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1
RACHEL
I groan while heaving my giant suitcase out of the baggage carousel, nearly slamming it into the inpatient crowd of people standing to my right. An elderly man looks over his shoulder while I try to balance myself. His eyes narrow into a dark scowl and I offer him a small smile, probably appearing meek and lost in this huge airport. The man’s eyes go up and down my body, as if he’s scrutinizing my clothes. I clutch my purse closer to me, trying to cover up my sweater and jeans combo. His eyes land on my tennis shoes and he clucks his tongue, his eyes narrowing into disdainful slits.
“Sorry,” I say softly. For what, I don’t know. It’s not like I wanted to arrive in Paris wearing the typical American attire- jeans and a t-shirt. However, the flight from Colorado to France is too long to be dressed in a pretty floral skirt and crop top and I wanted something I could sleep in.
Maybe I should have taken the time to change in the bathroom.
“Rachel, are you coming?” I hear Seth call from the benches.
I am very thankful for the excuse to leave.“Yeah!” I shout back, turning my back to the angry looking man and dragging my suitcase towards Seth, sitting on the bench, looking irritated while guarding our pile of luggage. Hunter must be looking around for some snacks while Lucas is calling the taxi service.
Seth taps his fingers against his jaw, scowling at the crowd of people surrounding the baggage carousel. His legs are propped on Lucas’s Louis Vuitton suitcases and I grimace, wondering if I should be the one to tell him to get his dirty tennis shoes off the $5000 bag.
“I hate waiting,” Seth mutters while leaning back on the bench.
I bite my lip as the heel of his muddy shoes digs into the pristine leather.“Well,” I start, grabbing his feet and throwing them off the beautiful bag. Before Seth can complain, I toss myself into his lap and wrap my arms around his neck. “It’s not so bad waiting with me, now is it?”
Seth purses his lips, looking me up and down. His gaze is filled with affection while his arm circles around my waist and his fingers stroke my messy, curly hair behind my ear.“No. I guess not.” He smiles wickedly while tugging on a curl. “Although, you have looked better.”
I scoff and smack his shoulder.“The flight was long,” I say while tickling his ribs.
Seth laughs, bouncing me up and down while trying to bat my hands away.“Stop,” he gasps.
“How do they expect you to sleep in that tiny little chair? And don’t get me started on the movie choices.”
“Stop!” he laughs, his face turning redashe giggles.
“It wouldn’t have been that bad if you had allowed me to buy you first class,” I hear a familiar voice say from behind.
I glance over my shoulder, finding Lucas standing behind me with his arms crossed. He raises an eyebrow at us. My eyes rake over him, taking in his pristinely gelled hair and his clean dark jeans andbutton-downshirt. He rode with us in economy, yet obviously he took the time to change while I was waiting for my suitcase at the carousel.
My gaze wanders to the ladies standing behind him, speaking a foreign language I don’t know. It’s definitely not French; the intonation reminds me of Italian, while the words seem more Slavic. Croatian perhaps?
It doesn’t really matter what they are speaking, but it matters where they are looking. They smile to one another while gazing at Lucas, their eyes lingering on his shoulders and his well sculptured bottom. They shift from side to side; their black stilettos clacking on the floor. Their legs are at least a mile long if not longer and somehow they are wearing beautiful floral dresses that accent their beauty.
I frown and look down at my clothes once more, feeling extremely self-conscious.
I am definitely going to form some sort of complex while I’m here. Everyone is so beautiful and I’m-
“I think I’m going to like this place,” says Hunter while coming up from behind us.
I tilt my head up, my mouth hanging open in both offense and hurt while watching him look around. I can’t believe he’s been checking out the women while I’ve been here with Seth on luggage duty.
Hunter smiles while holding out an armful of packaged food.“Their snacks are amazing. Do you want some?”
My mouth shuts and I swallow whatever hurt I felt. Right. Hunter is only talking about the food. I peruse through his findings, frowning at the croissant filled with chocolate and the baguette sandwich.
“You could have just waited,” I hear Lucas say, the irritation tainting his tone. “Those are going to be at least three times less expensive once we leave the airport.”
Hunter shrugs.“I’m hungry. You don’t want to see me when I’m hangry.”
Seth nods while grabbing the baguette sandwich.
Well, I guess that decision has been made for me,I think while grabbing the chocolate croissant.
“I can vouch for him,” says Seth while stuffing his face with food. “He’s definitely an asshole when he’s hungry.”
