𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 ||| 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐯 (𝟑)

[ 𝟒 ]

The sky was pitch-dark and devoid of stars as I exited my workplace. Lights from the shops gleamed golden yellow. Fluorescent signs hung over the shops on the street. The lamps opposite the shops provided a radiant light. Sultry jazz melodies emerged from a crowded bar that I passed by. As I walked closer to my apartment, the music and the noise of the people faded away. There were no more lights from shops but overhead lights instead gleamed in a similar color.

When I arrived at my apartment, I walked straight to the kitchen, washed my hands, and sat down to eat dinner. Thankfully, I didn't need to cook anything since I packed lunch from the office canteen for tonight's dinner. For lunch, I just ate leftover noodles from last night.

In a few minutes, my irritation decreased and before I knew it, I finished my last bite of the carbonara pasta. The table buzzed and I grabbed my phone.

"Hello?" I greeted.

"Good evening, Mingxia. Are you off work?" Ten's honey voice on the other end asked.

"Yeah, I just had dinner. What about you?"

"I'm currently cooking dinner," he replied. "Are you free this Saturday?"

"Yeah."

"Should we plan the day together or do you want me to keep it a surprise?"

I paused and chose the latter option.

"What should I surprise you with? Paris, a whole different city, or a whole different country?" Ten chuckled. "Well, I'll text you the time to meet. How early are you willing to wake up on a Saturday morning?"

"Hmm, any time."

"Okay," Ten said. "I'm going to eat dinner now."

"Enjoy your food."

Saturday morning greeted me with a sun peeking from the horizon. As I walked into Le Petit Amour, I grabbed a couple of sandwiches for breakfast and sat down to fix my twin braids. Today, I wore a v-neck tan brown dress with white puff sleeves cuffed above my elbows. Walnut brown buttons traversed down the middle of my dress and stopped right above my knees. Paired with today's outfit were a chocolate brown crossbody bag, a vintage brown leather watch, a golden circular pendant, and matching golden hoops.

"The puffed sleeves complement your shoulders well."

I was so invested in fixing my outfit that I didn't notice Ten sitting across from me. He fixed the sleeves of his black denim jacket that he wore over a light brown tank top tucked into black jeans. I thanked him for the compliment and passed his sandwich to him.

"Thank you, those jeans look great on you. I'm also getting a coffee to go. What do you want?"

"No, it's fine. You don't have to get me anything."

"I insist. Besides, it's only fair since you got me a sandwich."

I sighed and agreed to his request.

"Surprise me with the coffee."

"Any allergies?"

I shook my head as a no and, in a matter of minutes, he returned with two cups. We left for the train station at 6:30 AM.

"Montmartre?" I read the ticket as I sat down. "Is that an area in Paris?"

Ten shook his head and sipped his cup of coffee. I raised my eyebrows and then let them rest.

"I thought you were just joking around on the call the other night when you talked about a different city."

Ten grinned and replied, "Well, I wanted to surprise you."