Cierra Robertson stepped off the red-eye flight from Washington, DC to Los Angeles and waited at the end of the terminal for her best friend, Adriana. Roommates during their four years of college, they made the promise of being roommates if they both got a job in the same town, if that would ever happen. Adriana graduated with a degree in Health Promotion while Cierra got her degree in Criminal Justice. Luckily for them, it actually happened.
“For someone who is always moaning and groaning because I want to take the elevator instead of the stairs, you sure are walking slowly,” Cierra cracked while tapping her foot sarcastically.
“Well, DEAR, if you hadn’t switched seats with two ton Tony over there so he had more leg room, I wouldn’t have been squished against the window and could not only walk normally but BREATHE, TOO!” Adriana shot back, narrowing her eyes into a glare.
Cierra smiled tightly and giggled nervously, “Well, I am a sucker for a man with leg problems? And besides, could you be exaggerating much?”
Adriana rolled her eyes and laughed, “You are such a retard. There were like 20 people on our flight, he had plenty of room to go somewhere else. But NOOO you offer him YOUR seat.”
“He wanted to be near the front! And…I wanted a row all to myself. You could’ve moved, too!” Cierra admitted.
Adriana giggled, “Ahhh…the truth comes out in the end!”
The two girls started walking towards the luggage claim, noticing a group of photographers standing near the exit. As they reached their destination, Cierra notices a man standing in the corner his face was covered by dark sunglasses and a trucker hat, where, as Adriana named him, two ton Tony was standing in front of looking around. “So we should play the celebrity guessing game” She commented.
Adriana looked in the direction where Cierra’s eyes were trained, “Oh fun! Fun! Okay … Tall, seemingly handsome and looks to be in really and I mean really, good shape.”
Looking at her out of the corner of her eye, Cierra smiled, “I said guessing game, not gawking game.” Sitting on the floor, she looked around the basically empty terminal, “Besides, were we the only ones to have luggage? They all left in a hurry.”
Adriana shrugged, “They all looked like business people. They probably do this way too often, don’t get paid enough and basically live out of a carry on,” She sat down next to Cierra, “and they live alone and right now are heating up a nice bowl of roman noodles” She nodded as she finished.
Cierra raised her eyebrows, “You were sheltered as a child weren’t you? Had to make up stories about the people you saw out of your bedroom window, right? I knew there was something off about you.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sorry about the delay. The luggage from Flight 320 from Washington DC to Los Angeles should be arriving within the next 20 to 30 minutes. Again, I am sorry for the delay. Have a wonderful night. The attendant announced over the loud speaker, extracting groans from the only five people, not including the photographers and police officers standing outside, still on this end of the terminal at 3:45 am.
“Good thing we already have the keys to the apartment, otherwise we would so be screwed right now” Adriana commented, laying her head on Cierra’s shoulder. “Wake me when that belt thingy starts moving. Oh, and I hate you.”
Cierra laughed out loud, and then covered her mouth once she heard her voice echoing, causing the others to turn her way, “On a delayed reaction are we? You couldn’t hate me if you tried. We already went down that road once, didn’t we bestest friend ever?”
He looked from under his hood, hoping his face was still protectively covered and his dark sunglasses were doing him justice. I just want to get home and sleep until next Monday, he thought to himself. Then he heard her laugh. As cheesy as it sounds, it was like music to his ears. I’ve heard that before, but where?
Glancing quickly he noticed two girls sitting on the floor. The shorter one, it was very obvious she was shorter by the way she was leaning her head against the other’s shoulder without looking like she had to bend her neck, was wearing a pair of lightly faded denim jeans, navy blue converse shoes and a yellow sweatshirt with blue flowers. Her hair was cut short, just slightly under her chin, her bangs pulled back in a small hair clip. Her blue eyes weren’t hard to miss; those were the first thing he noticed about her. Her pale skin made them stand out even more. A beautiful shade of aquamarine, He thought.
But it was the other girl, the one who laughed, that he noticed something familiar. Something he couldn’t put his finger on. She was darker skinned than the other, but you could tell she was mixed. Hmm… He wondered. Her dark hair was straightened to her shoulders and her bangs hang loose but swept to the side. She had on a dark purple dress with light purple dots all over. The dress came slightly above the knees, he guessed, but sitting down it came up a little further, she had crossed her legs and laid a bigger jacket across them. It was spaghetti strap, he guessed, because she was wearing a lavender sweater over her shoulders. But her smile, the way her eyes scrunched up when she covered her mouth with her hand, thinking her laugh was too loud. I’ve seen that face, He wondered. Ugh.
Leaning forward he whispered to his bodyguard, “How much longer?”
Tony turned slightly, “it’s been about 20 minutes. Hopefully soon because those photographers are starting to piss me off. I was thinking man; those two girls over there are alone and from the way they were talking on the plane around me, they are just moving here from Virginia of all fucking places. Maybe we should tell them to find another exit? I’d hate their first night in their new hometown to be watching a bunch of assholes act a fool and they somehow get hurt. You know if we all leave at the same time, they won’t move for them.”
He nodded, “If I move, so do the photographers and the clicking. I don’t need more shit right now.”
Tony rolled his eyes and sighed, “I wasn’t suggesting YOU go over there, dumbass. I can. J.K can stand here with you. They’ve seen me so maybe if I approach they won’t look as terrified as they did on the plane when I asked for her seat.”
He laughed, “That was quite comical, actually.”
Tony chuckled, “I’ll be right back.”
Cierra nudged her shoulder, making Adriana sit up, as she noticed the man from the plane approaching them from around the baggage claim, “Your new best friend is coming over to ask for your digits.” The two of them stood up to greet him.
Adriana narrowed her eyes, “You are so going to pay for this.”
Cierra was giggling when Tony approached and spoke, “Good … early morning, ladies.”
“Hello, friend” Cierra said, causing Adriana to snicker. Cierra always had the dumbest things to say to make a situation a little less awkward.
Tony smiled, his eyes twinkling. Good, he has a sense of humor, Adriana thought, “What can we do you for, airplane buddy?”
“My friend over there--” He started, pointing towards the man leaning against the wall. Just then, the belt started turning, “Um…great. Anyways, my friend over there is … a slightly big deal around here in L.A. and those photographers outside can get pretty rough. I overheard you girls talking about just moving here and we were wondering if one of us, either J.K. over there or myself, took you out the back way, if that would be okay? We really do not want you two to get hurt and we’ll even give you a lift to your place if you need one.”
Cierra’s brown eyes got slightly wide and she giggled walking towards the belt to wait for their luggage, “Well, my dad warned me about getting into cars with strangers. And as nice as that offer is, no offense, but you are slightly scary. While if this were Virginia, it’d be different, but we are in L.A. where the crime rate is basically,” she paused to use her hands emphasize, “a billion times higher, I think we will decline. I am pretty sure your heart is in the right place but we haven’t even been here for 24 hours and living until I have grandchildren is a great expectation of mine.” She shut up realizing she was rambling. She could see Adriana trying not to laugh.
Tony sighed deeply as he watched the girls pick up their bags, three a piece. “Look, you have all this luggage and a cab can get pretty expensive. I promise I am not an axe murderer or rapist. I have a clean rap sheet.” He looked over at his friends, his eyes pleading.
Cierra looked up at the sound of camera clicking; the man against the wall was walking towards them. I’ve seen him before, she thought. Well, duh. He’s probably an actor or something. He spoke as he got closer, “Come behind this wall and we’ll prove it.”
Adriana lost it, her high pitched laughter, the kind that raises and falls with volume, causing everyone else to laugh along with her. Yes, it is that ridiculous, “I must say. THAT is a new one. What? No grabbing? Kicking? Threatening to kills us if we don’t go with you? A simple,” her voice deepening, “come with me behind this waaaalllll….”
The man crossed his arms over his chest, as the man Cierra assumed was J.K. picked up his luggage, “Seriously. I don’t have time for this shit and I want to go home. But I’d prefer to sleep peacefully and I will if I know two defenseless women were home safe rather than all over Entertainment Tonight and E! News about getting pummeled by some fucking photographers!”
Cierra groaned, “If I don’t show up for work tomorrow – I will come back to haunt you. I did not just spend four years of my life getting my degree to be murdered in an airport, just so you know. Oh and by the way, we are not defenseless. I could kick your ass, hot shot, without even trying.” She allowed Tony to take one of her and Adriana’s bags and followed the mystery man passed the bathrooms and behind a sign that said “employees only”. She looked back and noticed three police officers were keeping the photographers outside. Great, no witnesses.
As they rounded the corner she sat her roll along luggage on its wheels, “Alright, hot stuff, what’s the problem? Who are you?”
He removed his cap and glasses, “See?”
Adriana’s eyes, the ones he was admiring earlier, got wide, “Holy shit. TOTALLY NOT MY GUESS.”
Cierra looked at her friend like she was crazy, “Freak. Not mine either, though.”
The man smiled nervously, “Do you understand now? Are we safe, do we have a deal or what?”
Cierra and Adriana nodded simultaneously, while Adriana spoke, “basically, I love L.A.”
Tony grinned, “Damn, J.T. how do you do it with women?”
Cierra narrowed her eyes, “He didn’t DO anything. I wasn’t expecting to see Justin Timberlake the first time we arrive in L.A. I am exhausted and hungry and our luggage was forever late and now I realize why the stalkeratizi is outside so I now have to get into a car with people I do not know unless I want to go to jail for punching someone.”
Adriana smiled tightly, “Ignore Cierra. She’s not always like this and I have no idea what has gotten into her either,” she looked at Cierra with tight lips, “we do thank you for the ride and it will be greatly appreciated. Which way do we go?”
Justin was still staring at Cierra. Cierra. Her name. “Um…follow Tony. I’m going out front otherwise they will be running around back like lions. We usually loose them around downtown before turning around and heading back up this way. Where is your new place?”
Cierra recalled the address for Tony, who was writing it down. “Will they follow us to our place?”
Tony shook his head, “Not likely. They are smart but sometimes they can be really stupid. If they manage to track us again we will just drive around a little longer. We should be there within the next hour or two. You do live quite a ways away from here but not too far from our destination.”
Great. Just what I need, Cierra thought, staring back at Justin for a minute before turning to follow Tony. This is going to be a long first day.
