Chapter 27: A Dozen Roses

The plane company Mason won tickets for has the worst planes I had ever been on, the turbulence was terrible, and I was sure we almost crashed six times.

The hotel, however, was a resort, with three swimming pools, on the beach, palm trees swaying in the wind, crystal clear oceans, and much to Gabe and Mason's liking, very attractive women with wavy sun kissed hair, tanned skin, and Hawaiian skirts.

I found myself checking my phone multiple times to see if my girl has messaged me, but she was working, so now I sit in a pool chair with my red swim trunks, shirtless, tanning. Gabe and Mason are off doing god knows what, and I love Hawaii.

I would love it more if Odette was here, but I'll survive.

The different language around me doesn't bother me. They know a lot of English here, but they also speak a lot of Hawaiian.

We've been here three days and we leave the day after tomorrow.

I'm sad to leave, but excited because I miss my girl.

We talk every night.

I snap out of my thoughts when something blocks my sunlight.

Opening my eyes, I see a girl standing before me. She has long brown locks, large breasts, tanned skin, and bright blue eyes. There's a flower halo on her head, and she wears a black bikini.

"Aloha." She says.

Why is she standing in front of me and why is she blocking my light?

"Hi." I say.

"Ah, you speak English." She says, smiling. "Me too. You are very handsome.

"Thank you." I say. "But I have a girlfriend."

Her smile doesn't falter, she just nods, sitting down in the chair next to me.

"I am Natalie."

I almost start laughing.

"I'm Nathan." I say, shifting to shake her hand. "You're not going to hit on me, right?"

She frowns.

"No, you said you have a girlfriend."

I nod slowly.

"Okay."

If she's not here to hit on me, what is she doing here?

I hear rushed footsteps and laughter, and Mason and Gabe go sprinting after me, Mason clutching Gabe's phone.

"Come on man!" Gabe whines. "She's mine! I found her first!"

He stops short though when he sees the girl sitting with me.

"Natalie, this is my cousin Gabe. Gabe, this is Natalie."

He flashes her a charming smile.

"Well you are quite the beauty, Natalie." He kisses her hand.

My phone starts ringing. I glance down at it.

Mon Amour

I press answer within the first ring.

"Bonjour." I say, tuning out Natalie and Gabe.

"Hey." She says. "How's Hawaii?"

"It's good. I met a girl named Natalie, isn't that great? Don't worry though, amour, I told her I have a girlfriend."

"I'm not worried." She says, and I can practically hear her smile. "I'm on my lunch break and I just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you."

"I miss you too." I say seriously, sighing when I feel a slight breeze.

"You know, I was thinking...if you teach me how to drive your car, I'll teach you how to drive Lucia."

I hesitate.

"Okay." I agree. "Will you teach me French?"

"You want to learn French?" She asks.

"Yes." I say. "I'm not dating you for fun, you know. I want to be fluent in French so I can properly communicate with my future wife."

I hear her coughing.

"Odeletta? Are you okay?" I demand, gaining the attention of Gabe, Mason and Natalie.

I hear her coughing for a second longer, a few seconds of silence, and then a gasp.

"I am okay!" She says, letting out a nervous laugh. "I was choking, but I am okay."

"Are you sure? I miss you."

"I'm sure, Nate." She says. "I miss you too. I'll teach you French."

"Promise?"

"Promise." She says. "I can't wait to see you."

"I know." I say, giddy. "What do you want to do when I get home?"

"I want..." she trails, thinking. "I just want to hug you."

I smile brightly.

"That can be arranged."

"Listen beau, I have to go get something to eat for lunch and I can not exactly talk on the phone and ride my bike..."

"Right, yes, of course." I say."Drive safe, okay? I love you, Odeletta."

"I love you too, Nathan." She says. "I'll call you later?"

"Of course."

We get off the phone, and everyone is looking at me.

"What?" I ask.

"You guys are really cute." Natalie smiles. "What does she look like?"

Excited to gloat about my beautiful girl, I pull up a photo of Odette I have.

She's wearing the same outfit she wore the way we met, with the red coke jersey that said coke adds life to me in white letters, her brown curly hair messy and in her face. The jersey is tucked in the front of her black skinny jeans, and her leather jacket is halfway on her arm. She's looking over at a car pulling into the parking lot, and she looks like a model. The photo is in black and white, and I can't get over how attractive she looks.

I show the photos to Natalie.

"This is your girlfriend?" She asks. I nod. "She's very pretty. Do you have a picture in color?"

Fuck yes I have a picture in color. I'll do whatever I can to brag about my beautiful woman.

I find a picture and it makes me smile.

I remember this day. I took it in France. She was sitting at the window in the morning just after her shower. She looks tired, but still beautiful. Her brown hair is dried naturally, the curls not at defined. Her pink lips are plump and she has a bit of mascara and eyeshadow on her face. She's wearing a necklace and a black tank top, and her hair is covering the left side of her face. She was looking at me and I snuck a photo, but it turned out perfectly. The window behind her was bright and I snapped it before it could focus the background in, so it just looks white in the back, but still beautiful.

She's beautiful. I show the picture to Natalie.

"Are you sure you're not finding these photos online?" She teases.

"No!" I exclaim. "She's real." I huff. "I'll find one of me with her."

I know exactly what I'm going for. There's this picture that Harper took, insisting it would look good. I was in dark jeans and a button up tucked in and rolled to the elbows with dress shoes on, sitting on her motorcycle, and she was wearing her black skinny jeans, black combat boots, a white loose tank top, and her leather jacket, sitting in front of me on the higher part of the bike. My hands were on the small of her back and her hands were gripping my biceps, her legs on either side of me, resting behind me. We didn't have helmets on, but her forehead was against mine and we were both smiling.

This is one of my favorite pictures of us. Harper took it when we got back from France.

I show it to Natalie.

"Wow." She says. "You guys are so adorable together!"

I laugh nervously. "Thank you." I say. "She's my lifeline."

_____

When the plane touched down in Denver, I was practically elbowing people to get off the plane.

I need to see my girlfriend.

Mason and Gabe stayed close behind me, letting me drive.

I dropped them off at the apartment, got changed and ready, and left at eleven thirty, which means she's going on her lunch break in an hour.

I stop by the flower shop and get her a dozen red roses, getting there with five minutes to spare.

She works in a giant accounting firm. I walk up to the lady at the desk.

"Hi." She says. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, can you deliver these to Odeletta Guillotin? You don't have to tell her who they are from, she will know." I add.

I'm taking her out to lunch, and I know she's dressed up because she's at work, which is why I'm wearing black slacks and a blue button down.

She looks down at the flowers and nods, typing in the computer.

"How about you go with me and deliver them yourself?" She smiles.

That's even better.

"Is that allowed?" I ask.

"Of course. She works with a lot fo cubicles though." She warns.

"That's okay."

The more people that know she's mine, the better.

She types into the computer again and rises, calling to somebody in Spanish. Another women comes up to take her place, and she guides me to the elevator, hitting the button eleven.

"Is Odeletta your girlfriend?" She asks.

"Yes." I nod. "I've been out of town. She thought I didn't get home until ten tonight. I wanted to surprise her."

She smiles. "That's sweet."

"Thank you." I say.

After a few more seconds, the elevator opens. She leads me off, and into the room of cubicles. I pass the a glass set of french doors and the women in there sees me and comes out, following us.

She's probably wondering who we're here for.

The woman leads us, and everyone sitting around turns, looking up.

She leads me straight to Odeletta, who's back is to me. She's bent over a piece of paper, probably somebody's tastes or something. She's wearing a tight black dress and nude heels. Her brown hair is pulled back into a messy bun, as if she got tired of pushing her hair out of her face. Her black rimmed glasses on her face.

Everyone is watching now, quiet, and she isn't. She has no idea.

I reach out and tap her shoulder.

She jumps a little, a small gasp leaving her lips, and she spins in her chair. A brown tendril falls into her face and she brushes it back. Her eyes widen.

"You're home early!" She exclaims, standing up. "You weren't supposed to be home until ten tonight!"

"I lied." I say, looking her up and down. "You look beautiful." I say, handing her the flowers. Her cheeks are flaming and I find her blush adorable. "Those are yours." I gesture to them.

"Thank you." She says, carefully setting the flowers down on her desk and then turning to hug me. I wrap my arms around her waist, holding her small frame to my chest.

When we pull away, that brown tendril is in her face again.

"I know I'm a bit early," I begin, brushing her hair behind her ear. "But I will wait downstairs, okay?"

"Okay." She looks so happy and I can't help but feel triumphant.

"Oh, nonsense!" A voice says from behind me. We both turn. I see the woman who was behind the glass doors. "Odeletta, you can take the rest of the day off, go spend time with your man!"

"Are you sure?" She asks.

"Absolutely!" She says. "Go on, have the day!"

"Thank you, Catherine." Odette says. She looks at me. "Just give me a minute, okay? You can wait there if you want to."

"Okay." I nod. I turn to the receptionist and the woman that I am assuming is her boss. "Thank you." I say.

"No problem." Her boss smiles. "I'm Catherine, Odeletta's. You must be Nathan. She talks about you a lot." She outstretches her hand and I shake it, looking at Odette.

"Good things, I hope."

"Of course!" Catherine says. "You guys have a good day."

She leaves, and the receptionist follows her.

Odette grabs a set of keys from her purse and unlocks her filing cabinet. She looks at the paper, her eyebrows furrowing, and then shuts the manila folder it was resting in. She bends down to put it in it's proper place, mumbling in French. I make her not to stare at her ass as she leans forward, even though I really really want to. When the folder is in place, she shuts the filing cabinet and locks it, putting her pens and things in place. She logs out of her computer and pulls the hairtie from her hair, letting her brown locks fall loosely to her shoulders. She puts the hairtie in her purse, picking it up.

Immediately, I take it from her hand. She puts her wallet, keys, and phone in the purse that is now in my hand, and grabs the flowers with her left hand. I take her hand in mine and let her lead us to the elevators.

"Get married!" Somebody shouts from somewhere in the back. I hear a couple people laughing and even I smile. Odette laughs softly, pressing the down arrow for the elevator.

The elevator opens right away, so she gets on and I hold the door for her anyways, slipping on after her. I hit the L. The moment the doors slide shut, she turns to me.

"You look very handsome." She smiles, and then she kisses my cheek. "There's some lipstick now. I'm sorry."

I smile.

"It's okay, it shows that I'm taken."