French Rose

Chapter 19

Ever seen the look of pure guilt?

Thinking of it again, I wasn't so disappointed anymore. I mean, looking at it from my perspective, I should cause I knew I just wanted to know for the sake of my curiosity. I wasn't going to show the media, I'd done just enough for payback but he didn't know that, only I did. Although, he was terrible at lying but I would have done the same if I was in his position. We met a few days ago, knew nothing about each other besides the fact he was the chef and I was the boss and for all he knew, I could spread the new the moment I got home and he would get in a lot of trouble with the Coleman's. That was something even I didn't want to experience.

No one would want to get in the middle of Alex and I at that moment cause at the end of the day, he would end up getting tangled in the mess.

"It's okay Lucas, you don't have to explain anything. I understand you don't want to get wrapped up in this and respect the fact you want to keep it to yourself. Till you find trust in me, you can choose to not tell me whatever it is you have with Alex"

"Thanks for understanding and not firing me for bringing it up in the first place"

"You know, I don't fire workers like you think I do. Besides, you're not just a chef now, you're my friend"

"That sounds like something from a Disney movie"

"Don't ask me why"

A few minutes passed by and both Lucas and I were done with our meals. Before he started driving us back home, we had an hour long conversation talking about random topics and mostly, stuff that didn't make any sense but hey, the point is that we both enjoyed it. It oddly felt very comfortable for two people that met a few days ago. I usually had those conversations with myself cause I didn't have friends or normal parents to talk to and it felt great to finally have someone that understood and saw life the way I did, a pile of mess.

We got so close that at the end of everything, I had his beret on my head and before your nasty minds go far away, it was a friendly gesture, nothing more.

Okay, fine. It wasn't to me but duh, what else do you expect?

"Hey Lucas, can we get ice cream later today?"

"Why get it later today when we can get it now?"

"I like you" Then the realisation dawned on me, what if he didn't understand the type of 'like you' I said? What if he thought I meant I like liked him? "No, I don't like you"

"What?"

"I mean, I'm not saying I like you in the romance kind of way. I'm saying I like you for saying we should get ice cream now, not the weird kind of I like you" I didn't know which was more embarrassing, the fact that I rambled over something that made zero sense or that he was laughing at me. When I say laugh, I don't mean chuckle laugh, he was really laughing at me.

His laugh was cute and all but not when it was directed at me in an extremely awkward situation.

"How is this funny?"

"It's weird when you do that, like really really weird"

"When I do that?"

I got a glimpse of my face in the mirror and it was so red, I felt even more embarrassed. I was biting my lower lip with both my arms wrapped around each other tightly. The more I looked at myself, the redder I got and Lucas who was meant to help, was making it worse by laughing.

What's so funny about it?

"Yes, you did it when we first met, remember? And when I served you dinner that night, you went on and on about the food when it was obvious you didn't like it which I didn't take personal if I might add, what more am I meant to expect? It's your first time trying that type of food. Then you did it when we met again and believe me, I tried my best to compress my laugh. You looked like a tomato_"

"I get it already" I gritted out, trying my best to avoid eye contact with him. Of course, he would know about the ramblings I unsuccessfully tried to hide but who knew he would think it was funny? His expressions never changed, not even for a split second, so how the hell was I meant to know he found it hilarious?

"You shouldn't feel ashamed, there's nothing wrong with it. I think it's cute."

Oh my goodness guys, this is it. I'm going to explode.

"Oh, you think it's cute? T_that's new. The good type of new, I mean, thank you. Wait, is that the good reply? If it isn't then_"

"You're doing it again"

"Doing what?"

"You're blushing"

"No, I'm not"

"You are, you're literally red right now"

"Can you stop?"

"Not when you look like little ketchup packet"

*.*.*.*

Who knew spending more minutes parked in front of an ice cream van would cause the rain to come pouring down fast and who knew that would also cause the car to breakdown?

We called for help from home but that was at least thirty minutes drive in the absence of the rain so we had to wait in the car till the driver made it to our location. We first watched random YouTube videos, then argued about irrelevant stuff and told each other stories about out childhood.

Lucas was born in New York then moved to France at the age of seven. He didn't explain why he dropped out of high school at fourteen and I really didn't want to dwell much on the topic cause it looked like it slipped out of his mouth accidentally. He then worked with his parents in the family restaurant for four years and when he turned eighteen, he got the opportunity to work with the Coleman's and shortly after, he lost his father for another reason he didn't want to talk about and once again, I didn't push him to say anything. Since then, both his mom and little brother ran the family business while he worked for me.

Hearing that story made me feel lucky. I mean, I didn't lose anybody or drop out of high school at the age or fourteen. Every single thing I needed were always at the tip of my fingers. I never really worked hard for anything besides waking up to get irritated by everybody. Although, school was quite annoying but I graduated and had my father's business waiting for me. Literally everything was planned for me and I guess I didn't understand how it felt to not have those opportunities I was born with.

I didn't know everything about Lucas and to be honest, it felt like he was still hiding a lot of things. It showed in the way he stopped himself from completing some sentences at times and would immediately change the topic. It looked like he had gone through a lot and when I tried to bring up financial help, he turned me down, saying it was all in the past and he was okay.

Listening to him was emotional and when it came to my time to tell my story, there was nothing much to say. I had no childhood stories and if I wanted to say everything about my boring life, it would only make him feel bad he didn't get to live that type of life and that was sincerely the last thing I wanted for him so I didn't say anything besides my issues with the paparazzi. That was the only problem I had growing up and the fact I didn't have friends or the fun experience most people had. Thinking of it, that wasn't even much of a problem. Maybe I was just being dramatic.

"I know this isn't my business but tell me when you need any help and I'll be there as a friend"

"You know, it's surprising you didn't have friends growing up. I think you have a great personality and a good reputation too, anyone would expect you to have so many friends"

"Let's just say it wasn't their fault, I used to push people away"

"Why?"

"I don't know, I think it's because I used to feel they weren't real_"

Everything was going very well till we heard a car pull up beside ours and it was no coincidence that car just happened to be Alex's.