The City of Angels

Kyla: Well, look who it is, nice to talk to you again.

The second I put my phone down, it buzzed. Looking at the screen, Elijah texted back.

Elijah: I am deeply sorry for leaving you abruptly. The time, the place, everything. But I am looking forward to seeing you next month, right? Did Sawyer talk to you about it?

Kyla: Yes, just this evening actually. And yes, I will be coming. Sawyer wasn't clear for how long though

Again, only seconds later, Elijah replied.

Elijah: Should be a week, but you can always stay longer.

Kyla: I think a week will be just fine

As much as I was excited talking to Elijah again, I could not forget how he left me. I mean, we could've had sex but he just left. And he didn't even give me a personal goodbye, just an email.

...that was sent to almost every employee.

Elijah: To each their own, I guess. Don't forget to pack a swimsuit...

_______

As I frantically ran around my apartment, gathering last minute items, I waited for Sawyer to answer his phone but it was just the dull buzz over and over.

Finally on my third time calling him, he answered in a cool and collected manner. "Kyla, is this you?"

"Yes," I huffed out. "It's about time you answered."

"Sorry about that, I was busy. You sound really...exhausted. Everything okay?"

"Absolutely, just packing a few extra things."

"So you're saying you haven't the finished packing yet? We need to be at the airport in less than 30 minutes."

"Yes, yes I know. Just forgot a few little things, that's all."

"Mmhm." Sawyer did not believe me. "So why did you call?"

"Oh yeah, what should I wear?"

"Jesus, Kyla. You aren't dressed yet?"

"Well, I kinda am... If you count pajamas as dressed..heh."

I heard Sawyer quietly chuckle through the phone. "Why do you need my opinion on this?"

"Well," I said as I zipped up my suitcase. "I didn't know whether to wear work clothes or some shorts and a tank top."

"Kyla, it is about 95 degrees in L.A. right now, you tell me."

"Shorts, got it. Thank you!"

-----

I managed to get to the airport just in time and met up with Sawyer. He was dressed in khaki shorts, sandals, and a plain black shirt. For his age, he looked pretty damn good.

The flight lasted five hours, without any delays nor stops, thankfully. Overall, the flight was uneventful except for one small mishap.

The flight attended moved her cart just ahead of our row and looked down at us, smiling.

"Enjoying your flight?"

We both smiled up at her. "Yes, thank you," Sawyer said.

I was on the aisle, Sawyer on the window seat and thankfully, the other person who was supposed to be sitting in this row did not show up.

"Can I get you something to drink, miss? The food cart will come down in about ten minutes."

"Um, could I just get some apple juice, please?"

"Of course. And you, sir?" She asked cheerfully as she began to pull out the apple juice.

"Water with ice, please."

"Coming right up." She handed me the juice and began to fill the second cup with ice. After she got down pouring the water, she reached over to hand it to Sawyer. But just as it was over me, some very severe turbulence occurred. The water seemed to mostly stay in the cup but the ice was thinking differently and instead, went down the front of my shirt.

"Shit." I jumped as the cold ice cubes slid down my shirt and got caught at the top of my shorts where my shirt was tucked in and began to melt away.

"Oh, miss, I am so very sorry." She quickly placed the cup of water back down on her tray and pitifully smiled.

"Do you have a towel?" Sawyer asked.

"Yes, I will go get one right now. And then I will get you a fresh cup of water, sir."

"Thank you." I smiled. I looked down at my shirt and the water darkened the red tank top.

And no, I did not wear red for Elijah, I wore it because it happened to be my only clean tank top...

A minute later and the flight attendant returned with a small white towel in her hand. She handed it over to me and began to fix another cup of water.

"This," I held up the small towel, almost cloth wash size, to Sawyer, "Is not helping."

He laughed. "Have another shirt with you?"

"Yeah, in the suitcase." I nodded to the storage up above us.

The flight attendant must have been listening in because she piped up. "I am sorry but you are not allowed to open the storage up above unless it is an emergency. And, I am sorry but this does not count as one. Here's your water, sir. Please, let me know if you need anything else." She gave another small smile and focused her attention on the row on her right side.

"Well, this is just nice. About four ice cubes went in my shirt."

"I might have an extra shirt in my bag." Sawyer pulled out the bag he placed underneath his seat and dug through it.

"Here," he grunted as he pulled out a black tank top. "Might be slightly too big for you."

"Slightly?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Hey, it's better than wearing a wet shirt, right?"

"I guess you're right." I sighed. I went to the bathroom and changed into his shirt. It was a bit more than just slightly too big for me, but I made due. I used one of my hair ties and tied it in the back making it look like almost a normal oversized tee.

The second we stepped out of the airport, the air just completely invaded our personal space.

"Holy fuck, what is the temperature?" I asked, beginning to feel sweat form on my back.

"Hundred and one."

"Oh, god. We are probably going to die before we even get to his office."

"Oh, calm down. We will make it."

"Sure," I laughed.

The City of Angels sure did welcome us with a big, warm hug. There were no clouds in sight, with only the sun up above. The Uber ride to Elijah's office was quite long. But the people, the palm trees and the city itself sure made up for it.

I came here a couple times as a child, but I never really experienced it like I will this week. Disneyland was our only reason for coming here though we did spend some time on the coast. Unfortunately, times got tough and we were low on money so I had to say goodbye to Disneyland. Never really understood it until I became a teenager.

We stepped outside of the Uber and onto the sidewalk, with our luggage in hand.

I took in the building where Elijah worked and noted it had a lot of palm trees.

The building looked as if it was made out of windows, similar to the one in New York. But this one was definitely smaller, in level. It seemed to only have about 40 or so.

"So, this is where he's been? It's very tropicaly."

Sawyer stopped next to me. "Tropicaly? Is that a word?"

"Eh, sure it is." I smiled up at him.

"Well, let's head in."

Stepping in the building felt like stepping to heaven.

The heat was gone and I welcomed the cold air. No more breathing heavily or sweat coming out of me.

We made our way over to the front desk.

The old receptionist smiled at us. "Hello, may I help you?"

"Yes, we are here to see Elijah Carter."

"Names?"

"Sawyer Mason and Kyla Owens."

The receptionist took a moment to look at her computer before smiling back at us. "Of course. His office is on the thirty-third floor. Once you step off the elevator, take the first hallway to your right and his door is the second on the left. Enjoy your day."

"Thanks, you too." We both smiled at her and got into the elevator. Sawyer pressed the 33 button and up we went.

"Shouldn't we have dropped our stuff at the hotel? Wait, where are we even staying?"

"Hotel nearby, I meant to make reservations but obviously, I forgot. I got caught up with things back in New York. But Elijah did mention us staying with him. We will figure it out later today."

Oh, I most definitely want to stay with Elijah.

___

So I originally was going to continue this chapter into a longer one but I've let you wait long enough.