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As if to make my point, I took a long drink from the toasty warm cup in my hand, giving him a thumbs up. “I haven’t been all over the world, so I don’t know any better . . . but it’s pretty damn good.”
He chuckled, nodding along with me and taking a sip of his own cup. “It is pretty damn good, isn’t it?”
We sat there for a few minutes, drinking more of the coffee and people-watching. Julien looked so at ease here, around other people. Even though I was with him and I had already told myself that I should feel safer in his presence, it was hard for me to feel as comfortable as he was.
Julien reached for the bag on the table, slowly opening it, his eyes on me.
I pouted. “Are you trying to openly tease me or something? What’s in the bag?”
He wiggled his eyebrows at me, slowly pulling out something inside. “Why, it’s only the most delicious croissants you’ll have ever tasted.” He almost sounded like one of those guys you see on infomercials trying to sell you a weird heat-less oven.
“I’m not sure how delicious a croissant could really get, but what the heck, I’ll try it. You were pretty on point about the coffee,” I admitted, taking the small piece of baked bread from him.
I bit into it cautiously, surprised to see that it was actually pretty good. Usually bland foods like plain bread did nothing for me, but the croissant had a slight, buttery taste behind it. Not like the large waxy kinds I had tasted over the years back at the hotel. This was fresh-made.
“See? I am never wrong about the food. You’ll learn that,” Julien said, making me laugh around the food in my mouth.
We finished off the croissants, and began the short walk around the town. He noticed my fascination for the architecture of the town, and even threw out some tidbits of historical facts, clearly trying to impress me. At least I hoped so.
While Julien went off to find a bathroom, I walked past a small window display of beautifully handcrafted jewelry. I was used to seeing the large glitzy diamonds already in place, but these pieces were different. There were more unique pieces, more brilliantly colored stones set in the jewelry, and I had to stop myself from going inside to get a better look. What was the point anyway? I was never a fan of the idea of window-shopping… but now I could definitely see the appeal of it.
“Holy crap. What. Is. That?” I asked Julien once he was back, pointing to the man standing on the corner across from us. “And why is he covered in glitter?”
Julien shrugged, leading the both of us over to get a better look.
The man in question was about six and a half feet tall, with long hair pulled back into a bun on top of his head, but that wasn’t the weirdest part. He was only wearing a pair of small silver Speedos and was covered from head to toe in shimmery silver glitter. He was currently leaning over to turn on a small radio by h
is feet.
I practically squealed when Billie Jean came on through the speakers, immediately making me tap my foot to beat. The man froze in place, before starting to moonwalk down the curb. I was completely entranced, watching him move. He went from one dance to the next, totally fluid with his motions. I hadn’t seen someone dance like that since I was teenager, hanging out with my friends on the stoops.
I nudged Julien, making sure that he was paying attention to the guy. Anybody that moved like that definitely needed to be seen. Julien pulled out something from his wallet, before walking up to the man and putting what must’ve been cash into the small jar by the radio. The man did some sort of cool move with his arms, sort of like the robot, and gave Julien a wink.
I grinned at him and gave him a little wave, to thank him for his performance. When the song ended he sat down, and Julien I continued our stroll down the street.
Julien paused for a moment, in mid step. His eyes widened, lighting up the rest of his face. “I just thought of something. It’s not far from here, and I think you’ll enjoy it. Let me see… I believe it is down this street. . .” his voice trailed off as he shaded his eyes from the sun, looking this way and that, before finally settling on a road to our left.
“That sounds suspiciously like a surprise,” I said.
He shrugged his shoulders again, trying to hide a smile. I crossed my arms but continued to follow him anyway. Surprise or not, I was still curious to see where we were going.
(Back to Table of Contents)
Chapter 15
“You know… I have told you quite a bit about myself. And while I do have that mysterious file about you, I still don’t know much about you,” Julien began, pointing to me as we walked.
I could already feel myself freezing up at the thought of trying to relive my past. It’s not like I had a super traumatic childhood or anything, but there are a lot of things that I simply tried to block out the best I could. And dredging them back up is not my idea of a good time.
“I don’t really like talking about myself, in case you haven’t noticed. If you asked me a specific question, then maybe I’ll answer it. That’s the best I can do for now.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, not menacingly, but more in a disappointed way. I felt bad because it was like I was trying to keep things from him. I just honestly prefer it to stay out of that part of my head.
“Fair enough. I know what happened to your family. I was just wondering what it was like for you as a child. What were you like?”
I laughed at that, memories already beginning to form in my mind’s eye. “I was stubborn. My daddy used to call me his little mule, believe it or not. He said I was nearly as hard-headed as my mama, and that’s saying a lot.”
Julien smiled, and my breath caught for just a moment.
