Chapter 15

"Do you?"

"Of course not, "I answered without hesitation "That devil had the guts to give me a lecture on 'staying away from her boyfriend'. She's just insecure and she doesn't know it. I don't like St Clair that way and I never will so it would be better if she shoved her pretty little feet into her pretty little mouth" I said and scoffed.

Lila was surprisingly quiet.

"Aren't you going to say something?"I asked her but she said nothing. I realized there was a shadow looming over me and that's when I realized why Lila was silent.

"She's behind me isn't she?"

Lila nodded and I turned to face the plastic face of Meredith.

"Hi Meredith"I greeted with a high pitched voice

"Save it," she told me with a glare that made me want to laugh

"How long have you been standing there?"I asked her

"Long enough to know that you hate me" she answered

I faked a sigh of relief

"Good I thought I was backbiting but I guess not, "I said with a mocking smile

"What you think about me doesn't matter," she told me

"Yeah sure, "I told her, matching her stare

I watched as she went to the counter and ordered ice cream. She stopped in front of me.

"You would regret this," she told me

"Sure I will, "I said and smiled

"Extend my warmest greetings to St Clair," I told her as she walked away. Immediately she was out of my line of sight, Lila and I laughed.

"You are one frustrating human being, "Lila told me

~~~~~

I haven't seen Etienné for two days and I had no doubt it was all Meredith's fault. As a result of my boredom Ace and I have been spending a lot of time together. As friends. The thought of Meredith with Etienné wounded up an emotion that I wasn't familiar with.

Jealousy maybe. My subconscious suggested.

Jealousy. Nah it wasn't possible. I shrugged the suggestion off. A knock on the door startled me. Bouncing off the couch, I went to open the door.

"Etienné" I breathed out

"If I didn't know you I would think you were trying to seduce," he said and I laughed

"It's good you know me, "I said and he laughed.

"So what brings you to my doorstep this fine afternoon," I asked with a British accent

"This mighty fine man in front of you wants to take the lady sightseeing around Paris," he said mimicking my British accent

"Why?"I asked, discarding the British accent

He gasped

"You ask why? It is a great taboo to be in Paris and not go sightseeing" he said

"And who made that rule?"I asked

"Yours truly," he said and I laughed

"I'm bored and I need entertainment so why not"I said, making him smile.

That smile could make a lady go weak in the knees.

I changed into clothes that didn't shout 'boredom' and soon enough I was being sun-kissed by the afternoon sun.

"Hurry up the chariot awaits, "Etienné said and I laughed

"Where to first my good sir?"I asked, my British accent back

"Anywhere the lady pleases"

~~~~~

"I give you Notre dame Cathédral also known as Cathédral Notre Dame de Paris, "Etienné said in a loud voice making the bystanders look at us. We muttered an incoherent apology to them.

It looked beautiful. Apart from my office building, it was the most beautiful building I have ever seen and by the looks of it, it was built on a very large expanse of land.it had a cruciform plan, elevated nave, a transept, and a tower above with pointed arches and rib vaults.

"As your curator, I am obliged to brief you on the history of this historical building"

"Am I to take notes sir"I teased

"Not necessary"

"This building is the most famous Gothic Cathédral. It is built on the île de la cité(means city island) which is the very center of Paris. If you look closely you can see the seine river bank. It was consecrated to the Virgin Mary and it is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, constructed 1163, length 128m. It survived a wildfire that razed almost half of Paris''

"Half of Paris?"I asked in disbelief

"Yup" he answered popping the P

"How'd you know all this?"I asked

"You mean the history?"

I nodded

"Best student in history" he answered with a hint of pride evident in his voice

"I am indeed standing with a legend," I said and laughed

"Next stop Amphitheater Nîmes"

We got into a cab and soon enough we were standing in front of an arena with an oval shape and it looked like a piece of Roman architecture. I guess staying with Lila a lot her knowledge of buildings had rubbed on me which was kind of surprising because I remember blocking her out anytime she started talking about her next project. I knew it wasn't the right thing to do but she needed someone to share her excitement with so I had to stay. Sometimes she noticed I wasn't listening while other times she was too excited to even notice.

"So no history?" I asked, drawing myself out of my thoughts

"So you haven't been listening" he feigned hurt

"It's a piece of Roman architecture" I took a wild guess at what he said while I was immersed in my thoughts.

"Yes but I'm not ready to repeat myself so that would have to do," he said

"I wouldn't even listen if you decided to start over, "I said and giggled

"Typical Hazel," he said and laughed

"Do they fight in the arena?"I asked

"Yes they do" he answered watching me cautiously

"Can we watch?"I asked

"We could but we have a lot of places to go"

"Just for a minute" I whined

"With that face, I can't say no," I smiled. We both got tickets and soon we were sitting on the seats made for spectators. The fight began.

"I know I said one minute but I wanted to see if the guy in blue would win"I argued as we found our way out of the arena.

"I forgive you," he said after a long silence

"Yay," I said and hugged him. He was surprised but hugged me back and that was when I realized what I was doing.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..."I apologized, trailing off.

"It's okay" he assured me

"Where next historian of this century," I said playfully

"The place of the dead"