“I still can’t believe we’re here, for the WHOLE summer. I mean Paris, THE city of lovers.” Buffy sighed as she stared at the clear blue sky.
Anya simply shrugged. “How can they call it the city of lovers if we’ve been here for ten days and I haven’t gotten hit on once?”
“Honestly, is that all you think about?”
Anya crossed her arms and shot her a ‘DUH’ a look as they continued walking down the street.
“I simply mean that we’ve gone out three nights in a row to what, 6 different clubs? You’d think I would have at least gotten groped. And not one good-looking ‘single’ guy. Hell, I would have settled for semi-cute, but noooooooooooo, the one good looking guy there ended up already being taken – by another guy no less.”
“We have an entire summer left before we head home, I’m sure you'll find someone.”
“How many clubs do you think they have here?” she quirked her head up with a hopeful expression.
“See? That’s your problem right there. Maybe those aren’t the best places to be looking. I mean, did you ever think that you just might end up finding what you're looking for when you’re NOT looking for it? Like in a library, a park or say… walking down the street?”
“I want lots of orgasms not a relationship. Besides, a bar is the easiest place of all to meet someone. Alcohol plus the male species equals easy pickings, its simple science.”
Shaking her head, Buffy admitted that Anya may be of the promiscuous sort, but she was loyal, honest, and supportive when it came to her friends, so she didn’t mind. As she noticed her stomach starting to grumble, she stopped short and looked around till she spotted what she was looking for.
“Hey, there’s a restaurant up ahead, I’m starving, whaddya say?”
“Sure, maybe they’ll even have a cute waiter or two.”
They made their way to a quaint little bistro, situated on the corner. On the outside it had several sets of small tables with wrought iron chairs and umbrellas that shielded the patrons who sat leisurely dining in the afternoon sunlight.
Stepping inside first, Buffy took in her surroundings. Rich dark wood furniture, corner tables, a few leather bound chairs here and there and plush red velvet carpet. Its atmosphere reeked of sophistication and high priced entrées she was sure. Didn’t matter to her, Daddy had given her a Platinum Visa, two round trip tickets for her and a friend to spend the summer in France and a peck on the cheek at the airport.
Looking around for an unoccupied place to sit, Anya suddenly grabbed her arm, leading her straight to the bar area where she’d spied not only several empty barstools, but a good looking dark haired bartender. He was wearing a white button up shirt with a black vest, tie and pants.
“Ooo lalaaa, hello, handsome. Come on Buffy, this looks like a great spot.” Dragging her over to sit right in front of the bartender, Buffy merely rolled her eyes as the bartender addressed them in French.
F: “Welcome, welcome, what can I get for two lovely ladies such as your-selves?”
Anya had done well enough in her French class to be able to help both her and Buffy navigate through France for the summer.
“Hi, uhmm bonjour monsieur, we need—” she looked at Buffy, “menus and some water?” Buffy nodded and Anya turned back to the bartender. “Let’s see, uhmm, les menus et les deux eaux satisfont?”
The dark haired boy’s face suddenly took on a huge grin. He replied in perfect English
“American girls, wow, who woulda thunkit? It’s so nice to speak English every once in awhile. Hi, I’m Xander.” He extended his hand to Anya who smiled flirtatiously back at him as she offered her own in return. He immediately turned her hand over to place a chaste kiss on it and then gave the same treatment to Buffy.
“My name is Anya and this is my friend Buffy; we’re from California.” Xander nodded to her and then Buffy.
“From Philly myself. Did you two just move here?”
Buffy answered his question.
“Oh no, we’re here on vacation for the summer, a graduation present from my father. You obviously live here though, right?”
“For now anyway. I’m a student here at the university on scholarship. I work here so that I don’t have to live on campus.”
Just then a shy looking man dressed identically to Xander came through a swinging door behind the bar, holding several clean wine glasses and a towel over his left forearm. His hair was light sandy brown, slightly curly and he wore round wire-rimmed glasses that Buffy thought made him appear bookish yet highly distinguished. His features were sharp with high cheekbones and a strong square jaw. He didn’t look up at them; instead, he turned his back to begin placing the glasses in a wooden rack that overhung from the shelves lined with liquor bottles. Buffy’s gaze immediately went to his back side, and even though his pants weren’t very tight, every time he raised his arms to put the glasses in their place, his pants hugged his ass just right, outlining its perfect round shape. Nice. Viva la France, baby. Okay, bad Buffy, it’s not polite to stare at strangers butts, even if they have their back to you and it’s really, nice and round, and....
Her thoughts were interrupted by Xander.
F: “William, come meet two of my fellow American brethren over here.”
William looked over his shoulder at Xander, and then to the two ladies sitting at the bar in front of his friend. Putting the last two glasses away, he walked towards them, noticing both were quite lovely but was immediately drawn to the blonde who looked straight at him. Upon reaching where they sat, he stood next to Xander and spoke in perfect fluent French.
F: “Hello, nice to make your acquaintance, I’m William.”
“Do you speak French? William here can’t speak any English yet, but we’re working on it. I just started teaching him a few words here and there. We have some classes together and just recently went halves on a place together.”
Anya noticed that the young man had his eyes on Buffy the entire time since approaching them. She looked to her friend who was staring back at him with a similar goofy look on her face…well, well, well; do I see a connection going on here?
“Oh not me, I took Spanish and barely passed. Anya here though speaks it quite well.”
She never took her eyes off William while answering Xander’s question. Xander immediately noticed this before looking back to Anya whose expression matched his own, accompanied by a mischievous grin as her eyes darted back and forth between her own friend and his.
Anya cleared her throat loudly.
“Ahem, well it needs some work, but I’m practicing.” F: “It’s nice to meet you William. My name is Anya and this is Buffy. We’re here on vacation for the summer.” She extended her hand and smiled brightly at him.
William’s gaze snapped from Buffy’s to Anya and he quickly lowered his eyes as if he’d been caught staring too long at her friend. He smiled shyly at her and shook her hand, then turned to Buffy and shook hers as well before replying.
F: “Nice to meet you, Anya … Buffy.”
Xander helped to break the awkward moment for William’s sake.
“So, what can I get you two, something to eat and some wine perhaps? We have a fine selection of French wines that you really should sample … seeing as how you’re legal here.” He picked up a glass of water to take a sip while watching Anya intently.
“That sounds nice, but we don’t know much about wine.”
Buffy watched as Anya turned on the charm. She placed her face in both hands, elbows leaning on the bar and batted her eyelashes at him.
“Perhaps you could suggest something ... tasty?” She licked her lips in a suggestive manner and watched as Xander’s eyes went wide before choking on his water, sputtering some of it out in the process.
Trying quickly to regain his composure, he adjusted his tie. Did she just come on to me?
Anya continued smiling at him, glad that she had clearly affected him as intended. Now she only hoped he would reciprocate so they could get to the fun stuff. Judging by his reaction, he seemed sweet and innocent, she couldn’t wait to corrupt him.
“Yes, well ummm, um we have…” he started rattling off several popular types. “Chardonnay, Sancerre, and of course our ever famous, Pouilly-Fuissé.”
Anya perked up at this last title, “Fussy pussy? Oh yes, I have one of those.”
Again, Xander was so taken aback he went barn red in the face, his mouth opened but nothing coherent came out.
Buffy quickly stepped in and placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “You’ll have to forgive her, she has bad hearing.”
“My hearing is perfectly fine, thank you very much, Buf…”
“THAT and she has a tendency to be, well, blunt.” Squeezing her shoulder in an effort to shut her up, Anya’s glare changed to a smile as if it were a compliment and nodded her head up and down vigorously.
“Yes, it’s a gift. I find it’s the easiest way to communicate with the male species.”
Buffy leaned back to mouth the word sorry to him, then glanced at William who now had a curious look on his face. Wow, sexy eyebrows. Wonder how he got that scar.
William had watched the exchange of words by looking at each of their faces in turn as they spoke. He cocked one eyebrow up in amusement when Xander’s face flamed up and he began to stutter. Hmm, wonder what she said to get him all flustered like that. He looked back at Buffy who appeared to be trying to smooth over whatever just happened, and saw her mouth something to Xander that he could only guess was an apology. Good Lord but she has beautiful eyes. Wonder if she speaks French, too. He’d noted that Anya’s French wasn’t entirely proper and her pronunciation was a bit off, but he could follow what she was saying well enough. Trying to help break the uncomfortable atmosphere, he directed his attention back to Buffy.
F: “Do you speak French, Miss Buffy?”
“Huh?” Oh my God, what a deep, gorgeous voice. If only I could understand you. She smiled politely at him before looking at Xander for a translation. Should have taken French, damn-it! How the hell can I flirt with someone who can’t even understand me? Then she remembered a conversation with Anya awhile back about body language and eye contact. She'd told her that they were just as important as what you said if you wanted a guy to notice you. Considering this for a moment, she mentally sighed … well two out of three ain’t bad.
Xander answered his friend for her.
F: “No, she doesn’t, buddy.”
He then turned to Buffy to translate for her.
“He asked if you spoke French.”
Looking to William she replied dreamily.
“Wish I did now, sorry.” I just said that, didn’t I? I hope he can’t understand me.
Though William was shy by nature and usually avoided women, especially beautiful ones, he suddenly felt a bit more brave because they couldn’t speak each-others native tongue. He thought for sure if they could communicate, that she’d find him to be the total geek he was and run the opposite direction. What seemed to be a disadvantage had turned in his favor, bolstering his confidence at the predicament.
“Well, how about that wine, ladies?” Xander slapped his hands together before placing his palms down flat on the counter.
“You’ll have to suggest something, neither of us have any clue what tastes good.” Buffy hoped she wasn’t too obvious in her flirting; she needed to be subtle while still getting her message across.
“I have just the thing. We’ll start with one of my favorites and see if you like it.” He turned to William.
F: “Why don’t you grab a bottle of Shiraz? We need to introduce our new friends here to the finer taste of French wine.”
William nodded his head towards Xander and promptly ducked under the bar to retrieve the bottle. Standing up he placed it directly in front of Buffy for her inspection and nodded once more to her before turning around to retrieve two of the glasses he’d put away earlier.
Anya began chattering away with Xander in French while Buffy ignored them to once again enjoy the view she knew would be provided to her once William went for the glasses. When his towel slipped from his arm falling to the floor, her heart skipped a beat when he bent over to get it. As nonchalantly as she could, she raised her body off the barstool so she could have an unobstructed view.
Catching Buffy’s movement from the corner of his eye, Xander glanced over and looked a bit surprised but amused at the same time. He brought his elbows down to the bar and leaned in towards Anya. Quirking his head towards Buffy, he whispered to her.
F: “Not to interrupt you but it seems like your friend there is checking mine out.”
Anya glanced over in time to see Buffy staring at the bent over form of the other bartender. Looking at William’s backside as well, she smiled appreciatively.
F: “Well, about time I’d say.” Shaking her head back and forth at Xander she continued their whispered conversation. “Poor thing hasn’t got laid in months. I told her she needs a serious bedding. She’s been wound tighter than a drum lately. Hey, do you think William might be interested?”
Luckily, Xander had predicted what kind of response she would come back with and didn’t look as surprised this time.
F: “William is… well, he’s aaaaa… shy, to say the very least. He’s single, mind you, but that’s due to his lack of actually talking to girls. I’m willing to bet he’s more than interested though, kind of caught the looks they were giving each other earlier.”
F: “Well, looks to me like we have duty to perform here. Let’s work together and see what happens.” She grinned at him eagerly.
F: “This could be mission impossible, but I suppose it’s worth a try. Why not?” He stood up and offered his hand to shake Anya’s in agreement.
Sitting back down as quickly as possible once William stood, Buffy picked up the bottle in front of her and studied it as if it were the most interesting thing she’d ever seen. Looking up as he approached, she gave him a 1000 watt smile while he set the two glasses down in front of her. She watched in awe as he pulled a corkscrew from his back pocket and twirled it by its handle like a gun-slinger from the old west. He stopped it mid-twirl then proceeded to use the towel over his arm to grip the bottle as he expertly extracted the cork. Bringing it level with her face, he waited. Noticing her puzzled look he quickly brought it back under his nose to smell it then held it back in front her.
Knowing now what he meant for her to do, she decided to practice some of that ‘body language’ Anya had spoke about. In a bold move, she kept her eyes on his, took hold of his wrist gently and slowly pulled it forward till the cork was under her nose. Once there, she closed her eyes and took her time inhaling its fragrance, purring out a sexy “mmmmm”.
William waited for her to take the cork, but when she took his wrist in her tiny hand and brought it to her instead, he gasped audibly. She had turned one simple act that seemed innocent enough to begin with, into something highly erotic. He could only watch, dumbstruck as she closed her eyes and smiled as she moaned. Good God in heaven, does she have any idea what she just did? His pants became impossibly tight as he stood transfixed. Several agonizing seconds later he felt her grip release him. He was frozen to the spot, mute, staring at her smile until he heard Xander clear his throat.
Grateful for the distraction he quickly looked away and grabbed one of the glasses. I must have misread what she did, there’s no way that meant anything. She’s too beautiful to be interested in me. Positive he'd misjudged her actions, he scolded himself for his wishful thinking, quickly dismissed what he’d witnessed and then proceeded to pour a small amount of wine in each glass before replacing the cork. He stepped back slowly and waited for both women to try the wine.
After Buffy let go of his wrist, she smirked inside at the reaction she elicited from him. After Xander broke the spell she tried to weave by coughing, she watched William regain his composure to act as if nothing had happened. Damn, is he really that dense or just gay? Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough.
She took her glass and tilted it to her lips before swallowing a small amount.
“Blooouuuah, blouaaaaaaaw.” Her face contorted at the bitter taste as it slid down her throat.
William immediately began chuckling at her reaction and offered her a napkin with a somewhat sympathetic smile on his face. Xander too had laughed while Anya just shrugged her shoulders and downed her glass in one gulp before slamming it back down on the bar to grab Buffy’s, draining it in the same manner.
“Mmmm, yummy.”
“Speak for yourself, ewww.” Buffy dabbed at her mouth with the napkin William gave her and reached across the bar to grab Xander's glass of water to try and wash out the taste.
Xander couldn’t help but comment on Anya’s actions.
“WOW! Now that’s my kind of woman.” Impressed by Anya’s treatment of the drink, he gave her a huge grin. He took the two glasses away and looked to William.
F: “Perhaps the Sancerre?”
F: “An excellent choice my friend, Sancerre it is.” He retrieved a second bottle from beneath the bar while Xander went to get two more glasses.
Again Buffy watched as he twirled the corkscrew and went through the motions of opening and pouring the wine, only this time he didn’t offer her the cork. She thought he either wasn’t interested in her or was too embarrassed by her earlier behavior. After he placed the bottle back down, she took her glass and hoped this one would taste better. After swallowing a small amount she made a face and shook her head no while handing her glass back to him, then spoke.
“Sorry, William.”
He nodded, understanding her perfectly before replying.
F: “Quite alright, Miss Buffy. Something else perhaps?”
She held up one finger and nodded her head.
“I’ll try one more but that’s it for me, three strikes and I’m out.” She loved the sound of his voice, so deep, so sexy. She could listen to him talk all day and not even care if he were reading her a recipe. She decided to keep him talking even if they couldn’t understand one another. Looking into his eyes, she could tell they were blue but wished she could see them without the glasses.
“So, what’s next?” She sat up to peer over the bar to indicate what she was asking.
He noticed from her gesture that she must be asking about another type of wine to try and he couldn’t help but think about her earlier reaction to the prior selections. He crossed one arm over his chest to rest under the other while the opposite hand came to his face. Placing a finger against his temple, he tapped it as if deep in thought.
F: “Hmmmmmmm, maybe the Pouilly-Fuissé would be more to your liking?”
Seeing he was thoughtful about what to choose next coupled with the fact his enunciation indicated he was posing a question, she crossed her arms just beneath the red halter-top she was wearing to push her breasts up a bit before answering.
“Surprise me.” Okay, I’ll try one more time and then it’s quits. If he doesn’t take the bait this time…
He watched as she leaned into the back of the bar stool and heard her speak. From her face and tone of voice, he deduced she was willing to try again. Then he witnessed the cleavage formed from the placement of her arms as she crossed them and it suddenly felt a hundred degrees hotter in the room. Jesus, I wonder if she has any idea how beautiful she is.
He imagined for a moment how it would feel to take one of those luscious mounds into his mouth. He could see himself sucking each of them gently, making her nipples hard with the tip of his tongue, watching her writhe in pleasure from his touch. He would caress her, make her feel like the goddess she was, kiss every part of her body with his lips and tongue. Before he knew it, he was smiling devilishly at her chest before raising his eyes to meet hers.
F: “Anything for you, Miss Buffy.” Is it my imagination or is she actually doing this on purpose?
“Well then, bring it on.” Quite satisfied that he wasn’t gay based on the attention he’d paid to her chest, she returned his more than obvious appreciative smile with her own. That’s it, come to mamma, you bad boy you.
Xander, transfixed with Anya’s repeat performance on her current glass of wine, didn’t notice their respective friends were actually talking and despite the language barrier, they appeared to understand one another perfectly. Anya however, kept her ears open while her eyes remained on Xander. Reaching across the bar she grabbed him by his bowtie and pulled his ear to her mouth.
"Hey, I think our couple is doing well, but … if you were inclined to push them along, NOW would be a good time. I know they would be grateful and so would I. Then maybe you and I could leave the rest up to them and we could...” She raised her eyebrows up and down three times to clearly communicate what she was thinking.
Xander gulped loudly and turned his head towards William who was clearly occupied with Buffy.
“Sure, yeah, ahhhhh one moment, yeah, just ah, ah one moment.” He held up one finger.
William immediately went for a third bottle, hoping Buffy would like this one better. They continued to smile at each other, exchanging gestures along with brief words that no longer needed interpretation. He felt Xander place a hand on his shoulder before speaking.
F: “Hey buddy, can you help me with the glasses?”
F: “Huh? Why would you need my hel…” He noticed the familiar 'need a word with you' look and followed him over to the other end of the bar where they could talk more privately.
Once they were out of earshot of the two women Xander spoke.
F: “Why don’t you take Buffy down to the wine cellar and help her pick out a wine she might enjoy.”
F: “Why? We have plenty of...” Oh. He wanted to be alone with Anya, wait a minute that means I have to be alone with Buffy.
F: “Do I have to spell it out for you?”
F: “No. I get it; you want to be alone with Anya.”
F: “Yes, but not just that. Look, Buffy’s been giving you all the right signals and you’ve been reciprocating, don’t think Anya and I haven’t noticed. It’s obvious you two are hitting on each other, so for God sakes man, go with it.”
William blushed.
F: “I don’t know, I mean, yeah, I’ll take Buffy down to pick out a wine, but ... we don’t even speak the same language.”
F: “Trust me buddy, you two were talking just fine. I know you’re insecure when it comes to women, but she obviously has the hots for you. For once in your life just go with it and drop the shy bit, you don’t need to be. Maybe we could get some double dates here for the whole summer.”
William thought about it for a moment before answering.
F: “Okay, but what if you’re wrong and...”
F: “Trust me, Anya knows Buffy and said so herself. Besides, the way she was flirting with you, even a deaf man can tell she wants to get to know you.”
F: “Fine. But if you’re wrong about this I swear...”
Xander just patted him on the back, grabbed two more wine glasses and walked away, indicating for William to follow him.
A/N: Like it, hate it, want more? Let me know by reviewing please.
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!