Life had always been a struggle for her. Abducted by pirates, parting ways with her sister and fighting in two wars. Looking to start over, Reyna lands a job as the editor of an influential fashion magazine. It isn't until an old foe comes back into the picture when things choose to go downhill. Will she be able to sacrifice her comfort for her happiness? And what of her two kids?
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO/HoO, RR does and I don't own NYU.
Shuffling through her new fendi purse, her friend pulled out her favourite Yves Saint Laurent lipstick in Rouge Volupte Pearl and applied a generous amount of it on to her lips. Their brief silence was ruined by the constant smacking of her friend's lips. And sadly that was enough to nerve her.
"This lipstick is so easy to apply, it matches my makeup and its scented." Gwen gushed, still smoothing out the residue left behind by the lipstick.
"I would know." She grumbled. "I was supposed to be wearing it, you know for the date you set me up for." Apparently her choice to be celibate was really unhealthly for her, which was why she had been dragged into going out on a blind-date.
"I'm so sorry." Gwendolyn said apologetically. "I can't believe I'm this forgetful."
They were parked outside one of the many coffeehouses Manhattan had to offer. This one in particular being the most trendiest and upscale in the whole borough. The exterior of the building was lit up with subtle lighting, as was any club in the night. The design of the coffeehouse reminded her of the european cafés in the travel ads she kept seeing so often on the magazines that she worked for, each of them saying Travel Europe. Just standing in front of the building complex felt like she was back in France for Mode à Paris, when she was interviewing designers for the column she was writing.
"You can have it." She sighed, it was a really lovely colour and even more expensive to come by. " They give me a lot of great makeup deals at work, besides it looks better on you then it did on me, by the way there's still some left."
Without even hesitating, Gwen whipped out her compact mirror and dabbed off the excess lipstick.
"Is it gone?" The worry lines were becoming more prominent on her friend's youthful face.
"Yes." She replied. Unlocking the door, she shifted herself out of the leather seats and staggered her way out of the car. She assumed she had lost her balance partially due to the fact that six inch heels and rough concrete roads did not fit well together.
She was almost at the door when she was called back by Gwen. What was that matter with her now? Her makeup was perfect, her hair was tied up elegantly in a high pony tail and she was up to date with the latest fashion trends.
"What are you doing?" Gwen shouted after her. "You forgot to put on lipstick!"
"What?"
"Everyone knows you should wear lipstick on your first date, without it you're basically giving the signal for him to kiss you! It's much too early for that!" Her friend stated.
"Fine." Caving into her friends demands she fished out a mauve coloured lipstick and dragged it over her lips.
"No, not like that-" Gwen warned.
Tossing the lipstick back into her purse, she walked towards entrance of the café only to be called back by Gwen again.
"What now, Gwen?" She sighed.
"Oh yeah, remember to check if your dress goes up. You don't want him already seeing-" Before Gwen could finish, the glass doors shut behind her blocking out any noises coming from outside.
The decor of the coffeehouse had a European feel to it. Rustic walls along with round tables decorated with wine bottles and candles as centrepieces.
"Do you have a reservation." A waiter asked politely. She was jolted out of her trance by his voice.
"Do you have someone here under the name of Andrés Morales?" She asked.
"Let me check, it will only take a moment." After shifting through the guest list, the waiter finally came across the name.
"He should be at the table at the far right." He pointed her to the direction of a table occupied by man wearing a beige tux.
"Thank you." She turned to smile at him.
Manoeuvring through the crowds of people proved to be a difficult task. Once she had reached their table, her date Andrés pulled out her seat.
"Thank you." She said sincerely.
"It's nothing, really." He repiled in a rich spanish accent. Upon examining him, he was clearly a handsome man. With curly dark brown hair, warm brown eyes and had a closely cropped beard. "My name is Andrés."
"Reyna." She said as she extended her arm to shake his hand.
"Are you Spanish too?" He asked, a bright smile encompassing his face.
"No." She laughed. "I am Puerto Rican."
"Sorry, I just moved here from Spain and I just thought.. Uh" He struggled to recollect his words.
"It's okay, I understand." She reassured him. "There is a lot of Spanish communities throughout the country, you'll find your place."
"So enough about my problems, what about you?" He questioned. "Is their anything your studying to become?"
"Well, as of now I am employed at a fashion company, to get some extra money for the college I go to."
"Which school do you attend?" He asked intently.
"NYU, I am trying to major in law." She replied.
"That's great, I already graduated with a degree from med school."
"That's incredible. So did you come here looking for a job?" She queried.
"You guessed it." He laughed. "There's barely any jobs available in Spain, so what do you expect for the doctors?"
Their date had been going along smoothly, but there was one thing she was compelled to ask him. She had to ask, after all it wouldn't be fair if she hid it.
"Andrés."
"Yes Reyna?" He said after sipping his glass of wine.
"I have two children." She at least expected for him to be speechless or even shocked, but instead she ended up having red wine splattered all over her dress and her new white Ralph Lauren blazer.
So that's it for chapter one. Please leave reviews and recommendations, this is my first fanfic. One of my head canons are that Reyna secretly has a liking towards all things cute and girly, since she worked a spa. And is really good at things like hair, clothes and makeup.