Chapter 17: Chapter 17
"Men get to be a mixture of the charming mannerism of the women they have known."
-F. Scott Fitzgerald-
***
Warm ray of sunlight welcomed her at the exit, she still had some time before lunch, and thought that she might be able to visit one more place, picking up her guide book, she flipped through the pages and searched for the most popular places in the neighborhood.
As she was reading around Clara approached by a teenage boy, who was probably around sixteen, had brown hair and freckled face. No one had ever taught her that she had to be cautious when talking to strangers on the street, while it was supposed to be a common sense, Clara had been a bit too naive.
She should have listened to her gut feeling because soon she would learn all lesson she would never forget. In short, he asked her if she needed any help around since she looked like she was searching for something, Clara tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears, it was her first mistake as she showed the young boy sign of timidity and shyness.
In the end she politely refused his offer because she could find her destinations on her own, but oddly he insisted on helping her. The boy was persistent, maybe a bit too persistent to a point that it got annoying. Clara was starting to get bothered so she turned her back to him about to walk away. What she had not thought was the harmless gesture would anger the teenage boy, whose intention in the beginning was already questionable.
He was displeased at her response and thought it was no use playing nice anymore since she clearly could not be deceived softly. The boy, who was actually a street thief was about to grab her shoulder to take away her handbag when a strong hand grabbed his and pushed it away. The boy groaned loudly, his voice startled her. Clara turned around to see the teenage boy's body was thrown. He hit the wall and fell on his butt.
The people around her was looking and they just realized what was actually going on, an old lady on the street picked up her phone to call the police while Clara stood there frozen while her mind was processing everything. She saw the boy grunting as his hand bled from the friction of the wall and asphalt floor. Though he had some nerve, his body was relatively thin and light. The impact must have been quite painful.
What had just happened?
The teenage boy looked pissed but also scared at the same time, there was a siren of police car coming from afar, though he was pissed, the boy knew better than to continue, after picking himself, he ran away and went out of sight.
Clara turned her attention to the man who had just came to her rescue. He stood tall beside her with a stern expression on his face as he briefly watched the boy went out of sight. He was fairly handsome, with short dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes, he had average muscular built and a soft tan skin.
Height wise, he was a few inches taller than Clara. The man clearly had a style as he was seen wearing a white t-shirt and a plain leather jacket with jeans on. It was not exactly the typical street style she expected to see in Paris but she was not complaining. Clara looked up to meet his eyes, his eyes was naturally deep but his gaze was penetrating. He scratched his fingers before walking over to Clara with an eased yet firm gesture.
"Pickpockets, there are a few in Paris, you must be more careful, fortunately that rascal was easily scared. Next time, don't make yourself look like a tourist." he advised, once she nodded, his expression softened and he appeared more relaxed.
"Thank you." she put her guide book into the shopping back and held out her hand to him. "I'm Clara" she introduced herself. The man stared at her hands for a good three seconds before he chuckled and took it. It was the first time she had seen his grin and she had to admit, a smile looked good on him.
"I'm Corentin." It was then when a loud grumbling sound was heard, Clara hid her face in embarrassment, clearly she should have had more of the breakfast that day because although she was on the slimmer side, she had walked so much that day. She did not know how he was going to react, she thought it was going to be awkward but much to her surprised, he laughed in amusement and he was not even trying to hide it.
"Ah, you sound hungry. why don't we go to Les Deux Magots, it's pretty famous around here, you should try it." Clara debated whether or not she should accept his invitation, after all he was a stranger, but then again, Raphael was also technically a stranger and she lived with him, that was not really an excuse she could use.
Corentin seemed like a nice person, besides, they were just heading for lunch, nothing more. Eventually she agreed to his invitation and he ended up leading the way. Because they arrived right at lunch time, the place was already slightly crowded, fortunately they could get a seat outside on the terrace where they could do some people watching while enjoying the meal.
Clara had only read about the cafe from the internet before, it was famous for being a hangout place for famous and important people throughout history, from artists to celebrity alike. She read the menu and ordered a piece of San Daniele ham sandwich and damman tea, while, Corentin ordered himself their fish menu of the day and a cup of double espresso.
Clara could not deny that she was hungry, skipping meals for the past few days did not help either, she often found herself lost in her own activity she forgot to eat, when Raphael was absent, she would most likely remain in her room contemplating life. it was probably her first proper meal in Paris outside Raphael's house.
She took several bites and truly cherished every taste of the food, it was absolutely delicious. Corentin took a bite of his meal, but his focus was not really on the meal itself. He found himself stealing a few glances of Clara when she was not looking. He thought she was beautiful, really beautiful, in Paris there were many so called natural beauty, The French in general had a concept of embracing what made you truly unique, but Clara's beauty was universally flattering.
Originally he had just gone back from putting his bike on the repair store, and planned to go home, he even had called his driver to come and pick him up, but then he saw a pick pocket who was trying to assault Clara, he had no idea that being empathetic would lead him to meeting such beauty. Though he had to admit she looked like a lost lamb when he first helped her, she had a bewitching charm on her.
He even texted his driver to go back home since he had a change of plan. He could not help but smile as he watched her eat in between cutting his own food. People gazing was also an unspoken habit of his, but Corentin took it too literally that day.
As they exchanged thoughts over lunch. They found themselves getting along quite well. Clara found him as a bright outgoing man and he found her interesting and sweet. They kept the conversation at a light level because they were still two people who had just met each other, but right away, Corentin wanted to know so much more about her.
Of course, he would have to wait for another chance. It was simply inappropriate to simply ask for too much right away. The two were done eating and they were walking away from the place.
Not wanting to never meet her again, Corentin intended to exchange numbers with her, but before he could do that, she looked over her wrist and watched the time. It was almost 3 P.M. Time had flown by without her even realizing it, talking and drinking with Corentin made her lose track of time and the worst part is she still had not explored the things on her bucket list.
Clara still had a few places to visit in mind that day yet she had to be back before 6 P.M, otherwise the traffic would be too crowded for her to arrive back home before dinner.
"It was nice meeting you, but I really should go right now, thank you for accompanying me." Clara turned her back on him and walked away in a hurry. Corentin was about to call her but he changed his mind. Maybe if he was meant to see her again, he would.
He was a bit disappointed that he missed his chance of getting her number, but he had a feeling he would see her again.