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**
I truly hadn’t expected the guys to be so punctual. Thankfully, I was ready. Freshly showered and dressed in jeans and a white vest top with silver studs on the straps, I greeted them with a smile and we headed out of the hotel and into the city. The guys were dressed as inconspicuously as they could manage – that was one thing that had gotten easier since Jason ditched the brightly coloured hair – in the hopes that we’d be left alone on our first night away. It had gotten more and more difficult for them to go out in public, and once the tour started properly, we’d have security with us to keep any crazy fans at bay. For the time being though, we were on our own.
Our hotel was centrally located, and right away, my breath was taken as I stepped onto the street. When we’d arrived, I was too focused on getting to my room to truly take in the sights, but once I was refreshed, I was knocked out by everything that greeted me. My greedy eyes tried to take in everything at once, and I walked right into Mack as I stared at some people and their dog across the street who were randomly dancing to a song that blared from a shop doorway. And yes, the dog was dancing too, up on his hind legs like something out of Britain’s Got Talent.
“Sorry.” I shook my head, stepping back and shifting my focus back to Mack.
He laughed, his blond hair swinging around his face. “There’s a lot to look at, don’t worry about it.”
We kept walking, my eyes still soaking up as much detail as possible of cafes, bars, and hotels.
“We’re going to see the Eiffel Tower, right?” I asked, because it was pretty much the only thing I knew about Paris, aside from Disneyland, and I knew we wouldn’t have time to go there. Obviously, it was impossible not to see it from a distance, but distance wasn’t what I had in mind.
“Tomorrow,” Drew promised.
“Can’t we go tonight?” Jason asked. “It looks incredible at night.”
I grabbed his arm and he turned to me. My eyes widened at his words. “You’ve been here before? What’s the tower like?”
He shook his head. “No. But I’ve seen photos.” Laughing, I rolled my eyes, and he slung his arm around my shoulders. “Don’t be disappointed, Luce. It means we can see it for the first time together.”
My heart fluttered inside my chest at his cheesy, tongue-in-cheek line and his closeness, but it soon stopped when Drew threw him a look of… warning, maybe? His eyes darkened, and Jason gave him the slightest nod but didn’t remove his arm from around me.
What’s that all about? It wasn’t as if Jason had never touched me before. We hugged at every family occasion and we’d had more than one cushion fight after an intense battle on the PS3 that had resulted in us collapsing in laughter, our arms brushing as we fought to regain control of ourselves. This was hardly any different. And why was Drew bothered if Jason had his arm around me, anyway? He knew as well as I did that nothing would ever happen because Jason only saw me as Ellie’s little sister.
“So what do we want to eat?” Mack asked, putting a much needed dent in the awkward atmosphere. We turned the corner at the end of the street, and were met with yet more bars and restaurants with tables outside, and people sitting around them, relaxing with a glass of wine or a beer. The women, even dressed casually, were sophisticated and elegant – a far cry from the hairy stereotypes we’re led to believe in. And the men? Handsome and suave, or at least they were compared to the guys back home.
“Anything but pizza,” I said. I’d eaten more than enough of that the night before. “Can we try something French?”
“Like snails?” Joey screwed up his face in disgust.
“Maybe.” I was up for anything on this trip, and that included as many local dishes as possible during our short stay overs.
“You know what’s good?” Mack asked. “Hachis Parmentier. Rosie and I tried it last time we were here.”
“What is it?”
“It’s like a French version of a Shepherd’s Pie, but it tastes different somehow. I don’t know what they do to it, but it’s bloody delicious.”
“Sounds good. So where do we find a traditional French restaurant around here?” It may have sounded like a dumb question, but there were restaurants offering food from all over the world; it was best not to assume we would find a French eatery easily. After some investigation on Drew’s phone, we found a cute French bistro ten minutes’ walk away.
The food was incredible. I wondered why British people have “classics” like pie and mash, and fish and chips, when France has delicacies like Sole Meuniere, and Hachis Parmentier. Not that I don’t love the English stuff, but French dining is certainly more elegant. And we had two days to eat more.
Once dinner was over, Mack and Drew wanted to go back to the hotel, and Jason and I wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower. Joey had no opinion either way.
“We don’t have to do everything together,” Mack pointed out. “If Lucy and Jason want to explore, they should.”
Drew eyed Jason again and I narrowed my eyes. What the hell was his problem? He was acting like he was my overprotective big brother and I wondered if Ellie had told him to look out for me while we were away.
What was I thinking? Of course she would have, but as far as I could tell, there was nothing for him to watch out for.
“I think we should go.” I turned to Jason, ignoring Drew’s stare. “We don’t have to stay for long.”
Jason tore his gaze from his brother and looked at me. “Agreed. Let’s do this.”
Once the rest of the guys had headed back to the hotel, Jason and I began the walk towards the tower.
The evening air was warm, even though it was almost ten. People still milled around, walking leisurely by the river. Some stopped to stare at the view, but I was more interested in watching the other people we shared this moment with. I’d gone all poetic since I’d got on the train, suddenly seeing the magic and beauty in every moment. It was much easier to do in Paris than in Cornwall or Sheffield. Not that Cornwall and Sheffield didn’t have their own kind of magic, but it was the same magic. Over and over. Paris was new. It seemed as though every person around us felt it too.
