The Carousel

Prologue

The passengers flying on Flight 522 from LAX to JFK exited through the tunnel to the baggage claim area. Ondine Amelia Carter, or more commonly known as Ames to family and friends, was slinging her cross body bag over her shoulder when she was bumped from behind by a tall, roguish man wearing black jeans, a white shirt, a black leather jacket, and aviator sunglasses over his eyes. She stumbled a little and looked at the man's back.  

"Unbelievable!" she thought to herself. "He didn't even say excuse me or sorry..." 

"Sorry, miss," another tall man wearing a similar outfit held her elbow and steadied her. "Sorry for my friend over there," he smiled, showing off some deep dimples. 

"That's alright, I'm not hurt," she dusted her arms. 

"Sorry again," the man with the friendly dimpled smiled squeezed her elbow one more time. 

"Thanks. Tell your friend to watch where he's going next time!" she yelled at the man. She saw him chuckle and left her behind. She reached for her cell phone inside her bag. She powered it on and as soon as her phone booted up, she received a text message from her best friend, Shey Rice. She quickly read it, Shey just told her she was almost near the airport. She texted back she was just waiting to pick up her luggage from the baggage carousel. She walked over to the baggage carousel and waited with the rest of the passengers as one by one the bags came out onto the conveyor belt. Her phone rang and she picked it up. 

"Hey girl," Ondine picked up her best friend's call. 

"Hey. I'm almost there. What happened in LA?" Shey asked as she drove and put the phone on speaker. 

"We broke up," Ondine started tearing up. She put her oversized sunglasses on before people could see that she was crying. 

"What?!" Shey said loudly. 

"Yeah. A horndog and a slut. They belong together," Ondine tried to sound strong, but her voice was trembling. "How could he? With a friend of mine, too?" 

"What did he say to you?" 

"He said it's because I was so far away, and it just happened one night. Then again. And again. I hate him so much! And her! I want to kill both of them with my bare hands!" she growled quietly into the phone. 

"What a jerk! Ames, you're better off without him. He didn't know what he had in you. He let go of the best thing to ever grace his life." 

"I know. I keep telling myself that. Gah, I've just been so stupid, I guess, falling for his charming ways and deceptive words." 

"Hey, don't blame yourself. This is all on him! You're in New York to go to school, not to fool around...for him to blame the distance shows just what an a-hole he really is. He's the one who can't keep his hands to himself, obviously," Shey said with a roll of her eyes.

Ondine wrapped an arm around her waist as she turned around away from the onlookers who could have been looking at her. She discretely wiped at her cheeks, brushing away the tears that ran down them. Unbeknownst to her, standing across on the other side of the baggage carousel that separated them, a handsome man still wearing his sunglasses stood silently watching her. Jared Ethan Miller had his hands in his pockets and watched as she talked on the phone, his lips in a tight line. He didn't mean to just bump into her earlier, and he certainly didn't mean to just keep walking without apologizing. He had been in a hurry, he and his friend Ben missed their flight because he hadn't packed for he couldn't find his luggage bag. By the time he looked back, Ben was already talking to her. So he just kept on going without looking back, thinking she was okay. He had to admit, she was pretty in an understated way. She had on just jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black cardigan, but she looked well put together, her long dark hair framing her innocent looking face. He hoped she wasn't crying because of him bumping into her earlier. He was snapped out of his reverie when he heard Ben calling his name.

"Jare, dude, seriously. I still can't get over your luggage," Ben chuckled as a bright yellow hard shell luggage bag neared them.

"Shut up, dude," Jared said as he leaned over to pick up his bag. "It's my sister's. I couldn't find mine so I borrowed hers."

"Oh man, and you really did leave the house with that. Spell desperation," Ben continued badgering him. "I guess it could be worse. It could be pink with flowers or something."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna tell Em J you made fun of her luggage when we get back home."

"Alright, alright, I'll stop," Ben put his hands up in defeat. He'd always had a little crush on Emily Jane ever since they were children and she would come over to play with his sisters Lizzie and Amanda. He didn't want to get on her bad side ever. But now she was engaged to be married to the actor Aiden Carter, and all his hopes were dashed that she would ever look at him differently and not treat him as a little brother.

"Thought so," Jared said triumphantly. "Let's go, Tommy and the rest of the guys are already at the hotel. We have sound check in a couple of hours."

"Alright, let's go."

Jared took one last glance at the pretty woman he had been staring at, watched as she trapped her cell phone between her ear and her shoulder as she struggled to retrieve her luggage off of the carousel. He wanted to go back to help her with the oversized bag, as a way of paying back for his earlier actions, but an airport employee already helped her. He watch her smile at the man, a sweet smile, he thought to himself. He heard Ben call him again and saw the woman head to the opposite direction. He sighed and followed Ben to the taxi queue.

Ondine saw Shey pull up to the curb and turn her hazard lights on. Shey rolled down the passenger side window and yelled her name. Ondine gave her a wave and quickly walked to the parked car. She opened the back door and hoisted her bright yellow bag onto the back seat. She sat in the front and gave Shey a quick hug.

"Forget about that douchebag, Ames. Look, there's this show tonight at The Sound Stage. We're totally gonna go, listen to this supposedly awesome band from LA, get drunk, whatever! We're gonna have fun! I won't take no for an answer," Shey said sternly.

"Okay. I'm too emotionally drained to say no."

"Good! Let's round up the girls and let's party!"

Ondine just nodded.

***

"What the f...." Jared yelled as he unzipped the bright yellow luggage bag and could not find any of his things inside. He was going to get his toiletries bag to freshen up before heading to sound check. He pulled out a tiny black lace hipster panty and held it with his fingers and stared at it bewilderedly.

Ben rushed to his room and laughed at the sight. "I didn't know you were so kinky, dude! Women's underwear, really?" He sat on the bed and also pulled another pair of panties out, this one made of pink cotton. "Nice taste, though. You did empty out your sister's luggage before using it, right?" Ben asked Jared sarcastically.

"Yeah, dude. This isn't mine! I grabbed the wrong effing bag!" he ran a hand through his hair and sighed frustratedly. "What are the odds? I mean, Em J is a firm believer in not having black luggage because she thinks too easy to mix up with someone else's, but here I am with a mixed up bag!"

Ben looked for a tag and inside a leather name tag holder attached next to a key chain with a silver G clef charm on the bag handle was the name, phone number, and address of the rightful owner of the bag.

Ondine Amelia Carter.