“Yes, you did,” I say firmly because I need him to know I take that promise seriously.
“But we can still do romantic stuff without, you know, proposing.” He drops the towel, and I feel a rush of love for him as his hair sticks out in every possible direction.
“You’re right,” I nod slowly. “Okay, let’s go get some food and then see the Eiffel Tower all lit up.”
His smile is wide and unstoppable. “Sweet! Just give me two minutes to get dressed!”
“Well, take your time, because I am not a neanderthal and I will need at least fifteen,” I say, sliding off the bed. As I pass him, I stop and push up to kiss the tip of his nose. “You finished in the bathroom?”
“All yours!” He says, and just as I’m about to walk that way, he grabs me, pulls me back and kisses me like we didn’t just spend three hours in bed together.
But I’m not complaining. Not one bit.
BENJI
“Fine!” I admit as we walk out of the restaurant. “That was a tourist trap. We should have looked further away from Trocadéro.”
“You think?” Dion says as he pulls on his jacket and stands opposite me.
“I mean, for a tourist trap, it wasn’t bad. I don’t want to sound biased, but even bad French food is better than most other bad food.”
“You do sound biased. Very.”
“You cleaned your plate!” I point out as I take Dion’s hand and we start walking down the pavement towards Esplanade Joseph-Wresinski, which will give us a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower across the Seine.
“I was hungry. Somebody made me work up quite an appetite this afternoon,” he knocks his arm into mine.
“A pretty fucking good start to our trip, I’d say.”
“I’m not disagreeing.”
“Wow, that makes this moment extra special,” I swing our hands back and forward like the love-sick fool I am.
“Make the most of it. It won’t last,” Dion says, but he’s not resisting my swinging hands, and I can hear the amusement in his voice.
“Thank you,” I say, surprising myself. “For organising this.”
“I didn’t,” Dion is frowning at me when I look across at him.
“You did. It was all your idea.”
“Yeah, but you booked the flights, found the hotel.”
“I know, but I don’t think I would have been brave enough to instigate this trip in the first place. So, thank you for doing that.”
Dion stops walking, and that slows me down, too. “I… Is it too soon?”
I look down as his spare hand finds my forearm and grips it through my clothes. It’s the place where he tattooed my mother’s handwriting on me.
“No,” I say. “If anything, I probably should have come back to France sooner. My auntie has been offering ever since Maman passed, and all my cousins are here and… I just couldn’t face all the reminders of her. Even here, I feel like she’s everywhere.”
Dion nods. “I can understand that. But maybe that’s a good thing?”
I blink at him in surprise. I’d never thought of it like that. “I mean, yeah, shit… I guess it is.”
“Not that I think this is easy for you,” he adds. “I’m sure it’s very difficult.”
“I don’t mind difficult,” I say and bend down so my forehead rests against the springy curls on the top of his head. “When I get to do difficult with you.”
