“Of course I don’t find you repulsive, and Megan could never hold a candle to you. I didn’t know that you would ever want to be with someone like me back when I said that. I just think that you’re in a fragile state right now. I would love to kiss you again, but right now I think it would be better if I were what you need me to be, instead of what I want to be.”
“Okay. I’m going to be completely honest with you. I don’t know how I feel about you. I know that I like having you close by and that you’ve become my best friend over the last few days, but outside of that, I have no idea where any of this is going. What I can tell you for sure, though, is that I do need you right now, so stay and be the person who we both want to be, if nothing else, for tonight,” Trish said as she walked up to him and placed her hand in his.
Lee knew that it was the wrong decision, but he didn’t care anymore. He pulled her in close and gently stroked her hair. Then he leaned in to softly kiss her. Trish transitioned their soft sweet kiss into a deeper more passionate one and pulled him toward the bed. Lee didn’t know where any of this was going to end up in the morning, and honestly, he didn’t care anymore. This was what they both needed tonight.
Chapter 15
The next morning, Trish woke up but didn’t completely open her eyes out of fear of what she may see. As she recapped everything that had happened the night before in her mind, she grew more and more embarrassed. How could I have just thrown myself at him? Now things are really going to get weird. Maybe I’ll get lucky, and all of this will just be some kind of strange dream, Trish thought. At that moment, Trish felt an arm drape over her, and when she finally gained the courage to open her eyes, her fears were confirmed. Lee Higgins was lying directly beside her. She turned to look at him, and unfortunately for her, his eyes opened. They both lay there in silence just staring at each other for a moment until Lee looked away.
“Well, this is a little awkward, isn’t it?” Lee asked.
“Do you think?” Trish asked sarcastically.
Trish heard a knock on the door and then a voice.
“Hey, Trish, have you seen Lee? We can’t find him,” Jess said through the door.
“No, I haven’t seen him. I’ll be out in a minute, and I’ll help you guys look for him,” Trish said.
Lee looked over at her in a strange way.
“Oh, so that’s how this is going to be,” Lee said.
“Just hold on, and let me think about this.”
“Look, we are two grown adults, and they aren’t going to care what we did or didn’t do last night,” Lee said.
“The window . . .” Trish said.
“What?”
“You need to go out the window.”
“But how will I get back inside, and where will I tell them I went?”
“I don’t know, but we just have to get you out of here now,” Trish said while grabbing the top cover and carefully pulling it around her so she could get dressed in some limited form without Lee seeing her.
“Oh, come on. It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before,” Lee said while standing straight up.
“Oh my God! Hurry up and put some clothes on,” Trish said while trying to look anywhere but at Lee.
Lee only laughed and began to get dressed. Once he was dressed, Trish ushered him to the window, and he climbed through it. Lee walked back around to the front of the house and rang the doorbell.
“Lee, thank God! We’ve been looking all over for you. Where did you go?” Michael asked.
“I went for a jog,” Lee answered.
Michael examined him for a moment.
“You went for a jog without any shoes?” Michael asked.
“Yes, I uh, wanted to feel the ground beneath my feet, literally.”
Michael only gave him a very strange look and told him to come inside. I’m so glad that Michael is dumb. No one else would have bought something like that, Lee thought. Before long, the four of them had made breakfast and sat down to eat.
“So last night was fun, right?” Michael asked everyone.
“It was fun. Don’t you think that it was fun?” Lee asked while looking at Trish expectantly.
“It was very fun. The movie had a surprisingly pleasant run time, but I think that it may have been too much fun. I don’t know if we should go to the movies again,” Trish said.
“Oh, come on. I was thinking that we could all go to the movies together more often,” Michael said.
Jess had caught onto what the movies was probably referring to.
“No, Michael. I think that if they want to go to the movies, we should let them do it on their own,” Jess said.
“Fine, then you and I will just go together,” Michael said.
“We are never going to the movies!” Jess said in shock.
“What? But I thought you had a good time last night.”
“I did, but I think that we’re having two very different conversations here.”
Michael looked beyond confused, and after a few seconds, he gave up on even trying to figure out Jess’s mysterious message.
“Fine, but you two should definitely go out and have fun more often. You can never have too much fun. You should at least go to a movie occasionally,” Michael said.
“So what do you say, Trish? How about a movie every once in a while?” Lee asked while trying to contain the laughter inside of him.
Trish didn’t know what to say. There were two different conversations going on at the table, and she couldn’t decide how to answer the question.
“I guess it would be okay to occasionally go,” Trish finally said for lack of a better way to answer the question. By this time, Lee was grinning from ear to ear. I’m glad that Michael is so naïve, Lee thought, as he stared at a now laughing Trish. Michael, meanwhile, was more confused than ever.
* * * * *
When Nathan and Sam arrived in Paris, it was a little past four in Paris’s time zone, but to them, it felt like it was only about nine or ten in the morning. When Nathan stepped off the plane, you would have thought that he was stepping onto the moon. Just that first step onto the ground was enough to bring a smile to his face.
“What has gotten you so excited?” Sam asked after noticing his face.
“I’ve never been outside of the United States, but I’ve always wanted to travel the world. I guess that this just feels surreal to me. I always said that I was going to visit Paris, and here I am,” Nathan said.
Sam couldn’t help but admire the expression on his face. He looked like a little boy that had just been given a Christmas present.
“Well, stick with me, and you’ll go to plenty of places before this is all over,” Sam said while grabbing his hand.
The two of them walked through all of the many airport checkpoints and then went outside to catch a cab. Once they were inside and Sam had explained to the cab driver where they were going, Nathan asked her a question.
“Where are we going to be staying?”
“We’re staying across the road from a famous cemetery.”
Nathan’s face turned a pale sort of color.
“We came to the most romantic city on earth, and now we’re staying across the street from a graveyard?” Nathan asked in disappointment.
“People actually come from all over the world to visit that cemetery. All types of famous people throughout history are buried there.”
Now that Nathan thought about it, he was sure that he had seen a reference to the place in an old movie. When they finally arrived, Nathan paid the cab driver, and they started to go inside the building. Once they climbed the stairwell and reached the top floor, they saw a small older French woman waiting for them. She welcomed them to the building and gave them their key. They went inside. The place was fairly small, with a living room, a kitchen, and a small bedroom, but it was certainly charming with its many books, its piano, and its generally very relaxing atmosphere.
“So we don’t have to work tonight. How about we go out and explore
the city a little bit,” Nathan said.
“We’re probably going to be making a move tomorrow. Jason is supposed to call me later today to let me know the details. I think we should just get some rest for tonight,” Sam said.
“Fine,” Nathan said in dejection.
Sam felt a little bad while looking at his sad face, so she said the words that she had told herself she wouldn’t say.
“All right, stop moping. Let’s go see your overgrown tower.”
They walked out the door and to the subway a little down the road where they rode to a stop that was very close to the tower and got off. Once they arrived at the Eiffel Tower, one thing became obvious.
“We are not waiting in line to ride the elevator to the top,” Sam said.
The line was literally backed up for what looked like a mile.
“Okay. We’ll climb it the old fashioned way,” Nathan said and started walking toward the line for the stairs.
Within about twenty minutes, they had paid and were starting their long climb. As they climbed further and further up, Nathan got more and more winded. Eventually, somewhere between the second and the third level of the tower, he found a bench to sit on. Sam turned around and sat down beside him.
“What happened to all of that enthusiasm about climbing the tower? At this rate, I’ll have to carry you back to our room,” Sam said with a smile.
“I’m okay. I guess I just expected the climb to end in a little more romantic way and not with me hunched over on a bench,” Nathan said while managing to smile.
“Well, I’ll tell you what. If you get up right now, we’ll have a romantic dinner after we get off of this wretched thing.”
“Deal,” Nathan said while standing up.
The truth was that Sam had kind of looked forward to coming here, and a nice romantic dinner was her idea of a good time, not climbing a half mile into the sky. They walked up two more flights of stairs, and there was the answer to Nathan’s prayers.
“Oh, thank God, an elevator,” Nathan said.
It turns out that the last level of the tower could only be accessed by elevator. They waited in another line and eventually rode to the top. Once they reached the top, they noticed two things. The first was the beauty of Paris’s night skyline, and the second was the fact that there was a pretty romantic restaurant on top of the tower. After Nathan had his fill of taking pictures, they went into the restaurant. They ordered some food, and Nathan ordered them a bottle of champagne.
“So what is the deal with you ordering champagne?” Sam asked.
“I don’t know. This is supposed to be a romantic dinner, and what says romantic like a bottle of champagne on top of the Eiffel Tower?”
Sam looked a little uneasy.
“Is something wrong?” Nathan asked after noticing her distressed look.
“I’ve never had alcohol.”
“Really? How is that even possible?”
“Well, at the institution where I trained, they didn’t exactly make it a priority to give us anything to drink besides water,” Sam said.
Right. She didn’t even know how to react to an energy drink, Nathan thought.
“Well, that’s okay. You can try it today with me,” Nathan said.
Once the champagne came, Nathan noticed that Sam liked it, like maybe a little too much.
“You might want to take it a little slower there, champ,” Nathan said.
He was still only halfway through with his first glass, and she had just finished pouring the last bit of the bottle into her glass.
“Why? This stuff is amazing. Waiter, can we get another bottle?” Sam slurred.
After they finished their third bottle, it became clear to Nathan. I’ve created a monster, he thought. Once the check came, Nathan was extremely surprised by the dollar amount on the bill. It was over three-hundred euros. Nathan slid his agency card across the table. I hope the boys back in D.C. don’t mind a few strange charges coming across on this trip, he thought. When everything was settled and they were walking back to the elevator, Nathan noticed that Sam was walking with quite the stagger.
“Do you need some help?” Nathan asked while grinning at her.
“No, no, I’m doing just fine,” Sam answered with a large drooping smile.
They made their way back down to the second level and were descending the stairs to try to make it to the first level. Nathan was walking in front of Sam just in case she fell. Suddenly, he felt her fall and catch herself by grabbing him from behind.
“Okay. That’s it. I’m officially carrying you home now,” Nathan said while scooping her up in his arms.
“And here I thought that I was going to end up having to carry you home,” Sam said while giggling.
As they exited the tower, Nathan began to set her down, but she grabbed his face and pulled it close to hers and kissed him.
“Thank you for today,” Sam said as Nathan set her back down.
They walked arm in arm back to their place.
Back at Nathan and Sam’s place, they had just walked inside, and they were getting in bed when something unusual happened. Sam began kissing Nathan over and over again, and as she started to get on top of him, he pulled away.
“What’s wrong?” Sam asked.
“I’m going to hate myself for saying this, but you’re drunk. I don’t think that we should do anything you’ll regret,” Nathan answered.
Sam smiled down at him.
“Oh, just shut up and kiss me. We’re in the most romantic city in the world. So what if I’ve had a little too much to drink.”
As Sam got back on top of him and pinned him to the bed, she began to kiss him again. Nathan gave in and made no effort to stop what was going on. As they both grew more and more passionate, Sam started to feel a bit uneasy in her stomach. She tried to ignore the feeling and told herself it was just butterflies over what was about to happen, but the feeling wouldn’t go away. Finally, the stabbing pain began to worsen. Sam quickly jumped off Nathan and ran to the bathroom. Horrible sounds of sickness were heard from outside the bathroom.
“Are you okay?” Nathan called to her.
More retching sounds were his only answer. Sam’s phone suddenly rang on the night stand. Nathan walked over and answered it.
“Hello,” Nathan said.
“Sam?” a confused Jason asked on the other end.
“No, it’s Nathan.”
“Oh, okay. Where is Sam?”
“She’s a little incapacitated at the moment.”
“Incapacitated? What happened?”
“She had a little too much to drink, and things are a mess here right now.”
“Wait a minute. Sam doesn’t drink. She’s never even had alcohol before. I really don’t think it was a good idea to give her anything to drink,” Jason said.
“How did you know that she had never had anything to drink before?”
“We used to talk a lot on the phone. We became pretty good friends before everything in Mississippi happened.”
“Great. Well, we should definitely exchange notes sometime so I can avoid things like this happening in the future,” Nathan said.
“I’m just calling to tell you guys that tomorrow morning you need to go to this address,” Jason said and then gave the address to Nathan.
Nathan found a pen and some paper and wrote it down.
“All right, but why exactly are we going there?” Nathan asked.
“The man at that location can give you any weapons you’ll need to take down Markus.”
“Okay. Thanks for everything. I really need to go now. Things just got quiet in the next room, and I need to check on her.”
“All right. Take care of her,” Jason said and hung up the phone.
Nathan walked to the bathroom and saw Sam sprawled out in the middle of the floor. What am I going to do with you, Nathan wondered. He picked her up from the floor and carried her to the bed. He then lay down beside her and wrapped his arms firmly around her.
> “Nathan, remind me of something tomorrow,” Sam said.
“What is it?”
“First, it was the energy drink and now the alcohol. Remind me to never drink anything that you hand me again,” Sam said weakly.
Nathan simply pulled her closer.
“I’m sorry. Just go to sleep. Everything will be better in the morning, beautiful.”
* * * * *
Early that afternoon, Michael went back to see James. After James let him inside, the two men began to talk.
“So no field trip today?” Michael asked.
“No, I thought that we would just hang out here and play a game or two,” James said as he turned on the television.
Much to Michael’s surprise, before he knew it, the two of them were playing a first person shooter video game.
“So what’s with the choice of video game? Trying to subconsciously make me into a stone cold killer?” Michael asked and grinned.
“Nope. There’s no hidden meaning here at all. I just got this game last night, and I wanted someone else to play it with.”
“Okay, so what are we going to talk about today?”
“I made a few points that I thought were important yesterday. Today I just want you to talk to me about whatever you feel matters,” James said.
Michael had no idea what to talk about. Isn’t it this guy’s job to ask me the questions, he wondered.
“What if there’s nothing significant for me to say?” Michael asked.
“Well, then tell me the insignificant things.”
Michael told him about what he and his friends had done the night before and about his very strange morning.
“I’m pretty sure that conversation wasn’t about the movies, Michael,” James said.
“Well, then what was it about?”
“Do me a favor, and really think about it. It’s freezing outside. Do you really think that your friend was going for a jog in the cold with no shoes? Besides that, who can go to the movies too often? I’m pretty sure the word movie was code for a little something else.”
Michael thought hard and reexamined every single part of his morning, and that’s when it came to him.
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