you go and stay on the island until I get back."
"No. I'm coming with you."
"I can't take you with me." He says bluntly.
"Fine, then I'm going back to my house." I start walking towards the car and open the door.
"Just listen to me, okay?" He holds the door, blocking me from getting in.
"I won't. You want me to be by myself right after the marriage, just because you have to go for a business trip? Nope. I'm coming with you or I'm leaving for my house right now. Your choice." I say, standing my ground.
He looks at me still amused for some reason and shakes his head slightly. I could see he was frustrated by this, but there was no way I was going to stay somewhere alone and wait for him. He runs his hands over this hair and sighs before closing the car door shut and walking off to the car waiting for him. He looks back and says out loudly.
"Get in."
In the flight, right now, I turn slightly to look over and find him working on his laptop. I roll my eyes, pull my legs up, hugging them close and resting my forehead on my knees. All of this is too frustrating, is this how it's going to be? I have no idea what I signed up for in the midst of my overwhelming emotions. I have to clear my head and let go of everything for a while. Enjoy the city while this boring businessman does his work.
There was an announcement that we'll be landing in a few minutes. I slowly turn my head up and find a hand reaching out from the corner of my eye. I look to the side and find James's hand retreating back while he looks away ahead. What was that? I narrowed my eyes at him for sometime and then let it go, he's one crazy guy after all.
On the way out of the flight, I pull out my phone and check if I have any messages.
'Yo! Where are you? I'm sure I shouldn't be texting now for a few days, but do let me know if you're okay, you seemed too nervous, almost all the time at the wedding. -Xav.
'Hey, you good Sky? What happened after you left the wedding? You both are probably 'busy' *winks* right? Do keep me updated and don't worry about anything, it will all work out. Love, F.'
These two would never leave me alone, will they? I smile widely reading the messages, when suddenly I'm pulled behind. I hit someone and feel a tight grip around my wrist.
"What is it?" I almost sound angry. I look up and find James glaring at me.
"Don't fall and create a scene here, okay? I'm busy as it is, I have no time for babysitting." He says letting go of my hand and walking ahead.
Shaking my head, I slip my phone into my pocket and start to walk when I notice a stop sign right in front of me. Oh. This was why he pulled me back. But why is he such an arrogant jerk? Will it hurt his pride if he acted a bit nice to someone he just met? And married!? He could have said that without the glare and the tone too. Agh! It made me want to hit him so badly. I'm usually a calm and collected person but this guy was making me go crazy.
We went to the hotel, it was almost midnight by the time we reached. James had gone to freshen up while I went to the bedroom and laid down.
"Finally, I can rest now." I snuggled close to the pillow and took a deep breath. My body was aching a lot. I could feel the pain slowly dissipating more and more as I relaxed. I felt my eyes getting heavy after a few minutes and I passed out.
"Wake up." I was suddenly woken up by a voice.
I opened my eyes slightly to look around, still sleeping. The sunlight pouring from the window hit me hard. I closed my eyes again before sitting up hugging my knees to my chest. I found James sitting on the couch next to the bed, looking at me with his head slightly tilted to one side. He was wearing a suit and looked fresh.
"What time is it?" I asked, my voice cracking.
"It's nine in the morning. I am leaving in a few minutes. I have a driver assigned to you, you can ask him to take you wherever you want to go. I will be late, so don't wait for me and get back to the hotel in time, okay?" He says standing and pulling up a small hand bag with him.
"Why do you keep ordering me around?" I narrowed my eyes on him.
"I am not." He replies bluntly. "Call me if something is urgent. Only urgent work, okay?"
"Yeah. Okay." I lay back down without glancing at him again and after a few seconds I heard him walk out.
I was in no mood to argue with anyone. I get back up quickly, almost making my head spin. Wait. Do I have his number? I pull up my phone to check. Nope. Where is the number? I look around to find a paper with a number on it and a credit card placed on the table next to the bed.
"Very generous of you Mr. James." I fake smile at the paper and then scoff while typing his number on my phone. "Mr. Arrogant. Perfect." I throw the phone to my side and hide my face in the blanket and scream loudly.
I get up and go to the shower. After getting ready I go down and out of the hotel to find the driver already waiting for me. He looked like he was in his mid-fifties. He opened the door for me, I smiled and bowed down slightly before sitting in the car.
"Where would you like to go, Mrs. Astor?" He asks me politely.
"Can you give me a tour around? I don't know many places to go."
"Sure." He smiles through the rear view mirror before starting the car.
"And one more thing, Mister?" I waited for him to reply.
"Elliott."
"Mr. Elliot, yes, you don't have to open the door for me. I'll do it myself."
"Uh-" he seemed hesitant at first, then replied "Yes ma'am."
I laid back on the seat, looking out of the window. Paris sure is a beautiful city. Looking around the city made me want to know more about this place. I visited a lot of places, taking photos with the polaroid camera I bought along with a journal, while I was looking around the market. I had to journal these photos and places. After doing that I sat down on the grass and looked up at the Eiffel Tower. The sun was setting down, making the view look even more pretty. I laid down for a while, but then it was getting a little boring being alone. I decided to go back to the car.
"Can you take me to Palais Maillot? I've heard it's a really good club here." I ask Mr. Elliot.
"I'm not sure, Mrs. Astor. I will have to contact Mr. Astor's Manager first." He says pulling out his phone to call.
"There's no need to ask anyone. I was told that I could go wherever I want. So, it's okay. Just take me there." I say. Why do I need permission to go to a club? James said I could go wherever I want to, so I will. "Can we make a stop at the hotel before going?"
He was not sure if this was the right thing, I could see his hand holding the phone open, still hesitant. After giving it a thought, he agreed.
I changed into a sea foam, copper bias cut satin dress, with strappy stilettos. I wanted to wear this for a long time, but didn't get a chance to. I'm more of a hoodie and shoes type of a person, but I wanted to get ready like this once for a club. I looked in the mirror one last time, running my fingers through my hair to make them look good.
I went into the club and sat down at the bar. I looked around the club, there were so many people and the music was going off so loudly my ears buzzed.
"Cosa vorresti bere per un drink, signora?" The bartender asked me. I turned towards the bar, he was around mid-twenties and did not look Italian at all.
"Non sembri italiano." I say tilting my head.
"Woah! Didn't expect you to know Italian." He smiles widely.
"Well, I do. " I smiled back. "And for the drink, give me a rock glass of Bacardi, and make it full."
"Someone wants to get drunk today." He says and raises an eyebrow before going to make my drink.
"And why are you not speaking in French by the way?" I asked curiously.
"You looked American, I thought I could play off with the language, but apparently I failed." He said bowing to accept his defeat. "I'll be back with your drink."
He comes back after a minute and places the glass in front of me.
"Grazie!" I smile and raise my drink up before starting to drink.
We both talked for a while asking each other where we lived and all, until more people started coming in. He left saying he'll be back after the crowd gets thin and I gave him a thumbs up. About three glasses later, my head started to get heavy and I felt a tad sleepy. Moving around the city had made me tired. I had to go to the hotel before I passed out. I got up to leave, when my legs stumbled a bit and someone caught me before I could fall.
"Salut beauté!" A French guy had caught me by my waist, he was too close, I could smell the liquor off of him. I tried to move away. Before I could, a hand wrapped around my shoulder, pulled the man's hand away from me and tugged my waist to move me closer to him.
I looked up to find James looking at me, his blue fierce eyes clearly conveying that I was in big trouble. I'm done for.