Chapter 1
She stared with a half lidded gaze at the crowd moving their ways through the streets below her, taking slow, elongated drags from her cigarette methodically. They all fit into two groups, either being in a tremendous rush for chores and important appointments, or tourists, in groups or alone that slowly plodded along, taking in the sights and the sounds of their surroundings.
'As it should be.' She thought. She leaned against the edge of her balcony, placing her elbows against the stone and her hands holding her face up. The cold granite made goose bumps cover her body, the thin silk robe covering her undergarments not doing much to shield her from the chill of the stone. She brought the cigarette up to her lips once more and breathed in heavily before opening her mouth and lazily letting the smoke tumble out as she exhaled, continuing to people watch; one of her favorite activities. Although she was only on the second story, almost no one who walked by paid a smidgeon of attention to her. It was frustrating to her, she loved to look at people's eyes, they held such a story. From her years of experience watching over peoples routines, she noticed very similar trends. Everyone had a very linear path, staring straight in front of them, or maybe at their feet, never looking up. It was a pity to her. They were in a city, where everything is built upwards, where the monuments kiss the skies, and yet they rarely look up to admire it, all too busy hurrying to accomplish their next frivolous task, never taking a moment to breath.
In the distance she saw a couple of men, one with a camera filming himself as well as his friend. He was boisterous and very animated in his movements. He began walking towards her and seemed to make a few last comments to the camera before dodging away from it in a sort of, spazzy fashion and tucking it away.
Tourists. She chuckled at the sight. His friend walked into a café and left him outside. He sat down onto a bench and ruffled his brown curly locks, then did something that intrigued her. She raised an eyebrow and leaned further over the balcony to get a better look at him. He leaned back on the bench and looked straight up at the sky, to the tips of the buildings, up and around, until eventually his eyes landed on her. He was lined up directly in front of her and she held eye contact steadily, bent over the balcony with the cigarette in her mouth. He quickly diverted his eyes before shyly looking back, hoping that it wasn't a fluke. She was still looking at him and corner of her lips curled up in a smirk.
'Interesting…' She thought to herself. She straightened herself up and put her cigarette out in her ash tray. She smiled before lifting her hand up and made a 'come hither' motion with her finger. He looked around to see if it was really him that she was beckoning. She didn't nod or shake her head, she simply locked eyes with him once he looked back at her, and that said enough. He stood up and began looking for an opening to cross the street. She took this opportunity to slink inside and find a paper and pen. She quickly scribbled down an address, time, and two simple words.
Plume Noire
She folded up the thick stalk paper carefully and walked back outside. She found him standing below the balcony looking a little defeated until he spotted her once more and he smiled eagerly before realizing that may make him look desperate, so he reeled it back to a smirk. She looked down at him and held eye contact as she brought the paper to her lips, kissing it slowly, and tossing it over the edge into his fumbling hands.
"My names Tob-"he tried to say, but by the time the words came out his mouth she had already walked back inside. His heart was thumping and all he could think was, 'Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.'