Perfect Imperfections

Chapter 6 - Delusional

CHAPTER SIX

I'm notorious for thinking you're 
Full of beautiful instead of hollow
Sugar on your lips, it's hard to kill
Jagged like a pill, so hard to swallow

××××

I looked outside the window of my hotel room and sighed in satisfaction. The view was breathtaking. Paris was breathtaking.

I was wearing a beautiful summer dress that had floral print on it and reached my mid thigh. I had put on lip gloss and worn adorable new shoes, feeling high on adrenaline.

I was supposed to meet Emily and Zachary in about ten minutes. We were going to visit all the beautiful places in Paris for their pre-wedding photoshoot. Putting aside the minor issue of Evan being there too, I was quite excited.

I opened the door to my hotel room the same time as Evan was closing his. My room was only two rooms away from his on the opposite side. My eyes soaked him in and I hoped I wouldn't blush. He looked...casual which somehow made him even more attractive than usual. I looked up to his face and saw him checking me out as well. If I wasn't blushing before, I definitely was now.

"I-uh–" I began awkwardly. "We should probably leave or else we'll be late."

"Yeah, Emily called, they're already in the lobby waiting for us."

I sighed in relief inwardly once we were with Emily and Zachary, in other words, not alone with each other. Emily looked absolutely stunning in her red dress while Zachary was charming as ever in his suit. They were stealing kisses and laughing when we approached them.

I cleared my throat to get their attention."You'll have plenty of time to do that during the photoshoot." I grinned. "For now, let's not do anything to spoil that makeup, alright?"

Emily laughed, a blush covering her cheeks. "Where are we going first?"

"You'll see." I smiled.

$~*~$

After making our first stop at the Louvre, we were now at the Tuileries Garden. The sun was shining brightly and the weather couldn't have been better. The scent of the flowers, the freshness in the air, the sound of bird chirping, gorgeous strangers talking in French with a thick accent, it all made me just want to melt into my surroundings.

"Do you..want to walk for a bit?" I heard Evan speak. "Until they're done?" he motioned towards Emily and Zachary who were getting their pictures clicked by Alan, our photographer.

I didn't even try to hide my surprise. I pressed my lips together, staring at Evan, wordless.

"I mean—"

"Sure."

It was his turn to be surprised. He nodded his head and we started walking, aimlessly.

"Is this your first time? In Paris?" he asked, almost hesitantly.

"No. I've been here a few times since I started working as a wedding planner."

"It's beautiful." he said. "Now I know why you always wanted to come here."

I frowned, looking up at him. "Wait, this isn't your first time here, is it?"

He just smiled in response, gazing straight in front of him. I shook my head in disbelief. "Why? I mean someone as loaded as you can go to Paris all the time and you've not even visited it once until now?"

"I only travel for business and I've never had any work in Paris before so.." He shrugged.

"That's...so stupid." I let out a little laugh.

"What? I've never had any reason to come here. I had never even thought about it until we—"he stopped mid sentence, realizing what he was about to say.

I bit my lip. "Do you want to sit on those green chairs by the pond? You know, do the typical tourist thing?" I asked, swiftly changing the subject.

"Um," Evan glanced at the direction I was pointing at.

"What are you thinking? Those chairs are not made of fire." I rolled my eyes at him. "C'mon, it's very relaxing." I grabbed his hand casually to pull him towards the pond, then immediately let go as soon as my brain registered my actions.

"Uh, let's go." I didn't look behind to see if he was following, although I knew he was.

We sat on the chairs for a bit, just taking in our surroundings. The silence wasn't as awkward as I imagined it to be. Being there actually turned out to be quite relaxing.

"Excuse me, you dropped your wallet!" I called out when I watched an old lady's wallet drop out of her purse just as she was passing by us.

She gasped and shook her head, cursing herself lowly. "Oh my god, thank you."

"Bienvenue!" I smiled at her.

"Pardon?"

"That means welcome in French."

"Oh! That's amazing, speaking both French and English so well." she offered me a big smile.

"Merci. Va te faire foutre!"

When she was gone, Evan turned towards me. "I didn't know you spoke French."

"I don't. I only know a few words."

"What did you say to her?"

"Thank you. And kiss my ass."

He blinked. I blinked. And then he was laughing. A big, genuine laugh. The kind I hadn't heard in almost a year. The kind that made his eyes crinkle.

"You're not serious!"

I couldn't help but chuckle with him. "What!" I threw my arms in the air dramatically. "She seemed so happy to hear me speak French and I don't know how to say much other than that! It's not like she understood me, okay?"

"Why do you even know how to say ‘kiss my ass’ in French?"

"When you're a wedding planner dealing with grumpy florists, unpunctual caterers and annoying people in general, it's important to know certain words!" I exclaimed. "Out of all the things I can say in French, that was one of the nicest, okay?"

"You're ridiculous!"

"You're ridiculous!"

He shook his head in amusement, laughing. I bit my lip and couldn't help but laugh too.

And for a moment, it felt like everything between us was back to normal.

For a moment.

But it felt great.

$~*~$

Do you like this chapter? What do you hope to see next?

Faith