April 24, 2020
Miami, Florida
With hurried steps, Laurel ran to the screen that marked the arrivals at Miami airport, searching for the flight from London. She saw that the flight was on time, meaning it had just landed, and she felt relieve inside. She barely made it.
She went to audition for Gloria and Emilio Estefan with exact time just to pop off and go pick George up at Miami airport, but she didn't count on the Estefans entertaining her in a lively and comfortable conversation.
Anyway, she actually made it on time. She walked to the arrival's door and as soon as they opened, she saw George coming out, pulling a small suitcase behind him, just perfect for a weekend.
"Hey," he said and ran into her. "I missed you," he wrapped his arms around Laurel's waist and then separated to kiss her lips. "Why are you dressed like this?" he looked at her from head to toe. She was wearing a pair of burgundy shorts and a floral wrap blouse, something in the middle between dressed up and just casual, perfect for her audition.
"Because..." Laurel babbled, trying to come up with a logic answer. It was not the time yet to tell George about the audition, because what if she doesn't get the role? She is just going to look like a clown. "I was at the office with my dad," she mumbled. Lying is not amongst her favorite activities.
He frowned. "Really?"
No. "Yes," she said and nodded, trying to look confident. She is not very good at lying, let alone to the most important person in her life currently. "Just checking up stuff from the Maracay New York."
George raised an eyebrow and then put his hand on Laurel's right cheek, squeezing it. "Sounds good," he said and leaned down to kiss her again. Oh, how he missed her lips, it was so nice to meet again after two months of being apart.
"Not that good," Laurel admitted, trying to sound like herself. "But let's go," she interlinked her fingers with his and they made their way out of the airport, going to the parking lot and searching for the car Laurel came with, her dad's white Kia Sportage.
Laurel unlocked the car and opened the door of the backseats for George to put his suitcase in, and finally they entered on the front seats, Laurel behind the wheel to drive back to the city. First stop the Maracay, since she actually has stuff to do there.
"I am really impressed that you are so rich and yet you drive normal cars," George said, fastening his seatbelt while Laurel started the engine.
"What do you mean normal cars?" she questioned, putting the reverse mode and looking into the rear-view mirrors to get out of the parking space. Her mind was somewhere else, still thinking about the fact that she made something big in her life and didn't tell George, she felt some kind of guilt.
"Laurel," George said, taking her out of her thoughts. "Why are you watching in the mirrors if you have this camera?" he put his finger on the screen.
She turned to see him and blinked a few times. "Is the same thing, I am going to get out anyway, no matter what method I use," she said, feeling now more confident with that answer.
George laughed. "Fine, do it your way," he shrugged as she finally made her way out and went forward to exit the parking lot. "But I mean, you could have an expensive Ferrari on your garage and yet you have a Korean car."
"Asian cars are cool," Laurel smirked with her eyes on the road. "And it's the same if we have a Ferrari or a Kia, it will take us places anyway."
"You definitely don't share the passion for motorsport," George shook his head.
"I'm fine with any car as long as it takes me where I want to go," Laurel smiled, cheekily.
"You know, every day I convince myself more that we are so different but yet we complement each other, you understand why?" he said. Laurel gave a quick glance at him and shook her head. "It's because I am ying and you are yang."
"It's 'yin', not 'ying'," Laurel corrected him and chuckled, taking a look at him out of the corner of her eye, quickly returning her eyes to the streets of Miami.
"Everybody says 'ying-yang'," George complained, frowning.
"Well, everybody's wrong," Laurel stubbornly said.
"What the hell? Ying yang," he insisted.
"Stop saying it," Laurel slightly laughed and gave him a little bump on his thigh. "It's incorrect."
"Oh, okay, I see," George gave up. "Yang thinks it's incorrect, but Ying knows that it's right, huh?" he teasingly said. "And that is why we fit together. Ying Yang."
Laurel chuckled, shaking her head. "We do fit together," she finally said and couldn't avoid looking at him, with a big smile on her face. She wouldn't ever change a thing, and after this both ridiculous and pleasant argue about yin-yang —not ying— she realized that she wants to be with him all the time. After all, auditioning for the Estefans was the right thing to do. Now is up to them to decide whether they want Laurel in their musical or not.
"Eyes on the road, Laurel!" George screamed, making her give a small jump and at the end, getting her eyes on the streets again.
"Sorry," she softly giggled, feeling a little embarrassed. She is dating a racing driver and anyway she still sucks at driving. "Okay, this is our agenda," she talked again. "We will go to the Maracay because I still have stuff to do there." With 'stuff', she means telling her siblings how the audition went, and maybe ask for advice to tell George about it. "And you can leave your things at the penthouse, then we will go to my parents' house to take some time for us at the private beach in my backyard," she teasingly said. "Then I grab my stuff and we can head back to the Maracay, if it's okay for you that I stay with you."
"Of course it is," George nodded repeatedly. "Believe me, I've been longing for this day."
Laurel felt heat rose over her cheeks and smirked. "Good," she just said.
They continued their way to the hotel, between stories and goofs they have been through these past months, most of them being stories they have already told themselves via FaceTime, but it's always nice to hear them again by their actual voices and share the laughs again.
They arrived at the hotel and got out of the car, waiting for a bellboy to take the car to the parking lot. Both entered the hotel, George pulling his suitcase behind him, and as soon as they were going to reach the front desk to ask for George's keycard, they bumped into David, manager of a couple Maracay hotels, friend of the family, and Laurel's ex-boyfriend.
"Hi, Laurel, you have a sec?" he said.
"Oh, sure," Laurel nodded, and he approached her, with a binder in his hands, probably documents from the hotel that she needs to sign as every month. "I didn't know you were already here, thought you were arriving tomorrow," she said, dedicating him a smile.
"I had to see some stuff with you, so I came earlier," he said in a playful tone that George didn't like at all.
"Great, because we need someone to carry the flowers to the lounge," Laurel replied with a cheeky smile on her face.
"I can help you with that," George introduced himself in the conversation.
Laurel turned to look at him. "It was a joke," she tenderly said and put her hand on his forearm. "I think the guys at the flower shop will take care of that."
"Yeah, nice flower conversation," David teasingly said. "Can we go to Rafael's office so you can sign these?"
"Sure," Laurel nodded at David and turned to see George again. "Want to come?" she asked. He parted his lips, just about to say yes. "No, forget it, this is boring," she waved her hand in the air. "Ask for your keycard on the front desk, I will be back in..." she tried to guess and looked at David.
"I don't know, maybe it'll take some time, or it won't," David replied, playfully raising an eyebrow.
"Come on David, you know me well, I want exact data," Laurel chuckled. "Anyway, I'll be back, go and leave your stuff in the room," she continued saying to George. He showed a thin-lipped smile, and Laurel noticed right away that he was a little uncomfortable, probably because of David. "It won't take long, I promise," she approached him, squeezed his hand and gave him a short kiss on his lips.
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I send everyone my best wishes for 2021, let's start this new year with everything we have learned, because in the end, everything is part of living. Let's make this a better year, love and appreciate everyone around you, enjoy the small things, and spread love, because what the world needs now is love for everyone!
Stay safe everyone, and Happy New Year! Xx