Tension tightened the back of Dominic’s neck. The sullen look in Marianne’s eyes made his stomach chill with fear. Still, the floor they were on was not an ideal place for any kind of discussion.

“Why don’t you get under the covers?” He suggested, planting a quick kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be right with you.”

Simply nodding to him, she got up from the floor. He went to the window and pulled it down. Then, he crossed the room and closed the door behind him, eager to hear her story. Dominic lay in bed beside her, maintaining eye contact with Marianne the entire time.

“Alright; lay it on me.” He urged, as he rolled over onto his left side.

“Here it goes.” She sucked in a deep breath. “Three years ago, my boyfriend at the time introduced me to his uncle. He owns ‘Stellar Books’, a major publishing company. The guy loved my work. He always said things like ‘your books are going to take the world by storm’, ‘one day, you’ll be more famous than Stephen King’. Everything was going great. My book was published and they even ran a short advertising campaign. When I asked them why they didn’t promote it any further, he said: ‘No more freebies. If you want a bigger campaign…” Her sweet voice broke, as she squeezed her eyes shut. ‘You’ll have to work for it’.”

“Work for it?” Dominic squinted at her.

“I’d have to sleep with him.” Marianne whispered, as a tear rolled out of her eye. “If I said ‘no’, he would pull my book out of circulation. He would also make sure that no other publishing company would want to sign me. Anyway…” She exhaled hard. “I couldn’t sell myself out. I said ‘no’. I sent out some resumes to other companies, but no one ever called me. That man ruined my dream of becoming an author.”

“I’m sorry, Marianne.” He whispered, reaching his hand towards her face. “What’s that guy’s name?”

“Does it matter?” She sniffled, as she dropped her eyes from his warm gaze. “I’ve wanted to become a writer since I was nine years old. Now, that dream is gone.”

“Don’t lose hope just yet.” Dominic said, his voice soft, feeling her tears soaking his thumb as he ran it across her cheekbone. “Remember the title of your book?”

“Yeah,” she snorted in frustration. “Ironic, isn’t it?”

“It sure is,” He agreed, stroking her cheek. “Since we’re on the subject of confessions, I’d like to share something with you.”

“Go ahead,” Marianne encouraged, leaning towards him.

“Back in ‘Les Bossons’, when you said that verse, what did you think I was going to do?” Dominic asked.

“You lost me,” she confessed, a small smile on her face. “What does that have to with anything?”

“Trust me, it does.” He gave a firm nod.

“I don’t know, appreciate it?” Marianne guessed, her voice rising up an octave.

“Exactly!” Dominic exclaimed. “Last summer, the same thing happened to me. A friend came to visit with his sister. At some point, he started yelling at her. The girl cried and I mean a lot. I was moved. I drew her portrait, but she laughed at me. She just…” He paused. “Jumped in her car and tried to leave. She didn’t check the road. She crashed into an oncoming truck. She was killed on the spot.”

“Oh, my God…” Marianne whispered, shaking her head sideways. “What a terrible story.”

“It was the first thing that came to mind, when I saw you cry.” He heaved a long, heavy sigh. “I can’t forget that day. But, I don’t regret it. I just had to do it.”

“I should add ‘impulsive’ to that list of adjectives I guess.” She uttered, as a sly smile lit up her glorious face.

“What?” He opened his eyes wide.

“Don’t worry.” Marianne made her voice sound sweeter. “I’m just teasing you. Do you really think I would write about this? Us, I mean?”

“I hope not.” It was Dominic’s turn to tease her.

“No!” She put a little force in her voice, as she playfully tapped him on the chest. “Are you crazy? Imagine the headline: ‘Reporter visits king, ends up seducing him. Read all the spicy details on page three.’ I could easily lose my job over this, not to mention I’d never be able to work as a reporter again.”

“Who seduced whom tonight?” He wondered, as his voice lowered to a tender whisper.

“No one,” Her response was quick. “I think we just…” She faltered, “Gave in to each other. Want to know a secret?”

“Yeah.”

“When you came by this morning…” Marianne’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “When you kissed me… I really wished you kissed my mouth.”

“Well, I did, too.” Dominic laughed. “It wouldn’t be proper, though. Plus, I could get seriously hurt.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, curiosity written all over her face.

“You could slap me.” He explained, as his smile turned into a huge grin. “Girls don’t like it when guys try to take advantage of them.”

“I wouldn’t slap you.” Marianne gave a short laugh. “Why would I do that to the man who tried to comfort me?”

“I don’t know.” Dominic shrugged. “People tend to overreact when they’re hurting. But, I do know that this is going to be a very, very interesting week.”

“If it’s anything like today, then I’m sure it will be.” She agreed, snuggling up against him.

“Tomorrow won’t.” He pointed out. “You’re still going to Paris.”

“But…”

“No ‘but’.” Dominic interjected. “You’ve never been there, have you?”

“No.” Marianne whispered.

“Then you’re going.” He said in his voice deep. “Spend the day there. Besides, I have to pay certain people a visit. I don’t think we’d be able to see each other much.”

“I’d really love it if you came with.” Once again, her sweet voice made his heart leap with joy. Dominic did not speak. He caressed her wrist, looking deep into her eyes, as he tilted his head down. Marianne’s tender kiss raised every hair on his body, as she circled her right arm around his neck. He slid his hand up her arm, as she held him close. Her hot breath on his skin sent waves of bliss through him, as he stroked her shoulder.

Saying ‘no’ to a day full of this? I must be stupid or something. No, Dominic. You just want her to go there and have some fun with Melanie. She’s going to love the big, romantic city. Okay, it would be great if we visited it together, but I can’t go there tomorrow. Go, little bird. Go explore Paris. I’m sure it will inspire you somehow.