French Kiss in Paris

Chapter 5

Victor only lives a few blocks away from my building, he likes where he stays kasi may bathtub daw siya roon and he's trying to make me jealous dahil sobrang liit daw ng room ko. But I don't mind now, basta may matulugan ako, it's fine. And more thing that almost made me mad but I didn't make a big deal out of it dahil ayokong gumawa ng gulo lalo na nang misunderstanding. The TV in my room doesn't work anymore. I mentioned it to the landlady but she didn't give me a better response on how I'll make it work it again. And I don't like to pay to fix it. Hindi rin naman ako palanood ng TV so might as well let it be just a room display.

As we head downstairs, may pumasok naman na ideya sa isip ko. I nudge Victor with my elbow and he just raises his eyebrow at me.

"If you have free time or might be at the weekend. Would you like to go shopping? Help me with clothes I should buy and wear?"

Napahawak ang kanyang kamay sa ulo at napailing-iling. "Je ne sais pas comment t'aider, Cosette." (I don't know how to help you, Cosette.)

I pouted. Namilog pa ang mata ko. Nagpapaawa sa kanya but it doesn't work for him. I guess, he also has a heart of stone. And Victor looks sophisticated on his black turtle neck shirt, pants and we were paired with trench coats. It looks elegant when we were something like this. Nakakasosyal sa paningin ng iba but of course in Paris it's normal. Someone or I mean myself, always have to stand out in front of everybody and by doing that, odd stuff can make the difference.

As we finally head out of the building, we immediately noticed someone who abruptly jumped out of his car. He also had bread and coffee on his hand. I instantly shifted my attention away. I know it wasn't for me. I was just intrigued but then something happened that totally confuses me. Victor keeps nudging me to look at the man earlier and it's standing beside me.

"Bonjour, Mademoiselle," he greeted. His tone is so strong that I could barely understand his accent. (Good morning, miss.)

Napabalik ang tingin ko kay Victor kasi naguguluhan ako.

"Here's your coffee and a baguette," he handed the bread and the coffee to me but I'm just staring at me. Nagtataka ako dahil hindi ko kilala ang lalaking ito. Why would he be following me? Is he one of those paparazzi? Good thing Victor's with me, may human shield ako. "Désolé, le café est devenu un peu froid." (Sorry, the coffee got a little cold.)

I turned to Victor, creasing my forehead and with so much confusion sets in my face. "What did he say?"

"The coffee might be a little cold now," Victor translated it for me. "So take it and thank the generous man."

"No," I retorted with his approach. Hinarap ko ang lalaki at tinaasan ko ng kilay. I know Victor wouldn't love this but I don't want any people will come at me with this kind of agenda. Hindi ako masasanay sa ganitong set-up. "Who are you? How did you know I live here?"

"Je suis le chauffeur de Sir Cashel. Je suis ici pour vous chercher." (I'm Sir Cashel's driver. I'm here to pick you up.)

"What did he say again?"

Inilapit naman ni Victor ang mukha niya sa akin at saka binulong ang pagkakaintindi niya sa lalaking nasa harapan namin ngayon. "He said he's Sir Cashel's driver and he's to pick you up."

I gasped and shifted my head to the man in front of us. I examined him from head to toe. Nakahinga ako ng maluwag dahil akala ko manliligaw ko siya o kaya naman stalker. At masyado akong nagmukhang assuming do'n at mabuti na lang ay hindi ko pinangalandakan iyon sa kanya. I would totally lose it. But why would Cashel send a driver at my place? Akala ko ba nagkakaintindihan na kaming dalawa sa napag-usapan namin? Bakit feeling ko hindi pa rin siya titigil?