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Lena came to France without planning.
France had been one of the destinations on her list of vacation for years but the work always occupied her time, and soon enough Lena had visited every other country on her list except for France. Slowly, she didn’t pay much attention to it anymore, until one day she saw the word Paris on the plane ticket Jess, her secretary, gave her two days before Lena had a direct conference with Diana Prince who clearly loved travel the world more than business.
Diana told Lena to come to France and meet her there, then she would help Lena discover one of the most famous city in the world. Not that Lena wasn’t excited already, but she didn’t show that in the video call with Diana. She only jumped on the bed after hanging up like a child, thinking that she finally got the chance to come to France.
After nearly seven hours of being stuffed on a crowded plane, Lena finally stepped on her dream land. The first thing that came into her mind was how heavy scent the airport was. The autumn in Europe always made Lena feel comfortable, but she doubted it would be nice in the summer. The sun would be too much for her pale skin to handle. Not to mention her sensitive eyes.
Nope.
Lena didn’t pack much for the trip, so she quickly became one of the people who left the airport first. While searching for the person who had been assigned to pick her up, Lena took advance of the time and made a quick checklist of the locations she should visit in Paris. Diana had told her a lot about the city, and always claimed that Lena would love it.
Lena was excited, of course, and darted her eyes across the dashes of the French words on her screen, hopeful for an exciting time.
___
She didn’t get what she wished for.
Diana had an urgent incidence came up at her branch in Spain, so she had to fly there as soon as possible. I promise I will take you around Paris, but starting tomorrow was what Diana wrote in the email she sent Lena later that day. Lena had just come to the hotel, not impressed by the size of the room she had been given, but she supposed Paris was a very crowded city with swamps of tourists everyday, so a small hotel room was reasonable for a not very reasonable price.
Lena wasn’t bothered by the cost, but the fact that she didn’t get to explore Paris with Diana. Her friend left her here alone with the number of the assigned driver for a whole day, what should she do?
Lena rolled on the bed, snatching her notebook and took a look at the destinations. She got the phone and searched for the closest one to see if she could come there on her own.
Arc de Triomphe was her decision. Lena looked through the window and found that the day was still young. Lena hopped off the bed and grabbed her purse, the city map and headed down to the lobby.
The lady at the reception desk, a very kind lady but her English was as good as Lena’s French, so she had to use all of her body just to tell her that she would come to Arc de Triomphe and ask for help with the train station.
Lena ended up walking.
The weather was not too cool, exactly like Lena had expected, so she was comfy in her jean jacket and long pants. The stroll made her realized how exhausting walking could be. Lena did sports, sometimes, but she wasn’t used to long walks as much as she would love to. Diana always laughed at Lena running after her during their time in high school. Diana had incredible long legs that Lena admired and was jealous of.
The sneakers treated her well, so when she saw the tall and square arc from afar, she immediately forgot about the tiredness and let out an awe sigh.
Lena joined the wave of people on the street and came close to the arc, but didn’t approach it. The traffic was a bit too crazy for her, and the sky was still a bit too bright. Diana said everything in Paris would look magnificent at night, and Lena trusted her friend, so she just stood there to observe first.
The conversation of people around her alerted Lena that she was in a foreign country, and she couldn’t speak a single French sentence without turning it into frenglish. The language was soft and, like everyone who didn’t speak French had said, romantic. Lena had never thought about learning French, though, and now she regretted that wholeheartedly.
Lena looked around and realized she was on Avenue des Champs-Élysées , which would lead to another sight-seeing location, Place de la Concorde . She checked the route on her phone and gasped when she found out the walk would be over 1,3 mile. But the direction was easy, just one straight line, so Lena decided to kill the time.
It’s only thirty minutes.
___
Lena wasn’t impressed by the streets. The views were, yes, spectacular, but the traffic, the sound, and the amount of people - especially tourists - made her feel a bit too stuffed. Lena had spent hours on the plane, and she had expected at least she could get some fresh air.
Too much for the most romantic city in the world.
Her ankles began to murder her after only twenty minutes of walking, but she didn’t want to stop. Lena might be the worst when it came to exercising, but once she started something, she wouldn’t be a quitter. Even if she started panting as the heat came for her neck, or her back started sweating.
The crowd got a bit too narrow later on, and she was shoved by a force somewhere. Lena quickly avoid the line of people, and found herself standing idly on the side, heavy breathing. She rolled her eyes and took the chance to rest.
She pulled out the tissue box and took one piece to dab away the sweats on her face. When her hand reached to the right side of her face, something felt odd. Lena stretched her index finger to touch her ear lobe and the empty feeling was confirmed. Her earring was gone!
Gasping in terror, Lena threw the tissue into the trash can close by and stared at the ground to search, the right hand kept rubbing her earlobe, trying to make up for the lack of weight. These earrings belonged to her grandmother, and she always wore them for luck. Losing one of the pair must be the worst thing had ever happened to Lena, because even if she never admitted, Lena had some superstitious veins pumping under her skin. Grandmother Lily had told her that the earring wouldn’t only bring luck, but also something special and fateful. Lena had seen the luck part, when she wore them to her exams, or job interviews, but not the ‘special and fateful’ part.
As she mumbling a curse, Lena heard a sound of throat-clearing from behind. She turned around and met with a tall blonde girl in blue T-shirt and jeans, smiling at her. Before Lena even had the chance to gather up herself in front of the pretty girl, the blonde spoke. In French, of course.
“Excusez-moi, vous avez perdu quelque chose?” (Excuse me, did you lose something?)
Raising eyebrows was the first thing Lena did. Jaw-dropping was the second. The girl held the gaze for a moment, then pointed on the ground, circling her index finger, mimicking Lena’s posture. Lena gasped when she realized the girl was asking what she was looking for. “My earring,” she said, pointing at her empty earlobe, then the only earring left on her left ear. “I lost it.” Lena gestured the ground.
“Vous avez perdu une boucle d’oreille? Je vais vous aider à la retrouver.” (You lost an earring? I will help you find it.)
Lena chuckled nervously, “You’re very cute, but I don’t understand what you’re saying.” She tried to work up her brain to recall the phrase Diana had taught her in their last phone call. “Um… je ne… parle pas... Français.” (Um… I don’t… speak… French.)
The French girl ah -ed knowingly, grinning. “Ok, tu ne peux pas parler Français. Mais tu es très belle.” (Okay, you don’t speak French. But you’re pretty.) The way she mumbled to herself was amusing enough that Lena wished she knew French, even just the basics.
Lena could only awkwardly say, “I’m sorry. I can’t understand you.”
The stranger waved her hands, trying to focus Lena’s attention. Her glorious blonde curls already did that on their own, to be honest. “Toi…,” she pointed at Lena, “moi…,” she pointed at herself, “boucle d’oreille…,” her hand gently pulled at the earlobe, “trouver…,” she gestured the ground, then made a circle with the thumb and index finger, “...ok?” (You… me… earring… find… ok?)
Lena understood it immediately, and happily nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”
They began the search. The French girl paid attention to a lot of corners, while Lena tried to remember her own step to see if she had any luck. It didn’t help much when there was a gorgeous girl crouching down next to her. It was too distracting, the way Lena easily found the glimpse of the girl’s underwear just a little above the waistband of her jeans. She didn’t want to stare, but she couldn’t help herself in front of pretty girls. Who would have known that losing her grandma earring would result in her meeting such a friendly and cute woman in the most romantic city in the world?
“Trouvé!” (Found it!) the blonde yelled suddenly, startling Lena. She quickly averted her gaze away and let the girl came to her. “Voila.” (There you go.) She held the diamond piece above Lena’s open palm.
“Thank you so much! Merci! Merci!” Lena received the earring with the brightest grin on her face. “This was my grandma’s.”
The blonde didn’t seem bothered by the lack of understanding between them, the smile matched with the floating feeling Lena was having inside her chest. It was making her feel hot, but not because of the weather. “Mon nom est Kara,” the girl slowly spoke, pointing at herself, then gestured Lena with a grin, “Et vous comment vous vous appelez?” (My name is Kara. And what is your name?)
The girl had introduced herself. Kara . Lena knew that she had to do her part, too. “My name is Lena.”
“Lena.” Kara extended her hand. Lena had thought she wanted a handshake, so she grabbed it. But Kara took her by surprise when she brought Lena’s hand up to the mouth and pressed her lips on the knuckles. Lena was sure she blushed. “Un si joli nom pour une si belle femme.” (A beautiful name for a pretty girl.) The way Kara stared at Lena when she said the words made Lena feel like she was worshipped, which was strangely endearing and intimidating. Was there a halo light behind Kara? “Je suis contente que tu ne comprennes pas le Français, Lena.” (I'm glad you don't understand French, Lena.)
Lena giggled like a schoolgirl, pulling back from Kara’s palm, away from the romantic gesture that she rarely received from strangers. “Even the way you say my name is romantic, Kara. Nice to meet you.”
“D’où venez-vous?” (Where are you from?) Kara asked with curious eyes, “Allemagne? Italie? Espagne? Grande Bretagne? Russie? Etats-Unis? (Germany? Italy? Spain? The UK? Russia? The USA?)
With a list of something that sounded like country names, Lena nodded in understanding and answered, “You want to know where I’m from. I’m from Ireland.” Afraid Kara wouldn’t understand, Lena pulled out her keychain, on which dangled a tiny metal clover painted in green.
“Oh, Irlandaise! Intéressant! Êtes-vous ici pour le travail ou pour les vacances?” (Oh, you’re Irish. Interesting. Are you here to work or are you on a vacation?) Kara made a clear demonstration of someone who was wearing a suit, then mimicked the gesture of taking photos. Lena couldn’t help but smile at the effort Kara put to communicate with her. It made Kara ten times more attractive than she already was.
“Both,” she answered, raising two index fingers and putting them together, then pointed one at Kara. “You?”
“Je suis là pour aider une amie. Elle n’est pas en ville à l’heure actuelle. Je ne fais que me promener. Solo.” (I’m here to help a friend. She’s not in town right now. I’m just wandering around. Solo.) Kara arched an eyebrow at the last word. It was clear that ‘solo’ was the only thing from her sentence that Lena could understand. “Tu es là seule? Tu es aussi solo?” (Are you here alone? Solo too?)
“Yes, I’m solo at the moment,” Lena nodded, smiling. So Kara was here alone, and she didn’t seem like she was in a hurry. An idea appeared in Lena’s mind.
She usually didn’t do this but perhaps the city of Paris had done something to her. Maybe it was the way Kara looked at her with the smile lingering not just on her lips but also in her blue eyes. Lena was charmed by the kindness and courtesy radiating from Kara from the beginning, and why should she let this opportunity go?
“Wait,” Lena raised a finger, then shifted the keys in her keychain and rolled out a mini pen. Jess had found it weird that Lena kept a tiny pen with her, but she knew how useful such a little thing could be. “Can you give me your hand?” She gestured the blonde’s palm.
The grin on Kara’s face grew wider as she stretched her arm toward Lena. “Quoi? Ma main? Bien sûr!” (What? My hand? Sure!)
Lena gingerly gripped the girl’s hand and placed the tip of the pen on it. She carefully drew two cups of coffee on the smooth surface of Kara’s skin, feeling a bit more confident than usual. A stranger actually let her doodle on their hand, and Kara was even grinning. Lena let Kara retreat her hand later, and asked, “Coffee?”
The French girl stared at her palm, smirking. Her blue eyes lifted to meet Lena’s, a gleam of interest glowed in them. “Je pensais que vous alliez me donner votre numéro, mais bien sûr, j’adorerais prendre un café avec vous. Oui!” (I thought you were going to give me your number, but sure, I’d love to drink coffee with you. Yes!)
Lena couldn’t speak French, but she knew Oui meant yes . With a load of hand gesture from Lena, Kara finally let out an ‘ah’, then led the way to a small coffee shop in an alley.
On their little trip to the shop, Kara asked Lena a lot of questions, and Lena only had an idea or two about the meaning of them, but she never lost interest in what Kara wanted to say. There was this warmth in Kara’s laughter that drew Lena in like magnets.
Like when they walked past a flower shop, Kara gestured that Lena waited for her and walked into the shop to talk with the old lady who was watering the flowers. She guessed that they were acquaintances, judging by the way they greeted each other. She arched an eyebrow when Kara threw a glance at Lena, grinning, then spoke something into the old lady’s ear.
Eventually Kara returned to Lena’s side, raising an okay sign at her and made a little bow to tell Lena to start walking.
“What did you just do?” Lena tapped Kara’s shoulder, pointing her thumb over the shoulder, “Back there, with the old lady?”
Kara laughed, waving her hands. “C’est pour toi. Tu vas voir.” (It’s for you. You’ll know.) The blonde pointed at Lena, then at her own eyes. It was a bit vague, but Kara seemed excited and Lena had a fair amount of guesses that it was something to do with her, so she didn’t ask further.
Before they left the busy street, Kara spoke in a slow pace. “Est-ce que je peux vous tutoyer? Plutôt que de vous vouvoyer? Vous savez ‘Vous’,” the blonde paused, stepping away from Lena, keeping her at arm-length, “c’est de la politesse, pas les amies. ‘Tu’,” Kara hopped to stand next to Lena, hovering her arm over Lena’s shoulders in an intimate way but never touched her, “c’est pour les amies, comme toi.”
Lena had no idea what Kara had just asked, but she would prefer the blonde not standing too far away. She tugged at the girl’s sleeve, smiling. “Stay close.” The grin on Kara’s face was almost blinding.
___
They sat on the porch of a small coffee shop, with pale pink roses running on the fences and the vines climbing on the walls. The yellow and blue umbrella tilted slightly toward Kara, but the blonde spun it so Lena would sit completely in shade. For a person with sensitive eyes and skin, Lena really appreciated the gesture.
“So, where are you from?” Lena asked when their drinks arrived. Kara took full black coffee, while Lena went with cappuccino. She didn’t need a lot of caffeine today, especially with the way Kara always kept her mind engaged with her fabulous French. “You know… me, Irish,” she raised the keychain and pointed at herself, then at Kara and gestured the city, “you, Parisian?”
Kara shook her head, the fluffy blonde locks bounced slightly on her shoulders. They caught the sunlight that cut from the girl’s neck down across her chest and rested on the elbow of her other side. The reflection from the hair brightened up the sky drops below the brown eyebrows, gleaming up every time they met Lena’s eyes.
“Non, je ne suis pas parisienne. Je viens d’une petite ville appeler Saint-Émilion.” Kara drew a giant invisible circle with her arms, “Paris, grand.” Then she pinched the air. “Saint-Émilion, petit.” (No, I'm not Parisian. I come from a small village called Saint-Émilion. Paris, big. Saint-Émilion, tiny.)
“Ah… I’m from Ashford, County Wicklow. Also a petit village,” Lena mimicked Kara’s gesture to describe the town and worked up her body language to ask, “What do you do for a living?”
It took Kara a few seconds to figure out. The blonde hummed, thinking, then pulled out a small notebook from her little backpack and a pen. “Je suis professeur particulier.” (I’m a tutor.) Kara drew a doodle of a person holding a stick on a whiteboard, with a little student in front of them.
“You’re a teacher,” Lena gasped.
“Oui. Et toi? C’est quoi ton métier?” (Yes. And you? What is your job?) Kara pointed the tip of the pen at Lena. At this point, Lena could be sure that toi meant you .
“I work for a company called ‘Luthor Corp’. I don’t know if you heard about it…” Lena narrowed her eyes. It was weird to talk about her family company as if she didn’t own a part of it. She never wanted to brag, so she always tried to separate herself from the giant last name.
“Ah, Luthor Corp. Les voitures, les machines et toutes ces technologies.” (Ah, Luthor Corp. Cars, machines, and technology.) Kara softly clapped her hands.
“Yep, those sound about right,” Lena nodded, sipping her coffee.
“Combien de temps tu restes à Paris?” (How long are you staying in Paris?) Kara tapped her watch, then whistled as she mimicked a plane taking off. “Tu pars bientôt?” (Are you leaving soon?)
Lena understood and pulled out her used plane ticket still in her purse, pointing at the date. “See, I flew here today.” She raised three fingers. “I’m going to stay for three days. Today, tomorrow, and the day after that.” She folded one finger per word.
“Seulement trois jours. C’est vraiment dommage.” (Only three days? That’s too bad.) Kara sighed, leaning against the backrest of her chair, rubbing her lower lip with a finger. Her eyes held at somewhere on Lena’s face as she continued, “Je t’aime bien.” (I really like you.)
Okay, Lena might not know French, and she had no idea what Kara had just said, but the phrase je t’aime was a familiar hearing one. Lena felt her face getting hot at the romantic subtext lingering in the words even though she could have misunderstood Kara.
It was the beginning of their talk that made Lena forget the time, and proceeded to have lunch with Kara at that very coffee shop.
Suddenly, Lena was grateful that Diana had urged her to come to Paris and left her here alone.
____
“Où veux-tu aller? Je peux t’y emmener.” (Where do you want to go? I can take you there.)
It took Kara a lot of gestures for Lena to understand that Kara would volunteer to be her guide for the day. The first destination that came into Lena’s mind was the infamous Eiffel Tower.
“Can you take me to Eiffel Tower?” she said, hopefully Kara understood, but the blonde only shrugged, still having no clue. “You know…” Lena borrowed Kara’s notebook and tried the hardest to draw the giant tower.
“Eiffel tower? Quoi? Ah, la tour Eiffel! Bien sur, je vais te montrer le chemin. Tu préfères y aller a pied ou en métro?” (Eiffel tower? What? Ah, the Eiffel tower! Sure, I’ll lead the way. Do you prefer walking or taking the subway?) Kara did a fine job asking if Lena would walk or use a transportation, and Lena wondered if Kara bein so great in communicating without a common language was a gift she had or something she collected from her job as a teacher.
“No, no walking. Subway, please. Metro.”
They had to take two metros. According to Kara, the closest station was at the Place de la Concorde. They took the Metro 1 to Charles de Gaulle-Etoile, then Metro 6 from Charles de Gaulle-Etoile to Bir-Hakeim (Grenelle). The subway was dark, of course, and Lena didn’t like the smell, but Kara attracted all of her attention with the way she explained the route, Lena didn’t mind one bit.
When they reached Bir-Hakeim, Kara ran into someone.
“Sam! Ruby! Bonsoir!” Kara’s face lightened up when a young woman and a teenage girl called out to her. Lena assumed that they were friends. Kara rushed forward and wrapped them both in a tight hug, grinning from ear to ear. “Ça fait du bien de vous revoir. Vous êtes là pour voir la tour Eiffel?” (Sam, Ruby, hi! It's so great to meet you again. Are you here to see the Eiffel tower?)
Kara and the young woman greeted each other in French. Lena looked at the teenager, who mouthed bonjour to her. As a reflex, Lena mouthed back hi , that earned a shy smile from the little girl.
After a few exchanges, Kara turned to Lena. “Lena, je te présente Ruby, mon ancienne élève. Sam, c’est la mère de Ruby.” (Lena, this is Ruby, my former student. Sam is Ruby’s mother.) Lena could tell the relationship between Sam and Ruby, so she smiled at the two to greet. “Sam et Ruby, voici Lena, mon… amie. Elle ne parle pas Français, seulement Anglais." (Sam and Ruby, this is Lena, my… friend. She doesn't speak French, just English.)
Lena didn’t know what to feel when Kara hesitated when she introduced her to Sam and Ruby.
“Ravie de vous rencontrer,” (Nice to meet you.) Sam offered a handshake, grinning.
Lena returned the gesture. “Nice to meet you. And je ne parle pas francais.”
Sam chuckled, nodding. “It’s okay, when I first came to France, I can’t speak any either.”
The sudden English with a clear accent from the stranger caught Lena by surprise. She gasped in joy. “Wow, you can speak English. Amazing!”
The tall woman wrapped her arm around her daughter, “Just enough for basic conversations. My daughter’s English is much better.”
Ruby was a shy girl, but the girl managed to say hello, Miss, nice to meet you to Lena, and Lena wanted to awe at the cute accent. Lena crouched down and started asking Ruby about Paris, and quickly got engaged in the conversation. Kara stood by, silently watching their interaction with a knowing smile.
During her little chat with Ruby, Lena’s ear caught Kara and Sam talking, and even though she didn’t want to overhear, she heard her name being mentioned. In another language.
“Du hast sie gerade erst kennengelernt? Kara, Lena ist wunderschön! Hast du schon ihre Nummer?” (You only met her? Kara, Lena is gorgeous! Have you had her number?)
“Ich würd super gern, aber ich weiß nicht, wie ich sie fragen soll. Ich mein, ich kann kein Englisch und sie ist nur für drei Tage hier.” (I’d love to, but I don’t know how to. I mean, I can’t speak English and she’s only here for three days.)
“Ach komm schon. Du bist doch sonst nicht so schüchtern. Soll ich sie für dich nach ihrer Nummer fragen?” (Oh, come on. You’re not this shy. Should I ask her number for you?”
“Oh mein Gott, nein! Das wäre megapeinlich. Sam, bitte nicht.” (Oh my god, no! That’s so embarrassing. Sam, please don't.)
“Aber Kara, sowas passiert nicht jeden Tag. Du musst die Chance nutzen. Frag sie nach ihrer Nummer, bevor ihr euch verabschiedet.” (But Kara, this doesn’t happen everyday. You have to take your chance. Ask for her number when you part ways.)
“Okay, okay, ich probier's. Mann, ich hätt echt Englisch lernen sollen.” (Okay, okay, I’ll try. Damn, I should have learned some English.)
“Ich hab’s dir doch gesagt.” (I told you so.)
“Ja, hast du.” (Yeah, you did.)
_______
They ended up not going to Eiffel Tower after parting their ways with Sam and Ruby as planned because of the crowd. Strolling along the street was more enjoyable to Lena, to be honest. Everyone around them was going in pairs or in groups, speaking indistinctly as the city was slowly lit up by the lights.
Lena didn’t even realize how they had gotten through lunch and then dinner naturally, even if they both spoke no words of each other’s mother tongue. Time seemed to freeze every time Kara smiled. Lena liked the way Kara’s hair danced in the colorful city lights, painting the girl in such a lively image. The image that would stay in Lena’s brain for a long time.
After taking the subway back to Place de la Concorde, the night had already fallen. Kara raised her hands when they walked along the avenue again.
“Attends-moi la. Je reviens tout de suite!” (Wait here. I’ll be right back!) Kara ran off to the same direction where they had gone to the coffee shop.
“Okay…” Lena picked an empty bench and sat down. Only now, she realized she had walked a lot today. Probably more than she had ever done in her entire life.
The day went by so quickly, too. If the sky didn’t get dark, or there was no clocks around, she would likely still think the day was young. Letting out a sigh, Lena knew it was time to say goodbye to Kara. Saying goodbye to the beautiful French girl who was as charming as her smile.
But next to the floating feeling that had been following Lena the whole day, there were worries.
Things like this never happened in real life. Diana had warned her that vacation flings were always amazing and dreamy, but most of them tended to fade, as soon as the vacation ended. Even Diana had a fair share of vacation flings all over the world, and none of them had any future.
In this giant city with crazy traffic, Lena Luthor had a fling with someone whose last name she didn’t even learn yet. The crush had already formed in her heart, and she didn’t know what to do with it.
The hectic footsteps alerted Lena that Kara had returned, they matched with the thundering beat inside Lena’s chest.
The blonde panted heavily, but her face was brightened with glee. Lena stood up to greet her. Her eyes darted down at Kara’s hand, seeing that she was holding a bouquet.
“Lena, c’est pour toi.” (Lena, this is for you.) Kara grinned from ear to ear, giving Lena the lovely roses decorated with soft yellow wrappings and a delicate ribbon tying around the branches. “Des belles fleurs pour une belle demoiselle.” (Beautiful flowers for the beautiful lady.)
Lena didn’t remember what she said after that, only the utter joy and how much she was flustered by the gift from Kara. She wasn’t one who was into flowers, but she had the feeling that she would treasure whatever Kara gave her.
The roses wrapped Lena in the soft scent of the romance all the way back to the hotel. Kara walked along with her, speaking about the streets and shops, trying to tell Lena about the festivals she had gone to. Lena was a bit distracted by the laugh and the scar above Kara’s eyebrows, but the urge to press her own lips against Kara’s was the largest. Normally, if she couldn’t get engaged in a proper conversation with someone, she tended to be bored. It was different with Kara.
It constructed a little faith in her that perhaps it was worth it.
This was worth a try.
“Ca y est nous y sommes. C’est bien ton hôtel?”(Here we are. This is your hotel, right?) Kara sighed, gesturing the door to the hotel vaguely, then bringing that hand to rub her neck. “Je suppose qu’il est temps de se dire au revoir.” (I guess it’s time for us to say goodbye.)
Lena knew what au revoir meant, and her heart sank. She looked up at the tall blonde, holding the bouquet tighter. “Every party has an end, unfortunately.”
The stare lingered between them for a long unsaid sentence. Kara’s cheeks reddened, her eyes darted at some point on Lena’s face but definitely not the eyes. “J’ai très envie de t’embrasser maintenant.” (I really want to kiss you right now.)
Lena had no idea what Kara had just said, but if the moment was right…
“Me too.”
The time still went by. Lena sensed the hurry in her muscles. She wanted to do something to the shyness in Kara’s breathing.
The blonde took a step forward, inhaling sharply. “J’ai passé un très bon moment, Lena. Tu es quelqu’un de génial et j’aimerais bien qu’on se revoie.” (I had such a great time, Lena. You are an amazing girl and I want to meet you again.) Kara snickered slightly, narrowing one eyes like she was saying something embarrassing. “Je pourrais être ton guide demain? Je suis totalement libre, je te le promets.” (Can I be your guide tomorrow? Totally free, I promise.)
The hope in Kara’s tone and the sadness in her eyes moved Lena. The itch in her lips spread across her body, pushing her to step forward. Kara’s gaze followed her. The blonde looked like she had trouble breathing. Lena smiled, sending a positive vibe to Kara.
“Gah, j’aimerais que tu me comprennes, Lena.” (Gah, I wish you understood me.) Kara grunted, biting her lip. That was enough. Lena didn’t need to know further.
She put the bouquet behind her back, closing the distance and tip toed. Kara gasped for second, then she crouched down and it happened. Fireworks went off behind Lena’s eyelids, sending her off the ground. Humans didn’t fly, but tonight, Lena Luthor did. In the middle of Paris, bathed in the lights of the streets and the hotel’s front porch, against the soft lips of a French girl who had spent her entire day with Lena even though she didn’t have to, Lena had left the world behind to really grasp the definition of something wonderful.
What to call it, she didn’t have the mind to figure out right now.
Lena’s chest nearly burst when she stood fully on her shoes again. Kara still held her pose, slowly opening her eyes. “Je suppose que c’était un oui.” She grinned, blinking rapidly. “Wow, c’était… inattendu. En bien, bien sûr.”
Lena hummed, deciding that it was time for her to halt her amusement. “Je ne parle pas francais, aber bitte rede weiter.”
“Oui, je peux continuer encore longtemps-” (Yeah, I can go on forever-) Kara’s eyes shot wider, locking with Lena’s, “Tu viens de parler allemand! Tu connais l’allemand!” (You just spoke German! You can speak German!)
It was quite entertaining to watch Kara grasping the fact that they both could understand each other for the first time. But the language barrier had never been able to stop them before, had it?
“Hallo, Kara.” Lena cheekily greeted the stunned blonde. (Hello, Kara.)
“Hallo,” Kara shyly replied, scratching her ear, “Du sprichst Deutsch? Warum hast du das nicht gesagt?” (Hello. You can speak German? Why didn’t you tell me?)
Lena laughed, “Du hast ja nie gefragt. Außerdem liebe ich es, wenn du französisch redest.” She raised the bouquet. “Ich mag die Rosen sehr gern, danke.” (You never asked. Also I love it when you speak French. I love the roses so much, thank you.)
Kara blushed harder, giggling. “Nichts zu danken.” Suddenly, she gasped, “Meine Güte, dann hast du Sam und mich verstanden!” (No need to thank me. Oh my god, then you must have understood Sam and me talking!)
Lena winced, sending an apologetic smile to Kara. “Tut mir leid. War keine Absicht.” (Sorry. I didn’t mean to.)
Kara whined into her palms, “Das ist jetzt wirklich peinlich.” (This is so embarrassing.)
Lena chuckled. How come Kara seemed so intimidating and smooth when she spoke French but with German, she was just a flustered ball of sunshine, Lena had no idea. “Sag schon, du willst mir doch was fragen, oder?” She tilted her head, taking a peak at the shy girl. “Komm schon, es kann gar nicht schlimmer werden.” (Tell me, you want to ask me something, right? Come on, it can’t get worse.)
Kara stole a peek through her fingers and then ran them in her hair, straightening her back.
“Lena, magst du mir deine Nummer geben?” (Lena, would you give me your number?)
“Drauf habe ich den ganzen Tag gewartet.” (I’ve been waiting for that the entire day.)
______
Diana came to collect Lena very soon. She was startled when she yawned half-asleep on the bed and met with a fully-dressed, perfect makeup on Diana Prince sitting in the only chair in the room.
Get up, we have to eat was the only information Lena received before being pushed into the bathroom by her intimidating physique friend. She hadn’t slept much last night because she had been texting with Kara for hours before finally falling asleep with the phone still in her hand. When Diana startled her a few minutes ago, the device followed her hand and nearly smashed at her forehead.
“Did you fall asleep texting?” Diana asked with tease when they strolled along the pavement to have breakfast. The morning was colder, but Lena didn’t care much because she was too busy yawning. “Geez, Lena, cover your mouth.”
“Di, why do you have to wake me up so early? It’s only 7:35 am. And when did you get back?”
Diana answered with mirth, “I got back yesterday afternoon, but I couldn’t call you so I thought you must have slept through. You didn’t, did you?”
Lena rolled her eyes at the tone. “It’s Paris, Di. You expect me to waste a whole day in the hotel room?”
Diana took a turn and walked into a bakery shop. They settled at a table by the window, then waited for their coffee to arrive.
“How do you find Paris so far?” her friend excitedly asked, “Is it as good as you pictured?”
Lena raised her eyebrows and knowingly answered, “It’s great. I like the views, the constructions, the people…”
“The people? How can you know ‘the people’ if you can’t speak the language?” Diana frowned in thinking, then gasped scandalously, “No way, you bitch! What did you do? Wait, don’t tell me here. Later, after we did the meeting.”
Lena laughed at how much Diana invested in her romantic side of life. She never had the exciting dates like Diana always did, but somehow her friend always wanted Lena to spill the beans.
After the arrival of their breakfast for a minute, Diana suddenly stood up and shouted in French, “Hey, par ici!” (Hey, over here!)
Lena turned over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of what attracted her friend’s attention and choked on the rest of her croissant. The glowing blonde hair and blue eyes that had been mesmerizing her mind yesterday were coming straight to their table. The surprise in Kara’s face was the undeniable proof that neither of them had seen this coming.
Diana greeted Kara with a hug and quickly pulled a chair for the blonde to join them. Kara’s eyes never left Lena, burning up her face.
“Lena, this is a friend of mine-” Diana began the introduction but Lena had already known a few things about the newcomer.
“-Kara. Ich kann nicht glauben. Du kennst Diana?” (I can’t believe this. You know Diana?)
“Ja. Und du?” (Yes. And you?)
“Ich bin ihre beste Freundin.” (I’m her best friend.)
Kara turned to Diana, who was still gawking at their interaction with her jaw dropped. “Quoi, Lena est ta meilleure amie? Ce monde est vraiment petit!” (Wait, Lena is your best friend? The world is so small!)
Diana took turns to look at Kara, then Lena, and back at Kara with the giant confusion in her crinkle eyebrows. “Est-ce que quelqu’un pourrait m’expliquer que diable se passe-t-il? Kara, comment ça se fait que tu connais Lena?” (Can someone please explain to me what the heck is going on? Kara, how do you even know Lena?)
After a short minute of storytelling from both Kara and Lena, Diana finally let out a sigh with a bright smile on her lips. “This is so funny. I’m glad you both met already. Lena, I planned to have Kara introduce you to the city anyway.” She got up from the seat, putting a fifty euro bill on the table. “Breakfast is on me.”
“Wait, where are you going?” Lena was taken aback. “Aren’t you coming with us?”
“I was going to, if you weren’t being comfortable enough with being with Kara alone. But I don’t think that’s a problem now, is it?” Diana’s knowing wink made Lena’s face hot at the implication. She left the table, skipping on her feet. “Have fun. Prends soins de ma meilleure amie. Rappelle-toi, je sais ou tu habites. (Take care of my best friend for me. Remember, I know where you live.)
Kara nodded, grinning widely. “À un de ces quatre, Diana.” (See you around, Diana.)
“Emmène-la visiter la ville, mais ramène la à mon entreprise à 16h. (Take her to see the city, but bring her back to my company at 4 p.m.) Later, Lena.”
“Bye, Di.”
________
When Diana left the bakery, she glanced at the table where her two friends were sitting, smiling at the mutual attraction in their eyes and muttered to the sky of the most romantic city in the world.
“Hmm, bon, je pense que Paris à fait un meilleur travail d’entremetteur que moi.” (I guess Paris did a better match-making job than me.)
♡
Je ne parle pas Français
Aber bitte red weiter
Alles, was du so erzählst
Hört sich irgendwie nice an
Und die Zeit bleib’ einfach steh’n
Ich wünscht’, ich könnte dich versteh’n
Je ne parle pas Français
Aber bitte red weiter
(Je ne parle pas Français - Namika)