Him & 1

2

I pulled up to the biggest building I have ever seen in my life. It was a mansion with palm trees and staircases and crystal clear pool. It's surrounding but a huge hedge and an open steel gate where I can see multiple other cars and people standing around. All of a sudden I feel incredibly out of place; so many gorgeous people everywhere. Girls with long hair and boys with perfect skin. I feel self conscious about how I look; I have thick, long brown hair that's on the frizzy side. My boobs are also on the smaller side and I'm not incredibly tall. I've been told Runways would never work for me. An officer in neon yellow walks towards me, so I roll down my window and smile. 

"Hello, could I please grab your name?" He asks. Even he is good looking and he isn't even here for the course!

"Hi, Mercy Winters" I responded, and he looks down at stapled booklet, gives it a tick and looks back at me.
"The first empty spot coming up on the right, Number 29 and your name is marked on the ground. Have a good day Miss Winters" He smiles and walks away from my window, and I roll it back up again. I drive slowly past everyone wheeling their suitcases and I don't feel so bad about how much I bought. I pull into parking spot 29, and like the officer said, my name was painted on the ground in a curly font and I smiled. I feel like i'm being taken seriously for the first time. At home, nobody did what I was doing, you finish school and then you go to Uni to be a doctor or Lawyer OR you do trade and hospitality for the rest of your working life. Nobody ever bothered to travel, they just played their repetitive lives day by day.

I get out of my car, put my sunnies on because i'm nervous and open up the boot to get out my suitcases. I bought 3 and a duffel bag so i'm definitely going to need to do 2 trips. I grab the handle for the first suitcase and try to pull it up out of the boot, but then the handle shoots up and it just gets heavier.
"Do you need a hand with that?" A voice out of no where appears behind me and I look around to see a tall man reach over and grab the suitcase. My sunglasses make his face dark and it's hard to see his eyes, but he wears a cap that shadows his face and he smells like a Giorgio Armani cologne.

"Uh, yes please" I smile and he goes to grab the other suitcases out of the boot. I notice him trying to see through my sunglasses in attempt to see my whole face, so I look down and pick up the duffel bag to throw it over my shoulder.

"Mercy Winters" He says "Thats quite a name" He says and he slams the boot shut and I press the button to lock it. He grabs two suitcases.
"You don't have to carry them, I can just come back for them lat-"

"No i'll wheel them in for you, saves you from straining yourself up the stairs." He says and gives a slight smile. He has strong facial features, including a sharp jawline. I can tell he hasn't shaved in a few days because of the 5 o'clock shadow on his chin. His arms are chiselled and I assume the rest of his body is too.

"Is it your real name?" He says. His voice is soothing and it flows out of his mouth like water.

"No, but I like it like that" I respond. I know he wants to ask me for my real name, but he doesn't. 

When we round the corner from the parking garage, a walkway full of palm trees and flowers leads us to the grand entrance. A crystal clear lap pool surrounded by a blue stone pavement that lead to a dual staircase. There were luscious gardens on either side, blooming flowers and greenery. This is the polar opposite to the house I live in... or used to live in.

"Told you about the stairs" He smirked at me and I scoff. There are still people a few people trying to carry their luggage upstairs, so we head towards to staircase. The closer I get, the bigger and grander everything else gets and I become increasingly more excited with every step. When I get to staircase a grab hold of the fabric handle and lift it up over every step one at a time with two hands. When I get half way, I see the man carrying both of my suitcases up the stairs, passing me.