Falling in Love for the Night

Even at 2 in the morning, the airport still smelt like greasy junk food, people, and carpet. Last week, I flew to my hometown in Virginia. Now, I was walking to the luggage in LAX airport, ready to start fresh again.
My body had tanned over the short week which made my legs stand out of my shorts- they were usually pale. The black hair that was curled down my back hadn't been cut in months.

Soon, but not soon enough, the bags came out onto the belt, re leaving the crowd. My eyes caught a dark blue suitcase, so I started pushing through the people. Before I got to it, someone had taken it off the rotating belt.
"Excuse me!" I yelled to the man who started walking to the parking garage. "Hey!" He never stopped walking until he had to wait for the elevator. "Excuse me, sir?"
His face had stubble and he had bags under his brown eyes. "Yes?"
I was at a loss for words until he smiled and raised an eyebrow. "I..You took my bag."
He looked down at the suitcase and examined the tag. James Franco.
"I don't think so," he said, pressing the button again. I felt my cheeks flush and I felt like an idiot. I can fix this. I'm Rachael Lewis. I'm sexy and persuasive
"God," I said, slapping my hand against my forehead. "This always happens to me."
"What does?" Good. He's interested.
"Losing my luggage." I sighed and began to walk away.
"Do you need help?"
"You don't have to. It's just my luck, I guess."
"It's okay, I don't mind." Now, he was next to me, dragging his suitcase behind him. "What's your name?"
"Rachel. Rachel Lewis," I told him, sticking out my hand to him.
"James Franco. Nice to meet you." James had a certain seductiveness to him. Maybe it was his sexy smirk, or his protective eyes.
"There it is!" I bent over, in front of James, and picked it up. His eyes weren't quick enough because when I turned around, they were gazed at where my ass had just been. Quickly, they retreated and found mine. He tried to cover it up with a smile.
"So...you got your bag."
I smiled at his awkwardness and looked down at my feet. "Yeah, I did."
"Do you need a ride?"
"That would be awesome." It was 2 in the morning anyway. My best friend Eva was suppose to come pick me up, but her boyfriend's family decided to have a Family Reunion.

In the car garage, it was really quiet. We got to Jame's car and he put my luggage in the trunk. I drummed my fingers along the dashboard as he got in. He reached into the glove box, and I saw a fatty rolled in the corner.
"So you do smoke," I said, smirking up at him while rolling it in between my fingers.
"Yeah, I guess I do." He scratched the back of his neck and smiled nervously.
"That makes two of us." He grabbed the joint from me and lit it up, taking a couple puffs, then passed it to me.
"Fuck. I have to call my friend." I whined as he began to smoke another joint. After a few rings, she picked up.
"Hey Eva."
"What?"
"What?"
"Rachael? It's mom."
"Oh. Is Eva there?"
"No, hun. She's not. You just called my phone."
James tried as hard as he could not to burst out laughing. I hung up as soon as possible and looked over at him.
"That wasn't funny." But I was laughing too.
"You played it so well though. I'm so proud of you," he said, holding up his fist to 'pound it'. During our hot box, I found out that James was 34, smoked regularly, and liked Chinese Food.
"When's the first time you got caught?" He asked me.

Flashback;
"Hey Rach, what's that skunky smell?"
"I don't smell anything." I shook my head as my dad came in my room.
"What were you burning?" he asked skeptically, looking at the lighter in my hand.
"The hair on my hand." What the fuck?
"Oh, okay. Happy birthday girl," he said before kissing the top of my head.
"Happy birthday, dad." I replied, quickly closing my door.

"That's the greatest thing I've ever heard." James couldn't stop laughing, the smoke filling the air. I just smiled and looked down at the burning joint in my finger tips. Bringing it to my lips, I inhaled as much as I could, pushed it out into a cloud, and sucked it back in. Letting out the smoke, my head slowly turned towards James.
"Damn, this really isn't your first time smoking, is it?"
"You're so adorable." I said, what I thought was in my mind. "Oh fuck, that was suppose to stay inside my head."
He laughed - which relieved me - and said, "Thank you. I think you're very hot if that makes you feel better."
"How can you tell, bako? You can't even open your eyes!" His reaction was instant - he reached up to his visor and looked into the mirror.
"Yours are just as bad," he said, turning towards me. I raised and eyebrow and shrugged, looking out into the almost empty parking garage.
"So, Mr. Franco, what is there to do at 3 in the morning in L.A ?" I asked, smirking towards him.
"We can go have breakfast at my favorite Diner." He replied, putting out the roach in an ashtray.
"Breakfast sounds amazing!" I groaned, rubbing my stomach.
"You don't have anywhere to be, right?" James asked, backing out of the parking space while staring at me. Only in your pants.
"Not really."

It took about 20 minutes to get there, but the trip was amazing. James showed me the best places to go and things to avoid.
"I'm amazed at how well you just paralleled," I said, walking with James into the empty restaurant. We took a seat at the counter, instantly sinking into the stools.
"I go to this place at least once a week," James smiled, "it's the best."
"The best?" I raised an eyebrow, looking down at the menu.
"Go ahead, get anything and everything you want. On me." I looked up at him with a sexy smirk. "That sounded dirty, but I didn't mean it. I mean, unless you want me to mean it-"
"My little James." An elderly waitress came from the kitchen. I just smiled down at my menu, thinking about his ramble.
"Hey Manni." He smiled, rubbing his eyes. "I'll have the usual."
"I figured as much," she smiled then looked over at me, "And what about you, beautiful?"
"I'll have," I paused, letting the stoner in me take over. "3 rasberry waffles with homefries, hashbrowns, and sausage."
"All those things are so great." James grumbled, sipping on his coffee. Manni came back with 2 giants chocolate shakes. "Drink up." He winked, putting his straw in his.

"I hate when people realize I'm a stoner. They always say `You're better than that`. Better than what? I live in my own. I pay for my bills. I'm almost done with my school. I'm a pretty damn good looking woman with potential. So better than what? Cause that's pretty damn awesome." I vented to James, nibbling on some of the waffle that was left. We had both cleared out plates so quickly.
"You are exactly right. Especially about the damn good looking part." He winked, wiping his face. I blushed down at my hands and put my napkin on the plate. He, against my will, paid for my meal. I gave him directions to my friends apartment, which ended up thankfully being half an hour away. James didn't mind though, he told me he hardly ever slept.
"How young can you die from old age?" I asked, flicking the joint he made me light, again.
"That all depends when you started living your life the way it should be."

Too soon, he parked in front of the condo. He helped me get out my baggage and brought them up the stairs.
"Thank you for tonight, James." I said, smiling against sky that was beginning to get lighter.
"No problem, I had a lot of fun." he said, holding out his arms for a hug goodbye. I embraced him and finally took an inhale of him.
"Me too." He began to go down the stairs slowly, smiling goofy at me. I started to go inside before he called out.
"Rachel, you forgot something."
"What?" I asked, turning back towards him.
"My number," his smirk was so cheesy, it made me laugh. We switched phones and I typed in the digits, then handed it back to him. "Goodnight." He nodded, turning back around.
"Franco, you forgot something!" I called when he got to his truck. I skipped down the steps and pulled him by the collar of his shirt, into a soft kiss. His hands slid to my hips and his lips pressed closer to mine.
"Good morning." I whispered, before turning back to the stairs. James was still standing there smiling as I walked up the stairs and to my friends apartment. It wasn't until she opened the door in a grumpy mood, I realized that I'd been smiling just as long.