I sat in the lobby, book in hand.
"You are so unusual, I've never seen a pretty girl reading before," I heard from behind. I turned quickly, slightly frightened. I frowned and turned away from him.
It was Samuel Donovan.
"I assume my brother told you all the horrible things about me; most of it is true, but not all of it." I watched him sit on the sofa near me.
Still reading, I answered him, "Is that supposed to make you look better?"
"Yes." I could hear the frown in his tone.
"Well, it doesn't," I said lowly.
He laughed, his voice rumbling throughout the lobby. I frowned, but remained uninterested. His laughter was silenced when he realized I was serious.
"You're serious?" He asked, slightly offended.
I ignored him, continuing to read. It was starting to get good; the main character was finally finding herself.
"You captivate me, Ms. White, but it seems my brother's already captured your heart," he said, leaning back, the couch screeching.
"I don't know him well, Mr. Donovan, " I said plainly. But I squirmed uncomfortably, my hands tightening around the book.
"You can fool the others...even me, but he gives it away. He can't hide his feelings if he tried. Thats who he is," Samuel said. I looked up at him for a moment. He looked lost in thought.
"Then why do you hurt him?" I blurted, feeling regret soon after.
"I'd rather he be mad at me than have a broken heart," he mused, meeting my gaze.
I dropped my gaze, struggling to keep up with the story.
"Sometimes a heart needs to be broken to build the right foundation and learn the right lessons...as long as you have someone to love you through it...I guess. He would have been okay, he has you, a father..." I trailed off, unable to stop myself from saying something.
"I never thought about it like that, after our mother left; I wanted to protect him from the pain I felt. What about you? Did you have someone?" Samuel said seriously, his tone hushed now.
Their mother left?
I shook my head, "Grew up in foster care."
"What was that like?" He pressed after a moment of silence.
"Have a good day Mr. Donovan, " I said standing, I didn't want to discuss my life in foster care, I wished to forget it. I didn't wait for him to respond as I quickly left, heading to my room.
I needed to get changed anyway, apparently we had an outing today with the group.
***
She was far too good for you, I thought as she quickly walked away.
But she was so captivating, like fresh air.
"Hello!" I heard suddenly. I turned my head to see the girl Ms. White was with last night, Micka?
I frowned, but she continued to smile with energy, "What do you want?"
Her smile faltered, but she shook her head, "Sorry, just excited about the tour around the city. It's a beautiful day."
I nodded and stood; I was a head taller than her. She looked up, her dimples more visible. Her eyes looked at me with kindness, as if she understood something about me.
It left me voided. What did she know?
"If you'll excuse me, " I called, moving passed her. She stepped aside and went on, talking to another coworker she saw.
Her hair flowed down to her back, and she wore jeans with a tank and a light jean jacket. She looked as if she hung out with wild people, but was sweet as pie.
I shook my head, heading to my room.
***
"Do you see how tall the trees are?! They're so tall!" Micka said, grabbing my hand, dragging me closer.
"Oh really? I haven't noticed, maybe if you emphasize it a little more," I joked.
She narrowed her eyes at me playfully, "Meany".
I pursed my lips, "How could anyone ever be accused of such a thing?"
"He's looking again," she whispered giddily.
I frowned. "I told you to stop looking."
"Well, I thought to warn you before he reaches us, " she smiled.
"What!" I quickly turned around, bumping into someone.
"Ow," I said, looking up.
Louis. Mr. Donovan
He grabbed my hand quickly and rubbed my forehead. "Are you okay?"
My breathing stopped, but I was internally doing backflips. He was so close, I don't think he realized it.
I forced myself to step back, leaving a wide gap between us, "y-y-yes," I stammered. He dropped my hand and tucked his hands into his pockets.
"I was going to ask if you wanted to be travel buddies for the day...everyone else is taken. But I see you have Micka," he said with a small smile. I looked at him, dumbfounded, unable to speak.
Micka bumped my shoulder lightly, bringing me out of my daze.
"U-uhh, you can join us," I called, unsure.
Micka quickly turned, causing me to look at her.
"He's walking over here!" She squeaked.
I looked and saw Samuel coming over, looking much like Micka in his choice of clothes. I frowned, which caused Mr. Donovan to turn. A frown was etched onto his face as well
"It looks like a fun group over here!" He boomed, looking at each of us briefly.
"Looks like we have our group for the day," I called, pulling at Micka, who purposely ignored Samuel.
She turned 'confused', "Oh, I hadn't known Mr. Donovan joined us, good," she said as if she didn't care, looking around at the scenery.
I smiled and shook my head. At least she knew how to act casual.
"Okay, let's go," Louis said, leading the way. Grabbing my elbow. I shuffled behind him, trying to match his stride.
***
Amanda deserved happiness, it's just sad that the man I liked-- liked her. But Mr. Samuel Donovan was way above my standard of living, so I had no chance anyway.
I watched as Mr. Louis Donovan led her away, I followed a few paces behind, Smiling. They looked good together.
"Micka...isn't it?" I suddenly heard. My heart jumped as I looked over at him. I hadn't known he was pacing with me.
"Yeah," I nodded.
"How did you meet Ms. White?" He mused, his eyes trailing ahead.
My heart sank, but I smiled anyway, "I met her here, at the check-In desk."
"Hm. What do you do?" He asked, looking back at me, His black glossy eyes taking me captive.
I dropped my gaze, feeling my attraction grow," Financial stuff," I shrugged.
"Outside of work?" He pressed on.
Was he trying to have a conversation with me?! My heart leaped; but I brushed it off.
"I model...when I can. I like sports, I can play pretty much anything. I like music...I play the guitar if that matters," I said looking ahead, our first stop was a sushi restaurant. Amanda and Mr. Louis far ahead, heading inside.
"We should hurry," I said cutting the conversation. I didn't want him to get close to me to get close to Amanda