11. Deena

Deena

I f someone asked me yesterday what I'd be doing with my free afternoon today, I would have said reading. Maybe taking a nap. Instead I was having the time of my life with my new friend, Paula.

When she'd called me her friend earlier I'd had mixed emotions. On the one hand, I was glad she considered me a friend. It was much better than when we got here and she didn't even want to share a room with me. On the other hand, being friends would likely preclude us from being more.

And I really wanted to be more. I'd had a crush on her for a while and fallen in love with her last night at dinner. But after waking up next to her this morning and remembering the way she'd comforted me during the night my mind was already dreaming up scenarios that involved us having a happily ever after.

I was not a person who was prone to daydreaming or romantic notions. I needed to shut those thoughts down, and fast. There was no way a woman like Paula would ever be able to love someone like me. Sure, I was super smart, a good athlete, passably attractive even, but as a few of my exes had told me in excruciating detail, I was ‘a lot of work'.

I'd settle for just being friends though, because I was enjoying spending time with her. She was louder and more outrageous than most of my friends, who tended to be serious, and I found myself laughing with her way more than I normally did. Especially when she played tug of war with a bird.

When we got back to our room, Paula spent a few minutes on her laptop, then told me to put on something comfortable and to be sure to wear sturdy shoes. Following her lead, I'd dug out some casual shorts that hit me a few inches above the knee, and a light button down shirt over a tank top. We both wore casual versions of the running shoes we'd race in the day after tomorrow.

We walked to the entrance of the so-called ‘village' of athlete housing just as our rideshare arrived. One short and harrowing drive later, we arrived at a dock where a line of people waited.

"We're taking a lunch cruise on the Seine!" Paula announced excitedly. "We'll be able to see a bunch of the sites without wearing out our legs."

I looked between the giant tour boat that was just pulling up to the dock and my roommate.

"You're a genius," I said sincerely. "That's the perfect idea."

She grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from the curb. "Come on, let's get in line."

A few minutes later we were seated on a bench and staring at the water while we waited for the boat to depart. It was a three hour cruise, and we had about half an hour before our lunch seating, so we were just enjoying the feel of the breeze on our faces while we floated past the sites.

"I can't believe I finally got to see the Eiffel Tower in person," Paula said as we stared at the building that was synonymous with Paris.

I looked at her curiously. "I thought you traveled around a lot with your dad in the military?"

"Not any place as fun as Paris," she explained. "We lived all over the United States, South Korea, and Japan, but we never made it to Europe."

"Still, Japan must have been cool, wasn't it?"

I realized that conversation was flowing easily now that I felt more comfortable with Paula.

She nodded. "It was cool, but my parents were super weird about things when we lived outside the States. For some reason they were convinced that people wanted to kidnap my sister and me, and they rarely took us off base. It was frustrating, especially when I got older and wanted to explore my surroundings."

"Was there a legitimate threat?" I asked.

"Not that I know of. My folks are just like that. But that's okay, now I get to see Paris, and if I get into the Berlin Marathon next year I can see Germany too."

"I like to travel," I volunteered. "Every summer my parents would pack me and my brothers into the car and take us on a road trip. We never left the U.S. though, because my parents always told us that there was plenty to see in our own country. But it was cool to get a passport and come here to Europe for the first time."

Paula bumped her shoulder against mine. "I guess we're both having an adventure then."

I turned to face her. "Yeah."

Our eyes met and suddenly the air around us seemed different somehow. Warmer. Almost like it was buzzing. With every ounce of willpower in my body I resisted the urge to turn away. Usually my desire to break eye contact was about anxiety, but this time it was different. It was me feeling a little too much, and as a person who normally kept all their emotions tightly under wrap, it was disconcerting.

"Paula Martinez," a heavily accented voice called out from the doorway. " La table est prête."

I hadn't realized that we'd both leaned closer until we jumped and pulled back. What was that?

"Yes, I mean, oui, je suis Martinez."

"You speak French?" I said as we followed the host to our table. All of the tables were set up along the large floor to ceiling windows, offering the perfect view of our surroundings.

"Just a few phrases," she responded. "But I do know Spanish which has a lot of similarities."

"Because they're both romance languages," I explained, although she probably knew that already.

"What about you, do you know any languages besides English?" Paula asked.

"Yes, I speak Spanish, Russian, some German, and Klingon."

Paula burst out laughing. "You really are a nerd, aren't you?"

"You have no idea."