The last Friday of the month arrived and Jackson was messaging me incessantly about a promise I made.
I remembered the conversation we had because it was shortly after I heard Cassandra's plight to her mother about something I had yet to figure out...
After my last art class I met up with Jackson at the address he sent me. It was a bar and there was an open mic night...
When I got there he introduced me to the bartender who was one of the owners, a few of the performers, and his friends. Later into the night, I noticed Jackson slip away from our table. When I heard him being introduced by the host on the stage I couldn't believe it...
"How's everyone doing tonight? The drinks are pretty good, right?" people were whistling and cheering him on. I smiled to myself... he really loved being under the spotlight.
"I invited a good friend with me tonight... to make up for any missed time I had on getting to know them..." there were some 'woo's' from the crowd and I wanted to bury my head in the sand. I widened my eyes in his direction and he winked at me while raising his glass.
"I thought about showing my good side for you all tonight..." they all cheered him on as he walked over to the piano... he set down his glass on the ground and then slowly started playing... I couldn't believe how talented he was... I started clapping with the crowd when the tempo increased.
When he finished he told everyone to have a good night tonight and then went backstage. He then came over to sit next to me after the show. A few people had already bought him some drinks.
"Aren't you a charmer?" I said.
He smirked at me while sliding a drink over.
"Let's celebrate my performance, then?..." I knew what I was like when I was drunk. Rae took pleasure in telling me all the details about how clingy I get. The last thing I needed was to end up attaching myself to Jackson..
Thinking about what I did to Kai that night we were in The Bahamas still sends shivers down my back. I didn't mean to drink much around him but the mood was too good. I knew that could easily happen again tonight...
"Come on, when's the last time you let loose?"
When I was on a tropical island... alone with your brother... my whole body warmed up a little. A few of his friends gathered around our table and started casually chatting and drinking.
"I'll make sure you get home tonight..." he then gestured for me to drink and I sighed.
"Only a few..." when I did his friends cheered and a shot of vodka was planted in front of me.
I bit my lower lip... just a few... just a few...
*
My head felt like it was going to split open when I woke up...
I wasn't sure how... but I had a cool eye mask on my face. I slowly took off the mask and squinted a little... I was in a reclined seat... I looked around and saw Jackson sound asleep on another seat... he had a pink blanket covering him up to his chin...
I held my head in pain and suddenly felt a little sick...
When I stood up to find the bathroom I stumbled a little... but not because I was disoriented. But because the room was moving?! I looked around... and realized I was on a plane... I rushed over to open the window. Letting the bright light shine through...
This is crazy... were we flying on a private jet?!
I rushed over to Jackson and started shaking him.
"Jackson! Jackson! Wake up!!!" I tried shaking his body like a rattle a few times but it only stirred him a little. Eventually his eyes opened slightly. When he did I raced towards the cockpit where a pilot and his co-pilot were flying.
"Good day, ma'am..."
"What... what happened? Why am I on a plane?!"
"Mr. Ravenwolf contacted us early in the morning and said he needed to go to Europe as an emergency..."
What the heck was going on?! I turned around and stumbled a little.
"You will need to put your seat belt on. We'll be landing soon..." after he spoke I raced back to Jackson.
"Jackson wake up... wake up!!" I shook him a few times again and he groaned.
I tried to piece together the conversation we had last night but it was a blur... they kept passing me shots and I lost consciousness at some point? And there were parts that were scattered in my memories. We were talking about our plans in the future...
And I talked about how I never got the chance to visit the cities I admired and loved.
I lamented about how a painter being unable to see living history in canvases around the world was a terrible feeling...
Then Jackson told me that we should go to Paris...
There were little bits I couldn't remember, but I do recall telling him it was expensive to travel when he questioned me on why I didn't go...
Then he said he will take me there...
Then we drank some more and everything from that point on is foggy...
No... no... way...
Then we were really heading to France?!
Shocked, I fell backwards and sat down trying to grasp the reality of the situation.
"Please put your seat belts on. We will be arriving at your destination in less than 15 minutes..." I looked over my shoulder briefly and then at Jackson who was smiling like an ignorant fool in his sleep. I grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, but I heard the seat belt sign and made sure his was on before I put mine on when I sat down...
When we landed the pilots greeted me again and then left. I took off my seat belt and looked over at Jackson who was now fully awake.
"Where are we?" he yawned and I screamed over at him.
"Just what the hell were you thinking?!" I rushed over to him again, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and pulled him forward. He seemed confused.
"I must have lost my mind last night..."he said while pressing his temples a little.
"Just a little? Just a little?! What is this! We're in Europe?!"
"Paris, I think..." he leaned over to look out of the window.
"This isn't the time to... look, tell them to take us back right now!"
"We can't. We have to re-fuel and they have to rest..." I sunk down to my knees and he slowly picked me up again.
"We can have some fun while we wait."
"I'm seriously going to..."
"Sorry, sorry... but I guess we can enjoy the trip while we are here..."
I bit my lower lip. He wasn't all to blame anyway. I was inebriated too... I kicked myself a little before following him out with my bag...
I raised my hand up to block the dazzling sunlight overhead and shivered.
"I'll call a car service for us. We can go to our usual spot..."
I gritted my teeth together and opened my phone. I quickly searched for the time in Paris right now.
It was just after 11am... which meant that it was... about 5pm our time back home...
It would have appeared as though I completely disappeared... I opened up my text messages and there were dozens sent to me from Nathan and even Kai... how was I going to tell them about these circumstances?
Sorry, but your brother and I got incredibly wasted last night and took an early morning rendezvous to Europe...
Jackson held onto my jacket and pulled me forward. I really didn't have the strength to move on from this...
When we got inside one of the private shops nearby Jackson made some calls and then we were off. I had texted Nathan when I was in the car, but only that I would explain to him why I had gone for such a long time later...
"You're a little tense... this is a once in a lifetime opportunity... you finally get to see Paris, right? Take a look outside... you should be more 'mesmerized' by what you see here..." I glared at him and then turned to look out of the window... before I knew it, we were driving through the streets of Paris... eventually, I spotted the Eiffel Tower and I rolled down my window in amazement.
I had only ever seen it in picture books... this sight was amazing.
We continued to pass by several landmarks I recognized and I couldn't believe I was here...
I couldn't help but smile... I could hear Jackson 'tsk' in the background when he was looking at his phone... but I could barely pay any mind to find when I spotted the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe.
When we arrived at our destination Jackson tipped the driver. When I realized we were at a hotel I pivoted the other way but he pushed me forward. When we got to the reception desk he greeted them in French. They seemed to know who he was... they confirmed his last minute reservation and gave us our room keys...
I followed him up to one of the suites and I couldn't help but look around in awe.
"How is this? Do you like it?"
It was incredibly spacious... it reminded me of Luca's place a little. There was a kitchen and living space... a hallway leading to a few bedrooms, I'm sure. A large window next to a sliding door leading out to a beautiful patio. There was a small breakfast table inside overlooking the city...
"It's beautiful..."
"Perfect... then let's rest for a bit and then go shopping..." I suddenly snapped back to reality and turned to him.
"Us? Rest where? I thought this was your room."
"And where would you sleep? Outside?"
"I thought I would... I thought my room would be separate."
"Well there are a few rooms in here/"
"But that's..."
"We live together anyway..."
This is a hotel, not a home...
"Jackson, this is a little..."
"Why?" he stepped forward towards me and grinned: "this wouldn't be a problem unless... you saw me in a different light?"
I had been backed into a small drawer... my hand was touching a cloth that sat underneath a vase of freshly picked roses...
I looked up at Jackson who was leaning towards me...
His hair dropping into his face... his soft lips and gentle eyes were now gazing into mine...
What was he doing?!