Chapter 6 - Paris

It  was a mad rush to get all my things packed the next day despite not having a large room. I felt that I was bound to forget something because of my lack of preparedness. I had a sore neck and a headache from sleeping on Sasha’s lap and drinking too many beers at the bonfire. I grabbed a couple of acetaminophen as Sasha carried our luggage to the bus. We met at the dining hall for a quick breakfast, choosing to sit in a secluded nook by a window. 

‘Do you have any good restaurant recommendations for us in Paris, Avery?’ Marshall asked walking up to our table. 

‘I have more recommendations than we have meals in Paris. I will have to call my brother to narrow it down a bit’ I said kindly smiling at him. 

‘Well you let us know so we can organise a group of people to go with us’. Sasha glared at him as he walked away displeased by the interruption.

‘Do you have to flirt with every man that talks to you, Malyshka?’ Sasha asked through gritted teeth. I raised an eyebrow at him

‘I was not flirting with him’ I started, ‘ I was just being polite’. Sasha ‘humphed’ taking a sip of hot tea. He didn’t push the subject further, but I was irritated by his attitude. We finished breakfast in silence. 

Once onboard the bus, Julie took up the seat next to mine, much to Sasha’s chagrin. I bit my cheek in an attempt not to grin when he shot a look of annoyance at an oblivious Julie. I was still exhausted from the lack of sleep from the morning, so I put on my headphones and shuffled my playlist. Fittingly, Audioslave’s ‘I am the highway’ started to play. I rested my head against the cool window resisting sleep but within minutes Chris Cornell's voice soothed me to sleep. I missed the whole drive to Paris. 

I opened my eyes as the bus’ engine turned off. Most of the people on the bus were already gathering their things, ready to get off the bus and explore the city of love. I put my headphones away into my pocket and stood to grab my bag in the overhead compartment. Lyosha was quicker and grabbed Julie and my bags carrying them off. Sasha grabbed my bag from Lyosha leading me into the hotel lobby to collect our room key. Isabella apologised to me privately for not being able to find me a room with another girl. 

‘It’s fine’ I replied, ‘We are getting along and Sasha has mostly been good. Sasha gave Isabella a sweet smile and I saw her melt a little. ‘Look who’s flirting now’ I said just loud enough for Sasha to hear when we walked away towards our room. He gave me the same sweet smile, making my heart flutter. 

Our room was gorgeous and classy. There were two double beds with crisp white linen. The window overlooked a busy street but from afar we could just make out the top of the eiffel tower. Next to the window was a plush dark green armchair perfect for curling up with a book. The room was equipped with a minifridge and a small round table. The bathroom was simple yet elegant.  A large glass wall separated the shower from the rest of the bathroom and there were several different shower heads at either end of it. I instantly longed for a shower but a quick general tour of the city was starting in less than half an hour. The shower would simply have to wait. I grabbed a face cloth and washed up quickly. Sasha was sitting in the armchair when I emerged from the bathroom. He gestured his head for me to come to him. 

‘I have to get ready, the coach leaves in 15 minutes’ I said shaking my head at his pleading. 

‘Where are you going?’ he says confused.

‘The tour of the city starts soon and I don't want to miss it’. 

‘We will be here for a few days, Malyshka, there will be plenty of time to see the city’ He started ‘Come here’ he said trying to entice me to him.

‘No, really Sasha I don’t want to be late!’ I insisted.

‘Trust me, I WILL show you the city. I’ve been here before, I know all the best places.’ I smiled at him sweetly.

‘Sorry I already signed up for the tour. Why don’t you come with me’ I suggested perkily. He chuckled. 

‘No that’s ok, I’ll see you when you get back then’ he bit back, annoyance clear in his tone.

Julie and D’Arcie were on the tour as well and we spent the day together marvelling at all the sites. We drove around for most of the tour. Organised as I usually was, I wrote down all the places I wanted to visit in depth during my stay in Paris. Marshall approached me again to see if I had narrowed down my list for tonight’s dinner. I checked my phone to see that Jamie had in fact texted me back and narrowed down the list of ‘Must eat here’. I jotted down the list for Marshall and watched as he read them nodding his head at the choices. 

‘I think I can arrange for us to eat here tonight’ he said pointing at the third restaurant. I smiled at him excited at the prospect of having supper with the group. After a day of marvelling at the architecture of the city, I returned to my room to get ready for supper. I felt a pang of disappointment as I left that Sasha had not returned, I was hoping he would join us.

We met up at the fancy french bistro and were escorted to our table by the waiter who handed out the menus and took our drink order. Unsure what to order I sent Jamie a photo of the menu asking him for his opinion.

‘*Drool face emoji* any chance you are sharing with someone else? I would go for the boeuf bourguignon or the roast duck.’ He texted

‘Thanks. Love you’ I text back

Julie looked at me expectantly so I showed her what my brother texted me. 

‘Want to split those two dishes?’ she asked eagerly. D’Arcie being a vegetarian, opted not to share with us but promised she would let us try her dish when it arrived. 

Once again Jamie hadn’t let me down with his recommendations. I had never eaten something so tasty and perfect, which was a big deal considering who my mother was. 

I longed to return to the hotel to talk with Sasha but he still wasn’t there when I arrived. Disappointed with his absence once again, I changed into my shorts and a tank top and slipped into the bed closest to the door.