French Kissing: Season Three

by Harper Bliss

  “Why? Because I’m a lesbian?”

  “No. I’m a lesbian and I’ve always voted conservatively. That has nothing to do with it.” Margot picked up a slice of saucisson with her fork.

  “Goffin might be a philandering, non-charismatic man, but if the socialists hadn’t been in power, gay marriage would never have passed. And for a country like France to not allow same-sex marriage in this day and age would be a bit shameful.”

  “So you are a socialist?” Margot prodded.

  “I voted for Goffin in the last election, I’ll tell you that.”

  “And on Sunday? Who will you vote for?” Margot asked.

  “Hey, what happens in the polling booth stays in the polling booth,” Claire said, pricking some saucisson on her fork as well. “But this Sunday I will proudly and convincingly give my vote to Dominique Laroche.”

  “So will I. I haven’t been this excited about an election since I was first allowed to vote.” Margot went for the saucisson again.

  “I had a chat with Steph just before you arrived,” Claire said. “I’m not sure she’s as excited as you.”

  “Poor Stéphanie. She has a heart of gold, I’m sure of that, but, in my honest opinion, I never truly believed she and Dominique would make it. Not under these circumstances.”

  “Really?” Obviously Margot didn’t know Steph very well. “Because she is the most loyal person you will ever meet.”

  “Let’s not talk about our friends tonight. They take up enough of our time.” Margot graciously refilled Claire’s wine glass.

  “Whatever will we talk about then?” Claire said coyly.

  “I have no idea.” Margot grinned. “Let’s hope the food is good so we can talk about that.”

  “I have a subject,” Claire said. She loved it when Margot’s eyes sparkled like that. “Have you given any more thought to my flatmate proposal?”

  “Hm… No,” Margot said.

  “Oh.” Claire didn’t know what to think about that.

  “I want to date you, Claire. I want to see where this goes. If we move in together, how can we possible do that?”

  “Are you saying I should go back to my flat?” Claire took a sip from her wine, which was full-bodied and a feast to her taste buds.

  “I enjoy living with you. I truly do,” Margot said. “But how can we go on dates and let this take a natural pace if we live together?”

  “At least we already know we’ll make excellent living companions one day.”

  Margot gave a nod. “It doesn’t help that most of the time you walk around half-naked.”

  “I do no such thing.” Claire pretended to be offended.

  “Oh, let’s see. I’m going to count.” Margot started summing up all the times Claire had come out of her room in her underwear.

  “At least I always wear a top,” she said in her defense. “You in your white t-shirts with your toned biceps poking from those tight sleeves. It’s obscene, really.”

  “You want me to wear long sleeves inside?”

  “Well…” Claire pinned her gaze on Margot’s upper arms.

  Then their main courses were brought out and Claire found herself eating the most delicious sweetbreads she’d ever had.

  “I told you,” Margot said with a smug grin on her face. “You can trust me.”

  Claire took this as a good starting point for the more serious part of this date. “I do, you know? I trust you. I’d trust you with my life.”

  The sparkle in Margot’s eyes dimmed and was replaced with a more serious glint. “I’m very glad to hear that.”

  “I don’t want to drag up the past again, Margot. I’m so ready to move forward. When you came back into my life”—so gallantly, Claire thought—“I couldn’t have predicted I would feel this way about you again. I don’t want to be just friends with you. There will always be so much more between us.” The butterflies in her stomach were acting up again.

  “Neither do I,” Margot whispered. “That’s why I don’t want to be flatmates, either.”

  “Do you want to get out of here?” Claire felt as though a vital artery might burst if she didn’t kiss Margot in the next few minutes.

  Margot just shot her an enigmatic smile. “I do, but not, um, for what you think. I want that too, but not before the time is right.”

  For Claire, the time felt about as right as it would ever be. “Of course,” she said, squirming in her seat.

  “I can put on my jacket if it would make things easier,” Margot joked, then looked for the waiter to get the check.

  Once they were outside, Margot didn’t unlock her bike but, instead, took Claire by the hand. It had started to drizzle lightly and the basilica was glowing in the evening lights. They walked to the foot of the iconic stairs and stared up.

  “You were right again,” Claire said. “It’s totally different on a Monday evening.”

  “Good date, then?” Margot asked and turned towards her. Her hair clung to her face from the rain.

  “Perfect date,” Claire said, and stopped herself from brushing a wet strand of hair from Margot’s cheek.

  “It’s not over yet.” Margot pulled her close, stared into her eyes, and kissed her in the rain.

  JULIETTE

  “How was your date?” Juliette asked.

  “How did you know I had a date?” Claire replied.

  “Steph told me. She came to see me after you told her to take the rest of the week off.” Juliette had casually walked into Claire’s office for the first time since she’d found out about her and Dievart.

  “She kissed me at Montmartre,” Claire said.

  “How disgustingly romantic,” Juliette said, and remembered how Nadia had kissed her in that alleyway on Sunday. And how the passion of that kiss hadn’t translated to more once again. But Juliette was still recovering from the news—from all the news she had received the past few weeks. She was still grieving for her broken dream. And for her friendship with Claire which, even if they had made up, would never be entirely the same as before.

  “Then she drove us home to her place, where we kissed some more, and, somehow, ended up in our own separate bedrooms.”

  “Yeah. You don’t look as though you’ve been spanked for half the night, Claire.” Juliette giggled at her own joke.

  “We’re taking things slowly.”

  Juliette pulled up her eyebrows. “You’re living with her, for God’s sake.”

  “I’m moving home tonight.”

  “Good. The Boulevard Gouvion Saint-Cyr is not the same without Claire Cyr.” Juliette regretted making that angry suggestion to Claire on the sidewalk that dreadful Sunday. She didn’t want Claire to move away from their street. If anything, it had always been a comfort to have her best friend so close-by.

  “Can I stop by after work tonight?” Claire asked. “I want to give you that present.”

  “Come on, Claire. I’m not a child. You don’t need to give me anything.”

  “But I do.” Claire’s cheeks dimpled with secret joy. Juliette knew that look. She was curious more than anything now.

  “Okay. Come round whenever you want. I’ll be home.” Juliette leaned against the door frame. It felt so good to stand in Claire’s office again, she wanted to stay a while longer. “How’s the taking-things-slowly going for you?” she asked.

  “Not very well. I seem to be suffering from a lack of focus today.” Claire grinned at her. “So, please let’s change the subject swiftly.”

  “Thanks for talking to Steph yesterday.” Juliette realized she had allowed her friendship with Steph to take a backseat. “Do you think we should organize something for Sunday?”

  “I don’t know.” Claire narrowed her eyes. “We could sneak into the MLR headquarters, I guess. We do work for them.”

  “Socialists like us? We’ll stand out like a sore thumb.”

  “I think Dominique will be the one standing out the most, so we should be safe. Margot already came out to me as a conservative yesterday. Sh
e can be our cover.”

  “Ouch. Did that hurt you, Claire?”

  “Times have changed, my friend. Everything changed the day we decided to take on Dominique as a client.”

  “You can say that again.” Had that been the turning point? Nadia had already slept with Dievart then. Nevertheless, it had certainly set in motion a chain of events they were all still recovering from. “Let’s do it. Let’s surprise Steph and be there with her for the celebration.”

  “If Dominique wins,” Claire said.

  “Hey. She has Barbier & Cyr as her PR agency. How can she possibly lose?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Claire said with a chuckle. “Hiring us nearly cost her her entire career.”

  “Nearly… yes. But look at how she’s triumphing now. And making the whole of France a better country to live in.”

  “All down to you, Jules,” Claire said. Perhaps she was still in a phase where she wanted to flatter Juliette as much as possible. “If you hadn’t had that insane idea six months ago, things might be very different now.”

  “Who knows what would have happened. Nobody can predict the future.”

  “I can predict what’s going to happen tonight, though,” Claire said, as she painted a smile on her face.

  Juliette took that as her cue to get back to work. “You’re really building up expectations, Claire. Just saying.” With that, she walked out of Claire’s office. What could she possibly have gotten Juliette?

  ✶ ✶ ✶

  “When is she coming?” Juliette said to Nadia. “She said she’d come by after work.”

  “She’s testing your patience, Jules. Just relax. Have a glass of wine with me.” Nadia walked over to Juliette, who was sitting at the dining table with her laptop, checking the latest polls. Nadia put her hands on Juliette’s shoulders and started massaging them. “God, you’re tense.”

  “You know I don’t do very well with surprises.” Juliette leaned into Nadia’s touch. Once again, last Sunday after their romantic stroll, Nadia had taken her rejection graciously, claiming that she understood that Juliette needed some time and saying that they, in fact, had all the time in the world. Still, Nadia could keep her voice level all she wanted, she couldn’t hide that glint of desire in her eyes.

  “I’m sure she’ll be here soon.” Nadia pressed into a particularly tight bunch of nerves with her thumb.

  “Ouch.” Then the bell rang.

  “I’ll get it.” Nadia kissed her quickly on the spot where she’d just hurt her.

  “No, I will,” Juliette protested, but she was too late and Nadia was already opening the door. Juliette heard a commotion in the hallway and made her way over quickly to see what Claire was bringing into their flat. Her brain was still trying to process and then she heard something bark.

  “What the—?” Juliette couldn’t believe it. She was looking at the most adorable living creature she had ever seen.

  “Dear Jules, I considered offering to carry a baby for you first, but then this seemed like a much better idea.” Claire walked the fluffy little thing inside. The puppy looked around skittishly and yelped a little. “He’s still a bit shy. Wouldn’t you be if you were walking into a flat with three lesbians?” Claire grinned and picked up the dog.

  “You knew about this?” Juliette asked Nadia.

  “I couldn’t very well have Claire give you a dog without knowing about it.” Nadia had a huge grin on her face.

  “He wants to say hello to his new mummy, Jules.” Claire thrust the puppy in Juliette’s face.

  “Oh my God.” Juliette was already melting. Those shiny brown eyes. That softer-than-soft looking fur. “You got me a puppy.”

  “I did,” Claire said victoriously, as if she’d just won the last battle of a very long war. “There was no cuter animal to be found in the whole of Paris. This one is by far the most cuddly and handsome I came across.” The dog squealed, as though wanting to confirm Claire’s words.

  Juliette petted him on the top of the head first, then held out her hands. “Better come to mama, boy.” She took the animal in her arms and was engulfed by a wave of pure joy. “I didn’t know you wanted a dog, Nadz. I didn’t even know I wanted a dog.”

  “It’s not a dog. It’s an overly cute puppy,” Claire said. She couldn’t stop stroking the dog.

  “I didn’t know I wanted one either,” Nadia said. “But Claire sent me a picture and then I suddenly really, really wanted him.” Nadia came to stand next to her and petted the dog as well. Its fur was mainly white, except for a large black spot on its nose and a few brown ones on its ears.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Juliette said. “I’m in love with him already.”

  “And he with you,” Claire said as the puppy licked Juliette’s hand.

  “This is crazy,” Juliette said. The puppy was infinitely cute and Juliette felt a warmness in her heart she’d quite possibly never felt before. But puppies were creatures you looked at on the internet, thinking ‘aaaaw’ before getting on with your life again. She’d never considered getting one. Besides, puppies grew into big dogs. Then she looked at the dog in her arms again, and wanted to hug it for the rest of her life. “Aren’t you a handsome little fella,” she said to the dog. “A real heartbreaker.”

  “I think she likes him,” Nadia said to Claire.

  “I brought all sorts of things you’ll need. And a few books on how to handle puppies.” Claire pointed at a big bag filled to the brim with toys and dog food and, indeed, books.

  “What do you want to call him, Jules?” Nadia asked. She had this strange sparkle in her eyes. She was falling in love with the puppy as well.

  “I have no idea. Naming him is an important decision. I need to think about it.”

  “They called him Fido at the dog rescue center,” Claire said.

  “How original. Give me a break.” Juliette addressed the dog again. “Your mummies are going to come up with a much more original name for you, doggie. You wait and see.” The dog gave a little bark.

  “Can’t wait to hear what you come up with.” Claire stood there beaming. When Juliette looked at her, she didn’t see the person who had slept with Marie Dievart anymore. She saw the person who’d gone on a date with Margot last night. She saw her best friend who had just given her a puppy. She had to really hand it to Claire. She was an expert at emotional gift giving.

  “Thank you so much.” Juliette balanced the dog on one arm and stretched out her other to hug Claire.

  “My pleasure.” Claire’s voice broke a little.

  “I—We will take excellent care of him,” Juliette said.

  “Oh, I know you will.” Claire found Juliette’s eyes. “I’m so sorry for what I did, Jules.”

  “Forget about it. I now know you only did it to get Margot’s attention again,” Juliette joked.

  “Who was in an excellent mood today,” Nadia added. “That date must have been spectacular.”

  “Margot kissed Claire in the rain at Montmartre,” Juliette said.

  Nadia whistled through her teeth and the puppy perked up its ears. Juliette looked at it, hoping the animal could see how much she suddenly wanted a dog.

  “How about we call him Phénix?” she said, because the little animal, right now, stood for all that had risen from the ashes of her crushed dreams.

  EPISODE FOURTEEN

  NADIA

  “Who did you vote for, Jules?” Nadia asked her wife, who had the dog on a leash, when she exited the polling station. It had been a whole kerfuffle for them to both go in and vote, because one of them had to stay outside with Phénix while the other voted.

  “Same as you, I presume,” Juliette replied.

  “Two votes for Goffin then,” Nadia joked. “Let’s have a champagne brunch to celebrate.”

  “Do you hear that, Phénix? What kind of a friend is your other mummy, huh?” The dog just wagged his tale and barked once. “Let’s skip brunch, babe.” Juliette leaned into Nadia a little. “Let’s go home
for a few hours before we meet Claire and Margot.”

  “Okay,” Nadia hummed. “If you’re sure.” Nadia scanned Juliette’s face. She looked more relaxed than she had in weeks, possibly months. The elections were coming to a close. Her and Claire’s relationship was on the mend. And she had Phénix to look after. Granted, they’d barely slept since Claire had brought the puppy into their flat, as the poor animal was adjusting to his new home and up half the night yelping. They had found a few unpleasant surprises on the carpet. But, most of all, the sadness in Juliette’s eyes had evaporated. Not that Nadia believed that a puppy could actually be a substitute for a child, but Juliette having a tiny creature that depended on her care had made her blossom in a way she hadn’t in a long time.

  “I’m so sure,” Juliette said in a tone Nadia couldn’t misinterpret.

  “Let’s go then.” Nadia took Juliette by the hand and they started walking. “You’d better wear him out so he doesn’t start barking outside our bedroom door when we close it.”

  “You want me to run with him?” Juliette asked incredulously.

  “I don’t know, Jules. I’m not an expert. But I don’t want your mind on the puppy. I want you all to myself.” Nadia gave Juliette’s hand a squeeze. Juliette had blown her off on more than one occasion lately. And Nadia understood. Nadia always understood. But, damn it, she was horny. Their ‘frequency’ had suffered greatly from the events that had unfolded after Claire’s confession. It was time. “Let’s just walk a little faster,” Nadia said, because she couldn’t wait to get home.

  ✶ ✶ ✶

  “Do you think he’s okay out there?” Juliette asked.

  “Jules, he’s a dog. He’s fine,” Nadia said. They were in their bedroom with the door closed. Phénix was being mercifully quiet. “He must be getting used to our bedroom door being closed.” Juliette had wanted to allow the dog in the bed with them, but Nadia had drawn a quick and definite line there and then. The puppy was not allowed into their bedroom. That was their room. Not that it didn’t break her heart a little when he stood squealing in the hallway in the middle of the night. “Also, you don’t want him to see what I’m about to do to you.” Nadia painted a wicked grin on her face.