02
b e g i n n i n g

NOAH TOWERS OVER me, I have to tilt up my head to look at him. He tilts his head back at me and smirks a sort of lazy half smile. I should be surprised, but for some reason I'm not. I find myself biting my lips to keep from grinning, though.

"Aren't you working?" I ask.

"I work part time morning shift, you were my last customer," he answers.

Realizing the truth, I nod. I watch as he approaches the seat opposite to me, putting down his tray onto the table and sits down.

"So, Riley Ran," he says my name and looks at me with a smile.

I look down at the piece of croissant on his tray. "You remember all the customers' names when you're free?"

"Well not exactly." He takes a sip from his coffee. "I just read your passport about half an hour ago, I think it's rational that I remember your full name is Riley Anning Ran?"

He said it as the English "ran" again. I don't usually correct people's pronunciation (because honestly, it might be rude), but now that Noah has appeared again and is having a real conversation with me, I feel like a need to correct him.

"It's not actually 'ran'," I say.

His eyebrows shoot up with interest.

I smile and continue, "Try saying sh, and don't let your breath out."

Noah moves his mouth—I suppose he's following my instruction. He nods, indicating me to continue.

"Now combine it with the British ah-n, again, don't let your breath out," I instruct.

Slowly, he projects my surname with a clear voice correctly.

"That's how you do it," I wink. I watch as a satisfied smile forms on his face.

"Riley R-ah-n," he says. "I love it."

I snap my gaze toward him, my heartbeat races with his compliments. No one has ever praised me because of my name before.

"Thank— thank you?" I stutter a bit.

A laugh escapes from him. "No, I meant it, it's like... you. It suits you."

"How so?" I tilt my head.

"I can't really come up with an exact reason, but you know, confident, adventurous... it wraps you up."

"Oh wow." I have to laugh. "I'm far from confident, but I guess adventurous might fit. Judging a person by their appearance and name must be fun."

"Of course." He peers at me with the eyes of his. "I won't judge a person, but you can feel the kind of attraction just because of their appearance and names."

Attraction? Does this mean that he could feel an attraction with me?

"Also, I suppose your middle name is the British Ah-n-ning as well, right?" he asks.

He changes the topic so fast that it kind of catches me off guard. "Oh, yes, it's Ah-n-ning. Ah-n-neeng precisely."

"What does that mean?" he asks.

I smile at his question. "Tranquility."

He mulls over my word as he bites his croissant. He reaches out his hand. "Hi Riley, Noah Clermont."

His hand is warm, his grasp firm and secure. "Hey, Noah."

He leans back. "Adventurous is far from tranquil, by the way." He references back to me describing myself as adventurous.

"To an extent." I shrug.

"Where did the wind blow you from?" he asks.

"How do you know that I'm not from here? I could be travelling to New York."

"Aside from the fact that you're speaking in a New York accent and bringing a camping backpack?" He takes another bite of his croissant.

I laugh. "Well, fair enough. I was returning home."

"I didn't expect you to live in New York to be honest, you're obviously a backpacker."

"Yeah, but when you're stuck in a city for long, you want to go out and explore," I say, but of course, the reason why I went away is way more than that.

He nods. "Where've you been to?"

"Oh, that'll be a mad long list."

I list out almost all the states and cities I've been to in the past twelve months, excluding some small towns that I don't remember the names of.

Noah looks at me, clearly impressed. "What about Arizona?" he asks. "You can't possibly miss the Grand Canyon."

Arizona? Right, it's the state that I haven't gotten a chance to visit.

"Honestly, I guess time just didn't allow me to visit Arizona. I go where the wind blows me, as you said," I reply.

He takes in a deep breath. Seconds later, he offers me a few pieces of his croissant. "I don't think you've eaten breakfast yet, by the way."

Normally, I wouldn't take food from strangers (who knows, it could be some date-rape drugs), but considering rapists won't drug people in a coffee shop of an airport, I take the pieces of croissant and shove them into my mouth.

"Thank you," I say after I swallow the food.

He returns me with a smirk. I knit my eyebrows together, not frustrated, but amused by him. We didn't even know each other forty-five minutes ago, and everything between us just happens so naturally now.

He takes a sip of his iced coffee. I mirror him, except that my coffee is warm, which makes me question my choice of ordering warm drinks in summer again. I shoot him another glance, just to notice that his soft features contrast with his sharp jawline so damn well.

"Actually," he starts as he glances at his watch. "It's only eight in the morning."

"Yeah, so?"

"That means you still have time."

"Still have time for what— oh," I stop midway. "But I have to catch my flight."

Noah takes out his phone and I watch his fingers run on the keyboard. Moments later, he shows me the Google Map on his phone screen.

"It only takes almost five hours to reach the Grand Canyon if you drive from here," he says and glances at his watch again. "You could reach there by lunchtime, and it won't be a problem to be back in the afternoon tomorrow."

"But— but I returned my car, so I don't have one now." I'm finding reasons as if these are why I can't go, but I know for sure that I want to go.

Noah looks at me and peeks at his watch again. He looks up at me after a beat. "I have a car."

My heart starts flipping somersaults ridiculously, though my rational mind allows me to refrain from panicking. "Are— are you sure?"

"Why not? My next shift isn't for another three days later." He stares at me, his head tilted slightly to a side.

Will he really do that? Will he really take me to the Grand Canyon now? Why will he do that?

"So, what do you say?"

I've come this far, I've been away from home for one year, there's no reason why I should give up the chance to see one of the world's greatest natural wonders.

"If you kill me," I start. "I'm going to haunt you."

Noah smiles. "Deal."

a/n

Riley's name is 冉安寧 (rǎn ān níng)

i actually got the next two chapters done as well, so i'm thinking about updating more often xD let's see how it goes. anyway, thank you for reading!!