Beach Side Romance

Chapter 20: Admiration

Olivia POV

Waking up beside a man was oddly surreal. In the 4 years I’ve dated Drew, he never slept over but it’s also because I didn’t want him to. With Julian, everything was different. I felt like I wanted to give more, so much more.

We got out of the hotel at 9 today now holding hands as we walked towards the metro station to our first stop, Arc de Triomphe. The view from where you stood was amazing. I was taking a good look at Paris, taking in the view, and the feeling of just being here. “Mademoiselle, can I take your photo?” Asked a person from behind. I turned around with Julian ready to snap a photo as I looked back. “Mon bel amour,” he said walking towards me. “How long did it take you to learn French?” I asked him as I took his camera snapping pictures of the view. “A few months, because I had to deal with clients who knew the language more than english. So as I learned from the book, they taught me how to articulate better. Took me about a year or so to get phrases together and all,” he said as he got out his phone and snapped pictures of me again. “How many pictures of me do you think you’ve taken since we got here?” I asked. “Do you really wanna know?” He returned raising an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes at him, making him laugh. “Indulge me next time, mon cherie.” I said leaning against him.

On our way to our next stop, we passed by Laduree, a famous shop that sells all kinds of macarons. Julian bought a box and told me we’ll eat it later after visiting a few more places. Champs Elysees was beautiful, but there wasn’t much to do, so we just had our photos taken, and went to a bistro near Place de la Concorde for lunch. “Monsieur, une raclette au fromage avec charcuterie, pain au levain, pâtes à la bolognaise, et deux verres de vin rouge,” Julian ordered in fluent French. The waiter repeated everything and told us that dessert was on them today before leaving. 

People watching wasn’t my thing, and it was still early in the day, but a lot of couples seem to be around this area despite it being a weekday. “This place usually is filled with young adults going out on dates. The waiter told me that today was a good day to be here since less people were around going into the middle of the week,” Julian shared while cutting a slice of bread for me. “So, back to you learning French. Have you ever put your skills to social use? Or purely for clientele?” I asked, taking the bread from him. “Believe it or not, it’s the first time I’m using it for social purposes, and well, for you mostly,” he said, making me blush at his response. I told him I always wanted to learn a language, and was thinking of Spanish, but hearing how romantic French sounds too, I may just level-up my Google translate to real classes. 

Tuileries Garden was breathtaking, and Place de la Concorde even moreso. We were walking along the area looking at trinkets from street vendors and made sure I had a little something to take home with me. There were books about the French Revolution being sold and I had to buy some for Jerome and my dad. They were both into history, and I figured it was something they’d both appreciate. The weather dropped to 10C today, and though the sun was shining, the breeze was immensely consistent since we left the hotel. 

We got tickets to Louvre and enjoyed the museum more than we thought we would, Mona Lisa was eye-catching. They guess so much about what Mona Lisa was really feeling that they miss the simplicity and beauty of the artwork itself. After touring for a good 2 hours, we finally went out and walked around where one of the Louvre Pyramids was located. “Take a picture with me, please,” I asked Julian who was taking pictures of the outside of Louvre. “Sure, where do you want us to take a picture?” He asked, setting up. I pointed at the pyramid and told him where I exactly want the picture. “Okay, sweetheart just give me a moment,” he said, setting everything to place. He clicked on the shutter and walked to me, “30 second timer, 10 shots every second,” he explained. By the 5th shot, I had a crazy idea. I jumped on his back causing him to catch me by surprise, we were laughing and I hope that the camera was able to capture a good picture.

As we walked on a street of stalls that sell all kinds of food, Julian asked what I wanted from some stalls and taught me how to buy from the stall in French. A lady, about the age old enough to be my grandma, was having fun observing Julian and I, “just tell her what you want to buy, beautiful” he said as he repeated what he taught me in a whisper. I repeated it out loud, “une boîte de fraises enrobées de chocolat, mademoiselle (a box of chocolate covered strawberries, miss),” she packed the box in a bag and showed me another box with melon covered in prosciutto. “This is for free, vous deux êtes si mignons (you two are so cute).” After several more stalls, we had bread, cheese, the strawberries, and melons, plus the macarons from earlier. The mini wine bottles we purchased that were meant for 1-2 servings per bottle were so many that I thought Julian was getting me drunk, but he did mention as we checked out that most of it were for folks back home. 

“Where are we going and why do we have so much food again, we just ate,” I asked Julian as we walked near the Eiffel Tower where we were last night. “Well, I will take you boutique hopping a little later so you may need some more energy for that, but for now, let’s enjoy the view from Champs de Mars with a little picnic,” he said laying a beige cloth on the grass. 

Julian POV

Sitting here at Champs de Mars with a nice food spread was heaven. I did buy more wine than what we could consume, but that was because I wanted to take home a few bottles here and there. 

“Julian, can I ask you something? Have you and Karen ever been together? Like.. uh. You know,” Olivia asked looking down. I almost choked on the wine but tried to hide it realizing what she meant. “One drunk night, but never again after. It was during the first few months of us dating,” I explained, “why?” She fidgeted on her jacket that she shrugged off before sitting down on the cloth, she wanted to ask something but was hesitating. I pulled her a bit closer to me, “hey,” I said cupping my one hand to her face tilting it to face me, “there’s only you, Olivia. I want to be your safe space, you don’t need to be shy around me.” She let out a sigh, “what if I’m not enough for you? Y-you have n-needs, and I might not be able to fulfill them…” she said trying to look away. “Sweetheart, if you’re trying to tell me you’re not ready for that type of intimacy yet, that’s perfectly fine. It doesn’t make you any less of a person if you want to wait,” I said kissing her forehead, “You’ve captured me since the day I met you at the beach, and I’m drawn to you way more than what my ‘needs’ say, there’s always more to that,” I said firmly. She let out a sigh of relief, and I recalled what she said to Eliza about ‘spreading her legs open’. No wonder she was vulnerable, she was saving herself for someone, someone who she feels like deserves giving up her purity for.

Going shopping wasn’t a dreadful task for me, but it was draining. I’m assuming that we’re eating inside the room tonight because today was very tiring. We walked along the brands, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Balmain, you name it. Olivia got a new office bag at Saint Laurent, but that was it. She was considering another one in Gucci, but she wasn’t too set on it. The other stores she went to, and things she bought were for Andrea, Amber, or Johnny. We stopped by Cartier since Johnny asked Olivia to buy something for Amber. We were able to buy the thin love bracelet he wanted for her with some rhinestones. 

I insisted to buying Olivia something in Charriol, having nothing but the bracelet to have given her. “Let me buy you something please, to commemorate our Paris trip,” I pleaded as she was looking through jewelry. She was ignoring me on purpose after she said, “no, this is all I want and need,” pointing out the bracelet I gave her last night.

“Mademoiselle, do these come in a set?” She asked the lady who was looking intently at her while she was browsing. She pointed at a bracelet in several colors, “no, madame, but a lot of couples buy zis (this). It is our Pont d’Amour collection, have you visited?” She asked. Olivia shook her head, “no not yet, but I would like to get the black and gold bracelet please,” she asked the lady. I thought she was buying something for her parents again. The lady was quick to produce the set and showed them on a display tray, “would you like to have it wrapped, madame?”. “No, it’s okay, just the box and bag, here’s my card,” Olivia answered. It got me confused still thinking it was for her parents. She turned to me with the bangle on her hand, “give me your wrist, please,” she said. “You couldn’t be the only one buying gifts, okay?” She scolded, as she put the bangle on my left wrist. After she signed the receipt, she gave me the second bangle, gesturing for me to put the other one on her, “please?”. I placed hers too that now got along with the bracelet I gave her last night. We quickly went back to the hotel to unload everything we bought. Every little piece of whatever we bought that we will take home, we dropped inside the closet. We haven’t got much, but I would think we might need a new luggage regardless, or maybe two. 

The real Pont d’Amour was a train ride away. It was still a bit early, so I added that to our agenda before going back to the Eiffel for the night view. We were both still full from the picnic we had, but we stopped by a little cafe and ordered some coffee and pastries to-go in case. There was a vacant park bench and Olivia was sitting on the back rest and I was standing beside her leaning on the locks. “Day two, is amazing. You get a good grade from me again today, sir,” she said, blowing the steam of her coffee. Her nose was getting red from the cold but I didn’t think she minded. “Really? I’m glad you enjoyed today, I’ll take a good grade anytime,” I chuckled, pinching her nose a bit to warm it up.

“Have you thought of what you will be doing after the complex opens? Pierre told me you’re not to take on any projects until it does,” she asked. “I haven’t thought about it yet, really. Well, no I have. I plan to sell my apartment in Bridgewood and maybe get a house of my own, or I’ll keep the apartment, and buy a house near the beach and complex. I saw a couple of houses in Santa Catalina for sale, though for work? I may or may not focus on mentoring junior staff for a bit,” I answered. “I’m thinking of moving out from my folks too, but it was only because I feel like I’ve been there for long enough. I used to live not too far from them, renting out an apartment near the office. But I moved back a year or so ago when work was eating most of my time that I needed help maintaining myself,” she said.

We took a taxi back to Eiffel Tower and luckily were still able to score elevator tickets when I first decided on this trip. We were overlooking the Paris skyline at 9PM. Olivia was in a FaceTime call with her mom as I took pictures of the view, and of her. “It’s so beautiful up here mom, you can see everything,” she said as she flipped the camera for Amber to see the view. “Ooooh sweetie, this is beautiful, turn the camera back to you again, I haven’t seen Julian yet. Where is he?” She asked. Olivia looked at me and waved me over. “Present, hope you’re enjoying the virtual view,” I greeted. Like last night, I took off my scarf and wore it across her. “Aren’t you two just adorable?” Amber gushed over the phone. “Mom, stop, but it is about 10C right now,” she complained. “Amber, we’ve got you a few things earlier today we’d hope you would like,” I said, earning a punch in the gut from Olivia. Amber was on the line for a few more minutes before she gave me back my girlfriend. “Okay, okay, you’ve had enough of me for the night you two. Have a good night.” Amber said before hanging up.

Walking back to the hotel, we saw Arthur, our driver from when we arrived. “Monsieur, Madame, bonne nuit,” he greeted and opened the door for us. “Bonne nuit, Arthur.” We didn’t have dinner having had so much to eat from earlier today but I managed to have Olivia a little of the pastries we bought while in Pont d’Amour before passing out for the night.