3. Pretty Man (Edited Version)

"Love consists of this: two solitudes that meet, protect and greet each other." - Rainer Maria Rilke.

While Ella loved airports, flights were a different matter. Always getting airsick wasn't her best moment and one of the reasons she dreaded flying.

The flight being short was the only slice of comfort she had. Her stomach finally settling, and her legs no longer feeling like jelly she was glad to be off the plane.

Her stomach growled loudly, clear evidence of her hunger. And she immediately regretted not having anything to eat in the past twelve hours. Nausea had prevented her from and now that she was finally here in New York all she felt was positivity and hunger. But the hunger was stronger.

Looking around for any sort of food court she could get something to eat she spotted a sign that made her smile. She grabbed her bags and rushed to the MilkShakes booth where she ordered a large size of banana Rama coffee milkshake.

She took the first sip and sighed loudly. "Oh wow, this is good. This is good."

Her phone started vibrating in her pocket and she managed to balance the large cup and her bag in one hand as she took out her phone from her pocket. The caller ID made her smile.

"Can't wait to see me?"

Alex gave a loud 'ha' on the other side of the phone. "You wish. If another person tells me that I can't park here I'm gonna hit them with a wrench. Now tell me you're close."

Ella rolled her eyes at her best friend's words. She and Alex were complete opposites but two people never fit so perfectly. They'd met in kindergarten when Alex had pushed Billy, a schoolmate twice her size after he'd pushed Ella. She'd given Billy a sprained elbow that day and earned a warning from the headteacher and also a best friend.

She wasn't a violent person per se, she was protective of everything and everybody she loved. People often mistook her for fragile and weak because of her small build, but Alex was a black belt holder in Taekwondo and also knew Jiu-Jitsu, Krav Maga, and other self-defense techniques. If anyone knew her well enough they'd know better than to get on her bad side. However, for her seemingly tough personality, Alex was the kindest and most down-to-earth person she knew. And in that sense they were similar.

"I'm close just…" she stopped and readjusted her bag strap which was sliding off her shoulder. "stopped by to get a little…" She groaned in frustration as she started pulling on her luggage's while trying to take a sip of the milkshake. "pick me up."

"Okay, I'm waiting. Leave me some that disgusting shake, yeah?"

Ella laughed. If she didn't know better she'd say she was being watched. But Alex just knew her that well.

"Yes ma'am."

After cutting the call she shoved the phone in her back pocket, the uncalculated move unbalancing the cup and her bag. Wide-eyed she struggled to get a hold on the cup and her bag, the former about to tip over, she quickly corrected it and held it in a tight grip. Sure everything was alright, she exhaled and continued her journey when her phone rang again. She pulled it out and answered.

"Alex, slow your horses. I'm coming-"

She couldn't complete her sentence having gotten knocked off her feet by a force that pushed her to the floor and threw her phone across the floor sending it smashing against the wall.

Ella blinked seeing her bags on the floor, the contents from her handbag had been emptied and her milkshake...

She frowned seeing the empty cup on the floor but no milkshake insight. Searching around for the spot where the milkshake had spilled she made a move to get up but stopped at all fours when she heard the slight drip-drop of liquid on the floor. And the sound was coming from right in front of her.

She didn't need to look up to know what she'd done. A drop of milkshake fell on the floor. Another drop and another until she slowly, very slowly lifted her head and met the sight of what she'd done.

She'd never seen a broader back before in her life. Or seen milkshake look that good on the back of a person. Her milkshake.

She gasped again, hand on her mouth staring in horror as the man turned around slowly to face her. He had his phone away from his ear, eyes on the floor watching the milkshake dropping from his no-doubt very expensive designer suit. Ella swallowed. She knew that suit.

In slow motion, the mystery man finally turned around and Ella gasped. Not in horror, but awe. All she could see was a bright white light shining above him highlighting his cheekbones, his beautiful cheekbones. And of course his lips. It was safe to say that in all her life Ella had never seen a more pretty man before.

She watched him, watched the halo above his head glow brighter and at that moment the whole world stopped around her and it was just him and her.

Smiling wistfully she continued to admire the handsome stranger. He reached out a hand to her and she reached out to grab him. She got closer and closer, everything happening in slow motion. Until she finally touched his hand and-"

"What on Earth are you doing?" Ella blinked coming to reality, still, on all fours, she realized pretty man wasn't reaching out to her but was holding the empty cup which he examined like it was the most bizarre object he'd ever seen. "I believe you dropped your drink..." He then crouched to her height almost like a predator Ella thought. She watched curiously as he dropped the cup and swiped a drop of milkshake from the floor bringing it to his nose to smell then quickly taking it away.

"hmmm," he purred. "Banana. That's a new one."

The butterflies in her stomach came flapping to life at the sound of his voice and she was completely and utterly entranced by this handsome stranger. He still hadn't shown her his eyes but she got a feeling he was about to when he lifted his head and looked at her.

Ella gasped then almost fainted.

What sort of a beautiful creature is this?

Brown eyes with flecks of gold in them watched her. His eyes running over her like a scanner. "Ma'am?"

She closed her eyes and swallowed. For someone who'd sworn of men, she was doing a very bad job of staying away from them. If this pretty man could cause her to feel this way with just a few words, then her journey of celibacy was ruined before it even started.

"Are you okay? You look flustered."

She blinked to reality and came face to face with pretty man who was still watching her with a strange almost curious look in his eyes.

Clearing her throat she got up from the floor and dusted her clothes searching around for her belongings when his voice stopped her. "Are you alright?" She stopped in her tracks and turned to stare at him. But he was truly a very handsome man.

She smiled in admiration and nodded. "I'm okay."

He straightened and nodded as well. "Good. Now want to tell me what on Earth you just spilled on me?"

Ella blinked at his furious tone. "What?"

He grabbed the cup off the floor and waved it in her face. "What were the contents of this cup? And why did you spill it all over me?"

Ella frowned in confusion. "What?"

Pretty man seemed pissed. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply before opening them and watching her. "Have you suddenly gone daft?" He asked in a low tone.

The way he spoke, so low but authoritative. And in that sense, he was a predator going in slowly for the kill.

"What?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "Don't you understand English? You understood it pretty fine when I asked you how you were doing while you ogled me like I was the last slice of steak in the world."

Ella's eyes widened as her brain finally started working. "I wasn't ogling you!"

Pretty man scoffed and smirked at her, the sight making her weak in the knees again. "Then what were you doing, besides ogling me that is?"

She groaned in frustration. "I wasn't ogling you! I'm not even attracted to your kind of person."

His eyebrow lifted higher. "My kind of person? And what sort of a person is that, Mrs?…"

"Whistledown." She mentally screamed. Why was that the only name that came to mind? "Ms. Not Mrs. And I don't appreciate your tone." And now she was talking with a British accent. She mentally facepalmed. Smooth Ella. Real smooth.

He squinted his eyes at her. "Whistledown. What kind of- nevermind." He cut himself off. "You don't appreciate my tone? You're the one who spilled," he crouched down again and swiped a drop of the milkshake off the ground and sniffed it. "Banana. All over me, and yet you don't appreciate my tone." He glared at her. "You, are a strange woman, Ms. Whistle down."

Ella stared flabbergasted. The phrase don't judge a book by its cover came to mind, not everything that glitters is gold.

Furious now she looked at him he wasn't so pretty. His eyes were too bright, his morning stubble too rough, his lips too pink, and his height.

What was the six-foot?

"Six foot five. So by my kind of people you meant, good looking people."

Now she did a facepalm. Way to go, Ella. Way to go.

She scoffed more provoked. "Ha! Don't flatter yourself. You're not so good looking. Why do you feel the need to be so built? Inferiority complex?"

His smirk widened. "Health reasons." He scanned her again. "Why do you feel the need to be so… weighty?"

Her eyes widened. Oh no, he didn't.

"Weighty?" She scoffed again. Seemed like that was all she could do. "Why? You got a problem with fat people?"

He appeared amused with her display because his smirk turned to a smile. "I never said you were fat. And no I don't have a problem with fat people." He stepped closer and she moved back. "Do you?"

She frowned. "Don't you dare turn this on me, Mister man." She pointed at his face. "And did you call me Mrs? It's Ms. to you sir."

He frowned. "You're not married then. You look of the marrying age, but with that attitude, I can see why you're not."

Ella nearly screamed her eye twitching something that happened when she was angry. And right now, she was raving mad.

"Marrying age?" She managed to grit out between closed teeth. "And how old do you think I am?"

He wrinkled his face in thought. "At most thirty-five, or at least forty."

She screamed this time garnering the attention of the bystanders in the airport. "I'm twenty-six!"

The pretty man smiled reminding her why she'd given him that name. "Ha! You don't even look thirty." Ella fumed, if this was an anime she was very sure there'd be smoke leaving her ears and her face would turn red with rage.

He watched her intensely. His stare causing goosebumps to rise n her skin. She shook the feeling off. "Are you twenty-six?"

She scoffed. "Wow, you are the daftest, arrogant, and most- imbecile looking man with the broadest back I have ever seen!" She grabbed her belongings off the floor and angrily put her bag on her shoulder. "And you are a useless waste of space! Be thankful that I wasted my perfectly delicious shake on you which cost me a fortune by the way, and not acid which in actuality is what you deserve."

She grabbed her luggage off the floor and stood up straight. "Have a good day, sir and I hope that you choke on a croissant…” At the shocked look on his face she smirked before throwing the final punch. "and die." At the astonished look on his face, she flicked her hair in his direction making sure it hit his face, and strode out of the airport ignoring the looks of bystanders.

Inhaling deeply she let the summer breeze clear her thoughts as she thought about what she had just done, and why she'd done it.

In all her life she had never been so riled before, never been so mad. What was in that milkshake?

"Ms. Whistledown!" She looked back and saw pretty man striding towards her with a security guard by his side. Eyes wide her heart rate sped up.

"Yo Els!" She looked in the direction of the call and saw Alex waving at her holding a sign and wrench in her hand.

She turned back to see the pretty man and the guard catching up to her. As fast as she could in her most Tom Cruise way she ran towards Alex and hopped in the passenger seat. "Get in, Alex!"

"What the f-"

"Ms. Whistledown!"

Ella nearly screamed. "Get in the fudging car, Alex!"

Alex complied getting in the car and speeding off as fast as she can leaving behind a trail of dust. Ella looked in the rearview mirror to see the pretty man standing there waving something at her. She looked closer at the blue object and squinted her eyes. He was too far away now so she couldn't make out what it was.

"So…" Alex grinned at her. "seems like you had quite the flight, didn't you?"

She groaned and buried her face in her hands. "You have no idea."