Not knowing what else to do, Eileen headed for her car, Jimin close on her heels despite the pain lancing through his ankle. She approached her vehicle cautiously, looking to see if it was surrounded by crazed fans. It wasn’t. Someone must have spotted it before she’d moved it. And then that person must have sent out word to meet outside her apartment building.
She quickly unlocked her car before she and Jimin both jumped in. She sped away, just ahead of the malicious mob. She decided she was fleeing Paris. As long as they were there, they’d be in danger of being seen by someone and their location disseminated across social media. She didn’t want to lead them to Jimin’s hotel either. So she headed for the countryside.
Thankfully, it was late enough that the traffic was tolerable. Jimin watched as they drove past the Eiffel Tower. He’d wanted to see it lit up tonight, but that wasn’t likely now. He mourned as the stately building faded into the distance. They made their way quickly through the suburbs. Jimin witnessed the city disappearing outside his window. As they traveled down a country road, the landscape whizzed by in a blur.
“Where are we going?” he asked as he stared out the window, now enjoying the setting sun. It was still high up above the horizon but within the hour it would be put to bed. It had begun to paint the sky in subtle shades of violet and rich pink hues. He sighed as he watched the dying of the light. His ankle was throbbing from the workout he’d put it through escaping to her car. His stomach decided it would join the painful chorus. Eileen glanced at him.
“I’m sorry. You never got to eat anything!”
“No, I ate several pieces of the duck.”
Her eyes slid over his fit physique. “Clearly, you need more food than that.”
She kept driving as Jimin continued to study the changing sky. They drove into a small town. She pulled into a parking space outside a little cafe that was still open.
“Stay here.” She walked inside the shop.
A few minutes later she emerged with a bag. She stowed it in the backseat before climbing behind the wheel again. She steered her car out into the street and drove to a little park.
“Come on,” she smiled at Jimin. “Let’s eat.”
She grabbed the sack from the backseat and led Jimin to a bench that lined the neatly mowed grass of the park. They sat down, side by side, nearly touching each other.
Jimin peeked curiously into the bag. He reached in and pulled out a long, thin baguette followed by a round of cheese, a large cluster of grapes, and a couple of apples. He pulled out a bottle of champagne too and a couple of cups. He looked at her questioningly.
“I thought we should celebrate escaping that insane mob.” She grinned at him, and his heart did a funny, little dance.
Jimin tore a piece of bread off the loaf and handed it to her.
“Thank you, sire,” she intoned, bobbing her head at him before ripping a piece of bread off and cramming it into her mouth. He watched her, fascinated, as she closed her eyes and moaned. She chewed the bite slowly, clearly savoring every morsel. Then she sighed.
“It tastes so good! I haven’t eaten since breakfast! I’m famished.” She took another big bite, reminding Jimin of his own hunger.
He tore off his own hunk of bread before adding a slice of cheese to it. Then he began to quickly demolish it. They sat in silence, watching the sunset and alternating between grapes and bites of bread coupled with cheese.
Jimin was more captivated by the lovely girl seated next to him than he was by the beauty of the dying sun. Its fading rays were striking the most enchanting glints off her hair. His eye was struck by flamboyant auburn and burnt orange and brilliant gold and the occasional strand of deep chestnut. His eyes caressed her long tresses. He followed the wavy lines all the way down, three-quarters of the way to her waist. Her hair was so long and such an intriguing color. Really so many colors. Had he been an artist, he would have been completely inspired by the color palette required to capture that one complex head of hair. As it was, he wanted to reach out and run his hand over her lovely locks. He bet they would be silky soft and wind around his fingers from their natural wave.
He could feel her green eyes on his face, drawing his attention to her own. After pausing for a few moments, he raised his eyes to meet hers. Those eyes were dangerous. They were such a deep emerald, yet another enthralling color. He felt like he could stare into them for hours and not get bored.
Eileen gazed into Jimin’s stunning eyes. What was it about his eyes that was so captivating? She’d noticed that unique quality the very first time she’d ever looked into them. She wanted to just sit here and feed off them. In fact, her actual food was left forgotten in her lap as she continued to study his compelling orbs. They were shaped like almonds, and the irises were a deep chocolate brown. For some reason every time he glanced her way, she felt it, like a lance penetrating her consciousness.
Finally breaking contact with those engrossing eyes, her gaze traveled down the straight slope of his nose, as sharp as a razor’s edge. Her eyes slid over the smooth, round tip of his nose to meet the subtle divot above his mouth. But now that she’d caught sight of those lips, they were what truly captivated her. They were extremely full, pouty lips. He was chewing some bread, and his tongue darted out to capture an errant crumb before returning to the confines of his mouth to once again hide from view. She sighed. Why did his lips look so kissable?
She tore her gaze away from his mouth. Why was she encountering such absurd thoughts anyway? She never thought about guys in this manner! She didn’t sigh over fat lips or brown eyes! She was too busy honing her craft to even notice men. Normally. But tonight had been anything but normal.
As she shoved another piece of bread into her mouth, she contemplated the setting sun and the pressing problem they were facing. Where would they stay tonight? She dug around in her pants pocket for her phone. It wasn’t there. Then she reached for her purse and combed through it. No phone. Then she remembered that she’d loaned it to Jimin. She looked up at him.
“Uh, you didn’t happen to pick up my phone, did you?”
Could she see him turning white in the growing darkness surrounding them?
“No…” His gaze sharpened on her. “Are you telling me that you don’t have a phone either?”
She shook her head. “I can’t find it.” She looked over at her car. “I’ll go check my car. Maybe it fell down in the front seat.” But she had a sinking feeling that it was sitting on her kitchen table back at home.
“I’ll help you.” As he moved to get up, he suddenly sucked in a sharp breath between his lips.
She glanced at his ankle. “You will not! Stay off your foot. I’ll be right back. I think I left it at home.”
On the table…where he had left it. He remembered setting it down there after he called the hotel. At least he’d been able to leave a message that he was all right. His manager and friends would get word soon enough. In fact, they probably already knew he was fine. Hopefully, Tae was among them…Tae! He’d never been able to find out if his best friend had made it safely back to the hotel!
“Nope, it’s not there. Just as I suspected. I left it at home.” Eileen called to him as she walked back from her car. She stopped in front of him and sighed.
“I’m not sure what to do. We could drive around for a while and see if we find a bed and breakfast or a little inn. I was going to look up an Airbnb, but without my phone that will be hard.”
Jimin looked up at the pretty girl standing in front of him looking so forlorn. He wasn’t upset at all, aside from his concern over Tae. But he was choosing to believe that Tae was also fine. So he determined to simply enjoy this moment. The truth was he never got opportunities like this. He was alone with a beautiful girl on a lovely night in the middle of France. He had no responsibilities. He had a full belly. The air was sweet and refreshing and just the right temperature. He felt like he could camp out under the stars tonight and just enjoy the weather, the night sky, and this lovely girl.
Hey! Why not? Why not take advantage of the opportunity that had been handed to him on a silver platter tonight?
“Let’s stay here.”
“What?” She glanced at him like he was crazy.
“Do you have any blankets in your car?”
“Actually, I do. Three of them.”
“Perfect.”
“What? You want to sleep in the park?”
He nodded. “Let’s put a blanket on the ground. We can lie down and stare at the stars. There are hardly any lights here. We’ll be able to see so many stars tonight.”
She didn’t miss the wistful tone in his voice. She could tell this meant a lot to him. The truth was she loved the idea herself. Now that she’d moved to the city, she rarely viewed many stars. She missed them. More than she had realized until this precise moment.
“All right. I’ll be right back.”
She returned a few moments later with three blankets and two water bottles. She spread a large blanket out on the grass and set the other two blankets to the side. Then she packed up the remnants of their dinner and put them in the car for safe keeping. When she returned to their campsite, Jimin was lying on his back looking up at the darkening sky. The first stars were beginning to pierce the darkness with their tiny rays of light.
Eileen lay down next to Jimin and gazed up at the great, indigo expanse yawning over them. She couldn’t help yawning herself. It had been a long day. Jimin glanced over at her.
“Are you tired?”
She nodded. “It’s been a long day.”
“I’m sorry,” Jimin apologized, ruefully.
“Oh! It’s not your fault! I was up before five. I worked all day and was just headed out to grab a bite to eat when I ran into you.” Literally.
“What were you working on?”
“Painting the walls of my apartment.”
Jimin rolled towards her, leaning on his elbow and resting his head on his hand. “So you are the artist! I knew it!”
She nodded. “Yes, a friend is letting me stay in his apartment rent-free in exchange for my painting the walls with murals. He loves my artwork, so when he discovered I was moving to France for a while, he offered me the apartment in exchange for completing the job. We’re both very pleased with the arrangement. Since it’s the weekend, I’m working hard to complete as much as possible. Not distracted by my other job, you know.”
So… Was this other guy interested in her? Or in just her artwork? Jimin considered her. She was stunning. So exotic with those masses of red hair and those huge, green eyes. How could any guy not want her?
“Is he just a friend? Or is he your boyfriend?” Jimin attempted the questioning casually.
He was hovering over her, his head resting on his open palm as he gazed down at her. Why was her heart suddenly picking up speed? Did he think Jacques was in love with her? That was laughable. Jacques had been happily dating Monique for three years. Eileen expected their wedding invitation at any moment. Besides, she barely knew Jacques!
She narrowed her eyes at Jimin. Was that more than interest she detected in his voice? He sounded slightly worried that she might have a lover. She nearly giggled. But really! The idea of her having a boyfriend was laughable! She had far too much work to accomplish every day to even consider dating right now. And she’d never been that close to any guy.
So she answered breezily, “Just a friend. Really, just an acquaintance.” Then she decided to turn the tables on him. “Are you dating anyone?”
“Me?” He sounded truly surprised. “No!”
“You say that like I asked you if you had eleven fingers! It’s perfectly reasonable to assume a good-looking guy like you would have a girlfriend.”
Jimin just stared down at her. So… She thought he was handsome, huh? And she wasn’t an ARMY. So she hadn’t seen four trillion pictures of him from every angle and covered in makeup, hair coloring, and endless outfits. He smiled at her as he decided to flirt a little.
“So… You think I’m cute, huh?”
Her eyes wide, she met his gaze, suddenly shy. How was she supposed to answer that question? She immediately became aware of the precarious position she’d put herself in tonight. She was alone with a strange guy. On the edge of nowhere, under a dark sky, lying next to him on a blanket. It was like an invitation to trouble. What on earth had she been thinking?! She wanted to sit straight up and flee from that blanket, but she decided on a more subtle route.
“Cute? No, I wouldn’t say so. You remind me of an eager, little puppy. Not exactly my type.”
Stung, Jimin responded, “No? What’s your type? Wounded? Dangerous? Brooding?” He laced his brows together and tried to look sinister. But now he just looked like a constipated puppy. Eileen choked down her rising laughter.
“You pegged me, all right.” She glanced down at his foot. “Well, I guess you’ve got one out of three. You’ve got the wounded part down pat.”
That wasn’t what he’d meant. Suddenly, he had an intense desire to show her just how dangerous he could be. He glanced at her lips and began to lower his head towards hers.
