The charmer

Rick had been texting me all day now. We were supposed to meet the day after tomorrow. It would be our third date. He was tall, blond and athletic. On top of that, he was very funny and a real gentleman.

Our dates were prudent to the fact that he had only kissed my cheek. I Rick I really needed to do my homework and grabbed my laptop.

My phone rang and I was startled. My son and the girls had been in bed for a long time, and I was writing a research paper. I saw that it was Julian, when I picked up my phone from the table.

I hesitated to answer his call, because it was a video invite. My hair was turned into a messy bun and I even wore my glasses.

I decided to answer anyway. Maybe that would scare him off a bit. It would be better for the both of us. "Hey you," he greeted me when I saw Julian on screen.

He wore glasses just like me, and I had to laugh at myself. "Hey," I greeted him. I stared at the screen, Julian looked at me beaming.

"What...?" I asked feeling suspiciously, with a smile.

He tilted his head a bit, and only smiled at me. "What were you doing," he asked me. "I was writing a scientific article," I told him. "What is it about," he asked curiously.

"About 'we the people' and what that entails," I replied briefly. I felt uncomfortable because he must me way smarter than I was. "Where are you," I wondered aloud. "I mean, you said you had to catch a flight, right?!" It looked like he was in a lobby of a massive and expensive hotel.

"Mhh..." he replied. "I'm in Paris right now. In the bedroom of my apartment there, to be exact," he told me. Really?! So many questions... where to start.

"An apartment in Paris?" I stated more than I asked. "Yes..." he said softly. I noticed that he was careful about what he said and did not say, weighing his words. "Look, wait," he suddenly said ethousiastically. The phone moved a bit and I saw that Julian was walking around.

As far as I could see, the furniture in the apartment was sleek and minimalistic. There was a huge amount of unused space. Julian was standing in front of a window, and then suddenly the image became different. He pointed the camera outwards and opened a large door.

"Wow," I exclaimed."That's a pretty cool view!"

"Yes, huh," he agreed almost proudly, and then the camera was focused on him again. "Do you live in Paris," I suddenly wondered. "No, yes. No," he stammered. "That sounds like you don't even know where you live," I teased him.

"Well... I have to travel a lot, and in some places where I come more often then others, I have an apartment or a house," he explained. Wow, okay. "Oh," was the only thing I could say to that. "Okay," I added impressed

"Well, I only have this house, and this house isn't even mine," I said to scare him off again.

"I think you do very well, cherry. You should be very proud of yourself," he complimented me. I sighed, and he noticed that. "What's the matter sweetheart?" he asked me.

"Nothing," I quickly said. "Yes, there is something" he said firm, but sweetly. "Talk to me, what's up," he tried to insist on me spilling my guts.

"You're tired," Julian suddenly remarked. I bit my lip and nodded. "Actually, I think you should sleep a little more..." he let me know.

Wait, what? "No idea how you know I sleep so little, but I think you have a point there," I agreed.

"I enjoyed meeting you today," he confessed, and changed the subject. "Yes," is the only thing I managed to respond. "I'd almost swear I've met you before," he chuckled.

"Well, that. Just that," I said in amazement. "Bizarre, I thought the same thing," I told him. "I thought these kind of feelings for a stranger only existed in movies," he stated and shook his head playfully.

Feelings?

"What brings you to Paris now," I asked Julian to change the subject. "A meeting with a client," he answered. "And tomorrow I will be speaking at a university as a visiting professor."

"You're also a professor," I said in amazement. "Mhh.." he hummed. "Really?!" I couldn't hide my wonder. "Don't be so surprised, you'll hurt my ego," he told me. "Nah… you can't be," I shook my head.

"Not that I thought you weren't intelligent... nah never mind," I quickly said. "When will you be back?" I questioned. "Saturday morning around 09:00 I will land at Calverie Airport," he told me.

"No, no. You can't get away with it that easily," he said as he walks into a giant kitchen. The space was probably as big as the entire surface of the house my kids and I lived in.

I raised my eyebrow from the way he tried to lure me into saying something, I didn't want to say. "Tell me what kind of impression I left on you lady," he smiled at me. Jeez, he was handsome.

I opened my mouth and then closed it again. "And don't hold back," he said, when he saw that I was hesitant. Okay, if he wants to hear it. "I think you're a charmer, who always thinks he gets what he wants," I said fearlessly.

Julian pressed his lips together, and his eyes became slits. "Is that a negative or a positive thing," he asked. "I mean, you thinking I'm a charmer, of course," he said flirtatiously.

I scratched behind my ears. "Both," I said firmly. "Mhh..." he murmured not enthusiastic. "You never dine alone at a beautiful table," I thought out loud. "Emilie, I'm not a cheater," he immediately made clear to me. His voice sounded different, heavier.

"I'm not saying that either," I immediately corrected myself. "It's more that... I mean... Look, today alone, there were two women who wanted something from you, while you and I only got to know you each other," I said feeling quite annoyed.

"One lady," he corrected me. "Two. The waitress and the brunette," I said unable to hide my jealousy. I saw that he wanted to say something, but kept it to himself.

"I didn't look at both for more than three seconds," Julian argued. "That may be true, but that would be the competition I would have to deal with every day, all day. So," I said making a statement.