Brutal Love

Chapter 1

"I can't believe I'm in Paris!" I shout for all of Paris to hear. I'm sitting in an outside café on the streets of Paris for happy hour.

"I can't believe it either Aya, it's been what? Two years?" Giselle says with a smile and a giggle as she sips her drink.

"Round that yeah. Girl I am so happy we're drinking- -and that I can legally drink again." I smile sipping my Pornstar Martini.

"Oh that's right, in the U.S. you can't drink."

"I'm underage" I smile gulping down more.

"You know it's funny." Giselle starts. I smile and nod.
"Your dream has always been to come here, and mine has always been to come to the states." She says. Her French accent makes everything she says sound classy.

"Don't know why..." I smile jokingly. "Okay, I'm being dramatic, it's actually a lot of fun sometimes. I just work a lot so it's hard to enjoy it. But it's calm."

"You are very lucky to have American citizenship." She says calmly while staring at her phone.

"Yeah." I smile.

Giselle often takes breaks mid conversation to scroll and/or text people. Personally, I've never been that person, unless it's like someone I like.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom." I smile.

"K." Giselle half heartedly answers.

I stumble through a cloud of cigarette smoke and into the bar, finally having got hit by the alcohol from my Martini. Having downed about seven of those I had been holding my bladder to have a conversation with Giselle. Then I had gotten excited about Paris and simply forgot I had to use it.

I find the bathroom door and thankfully there is no line. I go up to open the door and someone is inside and taking forever.

I lean on the door frame and glance down at my phone.
My dad sent me a message.

"Hey sweetie, how's your first night going? I'm really happy that you're happy. Send me lots of photos."

I smile and like the message.

"My first night is going good! I got lost from the Challes de Gaule airport but made it into the city to catch Giselle so she could give me the keys at her work. I did in fact get lost and have to haul around my suitcase (which is huge and the handle is broken) into and around the main streets😂 i looked so stupid."

I press send and wait for Dad to respond.

I glance up and a guy walks into a bar with a grin on his face. He's holding his drink like it's a part of his arm and we lock eyes. They softly blink and his eyebrows raise at me. I don't know how to respond to this subtle communication, so I just look down and turn back around towards the door.

I walk up to it again and begin knocking. No one answers.

"as-tu besoin d'aide?" Someone says from my right.
I turn my head up and towards the boy that just walked in. He raises his eyebrows again, as if insinuating it's my turn to answer.

"So sorry! I took one semester of French in Spring and the extent of my knowledge of the French language is- -um-" I pause trying to remember. "tu veux coucher avec moi?"

He's looking at me now like I am insane and with a huge smile on his eyes. Then he bursts out laughing. The bartender who overheard also bursts out laughing. He turns to the bartender and says something in French.

"That's weird, I could sworn that meant hello, do you want to eat food with me." I mumble to myself.

"So you're speaking English?" He says, huge smile still plastered on his face. His accent is not necessarily French. It sounds harsher.