Perfect Girl

alexandra and zac efron goofing around on set of ‘baywatch’, 29th march.

“I imagine having all the family dogs trained in the same language must come quite in handy when you’re all gathered in one place,” Locksley offered with a grin, “one word will make the lot of them go still – that is if they’ve retained the training. Though looking at your beauty here, I imagine it must run in the family.” He leaned forward to run his hand over Dorothy’s head affectionately before sitting back in his chair. He missed his family’s dogs perhaps more than he missed most of his family. Mentally, he made a note to see about getting a dog of his own to keep him company, something affectionate and energetic. He nodded, “it is lovely. If you do go, I suggest you take advantage of the early spring festivals for the best time. Then make sure you visit the lakes at night. They shimmer like glass in the night with the clearest skies you’ve ever seen. Tell me, Athena. Are you the type to go camping in the moonlight? Nothing too rough and tumble, of course – I ask because there are quite a few private events hosted by the kingdom that involve lanterns on the water. It’s stunning. The champagne doesn’t hurt either.” His eyes lit up as she found a common thread between them, an amused smirk playing on his lips, “International business is impressive. Do you intend to take over the world with that? I don’t think I’d mind that much at all.” Locksley chuckled, tilting his head slightly as he formed this thoughts into a logical thread, “School isn’t the only reason, no. America is supposedly the land where dreams are made, is it not? I’m here working on my masters but I thought I’d also see what kind of impact I could make on the land.”

“That was also one of the main reasons why I sent Dorothy to her. The other was that I don’t think that my mother would react very well to me taking her to another trainer. Can you imagine the outrage ?” She joked, leaning forward. She couldn’t help but wonder the scandal her mother would make about such an insignificant thing and a part of her somehow regretted not taking the dog to another one just to anger her mother.She smiled when he petted Dorothy. “She’s a very good dog. Even before I took her to the trainer. Maybe being calm is genetic. Almost like people.” She took another sip of her coffee, licking her lips lightly after it, she didn’t want to ruin her lipstick. Athena let out a chuckle “Well then, I don’t think I’ll need anymore convincing. If my schedule is free I shall go this summer.” She listened to him speak, even though the idea of camping and the whole prospect of sleeping in the ground didn’t please her very much but she was determined to not let that show. When he assured her that it wasn’t going to be too rough, Athena almost wanted to let out a relieved sigh. “I love it! Me and my parents used to go camping sometime on the weekends.” Which meant just setting up a tent on the backyard, make some s’mores and sleep inside, but he didn’t need details. “That sounds beautiful. I’m sad I never heard about it before. But better late than ever. Oh ! There’s champagne, sign me up.” She laughed. Athena smoothed the dress on her lap and glanced up at him with a smile. “Oh no.” She shook her head, chuckling “Don’t you worry. I have no intent to dominate the world.” She nodded in agreement with him “You making an impact won’t be a hard thing to achieve.” She leaned forward “And I hope you can accomplish your dreams.”

Trish couldn’t remember the last time she’d mixed up her lunch companions. Usually it happened to be the same few people - and granted she really enjoyed those people, but it was nice to find someone with seemingly like interests that was new a new person to her. She even found it a little funny that they’d been around each other all these years, dating back to that school, and they’d only really talked once or twice. Their paths just kept overlapping without converging. “Good,” she smiled at the other woman’s agreement before holding the dress up against her body and looking at a nearby mirror, “it really would be a massive mistake not to see how this one looked.” Trish glanced over to see where Athena’s eye had gone, “oh now that’s a great shade of blue. In fact, I think it might rival your eyes.”

Locksley was not a shy man. He was always willing to meet new people and just change his plans on a whim. Today was no different. When he winked at the beautiful brunette, he knew it would either draw her over or just make her feel really good, and who couldn’t do with a confidence boost here or there - both outcomes were good enough for him but he was glad she chose to walk over. “Name’s Locksley,” he shook her offered hand with that same confident grin in place before leaning forward and gesturing to the chair across from his own, “why don’t you join me for a cup of coffee? I’m sure your server won’t have any trouble finding you over here.” He closed his book and slid it to the side so he could leave his full attention on Athena. Curiously looking at her book, he nodded, “what have you got there? Business or pleasure?” Something about her made him think she had plenty of culture, so it was likely the book wouldn’t be some obvious fair. Not that the popular things were any less exciting to read, he just assumed that by the look of her - she’d be into something a little bit off the beaten path. However, he could be judging a book by its cover which, if the saying meant anything, meant he’d be wrong.

It had taken a few weeks but thankfully he’d finally moved in to his apartment and set everything how he liked. He’d even enrolled in the Grad program at the local college. Everything was perfect, so he decided to get a jump on his reading for class with allowances for any kind of distraction. He was a diligent student but he was more inclined to have some fun instead. Sitting at a cafe, he settled on the patio and read while occasionally peering around at his surroundings. And suddenly his surrounding became quite beautiful by way of a pair of striking blue eyes. Smirking lightly as their gaze met, he winked and turned back to his book only to find she’d approached not a minute later. “If we have met, I’m kicking myself because I don’t seem to remember your name. And I should’ve remembered.”

Trish smiled brightly, an idea coming quickly to the forefront of her mind, “would you like to join me for lunch after shopping? I mean, eating alone has its merits but having a companion is usually better. And from where I stand, I can assume you’re a guaranteed delight compared to other prospects.” She let the offer hang between them as she examined the fabric of the dress they were both admiring. The workmanship was stunning, as she had come to expect from this store. “I’m definitely going to have to try this one on. Can’t really say ‘no’ to it now since it’s practically calling my name,” she smirked, not really needing to justify her actions. Athena would likely understand the need of a little treat in the form of a shopping trip.