4. Violeta
Paris the city of hot as hell men…and good wine.
My latest match on Rendezvous was not what I had expected.
He was funny, sweet and was in no rush to meet me.
We had exchanged messages for a few days and I thought maybe all he wanted was someone to talk to until he finally asked if I was free today, like during the day.
I had never been out on a Rendezvous date during the day, it was exciting, unprecedented and my expectations might have been pushed a little high.
He was cryptic about what he had planned. The only instructions were to wear comfy shoes, bring a sweater and he would pick me up. I was worried at first, but it was a day date, so I guessed it couldn’t be that bad.
Right?
I sighed as I walked down the stairs of the hostel I was staying at, excited, but a little nervous. No matter how many of these dates I went on, I always worried because you never knew who you were meeting. Which was why I was meeting him at the boulangerie down the street from me.
A ping alerted me that a message came through on Rendezvous as I arrived to the delicious smell of pastries. I took my phone out, reading that he was also here. Looking around I scanned the crowd, when a tall, broad-shouldered man walked toward me.
Aye dios mio. Was this my nerdy program writing date?
He waved, answering my silent question. The photo on his profile did not do him justice. He was sexy as hell with dirty blonde hair, a shy smile and those metal-rimmed glasses. If it wasn’t weird, I’d fan myself like that GIF of Santana from Glee. You know which one.
“Vi?” His voice was just as delicious as the rest of him.
“Levi?” I didn’t mean for it to sound like a question, but this man was making me loopy.
“Yeah,” he said, smiling shyly.
“It’s nice to meet you.” I held out my hand, thankful I remembered I had manners like a fucking lady.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, shaking my hand in a firm grip.
We stared at each other stupidly for a moment and god, I hope he was having similar thoughts about me, or else this was embarrassing.
He cleared his throat. “My moped is around the corner, you ready?”’
“Oh!” I yelled excitedly for something different.
“Bad oh, or good oh?” He bit his lip.
“Oh my god, no, this is awesome,” I said quickly. “I’ve always wanted to ride one, but I’ve been too nervous to try by myself.”
“Oh good, I should have asked first, but I’m so used to riding it around I didn’t even think about it,” he said, relieved. “If you’re not ok with it, I can get my car.”
“No, don’t you dare,” I said excitedly.
He grinned. “Ok, the drive is a little cool, so put your sweater on and we can get going.”
“Awesome,” I said, following him to his red moped as I put my sweater on. “Is this your main mode of transportation?”
“When it’s nice out, it is,” he said, handing me a helmet. “I usually like to walk since I live close to my work.”
“I’ve always wanted to live in a city where I could walk everywhere,” I said, as I put on my helmet.
“It’s great. I hate driving, prefer the moped or my motorcycle,” he said, holding his hand out to help me on.
“I hate driving too,” I said, my stomach erupting in butterflies when he turned on the moped.
I didn’t know where to put my hands so I left them on my thighs.
“You’re going to want to put your arms around me,” he said, looking over his shoulder, grabbing my arm and pulling it around his middle.
“Ok,” I said as I felt myself blush. “I felt weird assuming.”
He smirked. “I know we just met, but I don’t think I’ll ever say no to you touching me, but you have my consent to touch me. I might hold onto your leg. Is that ok?”
I bit my lip. “Um…yeah, of course.”
“Alright, let’s go,” he said, patting my calf as he merged us into traffic.
The city was beautiful like this as we zoomed through it. Levi pointed out a few places he told me I needed to eat at. I tried keeping a mental list, but there were just too many places.
My hostel was a little outside of the city center, but as we drove past the Eiffel Tower, I grew even more excited to see where we were going.
I had given Levi a rundown of all the places I had visited and I was hoping we were going to the Basilique du Sacré-C?ur de Montmartre.
It was on my list of places to visit, but traveling that far made me a little nervous.
When we didn’t pass the Seine, I racked my brain for what else I said I wanted to visit, but since it was hard to figure out where we were, I was at a loss. Levi pulled into an unassuming parking lot that left me even more perplexed.
He parked, helping me off and taking off my helmet. Static made my hair stand out as he looked at me sheepishly.
“Sorry, I didn’t think about your hair,” he murmured, taking off his own helmet.
I attempted to smooth my hair down. “It’s ok, I can put it up if it gets unruly.”
“The only bad thing about riding is the helmet hair,” he said, running his hand through his hair, stressing his bicep and leaving his hair looking perfect.
“It’s fine, I promise,” I said, running my fingers through my hair. “I’m more excited to see where we are going.”
“I know you had a list of places you wanted to visit,” he said, hooking our helmets onto his moped. “I thought this might be different and maybe something you didn’t know you’d want to see.”
His cheeks grew pink with embarrassment.
I smiled, a little wary of where he might have brought me, but was really hoping for the best.
“I’m intrigued,” I said, as he led me out of the parking lot and onto the sidewalk.
“Now I’m regretting doing something different,” he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. “You mentioned your love of reading and I thought you might like to see a beautiful library.”
We walked to a gorgeous building that did not look like a library.
“You also mentioned ‘Beauty and the Beast’,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “And I think this might be like the library Belle had. It’s a beautiful library.”
He remembered what I had said. I was flabbergasted. His thoughtfulness made me warm inside and now I was even more excited.
“If you don’t like it, we can—”
“Oh, no. Now I can’t wait to get inside,” I said, grabbing his hand and walking faster.
Levi laughed as we walked up to a person taking tickets.
They scanned them and checked my bag before letting us in.
If Europe had taught me anything, it was that the simplest architecture had the most beautiful interior.
I was not ready for what we walked into.
The ceilings were high with beautiful art decorating it and books upon books everywhere.
“Levi,” I said softly. “This is amazing.”
He blushed again. “I’m glad you like it. Come on, let's explore and I can tell you a little about the building if you want.”
“Yes, please,” I said, taking his outstretched hand.
His big hand encompassed my own, giving me butterflies. If we ended up going home together, I’d pray to whoever I had to that he didn’t fall asleep on me.
“Damn, Levi, this view is stunning,” I said, overlooking the Seine. “You are on a roll today.”
“Thanks,” he said, tilting his head down, but I could still see his ears slightly pink. “It has a great view and their menu is so good.”
“I haven’t eaten a meal I didn’t like here,” I said, taking another glance at the view. “This meal was simple, but so satisfying.”
It was barely four p.m. and even though I had eaten lunch, all the walking we had done at the library left me ravenous. If my feet didn’t hurt and I didn't need a pick-me-up, I would have stayed at the library till they closed.
“I don’t think Paris could produce a subpar meal,” he said, taking a drink of his glass of Chablis.
“Don’t jinx me,” I said, finishing the rest of my wine.
Levi smiled shyly. The glow of the late afternoon sun accentuated his tanned skin and made his green eyes pop. We stared at each other for a moment, lost in our thoughts, when the server arrived.
“Un autre verre de vin?” They asked.
Another glass of wine?
I shook my head as Levi replied like French was his main language. It was sexy as hell, how effortlessly he changed from English to French. The server left, taking his card to pay for the bill.
“Are you originally from France?” I wondered. “Your English and French are great.”
“No, I grew up in Spain and visited America often. My father’s family was from New York City,” he said smiling. “I grew up speaking Spanish and English, then when I went to school I learned French because my papa loved to visit here.”
“That’s amazing,” I sighed. “Learning another language in America is hard, but I feel like here in Europe it's so easy to immerse yourself.”
“I know a little Italian and Korean too,” he said. “I think I tried learning those a little too late.”
“You’re never too old to learn a language,” I said, leaning forward. “If you ever need help, I’m a great teacher and I know of a really cool app.”
“I think I’d like one-on-one lessons, please,” he said, his voice a little husky.
“I think that could be arranged,” I said, feeling my body grow hot.
We watched each other for a moment before I had to look away. Levi cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up his nose.
“I’m not ready for this to end. Would you like to watch a movie at my home with me?” Levi asked, biting his lip. “Or we could get started on language lessons.”
“Only if you show me what kind of setup you use for programming,” I said, trying not to show how excited I was.
“I don’t know if you’re ready for my setup.” He grinned, taking the bill from the server, thanking her for her service.
“Did you build it yourself?” I leaned forward.
“What do you think?” He mimicked my pose.
I grinned, loving his confidence. “I think I won’t see it until I believe it.”
Levi chuckled, signing the bill.
“Your chariot awaits.”
He stood up, holding out his hand so I could get up too.
The drive back to his place was gorgeous. The weather was perfect and after the glass of wine I had, it mellowed me out enough that a nap sounded fantastic the moment he parked.