First Impressions (On hold during NaNoWriMo)

Pleased To Meet You

"Em, do we really have to do this?" Jeanine asked nervously. Despite her natural beauty, she was rather shy.

"We can't exactly take these back home. What will Mum say? You know how persistent she is."

"Can't we just give it to someone else? Drop it off with Cheri-Anne and then just pretend we visited him?"

"You know mum will ask a million questions and you're a horrible liar. Besides, she will find out sooner or later and then we will never hear the end of it. A mother's love is unconditional, but her temper is an entirely different matter."

"You have a point..." Jeanine chuckled, "Fine, but you do the talking all right?"

"OK, just relax," Emelia responded as she pushed the intercom button.

"Hello?" Colin answered, and a panicked look flashed across Jeanine's face.

Emelia grabbed her sister's hand to comfort her before responding, "Hi, we're from apartment L3. We would just like to welcome you to the building."

"I'll be right down!"

A few seconds later the elevator door opened, and in front of them stood Colin Bailey with a beaming smile. He was even more attractive than the expected, having only seen him from a distance. He had some light stubble on his face which highlighted his strong jawline, and his hair appeared to be wet as if he had just stepped out of the shower. His eyes were bright blue like the sky, with a fleck of brown at the top of his left iris - some would probably see heterochromia as a flaw but Jeanine liked that his eyes were unique. 

"Hi, I'm Colin," he introduced himself to Emelia with a bright smile, his teeth perfectly straight and white.

He then turned to introduce himself to Jeanine and was momentarily startled by her beauty - with her golden blonde hair and blue eyes, he thought she looked angelic.

"Jeanine. Pleased to meet you," she finally introduced herself with a shy smile.

"The pleasure is all mine," he responded without thinking and instantly felt slightly embarrassed.

After clearing his throat he smoothly recovered and invited them upstairs.

The penthouse apartment was breath-taking with mahogany floors, white walls and floor-to-ceiling windows throughout the living area. There was a narrow piece of wall, separating the lounge from the dining area which was unplastered, leaving the bricks exposed and featured a double-sided glass fireplace.

"Please excuse the mess, I'm still unpacking," he explained apologetically, "Can I offer you some tea or coffee? I have unpacked most of my kitchen stuff already."

"Oh, I'm sure you still have tonnes to do, we don't want to be a hassle. We just wanted to drop these off," Emelia smiled as she handed the plate of scones over to him.

"These look lovely, thanks so much," he beamed, "but please do join me for a cup of tea or coffee, I could really use a break."

They accepted his offer, and he motioned for them to take a seat on a large grey sofa, "So what will it be?"

"I'll have some tea, please," Emelia responded before Jeanine added, " Make that two, please."

He walked off to the kitchen and Emelia got up to stare out one of the large windows down at the people in the street below. From this height they looked like ants, scurrying around chaotically to get to their respective destinations. Her mind started to wander and she started thinking about how every single one of those people had their own life, their own problems, however big or small. Some of them would be happy in this moment, others would be sad. Someone may have lost their dog that day while someone else may have just gotten engaged. Life is such a peculiar thing she thought to herself.