Chapter 3
Ghost fell face first into the bed as soon as he entered his hotel room. After being on a long plane ride, the only thing on his mind was taking a nap in a comfortable bed and ordering a bunch of room service afterwards. Josephine entered the room behind him and shut the door.
“I hope you aren’t going to sleep. I want to go exploring,” she said.
“Then go exploring. I’m going to sleep.”
She was quiet for a moment. “I’m sure there are going to be boys out,” she mentioned. He couldn’t see her, but could tell she was probably smirking at him from the tone of her voice. He lifted his head and confirmed his earlier thoughts. She stood near the TV with her arms crossed, a knowing smirk on her lips as she looked at him.
He groaned and sat up. “Then I guess I’m up,” he mumbled. So much for taking a nap.
“Give me a few minutes. I need to freshen up and change my clothes,” she said.
“Then let me go first. I need to wake up anyway,” he said, getting off the bed and heading to the bathroom.
She shrugged and stepped aside to let him pass. “Whatever. Just don’t take forever, grandpa.”
Ghost undressed and stepped into the shower, turning on the water. The icy cold water startled him, causing him to jump and slide on the shower floor, sending him to the ground with a thud.
“Fuck,” he hissed as the water continued to pummel him.
“That’s why you test the water on the outside of the shower instead of inside, Clumsy McGee,” Jojo said on the other side of the door.
“You shut up,” he retorted, gripping the shower grab bar and pulling himself up. If he wasn’t awake now, the cold water and the fall definitely knocked any amount of fatigue out of him.
When the water was finally at the right temperature, he held his head under the shower head. His mind went back to Adrienne. Her smile danced behind his closed eyes. Actually sitting and talking with her was much more different than admiring her from afar. He wasn’t sure what happened to her ex, but her reaction to him being in the Navy made him wonder if her ex was in the military as well. Whatever happened caused her a great deal of pain. His skin warmed at the thought of her sleeping on his shoulder with her hand on his chest. Though he was surprised, he didn’t want to wake her. She looked so…natural there, as if she belonged there. He didn’t know what would happen in the future with them. He could already tell that she had a fortress surrounding her and heart by the way she avoided any talks of any future activities when they got back to California. Adrienne Barrera puzzled him a great deal, but he was determined to figure her out.
“Oh my God, will you hurry up?” Jojo yelled, banging on the door.
“I haven’t even lathered yet!”
“What have you been doing in there for ten minutes then?” She was quiet for a brief moment. “Actually, don’t answer that. Just hurry up!”
Ghost grabbed his body wash and lathered a wash cloth, quickly covering himself with suds as he washed. Thoughts of Adrienne bounced around in his mind. His cock stiffened as he imagined her standing in the shower with him, the shower head soaking her chestnut hair. His fingers tingled at the thought of squeezing her backside as he devoured her mouth, moving her to the shower wall and wrapping her legs around his waist. He couldn’t wait until—
“Myles, come oooon!” Jojo whined. He sighed and looked down at his erection. If he couldn’t get his thoughts about this woman in control, he’d end up having to spend most of this Paris trip in confinement. He turned the hot water off, shivering as the cold water pounded against him again. When he could not longer stand it, it looked down and saw that he was as close to normal as he would get before Josephine tried to kick the door down.
He stepped out and wrapped a towel around his waist, opening the bathroom door to see an annoyed Josephine leaning against the wall glaring at him.
“All yours, cry baby,” he teased, stepping aside.
“Finally,” she muttered, practically slamming the door behind her. He chuckled to himself and turned to find his suitcase. As soon as he unzipped the bag, a solid knock sounded on the door.
“Did she order room service already?” he mused to himself as he crossed the room to answer it. He opened the door and was face to face with a wide eyed Adrienne.
She gawked at him for a few moments. “I…we…Jesus,” she said, her face turning red as she looked away.
Ghost fought the grin that tried to settle on his lips. “Sorry, just got out of the shower. If you’re looking for Josephine, she’s in the shower now,” he said.
She finally met his eyes and cleared her throat. “Um, we were going to do some sightseeing. I’m not sure if you’re too tired to join us or not, but you’re more than welcome to come. We’ll be leaving in about thirty minutes or so. Please tell Josephine,” she said. There were a storm of emotions swirling behind her gaze. He could see a hint of lust and desire, but he also saw hesitation and fear.
He leaned against the door and nodded, feeling a bead of water roll down his chest. He watched her as her eyes followed the water droplet and she bit the inside of her cheek. “We’ll be there,” he said, bringing her attention back to his eyes. She stood there for a few moments staring at him before clasping her hands together, looking completely flustered.
“Right. Okay then. I’ll see you in thirty then,” she said, her tone breathy and a bit higher than it usually was.
“See you in thirty,” he said, unable to stop the grin this time.
“Right. Thirty.”
“Right,” he said and chuckled when she still hadn’t turned to leave. After a bout of awkward silence, she turned her eyes away and cleared her throat.
“I, um,” she started, gesturing down the hall. “I’ll see you guys downstairs.” She turned on her heels and damn near ran down the hall, keeping her head down as she sped walked back to her room.
He closed the door with a chuckle and headed back to his suitcase, stopping when he saw his reflection in the mirror. Beads of water still rolled down his pecs and abs. He flexed his muscles a few times and grinned.
“I’d probably be in awe if I saw me too,” he mused to himself.
“Who was that?” Josephine asked, coming out of the bathroom fully dressed.
“Geez, that was fast. Did you even take a shower?” he teased.
She rolled her eyes. “Of course I did. Unlike you, I know how to take a quick shower and not play with myself,” she said with a smirk.
“Whoa, that’s just weird for you to talk about,” he said, holding his hands up. “Second, I wasn’t doing that anyway. I was trying to wake myself up.”
“Whatever. Who was it at the door? My friends?”
“Um,” he started and then hesitated. “It was your teacher. She came to tell us that we’re all going out in sightseeing in thirty minutes.”
Jojo raised an eyebrow at him. “And you answered the door in a towel? What are you trying to do, seduce her?”
He grinned and shrugged. “Didn’t have to try very hard.”
“That’s so gross. I’m going to Pia’s room. Just hurry up and get dressed already.”
***
Thirty minutes later, Ghost and Josephine made their way to the lobby of the hotel to meet with the others. “Hey Myles, there’s your girlfriend. Doesn’t she look pretty in her dress?” Josephine teased, playfully elbowing him in the ribs as they approached Adrienne. Of course she looked great in her dress, beautiful actually. Like them, Adrienne had also changed clothes. Her jeans, t-shirt, and cardigan had been exchanged for a form fitting dress that hugged every single curve of her body, stopping a hair above her knees. Her hair was taken down from the messy bun he’d seen earlier and now cascaded down her back. A tingling sensation settled in his finger tips as he thought about palming her ass. He balled his hands into fists at his side and blew out a breath. Get it together, man.
Jojo’s snickering snapped him back to the present. “Shut up, twit,” he muttered, giving her a playful shove as she laughed.
Adrienne turned and looked at them before scribbling something on her clipboard. “I believe everyone’s here now. Looks like we’re ready to go,” she said and headed for the door.
Ghost’s eyes drop down to her ass as she walks across the lobby and to the door. The things I’d do to her if I got the chance, he thought.
“Why don’t you ask her out already? The way you drool over her is just embarrassing,” Jojo said next to him. He rolled his eyes.
“I’m here to chaperon a trip and keep an eye on you. I’m sure she isn’t expecting to go on dates on a school trip.”
“You act like we’re a bunch of children. We’re practically adults—”
“You’re seventeen, Josephine. You’re not an adult yet,” he interrupted, squinting when they stepped outside into the morning sun. They walked along the sidewalk as locals passed them, some talking in French and others in English.
“I will be in three months, so I practically am,” she retorted.
He shook his head. “Whatever. Either way, I doubt she’d be interested in that. I don’t think she’s into military guys,” he said, immediately wishing he hadn’t when Jojo looked at him with a raised brow.
“Did she say that? Most people find guys in uniform to be hot or whatever.”
“Not exactly, but she didn’t seem too thrilled to know that I was in the Navy.”
“Want me to go ask her? I can, you know,” she said, taking a few steps forward as if she was preparing to break out into a run to go to her teacher.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her back to stand next to him. “I don’t need you to do anything but keep your nose out of my business,” he said.
“I’m just trying to help you get a love life. You’re way too involved with mine,” she said, just as a teen boy walked past them. The boy turned and gawked at his sister but immediately stopped and quickly walked away when Ghost looked over his shoulder and glared at him. “See what I mean?”
They all stopped in front of a little boutique. “Okay everyone, we’re going to start on this strip first. There are twelve of you and four chaperons. Each chaperon should have three students and we’ll meet back in front of this shop in about two hours. Sound good?” Adrienne said as she looked to everyone.
“Pia! Erica! Come with us,” Josephine called out, waving to her friends. Ghost fought the urge to roll his eyes. A nap sounded a lot better than following three teen girls around to different shops for the next two hours.
“Where do you guys want to go first?” he asked them, watching as Adrienne and her group went into the boutique. Please choose the boutique.
“We can start at the boutique and move our way down,” Josephine said and smirked at him as she pushed the door open. He wouldn’t even fight with her about it now. The closer he could get to Adrienne, the better.
The boutique was filled with different type of French fashion, displayed in a way to appeal to tourists. Hats, dresses, fashionable shirts, and pants were on mannequin displays around the small space of the shop, making it a bit tight for Ghost to maneuver around without bumping into something.
The girls wandered off in the shop, meeting up with the other three students that came in with Adrienne. She stood over by a jewelry display case, picking up a few necklaces and holding them up to herself in the small mirror.
“That’s a nice piece,” he said behind her. She turned around and looked at him, giving him a small smile.
“Yeah, I think so, too,” she said, putting it down.
He raised a brow. “Not nice enough to buy, huh?” he asked.
“Not when it’s 85 euros,” she said. When he didn’t respond, she added, “That’s about one hundred American dollars.”
“Ah,” he said and looked at the necklace. “I could get it for you if you’d like.”
She scoffed and shook her head. “I couldn’t ask you to do that. It’s not a big deal; I don’t have to have it,” she said quickly.
He moved over and grabbed the necklace, undoing the clasp and moved behind her. She watched him in the mirror as he draped the necklace around her neck. His eyes met hers in the mirror as he smiled.
“I think it looks beautiful on you,” he said.
She sighed slightly. “It really is a beautiful piece,” she agreed.
“Well…” he started, hesitating a bit. He only had a few seconds to decide whether or not he wanted to make a move. He wasn’t too sure how she’d take it if he asked her out so early, especially when she seemed a bit apprehensive to him after learning he was in the military.
“Well what?” she asked, breaking into this thoughts.
He took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “Well, I think it would be a nice piece to wear if you were to join me for dinner tonight.”
He watched as she paled slightly before taking the necklace from him and stepping away. “It’s really okay. I can do without the necklace,” she said, her gaze darting around to avoid looking at him. She cleared her throat and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I should go check on the students.” She stepped around him, leaving him at the jewelry display in confusion. He sighed. Maybe this was going to be a lot harder than he thought.