Falling from the Top

Chapter 24

"Hello?" I pulled my phone closer to my ear. 

"Ariana? It's Paul," He said through the phone.

Surprised, I frowned, even though I was conscious he couldn't see me. "Hi, Paul. This is unexpected."

He laughed. "I know. I got your number from Jelena. Wait, no, actually I stole it from her."

"OK... Why would you do that?"

"Because I want to buy her something special for her birthday, and I've got an idea where I can buy that. The only problem is, I need advice from a girl... You preferably," He answered casually.

"Once again, ok... What can I do for you?"

"Come to the mall with me today." He nearly pleaded. "I've had Ava take Jelena out so I can have some free time. What do you say?"

"I say, see in you ten?"

I could feel the grin in his voice. "Perfect." 

I hung up and grabbed my plate, before settling it in the sink. I waved gently at Lucinda, who was vacuuming the living room and took my leave. I grabbed my key and hopped into my car. 

It only took about five minutes to reach Paul's hotel, considering this town wasn't huge. Jelena had insisted he crashed at her place, but he declined, feeling uncomfortable living with her parents. Something I could understand, even though, it took Jelena two days to recover from that rejection. 

The French boy was waiting for me patiently, sitting on the kerb. I slowed down, long enough for him to hop in, earning a few honks, before heading to the mall. During the ride, we made small talk, smoothly washing the awkwardness away. Once we reached the shopping centre, I parked and we headed in. 

"So tell me, what was it that you had in mind?" I asked, pausing my footsteps as I had no idea where we were heading.

He smiled. "Well, there's this awesome dress Jelena stopped to admire the other day, but that's not it."

I frowned. "Ok and you're telling me this because...?*

He laughed. "If you'd just let me finish... Ok, so the dress is not the gift, simply a part of the gift." Seeing my still very confused expression he went on. "I want to take her out to dinner." He paused. "So far so good?" I nodded. "Good, so during the night, I want to offer her different, small gifts at different times. You know, so it doesn't end all at once."

I nodded. "That's a really sweet thing to do... So the dress will, of course, be offered first so she can wear it during your outing."

"Of course. Then, I was thinking like a necklace, and then maybe random, small gifts such as a coupon for Starbucks."

I laughed. "Alright, let's do this then."

:)

After two hours and forty-five minutes, we finally managed to finish our quest and celebrated by having a late lunch in a coffee shop. Well, I say lunch, but it was mainly composed of doughnuts and apple juice. 

"So tell me," Paul started, taking a huge bite of his doughnut. "What are your plans for next year?"

I wiped my mouth with a napkin. "Well, I want to study theatre." He threw me a glance and I laughed, embarrassed. "Don't look at me like that. It's not just about acting, which is by the was something I love. You should totally come and see our end of year piece. But anyway, it is also about the characters, what they were inspired by, that sort of stuff, and of course the makeup and the costumes. And let's not forget about advertising for the play!"