The Flavour Of Your Lips Says We Shouldn't Have Met Like This
A Jack Barakat Love Story
Chapter One
*BEEP-BEEP-BEEP BEEP-BEEP-BEEP*
Sunny rolled over in bed and turned off her alarm. She stared out the open balcony windows of her apartment; the white curtains swaying in the breeze. She took in everything, the sound of the ocean just outside her window, the smell of the salt. She looked around her bedroom, burning each and every detail into her mind. This was the last moment she would have in this room for the next six months. It was all worth it though. The long hours she spent at the office, giving up her perfect little apartment, in her perfect city. This is the moment she has been waiting for, working for, sacrificing for.
She slipped out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. Turning on the shower, she turned to the mirror and let out her long blonde hair. It cascaded down her back in slight messy waves. She slipped off her pyjamas and jumped into the shower. After, she wrapped herself up in a fluffy towel and returned to her room to get dressed and pack.
After deciding on a pair of black skinny jeans and light blue tank top she set to work packing her bags.
"Six months..." she thought, "six months, in random cities, in a country I've never been too.. Who's weather I know nothing about.."
"I need Cassie."
She grabbed her phone from the bedside table and pressed 1 for speed dial. It ran twice before Cassie's cheery voice answered.
"Morning Sunshine! How's packing?"
"Not so good, busy?" Sunny replied
"I'll be there in 10!" Cassie sang into the phone before hanging up.
~10 minutes later~
"SUNNY! Where is my Sunshine? My only Sunshine?!" Cassie's voice ran throughout the small apartment.
"Back here!" Sunny replied.
Cassie skipped through the door way and stopped suddenly seeing the mess Sunny had made.
"Babe, why is your entire closet all over the room? Did it explode?"
Sunny looked around and shrugged, "I don't know what to pack"
Cassie just laughed "Sweetie, your hopeless but I really am going to miss this, you're the only 21 year old that has their career absolutely sky rocketing, but can be brought back down by not knowing what to pack."
"Well," Sunny whined, "I need professional clothes, but I also need warm clothes and nice clothes and shoes and everything!" she threw the two handfuls of clothes she had at Cassie.
"Alright, let's begin" and the two started to pack.
~2 hours later~
"I love my job. I love my job. I love my job!" Sunny chanted quietly as the plane took off. 14 hours of flying, Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles, USA.
The drink cart was coming past and after knocking back vodka on the rocks Sunny settled back into her chair, slipped on her headphones and closed her eyes.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the captain speaking. We are beginning our decent into LAX. Local time is 5:00pm. The temperature is a balmy 59 degrees Fahrenheit, that's a cold 15 degrees Celsius. We have a bit of a storm brewing, with a slight drizzle but should be a smooth landing. Cabin crew prepare for landing"
Sunny pulled her headphones from her ears and wiped the sleep from her eyes. She pulled her hair from the messy bun she had put it in. The plan landed, and Sunny switched her phone back on, flipping it to silent as the speakers came to life with the million messages she had.
Cassie – "have you landed yet?"
Cassie – "call me when you land"
Cassie – "seriously?"
Cassie – "oh come on! It's like ten at night, call me!"
And the list goes on.
Sunny smiled to herself as she went to the baggage carousel to collect her suitcases. She was greeted by a smartly dressed man in a driver's hat holding a sign with her name on it.
"Ms Sunshi..."
"Please! Call me Sunny. That's me" she interjected.
"Sorry, Hi, I'm Sunny" she smiled and held out her hand.
The driver shook it.
"I'm your driver, Mr Wentworth. Welcome to Los Angeles. Please follow me to the car."
Sunny nodded and followed.
The driver was to take her to her hotel and pick her up at 8am sharp the next morning.
"Mr Posen would like to see you at 9.30am tomorrow. Have a good evening Ms Parker"
"Thanks"
Sunny checked herself in and went up to her room. She lay down on the bed. Her eyes started to shut, she hadn't realised how tired she was.
"Don't hold your breath, I'm not losing sleep over you
I'm Mr Reckless with a capital R
Don't hold your breath, I'm not losing sleep over you
I'm Mr Reckless, and you're defenceless"
Sunny's phone started ringing, she groaned and check the caller ID; Cassie.
She answered, "Hey Cass, I just got back to the hotel. It's like freezing here and raining and dreary. I miss the beach already"
"Aw! Best get used to it, what's the time difference? You sound awful"
"It's 6.30pm; 7 hour time difference with Melbourne. Wait, 7 hours, Cass, why are you up at 1.30am?!"
"Ben dragged me out to a party. Only kidding! I volunteered!" she slurred a little.
"Okie dokie Cass. I'm going to sleep now. I suggest you do too! Love you! Bye!"
She hung up before Cassie could reply. She sat up on the bed and looked around the hotel room. It wasn't cosy. She looked out the window, the rain had stopped.
"Alright! Time for sleeping" she lay back down and closed her eyes.
"Come on brain. Sleep time. Time for sleep," she urged herself.
"This isn't working..." she thought. Her stomach rumbled, she had missed the in flight meal.
"Okay. Food then sleep" she smiled and went to the bathroom to clean up.
She splashed her face with some water, applied a little makeup to the dark circles under her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. She slipped on some black heels from her suitcase, grabbed her handbag and went out the door.
She decided to walk down the block and see if there were any good places to eat. She stumbled across a little alleyway bar, there was music pumping through the doors so she entered.
The bar was a large warehouse style building, with a large stage at one end and a bar at the other. There were tables scattered throughout the middle with room for a mosh pit in front of the stage.
She grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered a vodka and soda. She swivelled around in her chair to watch the band on stage. They were energetic, but were more focused on the girls in the crowd then their instruments. Looking around the room she spotted a large group of men in a booth to the side of the bar; they were yelling and jumping on top of each other. One in particular caught her eye. He was a tall, skinny man with broad shoulders. He had brown and blonde hair that covered his face a little. He had a big smile plastered across his face and the word "Boner" printed in red across his t-shirt. He looked up just and caught her eye and Sunny blushed and looked away.
She turned back to the bar and ordered another drink. She was busy looking at her phone when the man leaned across the bar next to her to get the bartenders attention. He turned and leaned on the bar facing Sunny.
She looked up; he had big brown eyes and that same smile on his face. Up close it was almost a smirk.
"Hey." He said
"Hi"
There was a second's pause before he began again.
"I'm Jack" he held out his hand for her to shake it.
"Sunny" she smiled. She was beginning to realise the type, over-confident, cocky with a smirk and charm.
"You have a weird accent. If I guess it, can I buy you a drink?"
"Uh, I already have a drink" she said lifting her glass to her lips.
"Well, for when you finish that one maybe?" he smirked
"Sure, go for it"
"Uh... Is it English?"
"Nope."
"Scottish?"
"Nope."
"New Zealander?"
"Close but no"
"I know, it's Australian right?" he smirked once again
"Yep. That's right."
"I knew that, you're clearly Australian and I always found the Australian accent very sexy"
She laughed.
"Oh really? And what is it you do, besides approaching strangers in bars offering incentives on correct guesses of said person's origins?"
"I understood about half of that, but I'm in a band."
"Oh," she replied, suddenly realising why he looked so familiar.
"Yeah, so what do you do gorgeous? Model? Actress?"
"None of the above." She smirked, deciding to have a bit of fun. She picked up her bag and stood up.
"Hey, where are you going?" he asked pouting a little.
"I have an early meeting,"
"So you're not going to tell me what you do?"
"I have a feeling you'll find out soon enough Jack. Was nice meeting you" she smirked and walked out of the bar.
This was going to be an interesting meeting tomorrow.
Sunny grabbed some takeaway from a nearby shop and went back to her hotel room. She checked the time, 9.00pm. She climbed into bed.
"This is going to be good" she thought, before drifting off to sleep.