Facade - Jacob Elordi

ten

As I walked down the streets of Manhattan, my eyes were bouncing to different buildings, taking in everything. We were located just by the river, which looked disgusting to be honest. The murky water making me wonder what lies at the bottom. I passed a bakery, smelling the delicious scent of fresh pastries. My feet almost involuntarily carried me into the shop.

Their pastry case was phenomenal. It was almost impossible to just choose one, but I settled on a fruit danish and a small chai latte. Happy with my purchase, I exited and walked down the strip to find a nice spot to sit and enjoy my delicious find.

I found a more appealing seat by the river, snapping a picture of my local goodies and sending it to Lana and Brandon. The heat got to me as I sipped on my iced chai, so I stripped out of my crewneck and tied it around my waist. The wind whipped across my sweaty arms, cooling my body slightly.

My phone vibrated with a new message.

Lana:
Are you working or vacationing?

Me:
Neither. Jacob left me to fend for myself since he had a meeting I wasn't invited to... I wasn't about to twiddle my thumbs in the hotel all day.

Lana:
Sounds like more time to shop to me

I laughed at her comment. If Lana were here we would already be ten bags in that I have to carry for her while she bounced through the mall.

"Is this seat taken?" Someone asked from behind me.

"Um," I paused looking around at all the other benches he could have chosen. "I guess not."

"I'm Frank," He said holding out his hand. I didn't shake it. Honestly, I was too caught up thinking about all the things in my purse that could be used as a weapon. "I see you have Bolo's. It's my favorite."

"It's pretty good," I said chewing the last bite of my pastry.

"Well then what's your favorite in town?" The blonde hair-blue eyed man asked.

"Oh, I'm not from here. Just visiting," I mentioned, immediately regretting sharing the information.

"Oh, really? What brings you in?" Frank asked. He really did look harmless, but I'm never too sure.

"Work."

"Nice! I moved up here for that reason. I promise the river isn't always this color. We just had a storm," He informed me.

"Yeah it is quite unappealing," I said staring into the murky water crashing into the cement.

"How long are you in town for?"

"I'm not sure," I said truthfully, but his face questioned my honesty.

"You don't have to lie to me just to get me to go away. I just saw a beautiful woman and had to take a chance," He smiled, his white teeth beaming in the sun.

"No, I really don't know. I wasn't given a lot of details before coming up here," I sighed remembering Jacob and his way of conveniently leaving things out. He loved to tell me the bare minimum.

"Well, I've got to go back to work, but here's my card in case you ever want someone to show you around while you're here," He paused. "If you have time of course."

I grabbed the card from him seeing he worked in chemical engineering as he waved goodbye. I shook my head at the weird interaction, slipping the card into my purse. He was young, attractive and quite nice. However, I don't exactly feel comfortable contacting someone I just met on a random street in Manhattan. There's no point, especially if I'm not sure how long I could be in the area. We could leave tomorrow for all I know. But, if Jacob leaves me to my own devices for seven hours again, I might consider the offer. I don't know the area and travel was one of the reasons I agreed to this job.