Unexpected Vacation [CL16]

Chapter 7

I was examining myself in the elevator mirror. What happened? Did I suddenly find myself on a date? Was this a date? I walked out of the elevator thinking it was ridiculous. I left the hotel set navigation on my phone and started walking towards the Hotel de Paris. It seemed to be about 10 minutes away. I was in town for two days but I didn't realize there were so many luxury cars. I kept walking looking around. The weather was warm enough and I was hoping not to sweat. "Irene!" a voice called. When I turned around, Charles was in front of me. "I hope I didn't make you wait too long" he said politely. "Oh no, I just came too" I replied. He was looking at me again with that beautiful smile of his. I was in a state of not knowing what to say. "Where will you show me, dear travel guide" I said suddenly. "We'll see, how about a coffee first" he said. I nodded my head. I was also wondering if this was gradually turning into a date. Afterwards, I faced the fact that he had a girlfriend and thought about how ridiculous I was. He was showing a friendly behavior but why was I inferring the wrong thought? We sat down for coffee at the cafe under the Hotel de Paris. The environment was very spacious and stylish. I ordered a latte. "Would you like dessert?" he said, still in that gentle tone of voice. "Thank you, I'm not very good with dessert." I said. He raised his eyebrows and looked at me in surprise. "A lady on a classic diet" he said. I raised my eyebrows and looked at him. "Where did you get that I'm on a diet, I just don't like desserts." I said. He looked at me with laughter. "Don't be mad, it was just a joke" he said. After laughing, our orders came. After drinking our coffees in silence for a while, Charles was the first to break the silence. "So what are you doing here?" he said. After taking a sip of my coffee, "I'm on vacation, actually it was an unexpected vacation for me. I just graduated and my sister wanted to give me a little graduation present. I guess" I said and smiled. "How nice. What school did you graduate from?" he said. "Edinburgh, Computer Science" I said quickly. "Hmm, so I'm chatting with someone smart." he said and winked. I shrugged, smiling. Was I too smart? I never describe myself as that but I am a stable person when it comes to studying. After chatting a little more we left the place to wander around. After taking his car from the valet, he opened my door to me in a gentlemanly manner. "What a nice car" I said. He winked and got into the car. "Can I turn on something on the radio?" I said. I couldn't relax without listening to music on car journeys. While pressing the full-on button, we touched the button at the same time. As soon as his hand touched mine, I was electrocuted. All of my cells felt like they were on fire all of a sudden. I felt goosebumps and I'm sure my ears were red. I smiled and took my hand off the button. "I like to listen to music on car journeys." I said quickly. He turned on the radio and we started to move forward. Little Mix's song "Love Me Like You" started playing. I was also accompanying the song. I never claim to have a beautiful voice but I like to sing along to my favorite songs. He turned to me with a smile. "You have a talent for this!" he said. "Hey, don't be kidding. I didn't say my voice is good." I said. "No, I'm serious" he said. After a while we came to a hilly place. After parking the car, we walked for a while. We seemed to be very high above the city because the entire city was viewed from a bird's eye view. "Great" I said. "It really is" he said as he walked towards me. I found myself feeling happier than I had ever been when I was a little bit away from the city and with Charles. He was pointing at me and describing the city. "I think I have a good tour guide." I said. He shook his head and continued. After looking at the view for a few hours here, we set off again for something to eat. We came to a restaurant that serves seafood. "I was really hungry." I said. After placing our orders, we continued to chat. "It's good to get some rest before race week" he said. I nodded in agreement with him. "Yes, I watched the race last week. You were very successful" I said. I was not as passionate about Formula 1 as my sister but I enjoyed watching the races with her. "So you're a Formula 1 fan" he said with a smile. "My sister has been following her since she was very young and I like to watch with her." I said. Charles was a little taken aback. "So what, can't a female fan?" I said raising my eyebrows. "No, I was just surprised." he said. He had a tone of voice that didn't want me to misunderstand. "The next race is unfortunately in Singapore" I said. "Do you want to come?" he said in a quick and sincere voice. I didn't know what to say. All I knew was that I didn't have enough money to afford it. "I would love to, but I just graduated and..." he interrupted me. "Please, you can come as my guest. So is your sister too." I was embarrassed and didn't know what to say. "Thank you very much, but I cannot accept this. Maybe you want to use your invitation for someone else." I could only say. "No, I wanted to invite you. Please, I would love to have you there." he said. -Would I love to? Haven't we just met, Mr. Leclerc?- I nodded my head and thanked him. After we finished our meals, I got into his car to return to the hotel. I thanked him for the kind offer and for dropping him off at the hotel and got out of the car. I quickly ran towards the room. I couldn't wait to give this amazing news to Delilah. I opened the door and ran into the room.

"Get ready! We're going to Singapore!"