AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I can’t help it. I replay it all in my head, the way he kissed and touched me, the way he took me to ecstasy. I think of his body over mine and his hands on my breasts and I take it further. I imagine him stripping off his own clothes, the two of us naked together, our bodies pressing together.
But I have to stop because I don’t know what it would feel like to go further. I can’t imagine it. I can’t even picture him naked. I just have no idea what to expect.
But I know I won’t have to wait long to find out, and that thought spurs me to get up and dressed as quickly as possible.
I put on the same dress I was wearing last night since it’s still the best dress I have with me – and I don’t have a lot of other options that aren’t jeans or shorts and t-shirts. I check my hair and makeup in the mirror – hoping that his hint about a swimsuit doesn’t mean this face will be washed right off – and head downstairs to the lobby.
I thought I was early, but as I head across the wide-open space in front of the reception desk, I see him sitting on a plush sofa. He’s flipping through a newspaper, as though he’s been there for a long time. A flare of guilt and panic runs through me as I rush over to him.
“Am I late?” I ask, worried that I’ve already messed things up.
He glances up at me, putting the newspaper down and checking his watch. “No,” he says, “You’re early.”
“But…”
“I was early too,” he says, that slow and sexy smile creeping over his face. He wears only the slightest blush, and it makes him look all the more attractive. “I guess I couldn’t wait to see you again – quite literally.”
I can only grin back, biting my lip and glancing around the lobby. I want to scream at them all that I’m with this man, that he actually wants me. That he wants to be with me. How is something like this happening to an ordinary girl like me?
“Let’s go, then,” he says, offering me his arm. I take it as he leads me out of the lobby and into the street, bright with sunlight, where a car is waiting.
“Where are we going?” I ask. He gestures for me to go ahead, opening the door for me before sliding in after me.
He puts his finger to his lips and winks at me, then lifts his head to talk to the driver. “Take us to the Avenue Des Beaux-Arts.”
I rack my brain, but I can’t remember what was on that street when we talked about the maps. There were so many things to talk about, I don’t remember half of them anymore. And – I realize – I’ve left the maps back on the desk in my hotel room.
I’m about to say something, but I realize I’m probably panicking for nothing. Nico is a local, after all. I’m sure he doesn’t need a map to take me where he wants to go.
When we get out of the taxi, I look up and my jaw drops. I recognize this place, we walked by it while we were searching for the café. We didn’t stop. There was no point. We couldn’t afford anything down here.
The names over the stores are all world-famous. Bulgari, Celine, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, Piaget. I don’t have enough money to walk through the door of one of those places, let alone buy anything inside.
“So, where do you want to go first?” Nico asks, gazing down the street with his hands in his pockets, looking relaxed and calm.
“What?” I splutter, sounding the exact opposite.
“Where do you want to go?” he asks, gesturing ahead at the street. Chic women in expensive clothes and jewelry are strolling around us, on the arms of handsome men. I don’t know where I could possibly fit into this picture.
“But…” I start, about to shake my head and come up with somewhere else we can go.
“It’s my treat,” Nico says, catching my look. “You don’t have to worry. I mean it. Today is special, right?”
“Right,” I say dubiously, looking down the street again. “But… it’s just… I’m not like these women. Will I even find anything that will fit me?”
Nico looks at me sharply and blinks. “Speaking your mind again,” he says and smiles ruefully. “Lili, of course, they will fit you. You have such a wonderful body. Why wouldn’t it?”
I blush as I gesture helplessly at a woman walking down the other side of the street, talking rapidly in French to a handsome, rich-looking man. She’s so thin I’m surprised she can walk so easily.
“Nico…” I say, meaning to turn around and look towards the harbor, to suggest we go for a stroll instead.
