-1"Princess! Get up, you're going to be late!" her father bellowed from downstairs. The exhausted teenager groaned, burying her face in the fluffy pink pillow. She contemplated telling her father that she was sick to try and get out of going to school. Then she remembered what day it was and immediately jumped out of bed.
"Coming, daddy!" she yelled as she hurriedly made her way into the bathroom nearly tripping over her packed suitcases. After weeks of anxious anticipation she was finally leaving on her week long field trip to the car manufacturing capitol of the country. Not exactly the most glamorous destination, she mused, but it was part of her auto shop curriculum.
She could have enrolled in Spanish class and gone to Spain for a month or dined on delicacies in Paris with her French class. But she was pleased with her decision because besides Tina the tank and flat chested Sarah Fontane, she was the only other girl in a class full of gorgeous hunks who all but worshipped the ground she walked on.
Stepping out of the steamy hot shower, she smiled mischievously at her reflection in the mirror. A week away from home with hot boys, fake ID and little to no supervision. Yep, she was going to have a good time alright. Too bad her boyfriend had decided to tag along.
"I can't believe my baby girl is going to be gone for a whole week." her father said sadly as he helped carry her luggage down the stairs. "Though you would think you were moving out permanently with all of the suitcases you're taking with you!" he teased, getting nothing but a bemused eye roll from his daughter in response. "How are you going to fit all of this on the bus?"
"I don't do buses, daddy." she said incredulously.
"Well then, how do you plan on getting there?" Just then the sound of a familiar car horn blared from the driveway. "Oh no, not Pretty Boy…"
"Daddy, be nice." she warned. Her father wasn't particularly fond of her boyfriend, but then again neither was she. But it made sense to date him. She was arguably the most popular girl in school and he was the captain of the football team. Their relationship was as clichéd and superficial as it sounded, but he was nice enough and she enjoyed spending time with him. The fact that he had his own corvette didn't hurt either.
"Honestly, sweetie. You could do so much better." her father said, bending down to hug his little girl goodbye.
"I know, but he'll do for now." she grinned conspicuously as she picked up her luggage and headed out the door.
"Call me when you get there." her father called out to her from the doorway as he watched his daughter hand her bags off to her doofus boyfriend.
"I will, daddy. I love you!" she yelled as she got in the car and put her seatbelt on.
"I love you too, sweetheart. And boy, you take good care of my baby girl or you're a dead man."
"Yes, sir. I'll be sure to keep an eye on her." her boyfriend assured as he revved up the car's engine. She rolled her eyes at his comment. Like hell he would keep an eye on her, she thought to herself, waving goodbye to her father as they pulled out of the driveway. She was determined to have a good time on this trip and she wasn't about to let her over protective boyfriend get in the way of that. Besides, she smiled to herself, what happens in Detroit stays in Detroit.
"Good afternoon and welcome to General Motors. I'm the assistant plant manager here at this fine facility and I'll be showing you around today." the middle aged, beer bellied man announced to the group of unenthused twelfth graders. She stood in the back filing her nails and glancing at the clock. Apparently this field trip involved shadowing GM employees during their shift, a fact that was conveniently left out of the trip's itinerary. Only at night were they allowed to go out on their own, and they had to be back at the hotel by 11pm at which time their curfew came into affect. She had never had a curfew before in her life!
"I should have just went to Paris." she mumbled to herself miserably.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" the burly man singled her out, annoyed at having been interrupted.
"Um, yeah. Where's the ladies room?" she asked politely, giving him a flirtatious smile to seal the deal.
"It's, uh, it's down that hall and to your left." he said, flustered.
"Thanks." she winked at the grotesque older man, confident now that she had him wrapped around her little finger she could sneak off for the rest of the day without incident. Men were so easily manipulated, she thought to herself as she walked out of the room and started looking for the exit. She was so distracted thinking about what she was going to do now that she had the whole day in front of her that she didn't notice the guy walking towards her until she crashed right into him, knocking the box he was carrying to the floor.
"Sorry." she said , crouching down to help pick up the files that now littered the ground.
"Next time watch where you're going." he said gruffly, angrily stuffing the fallen contents back into the box he was holding. She stood up, folding her arms against her chest defiantly she glared down at him in astonishment.
"How dare you talk to me like that!" she said incredulously. He stopped what he was doing and sighed in frustration, still not looking up at her. "Do you have any idea who I am?" she asked condescendingly, knowing that he wouldn't. What would a minimum wage earning, pencil pusher from south Detroit know about high fashion.
"I don't give a rat's ass who you are." he declared dismissively, abruptly standing up to face her. "Just stay outta my…" their eyes met for the first time "…way." They stood there, just staring at each other. She was captivated by his eyes, they were so expressive. Chocolate brown in colour, full of curiosity, residual anger, and the most profound sadness she had ever seen. He looked away self consciously. When their eyes met again, any vulnerability that had been there before had been replaced with a look of contempt.
"What the hell are you staring at?" he asked, bending down again to finish picking up the files he had dropped.
"Nothing." she said defensively. No guy had ever spoken to her this way before. She wasn't sure how to react.
"Good. So instead of standing there like an idiot, why don't you make yourself useful and help me pick up these files." When she didn't move to do as he said, he stopped what he was doing and glared up at her. She glared right back, eyebrow raised in defiance. He stood up again, slower this time. Stepping over the box of files, he moved closer to her, invading her personal space. Every fiber of her being told her to move back, to walk out of the plant and never look back. But there was a challenge in his eyes, and she was determined to meet it.
He was standing directly in front of her now, his face mere inches from her own. She could smell him, all cheap cologne and that unique masculine scent. His warm breath on her face both terrified and thrilled her, though she remained expressionless. Slowly, discreetly, she reached into her purse and pulled out something she was sure would put an end to this little Mexican stand off.
"Tic-Tac?" she offered, holding the package of mints up to his face. She watched, fascinated as his eyes softened slightly. He tried desperately not to smile at her subtle insult but failed, his full lips slowly curling upward to reveal pearly whites. She had never seen anything more beautiful.
"You've got balls," he said as a compliment. At the amused look on her face he became flustered when he realized how that sounded. "I, uh. I mean you…"
"Thanks." she said sincerely. "I think."
"So, exactly who am I talking to?" he asked in reference to her earlier pretentious comment. She smiled apologetically and reached out a hand.
"Lauren Fenmore." she declared nervously, although she had no idea why this strange guy's opinion suddenly meant the world to her. "And you are?"
"The name's M…"
"BALDWIN!" shouted another fat man in a suit standing at the other end of the hall. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"Nothing, sir." he said dutifully, his smile fading as he switched back into professional mode.
"Do we pay you to do nothing?" the man asked snidely and Lauren hated him instantly.
"No, sir."
"Well then I suggest you get back to work. And you," he said, giving Lauren the once over. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yeah, can you tell me where you bought your belt? I didn't realize they made them that big, I could use one to tie luggage to the top of my car." Lauren deadpanned . The still nameless boy beside her stifled a grin when he saw his boss's shocked expression.
"What are you doing in here anyway? This area is for employees only." the older man declared once he had regained his composure. "Get the hell out of here before I call security."
"Yes, sir." Lauren mocked compliance as she saluted the annoyed plant manager. He shook his head, anger and embarrassment clearly evident on his face as he walked back into his office, slamming the door behind him.
"What a prick." Lauren said, glaring at the now closed office door. She turned to look at the beautiful brown eyed boy beside her, only to find him glaringly angrily at her once again. "Oh, what now?" she asked, frustrated at the way his emotions seemed to change every five seconds.
"I don't need you sticking up for me." he said defensively.
"Of course not. You were handling the situation so well on your own," she said sarcastically. "If I heard you call that pig 'sir' one more time, I was going to vomit! How can you suck up to that jerk?"
"That jerk signs my paychecks." he reasoned. "Unlike you princess, I actually have to work for a living. No rich mommy and daddy to support me."
"Screw you!" Lauren spat out in contempt. "You don't even know me."
"And I'd like to keep it that way." Lauren was shocked by how much his words stung. He must have seen the hurt in her eyes because she saw regret in his and he spoke the next words in a softer tone of voice. "Now, excuse me while I get back to work." The two stared at each other once again, Lauren knew she could get lost in those eyes of his if she let herself, so reluctantly she looked away and started walking towards the exit. She could hear him behind her picking up the rest of his files and stuffing them back in the box. She wanted to turn around, to say something, anything. But her pride kept her from giving into temptation. She had reached the exit and had her hand on the door when he called out after.
"It's Michael!" he yelled. Lauren turned around to look back at him.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"My name. It's Michael Baldwin." He clarified. She smiled warmly at him, realizing that he was giving her a peace offering. She was ridiculously happy that he hadn't let her just walk away, but she tried not to let her excitement show.
"Nice." she said nonchalantly. "I guess I'll see you around then, Michael Baldwin." And with that she walked out the door, already thinking of ways to get some alone time with the gorgeous Mr. Baldwin tomorrow when she returned to her job shadowing assignment. Suddenly the idea of spending a week at the GM plant didn't sound all that bad.