Excerpt of California Bored and Tourism by Rhonda Laurel

Nick looked at her for a moment in disbelief then slowly turned to work his way back to the front of the bus. Why the hell would someone go on vacation and stay in a bad mood the whole time? He looked in the mirror and saw that she'd closed her eyes in defiance. With her eyes closed, he noticed how young she looked even though he was sure she was in her early thirties. Contrary to her friends wearing skirts, sandals, and pretty hair accessories, she looked like she was ready to scale a mountain. He'd never thrown anyone off his bus but today might set the precedent.

Nick dropped the ladies off at the Hollywood and Highland Center, allotting two hours to eat lunch and shop. He never tired of telling someone all the things he knew about Hollywood and the great state of California. The tours gave him a sense of fulfillment and something to do when he didn't feel like being cooped up in the office. He found a good spot, parked, and then noticed Faith sitting on a bench with her eyes closed.

"Finished your sight seeing early?" he asked as he took a seat next to her.

She jumped. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"You should know better than to sit with your eyes closed on a bench in L.A."

He took the California guidebook out of her hands and looked it over. "He," he pointed to one of the names on the cover, "is a good friend of mine."

"I won't hold that against him."

"So where are your friends?"

"Shopping, I think."

"And you don't like shopping?"

Faith turned and held a hand up. "Before we get into that old chauvinistic debate, why don't we save ourselves the trouble? If you want to make small talk and engage in low–level flattery, don't bother. I suggest you try one of my friends who find you oh so adorable with your dimples and your come hither eyes."

Come hither eyes? That was a new one.

"Are you sure you're immune to the dimples? Women always love my dimples," Nick said with amusement.

Faith opened her mouth, her mind seeming to reel with a stinging retort, when the rest of the group showed up. Everyone, full from eating and shopping, were chatting and gazing up at the Hollywood sign. Faith continued to sit on the bench while the others followed Nick.

"Hey, Happy. Are you coming? We're on a strict schedule," he said then smiled.