"You're looking happier than normal," Ingrid commented as I walked into the room.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said innocently.

"What the hell? Is that a blush?" Lana taunted.

"Again, I have no idea what you're talking about," I replied, taking out some ingredients to make breakfast.

"When we went to bed, you were depressed, and yet right now you look like someone who's about to take on the world," Ingrid noted.

I shrugged. "Maybe I am."

Lana narrowed her eyes at me. "And what brought about this feeling?"

"Maybe I just found Dori," I said, laughing at my own little joke.

She would definitely kill me if she found out I said that.

"Come again? Are you talking about the animation movie?" Ingrid asked in confusion.

"He's talking about a woman," Lana said knowingly.

"Who could you possibly have been hitting on? You've been depressed for a week now. There's no way that even your game is that good," Ingrid said.

I shot her a dry look. "I resent that, just for the record."

"Who is she?" Lana asked.

"You don't need to know," I replied just as my phone started ringing.

"Oh my word! Look at that smile," Ingrid cooed.

"Stop it," I said before answering my phone.

"You're an idiot Laz," is the first thing that came through.

I chuckled. "Ah gee, thanks. What did I do?"

"Oh? That's how you want to play this out? Cool! So, I'm as jetlagged as they come, and I finally went to bed two hours after our call, and what do I wake up to? Multiple pictures of Dory on an island and a caption that says 'find Dory'. Have I already mentioned that I hate you?" she asked.

"I believe you have, three times already, and yes, I'm keeping count," I replied. Lana and Ingrid were eyeing me weirdly.

"Why were you up in any case? Aren't you tired or something?" she questioned.

I laughed. "It's five in the evening here, so it's an hour later there. I'm not jetlagged, so as a normal person, I would have had to get up at the latest eight hours ago," I pointed out.

"I just woke up. That was too many words," she murmured, making me laugh.

"I'm touched that I'm the first person you thought of calling when you woke up," I teased.

"How could I not? You left me eighteen voicemails, including one of Dory singing 'Just Keep Swimming'. I swear I'm going to send you my cell phone bill. International phone call bills are a bitch," she commented.

"I'm starting to feel more like your sugar daddy than your friend. That's two things now that you're making me pay for," I joked.

She snorted. "Oh please! You're paying me for putting up with your nonsense."

I chuckled. "I'm so genuinely wounded by your words."

"You're a grown man child. Some part of you should be able to deal with it," she said uncaringly.

"You're not much of a morning person, well in this case evening, are you?" I asked knowingly.

"Not until I've had my second cup of coffee. My brother calls me the lovechild of Voldemort and Chuck Norris when I'm like this," she replied.

"That's an interesting combination," I said unsurely. Lana and Ingrid looked amused at this point.

"Oh, you don't have to lie. It's weird as hell," she said, laughing.

I joined in. "I'm glad you at least realize it."

"Where are Lana and Ingrid?" she asked.

"I have no idea," I lied.

She giggled. "They're right there with you, aren't they?"

"How? How could you have possibly known that?" I asked.

"Your voice just went deeper, and I'm going to guess that it's the tone you use when you lie," she picked up.

"I plead the fifth. I will neither confirm nor deny that," I replied.

She laughed. "Listen to you thinking you can deny this. I'm good at picking up such things. Give up now."

"Nope! Giving up isn't in my genes," I responded.

"Well that's not the attitude you should be having for someone who's trying to give up drugs and alcohol," she scolded.

I groaned, making her laugh even harder. "That's not what I meant."

"I'm only responding to your words Laz," she teased.

"I think I know how it feels to hate someone," I hinted.

"I wonder which sad soul is hated by you, because it can't be me. I'm too fabulous to be hated," she said confidently.

"Is that right?" I asked amusedly.

"You bet it is. Trust me when I say that your life is incomplete simply because you've never been in my presence. Meeting me will change your life and reason of existence altogether," she replied.

"I highly doubt that, but I guess I'll have to visit Dori's island to find out," I hinted.

"Oh would you look at that, my breakfast-dinner is burning," she said.

I laughed. "You don't want me to come to your island?"

"Stay away from Dori's Island if you know what's good for you Laz," she said before the line went dead.

I laughed, shaking my head as I put my phone on the counter. "So who's Dori?"

"A friend," I replied honestly.

"And where does Dori come from?" Ingrid questioned.

"The place she comes from," I responded vaguely.

The truth is that I wasn't particularly keen on sharing my friendship with London yet, and especially because they've met and befriended her as well. My friendship with her, as short as it has been, reminds me of how I felt when Lana first befriended me.

Except there's also something different about it.

While Lana had made it clear that we were platonic, London hasn't said anything, granted we don't know enough about each other. Still, I know that she makes me feel better than I have in a really long time.

She reminds me a lot of the woman I had a one night stand with.

I'm still not chuffed at how that woman just left, but she explained in her note that she had a flight to catch. She said that she enjoyed her time with me and that she hopes I open up myself to good things and to people.

I hate that I don't know her name.

However, my newfound friendship with London has helped me to think about that encounter a lot less, and only because my thoughts are now occupied by a woman whose looks I don't even know, but I don't really want to at the same time.

Call me weird, but I trust that she won't look me up, so I won't do the same.

The mystery just makes it all the more interesting.

I believe that if we're meant to meet, we will meet. I won't go out of my way to find her, especially since she's insisted that I not, so I can only leave it up to fate. I'm fine with her being my friend for now.

"You're being very secretive about this friend. Are they a new friend?" Lana asked.

I shook my head. "We've been friends for a while and she got in touch with me after hearing about my grandfather."

I had to keep my voice stable, hoping that it worked.

"Speaking of getting in touch, did you end up calling London?" Ingrid asked.

"Yeah I did. I left her a voicemail though because she was probably still flying," I informed.

Lana narrowed her eyes at me. "What did you say? I hope you didn't make a moron of yourself."

"The amount of faith you have in me is overwhelming," I said sarcastically.

Ingrid laughed. "What did you say?"

"I thanked her for everything that she did for my grandfather. I mentioned that everyone who's spoken to me about her only had good things to say. I also sent my condolences to her and her parents since I figured that they also cared for my grandfather," I informed.

"That's it? You didn't offer to do anything for her in return?" Lana asked, scowling.

I owe her an island and I have to pay for her cell phone bills.

"Was I supposed to?" I feigned confusion.

"Did you at least offer to meet her in person?" Ingrid questioned, looking just as puzzled.

She wants me nowhere near Dori's island; for now at least.

"Why would I bother her further?" I asked nonchalantly.

"Bother her? It's the least you could do you asshole!" Lana said, smacking my arm.

I laughed. "I'll think about it."

"You'd better arrange to meet her Cuba. She's done a lot for you. In fact, why don't you join us when we go in four months? Our schedules are a bit busy right now, but she said it's fine if we visit then," Ingrid offered.

"We'll see how things are on my end at that time. I'm not making any promises," I replied.

Lana shrugged. "Fair enough."

I was just glad we finally dropped the topic.

They allowed me to make my breakfast in peace as we discussed what our next move was. We weren't really planning on staying in Paris for long, though I was having a bit of an attachment problem. I didn't mention it though.

I'd just come back when I have time.

The two of them wanted to tour the city at night, and I couldn't blame or deny them. They headed out and I stayed behind, wondering what I could do with myself. I'd contacted Francois about my grandfather's will, and there was some stuff that he was still sorting out.

He said he would get back to me about the whole thing.

I sat in the house, getting lost in my thoughts when a text arrived. I laughed before calling the number.

"Really? You've sent me the details for your account with your cell phone provider?" I asked, laughing.

"I don't kid about such things Mr Diaz," she replied.

"Don't call me that. It makes me feel old," I admitted.

"How old are you anyway?" she asked.

"I'm twenty seven. You?" I countered.

She giggled. "I legit thought you were nearing your early forties. I'm twenty four."

"Do I want to even know why you imagined me as an older man?" I asked amusedly.

"The one thing your grandfather did do is make you sound like an emotional spaz, so I thought it's because of old age," she replied.

"I thought you said he only had good things to say. 'Emotional spaz' isn't exactly the greatest thing to be," I argued.

She burst out laughing and I could only smile at the sound. "Man, I'm really tempted to search your name so that I can see what you really look like. You're probably a gremlin looking man."

"Gremlin?" I asked in disbelief. She wasn't even making any sounds from how hard she was laughing, until she had to finally breathe.

"My stomach hurts," she said, barely getting the sentence out.

"I don't know why you would think I look like a gremlin, but for your information, I've been voted 'Sexiest Bachelor Alive' four times in a row," I informed proudly.

She giggled. "Did the deciding panel include old cat ladies?"

"Yep! I definitely hate you," I replied, making her laugh harder some more.

"Man, now I know what it feels like to laugh at other people's flaws," she joked.

She was getting back at me.

"I'm actually an attractive man. You're still named Dori," I pointed out.

"I can legally remove the name. How much plastic surgery will it take to make you look a tenth decent?" she played back.

I laughed. "You are so mean Dori. Where is this coming from?"

"I'm honest. There's a difference," she said before there was a loud bang in the background.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"There's clearly a mad person on the other side of my door. Hold on," she said before I heard shuffling.

"Wyatt?" she said.

"You left without seeing me, and you come back without saying anything to me either. Do you know how worried I've been about you? You're my fiancée damnit!" I heard some guy say, and it unsettled me slightly.

"First of all, don't ever knock on my door like that again. You will rue the day you ever did. Secondly, I'm no fiancée of yours. I broke up with you, and what do you do? You propose. Normal people don't react like that to a break up. Lastly, how dare you think I owe you anything! You are my ex-boyfriend, and even as my boyfriend I owed you nothing. Don't you ever think you can talk to me the way you just did. No one disrespects me like that," she replied.

Have you ever felt warm with pride before?

Well, in that moment, that's what I experienced.

"I'm sorry. I've just been so worried. I came to your graduation party and your dad threatened to have me arrested, so I was looking forward to taking you to the airport, only to get here and you were already gone. I've missed you London, and I know you've missed me too," the guy said.

So her dad doesn't like him.

"Boy, are you hearing me? My goodness," she commented, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you on the phone? Who's Laz?" the guy asked. I could hear the change in his tone through the phone.

"Shush," she said into the phone.

I laughed even more. "Sorry."

"Who's Laz?" the guy repeated.

"There you go again with your sense of entitlement. I don't have to tell you anything, and I'd suggest you leave now before I lose the little bit of patience I have at seeing your face," she told him.

Ooooh, that's gotta burn.

"London, I'm sorry. I promise I can change. I can be the man you want me to be. Just give me one last chance," he pleaded. There were some footsteps and some shuffling, and then more footsteps.

"Wyatt, I would never want to change the person I end up falling in love with, so no, I cannot let you change yourself for me. There's some woman out there who will appreciate you for who you are. That woman just isn't me, and I refuse to give you false hope. Here's your ring back. We're not engaged and I had time to think like you said I should. I haven't changed my mind. I'm sorry," she said.

"Is this because of whoever the hell Laz is? Have you been cheating on me with him? Is he promising you that he'll be the man you want?" he asked, audibly angered.

"Wow, the fact that you think that much of me just goes to show how over this relationship is. Please leave and don't bother calling or texting me. I will block you, and if you come anywhere near me, I will call my father on you," she said calmly.

There was silence for a few seconds before there was a door bang. "I guess I shouldn't ask how much of that you heard."

"Do you know how horrid hold music sounds?" I asked.

She chortled. "What?"

"I'm serious. Have you ever been put on hold? I mean, I probably shouldn't have stayed on the line and eavesdropped, but man, am I glad you didn't actually put me on hold," I replied.

She laughed some more. "There's something so wrong with you."

"At least I'm not savage. You just ripped the poor guy a new one," I pointed out.

"I'm just irritated at this point in time. I broke up with him before I went on my vacation, and instead he proposed. He told me to think about us on my time away, but he spent the whole time bothering me. More often than not, I had to leave my phone behind at the hotel. I mean, I didn't want to block his number because I didn't want to be cruel like that, but the way he just behaved right now was completely out of line. He doesn't own me," she fumed.

"Where did it all go wrong?" I asked curiously.

"The spark just died, or maybe it was never really there and I got tired of pretending it was. The last thing I will ever do is commit myself to something my heart isn't fully in. I'd rather you hate me than me lie to you," she replied.

"That's honourable of you," I commented.

She sighed. "Anyway, enough about me. What about you? Do you have the best girlfriend in the world?"

I scoffed. "I have the best pest in the world. Her name's Sofia, and I almost married her. Actually, she drugged me and almost had us married, but I came to just in time. She's been a pain in my ass since."

She laughed. "Did you even date the girl?"

"For like five seconds. We met at a club, and I was seeing double. Next thing I know, she's making reservations for us in different places, and I guess I was possessed because I showed up. It took me only a week to realize that she was the crazy 'plan our entire future' type, so I broke it off, but that just didn't register to her. Now thanks to her persistence, the media thinks she's my main girl and everyone else is a mistress. She's happily gone with it, and I've never cared enough to correct anyone. Majority of the people know that she lives in a fantasy world in any case," I explained.

"That sounds so rough. I hope that's not what the future has in store for me with Wyatt. I might just kill him," she replied.

"You'll actually find that you don't care, especially when you no longer have any kind of attachment to the situation," I pointed out.

"I guess that makes sense," she said.

"Wyatt mentioned a graduation party. Did you recently graduate?" I asked.

"Yep! I got my Masters in Literature. I'm the black sheep of the family since my mum is a Physicist, my dad is a Cardiologist and my brother is a Mechanical Engineer, and here I come along with my English degree," she said.

I was impressed to be honest.

"Being a white sheep is overrated anyway," I pointed out.

She laughed. "I wish my family saw things that way. You mentioned that some guy at your workplace is after your position. What's up with that?"

"I've been a mess, especially the past two years, and basically this kid is a grandson to one of the board members. An article was recently released saying that there's a prostitute out there claiming that she's pregnant with my baby, and I guess that was the opportunity he needed. He's officially challenged my integrity and position and I have six months to prove that I can still run the company and have a better image," I responded.

I was met by silence and I was worried that I'd lost her. "Your life isn't even an adventure anymore. You're just drowning Cuba."

I knew she was being dead serious from her use of my first name.

I sighed. "I know."

"I believe that you know, but I also believe that you're not willing to deal with why you're drowning. It's the only reason why you've allowed yourself to drown for so long in the first place," she noted.

No one had ever read me so accurately before, not even Lana. I've never confronted anything in my life since my parents died, which is what frustrated my grandfather so much. My unwillingness to deal with my emotions has affected me for as long as I can remember.

"Cuba?" she called when I wasn't saying anything.

"I'm here," I said lowly.

"What's wrong? Talk to me," she said.

"How? You're miles away from me and if I fail to confront my demons in person, what makes you think I'll be able to do it over the phone?" I asked honestly.

"If I was there would you tell me?" she asked.

"Maybe. You have this uncanny ability of making me want to tell you things I wouldn't tell other people," I confessed.

She sighed. "Except I can't be there."

"Then let me come to you," I offered.

"No," she replied.

"Why don't you want to see me so badly?" I asked curiously.

"Honestly? We've only been speaking for two days and yet we've had the best conversations I've had in a long time with someone of the opposite sex. I don't want to ruin that by involving any physical aspect or seeing what you actually look like. I like the fact that in my head, you're just Laz, the guy I can talk to and laugh with about anything. Sometimes reality just has a way of ruining good things, and I enjoy being friends with you so far. I don't want to ruin that, so you don't have to tell me what's going on with you. Just know that I'm here if you ever do feel like finally telling me though," she said.

I wasn't sure how to feel about any of what she'd said. She'd basically fantasy zoned me. She prefers that I stay as a character in her head, rather than meet me in person. Something just wasn't adding up with what she was saying.

"You're mad at me," she said after a while of silence.

"Not mad, just confused. It seems I'm not the only one with demons to confront," I replied.

"I have no demons. Am I wrong for wanting to have an untarnished friendship?" she asked.

"That's bullshit. Who's to say that it will be tarnished by us meeting face to face?" I questioned.

"Because we'll both have expectations and then turn out to disappoint each other and then we lose out on what could've been an uncomplicated friendship just because you wanted to tell me your demons to my face. It's just not worth it," she said before hanging up the phone.

I tried calling back, but the phone would just ring before taking me to voicemail. She was blatantly ignoring my calls. I texted her and got nothing in return. I could only sit there, frustrated and most definitely confused.

London Dori Simmons will be the death of me.

I have met and dealt with some very difficult people in my life, but none have come close to this enigma of a woman. There's a reason why she's reacting like this, and I need to find out why, even if it takes me years to figure out.

And you can bet that I'm not going to confront why I want to in the first place.