The rays of the summer sun streamed into the bedroom through the open window blinds. Jo woke up just before 6.00 am as she felt some warm light on her face. It was an amazing feeling to wake up without the after-effects of a great night with alcohol: a pounding headache, but most importantly, no burning sensation or stomach discomfort and nausea. She felt refreshed. "No more parties! No more alcohol! No more madness!" She decided.
She could already hear some noise in the apartment which, she was certain, was coming from the kitchen. She heard the clinking of cutlery and dishes; she could feel the delicate aroma of freshly brewed coffee tingling her nose.
Matthew didn't drink it in the morning so probably Mike was already here. She didn't want to see him. That wasn't a secret. So why was he here so early in the morning?
Jo didn't feel sorry for him regarding what had happened years ago. She didn't blame him or herself. Why would she? They were not perfect human beings. They were immature and irresponsible, and they hurt each other. Both were, then, too young to make important life decisions...
Her biggest dream at the moment was very simple - to forget about all this. First, forget about Mike and everything that was connected to him. Forget about the past. She was very tenacious and rarely ever went back on her words once she had already made a decision.
But… in this particular case, she did not trust herself. She was afraid that in his presence, she would not be able to control her emotions and did not want to have any regrets.
When she could no longer hear any sounds from behind the door, she decided to quietly enter the bathroom. However, even after delicately opening her bedroom door, she bumped into something hard.
Another bruise for sure. Damn luck! She thought. This time on her forehead.
How was she supposed to show her face at work in such a condition? It was the middle of summer. How would she cover herself from neck to toe in such hot and sweaty weather?
"Ouu.." A sudden voice interrupted her thoughts.
When she raised her head, she was speechless upon seeing Mike standing in front of her. His unshaven face added a couple of years to his age, but she couldn’t deny the added charm it brought about. He looked like a very mature, good-looking man.
Jo gazed at the water droplets dripping down from his dark brown hair, trailing along the side of his magnificent neck and a chiseled chest, ultimately disappearing beneath his white bath towel that was wrapped loosely around his slim but firm waist… A perfectly sculpted silhouette that could be used for learning human anatomy.
‘Too perfect!’ She thought. ‘I saw nothing! Damn!... I saw nothing’ She was repeating in her mind.
Mike noticed her embarrassment. When he was sure that she was looking at him, he bit his bottom lip and chuckled. Then he rubbed his neck with a second towel which he was holding in his left hand while his right hand slowly ran through his wet hair.
As he gradually brushed his long fringe back, she saw the gleam in his big, brown eyes. He was looking at her. ‘Damn! Mike, how dare you act like this in front of me?’ She was screaming inside.
"Good morning, Beauty!" Sweetly greeting her, Matthew appeared in the corridor behind Mike. "The mop is in the closet, on the right by the entrance door. If you don't want to spend the Saturday cleaning my apartment, I advise you to wipe the floor immediately, Bro!" He said sharply to Mike, who looked at him in confusion.
It looked like Matthew was ready for work. He was wearing a very elegant grey suit with a light pink shirt inside and grey tie to complete his outfit. She smelled the familiar scent of perfume… Aqua Di Gio Armani.
She just realized that when she saw them both, at their meeting two days ago, that she had completely missed how much these two had changed. First of all, they were no longer boys. They had grown up. Now, these two were extremely handsome men.
What was wrong with her? Since when did she become interested in the body of her best friend and ex? Not that she hadn’t admired them years ago, but today she felt awkward about it. It must be the fault of the excess alcohol. ‘Her tolerance to high-percentage of alcoholic drink has definitely decreased. No more drinking!’ She mused inwardly.
"Good morning guys! Have to go..." She said while already running to the bathroom. ‘I saw nothing! Nothing! Enough is enough! Damn!... I am capable of dealing with one of them, but not both at the same time. How am I going to survive almost a week?’ She thought of her contingency plan…
"Are you alright, Jo?" A sudden voice interrupted her contemplation. "Your favorite le petit déjeuner is ready!" Matthew said in a gentle tone.
Of course, her most favorite breakfast was ready. Even here, in the bathroom, she could take in the aroma of freshly baked croissants. The magical fragrance reminded her of her beloved France, which she had not had time to visit recently.
Her present reality lacked the specific climate of Paris, the scent of Provencal vegetation, the Mediterranean breeze, and the breathtaking Alpine landscapes. She missed the Cote d'Azur and the south of France with its wonderful flora, a unique blend of herbal, lavender, oleander, and citrus aromas.
For the past few months, she had dreamt of "un café noir un croissant" at Café de Flore or Les Deux Magots on Boulevard Saint Germain in the heart of Paris. She really loved these two places: full of magnetism and the grandeur of 19th and 20th-century history, not only literature but also painting and philosophy.
She would not mind a long walk alongside Saint Germain. That was the "real heart" of the intellectual and cultural place of Parisian life. Philosophers, writers, and musicians filled the nightclubs and brasseries surrounding the boulevard.
"Are you sure you are fine?" A concerned Matthew asked her once again.
"Don't worry about me. I am fine. Just two more minutes…"
Jo looked again in the big bathroom mirror. Even with all her bruises, she looked stunning even though she was clad in just a white bath towel, which contrasted with her delicate suntan. Wet, long, blonde hair fell loosely down her shoulders. With her height of 180 cm and a very slim but athletic figure, she looked no worse than many models from the covers of fashion magazines.
She felt that these two guys played with her yesterday. She knew perfectly well that they were testing her endurance. As usual, they wanted to check if she still treated them only as friends and if she ever saw them as men. They have always joked that she was immune to their beauty and charm... After all, she had known them for so long.
‘Do you really want to play with my emotions?’ She thought. ‘Fine! I don't mind. Challenge accepted.’
As Jo entered the kitchen, she felt consternation. In the background, she heard the Zimmers' music score from The Dark Knight. That moment she knew for sure they were playing with her. That was the sophisticated game they've been playing for years: a game of words, music, lyrics and gestures. They expected her to be the foreground character so she would play along as they wished.She didn't mind their way of playing. She was good at it too. The only thing that surprised her was that they didn't take into account that she really felt bad. Today she should have been fasting because of the tests and visit to the hospital, but judging by the smell throughout the apartment, the two had prepared her favourite breakfast. Were these two friends of the seven sorrows so ruthless?"Good morning my handsome, heartless heroes!" She smiled.
More than a reset, Jo needed a proper rest. Right after graduating from university, she moved away, far from everyone she knew. She lived in a completely unknown environment and started everything from scratch. All she had achieved so far was due to her determination and hard work. She was very proud of herself but she had been working so hard over the past few years. She couldn't remember the last time she had allowed herself to a moment of weakness. When she had a cold or even pharyngitis or bronchitis, she continued to go to work unless she had a high fever and couldn't get out of bed, in which case she stayed home. Immediately after graduation, she had joined the corporate "rat race” in which she lost herself for several years, but that was the reality of the labour market when she finished university. There was no other choice. If you wanted a job, you h
She still couldn't believe that she was sitting on the plane and in less than three hours, she would be in her beloved Paris. Despite the fact that it was not so far away, due to her life plan being jam-packed to the limit, she could not pay the visit there earlier.She had to fall ill to have free time. In addition, friends had to use a trick to make her forget about work. It was really pathetic when she thought about what had happened to her life. There hadn’t been even a hint of spontaneity in the recent years.What happened to her? She became the person she swore not to be. Has she grown up? Is this what the life of mature people is like?Everything in her life had to be carefully planned. At work, she had a plan for any unanticipated situation. Seemingly impossible, but it was so. Working in public
They walked all the way from Rue du Bac and the D'Orsay Museum to the Notre Dame Cathedral, on the southern side of the Seine. The weather was absolutely stunning. A gentle breeze was blowing so they did not feel the heat.There were a lot of souvenir stalls, painters selling their paintings, various types of artists, musicians, dancers and mimes performing along the shore. Jo took a lot of photos, as usual.Matthew was very exhausted, but he didn't want to tell her. She looked radiant, and it seemed like her smile did not want to leave her face even for a moment. That was an extremely rare sight for him to admire.At that moment, he felt as if she was so happy, then he could be too. He just had to find a way to sit, even for a few minutes. He hadn’t had a proper rest and sleep since the reunion of their team on Saturday. His body was desperately demanding a little downtime to get back up."Jo, it's almost lunch time. We should look for a nice
The loud sound of the phone ringing woke her from deep sleep. The ringtone was really annoying. It just kept ringing and ringing. When she woke up, it was so dark in the room that she didn't know where she was. She forgot that last evening she had tightly closed the shutters to make the bedroom completely dark and more quiet. It took her a long moment to realize where she was. Finally, she found the source of the sound that disturbed her nap.When she picked up the phone, she heard a well-known voice. It sounded lively and fresh, even quite irritating."Hi guys! How are you? What did you do yesterday? Nobody called me. What did you do last night?" All in one breath, Mike recited."Damn, Mike! It is half past six in the morning. What do you expect?" Jo had already found her mobile phone and checked the time and to say that she was furious would be an understatement."Is Matthew around? Could I talk to him?""No. You can't!"She really w
As soon as Jo and Matthew had their breakfast, they packed up and got ready for the late evening flight so they could spend the day out. The weather was amazing with the blue cloudless sky and a nice cold breeze."Matty, let's go to one of the most amazing places in Paris." Jo piped up as soon as they arrived at the Esplanade de la Defense station."Hm…" Matthew just muttered in agreement. He wouldn't consider that place as amazing. He wondered why she wanted to come here. For him, it was just a business district like Manhattan in New York or The City in London. There was nothing interesting among tall skyscrapers."That's our goal!" She said pointing in the direction of La Grande Arche de la Defense.On the way, Jo stopped many times to take some photos of original skyscrapers and several dozen modern sculptures by artists such as Calder, Miro, César from the station to the Grande Arche. She also showed him interesting reflections in the gl
In a moment, they were at the central platform under the arch. From that point of view, this place looked amazing. A set of domed glass elevators lifted visitors from the platform to the gallery and observation deck on top. The elevator track was detached from the sides of the arch while the platform at the base formed a plaza in itself and was covered by a permanent tent anchored by cables to the sides of the arch. "Jo, I'm serious. Could we take the other way?" Matthew tried to find a solution, which would guarantee him not to use the glass elevator. Only the mere sight of them made him feel sick. ‘Good thing that I haven't eaten yet.’ He thought of a contingency plan, but nothing came to his mind. It would be tactless to stay on the ground and wait for her. "That's not easy. The public doesn't have access to the other elevators inside the building. Only people who work in offices inside the arch can use them. These elevators are one of the attractions. It will be
They came back from La Defence quite early and still had plenty of time before the ride to the airport. Matthew copied all her photos on his laptop. He was surprised by how many great shots she had taken. Some of them were so amazing, suitable to be advertising posters. He already got permission to print some of them. Then he packed his laptop and got his stuff ready. “Jo, are you tired? Do you want to go for a walk?" Matthew asked, taking his suitcase to the corridor next to the front door. "I am not. I just finished packing too." Jo said as she thought where they could go somewhere for 2-3 hours. "Let's go for a walk." "Fine, but not too long a walk. We have a journey to the airport and a flight ahead of us." She was already tired but didn't want to admit it. She was in her beloved Paris and wanted to enjoy every minute of it. She had no idea when she could be here again so she had to make the most of every moment to enjoy herself.