And one never knows what will start...

Red-faced with embarrassment, Nick and Rose returned to their boat, which had kindly waited for them while they’d been in the cathedral. Rose had returned to her regular dress, while insisting Nick remain in his suit. Something about it fitting the atmosphere, but Nick was pretty sure she just wanted him to wear it, given how often he’d felt her appraising gaze run across him.

He decided not to say anything. Things were awkward enough between the two of them.

They completed their boat ride in silence, while Nick admired the beautiful sights of Paris. He missed hearing Rose explain the significance of what they were seeing, and it honestly felt like a bit of a waste of their brief time together, but maybe they just hadn’t passed anything as historic as the Notre-Dame cathedral.

Or maybe she was concerned that if she said anything, Nick would insist they go there, and it would eat into their schedule.

“Thanks for helping me learn how to dance, by the way.” The words just escaped from his lips without even thinking about it.

Rose smiled a little when she heard that.

“It’s not… it’s not like you’re perfect now, you know,” she reminded him. “One lesson isn’t enough for that. You’ll need a lot more practice.”

He smiled. “Well, I hope you’ll help with that?” He asked.

She gazed out towards the water with a pensive expression on her face. He had rarely seen her look so thoughtful.

“Maybe I will,” she nodded.

The boat came to a stop on the shore, and she rose to her feet. “Come,” she said, turning back to him. It was like the embarrassment had slipped off her face. She extended her hand. “We’re here.”

Nick took her hand and she carefully led him off the boat, keeping him steady so he wouldn’t rock it too much. He appreciated that- she was really working hard to make sure he didn’t feel unsafe.

“We’ve got a bit of a short walk to our next location, Centre Pompidou,” Rose informed him. Her eyes twinkled as she said that. “Trust me, you won’t miss it.”

She’d never seen the building in person, but she’d seen several pictures of it on the internet.

“What is it?” Nick asked curiously.

“An art gallery,” she responded automatically, and Nick fought back the urge to groan.

“…Another gallery, huh…”

“Ah, it’s fine,” Rose tittered, patting him on the shoulder as they walked through the winding streets. “We’re not going there to look at anything. There’s a restaurant at the top that will be perfect for us to eat at!”

A few minutes later, they arrived at a building that Nick just knew was the one Rose had told him about. The design was… bizarre.

“Are those pipes?” Nick asked, staring incredulously at the large pipework on the exterior of the building. It looked like a video game level.

“I told you it was odd, didn’t I?” Rose smiled. She patted his arm and linked hers around it. The two of them headed up a large external staircase that led up to the roof.

Lunch was as delicious as breakfast had been. Nick didn’t know how accurately the alley had reflected the food of the restaurant, but it sure did taste amazing. And the view was even moreso.

“Whoa…” He breathed, staring out across the Paris skyline. “I can’t believe we traveled this far in such a short amount of time.”

The Eiffel Tower, where they’d started their day, was far off in the distance. And yet it felt like no time at all had passed, even though the day was half over.

It just showed how much fun the two of them had had together, something Nick never could have expected would be the case before today. As much as he’d enjoyed Rose’s company, if someone had told him he’d have so much fun on a date with her in Paris, he would have assumed that Paris would be doing most of the work to elicit those feelings.

But Rose was something else entirely.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Rose breathed, resting her cheek on her hand as she gazed out over the city. “Wait until sunset. I’m sure it will be even lovelier.”

Her words were spoken with such hope that Nick couldn’t bear to think of her being disappointed. He swallowed and nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Hopefully you’re right. I can’t wait to see it.”

She turned back to him with a smile, and the two rose from their seats, their meals finished.

They still had a lot left to go on their itinerary.

After lunch, they finally got aboard the metro that Rose had been alluding to all morning. And while it might not have been that romantic compared to the boat ride, Nick felt a lot more comfortable about it. They walked up the stairs from the underground station and emerged on the street, and Nick had to shield his eyes from the sun. He didn’t know what time it was, but the fact that Rose didn’t seem to be rushing him seemed to imply that they had plenty of time.

Rose walked ahead and then turned on her heel. She bowed with a flourish, like a ringmaster presenting an act to the audience.

“Welcome,” she purred, “to Montmarte.”

Nick nodded dumbly. Was that a street? A building? A part of the city? He had no idea. He just followed her lead as she headed up the road, which began to slant uphill.

“It’s not far!” She called over her shoulder, beckoning him to follow. They passed countless souvenir shops as they made their way through the street, before arriving at a vast outdoor garden that sat at the base of another majestic building.

“That’s the Sacré-Cœur Basilica,” Rose informed him. “You see the dome?” She pointed at the large rounded dome in the heart of the basilica, and the viewing point at the tip of it. “It’s said that on a clear day, you can see fifty kilometers in all directions!”

“How many miles is that?” Nick asked.

Rose just gave him another look, and he could tell she was resisting the urge to go into another screed against Americans. He smiled and patted himself on the back. Irritating Rose was starting to be a fun endeavor, so long as she knew he was just teasing her.

Her smile quickly returned as she knew he wasn’t serious, and they headed up the hill towards the basilica. Climbing up into the dome took a bit of doing, and by the time they reached the top Nick was seriously getting sick to **** of stairs. He really needed to start working out with Dani instead of just following her instructions like he had been doing; clearly it wasn’t getting him in any better shape.

The sight sure made it worthwhile, though. Rose was right; he must have been able to see for at least fifty kilometers from here! As he took in the panoramic view, it felt like he was gazing down upon all of Paris; he could even see the countryside just beyond the city limits if he squinted really hard!

“So tell me, Rose, are all the great sights to see in Paris just more views of the entire city?” Nick joked.

“Well… not all of them,” Rose murmured coyly. “A girl’s gotta have some surprises, after all. But if you want to find out, we’ll have to get going; just because we’re making great time in our itinerary, that doesn’t mean we can just slow down!”

Nick nodded in agreement. “Alright then. Lead the way!”

Lead the way she did. They descended from the top of the dome and circled around the basilica, arriving at a street called Rue de la Bonne. They passed through a city park that gave Nick a nice view of the building from behind, and he gazed at the belltower for so long he nearly walked into a lamppost!

“Careful now,” Rose tittered, pulling him back to her. “We can’t have you getting injured, now can we?”

“I suppose not,” Nick joked. “Would put a bit of a damper on things, wouldn’t it?”

Rose couldn’t agree more.

They continued their walking tour of the streets of Paris. To Nick, it felt a bit like navigating through a maze. There were sharp curves in the cobblestone streets, large walks of stairs, and even a building with a giant windmill! Not to mention the parks and gardens that filled up pleasant, peaceful corners of the street as well.

Because Nick had come from a city with far more industrialization, he appreciated the peaceful atmosphere here. There weren’t any big sights or historic landmarks. It just gave him time to process being in an entirely different city, with a beautiful woman on his arm who seemed to be having the time of her life.

He had the feeling this was the prelude to something grand. That she was leading him somewhere. But every time he tried to approach the subject, she would distract him with some interesting fact about where they were.

She’d done her homework, he had to give her that.

Then they reached a long set of stairs leading down the hillside. They descended and veered a sharp left, before arriving at a gorgeous, quaint little city park.

“We’re here,” Rose breathed, stepping forward towards a large mural in the wall. It was tiled in blue, and had countless words scrawled across it; Nick could hardly read any of them, they were in so many different languages.

“What is this?” He asked curiously, walking up beside her.

“It’s the Wall of Love,” Rose said, tracing her fingers across the words. “The words ‘I love you’ are written in over 250 different languages. It’s a celebration of love and affection, memorialized for all time…”

She turned back to him, her meaning clear. He didn’t need to ask why she’d brought him here, of all places.

Nick swallowed, not sure if he should tell her or not. But… no, it wasn’t the right time.

He held out his hand to her, instead.

“Where to next?” He asked, showing her just how eager he was to continue their date. He didn’t want her to think that he wasn’t enjoying himself even for a second. And when their eyes met, she smiled, and that relaxed him.

“Well, there is one place I’ve always wanted to go,” she admitted.

“Just one?” Nick could hardly suppress his laughter.

Rose bit her lip and socked him in the arm. “Yes, just one!” She tittered. “Come on, it’s not far. Just… be careful. We’re heading to the seedier part of town.”

The seedy part of Paris? Given how glamorous the city looked, Nick doubted it would be as bad as she said it would be.

Nick turned out to be very wrong.

Rose wasn’t joking when she said that this was one of the seedier parts of town. It was a bit of a walk to get there, but as they drew closer to this mysterious destination, the streets became a little shabbier. And the classy tourist shops gave way to businesses of more ill repute.

“Welcome to Pigalle,” Rose muttered under her breath. “It’s what you would call… a Red Light District.”

“What would you call it?” Nick asked curiously.

“…A Red Light District,” she replied.

“Ah.”

Sex shops and strip clubs and thinly-veiled bordellos made up the majority of what Nick laid eyes on. What the heck did Rose even want, bringing him here?

He wouldn’t go as far as to say that she killed the mood of the entire date, but…

Then he stopped and his mouth fell open when he saw the building in front of them. It was dyed in red, with a large red windmill on the roof. The red words above the entrance named the place for what it was.

“This… oh, yeah… Dakota made me watch this movie once…” He knew he was breaking his promise about not bringing up other girls, but it had just slipped out. And Rose didn’t seem to mind.

“The Moulin Rouge,” she murmured, tightening her grip on his arm. Which was saying quite a lot. She’d been holding him so tightly on the way here, there was a very real chance she’d get a penalty for injuring the master. “It’s still in business, after all this time.”

“Whoa, dude… I thought for sure that the movie was, like, a fictional place,” Nick said, shaking his head. “So it’s real?”

That made her burst out laughing. “Of course it’s real! You silly fool,” she said, her voice filled with affection. “The Moulin Rouge is reputed as the origin of the Can Can. That’s quite a bit of history… and the still perform shows even now.”

“…Should we watch one?” Nick asked, hoping to goad her into giving him a smack on the head. It was kind of how they flirted at this point.

She was happy to oblige him.

“Cad!” She sniffed, not at all serious. “Thinking about other women when you have a beauty like me on your arm?”

“Well, would you be willing to do the Can Can then?” Nick prodded.

Rose rolled her eyes in amusement. “Don’t you know, Nick? In France, everyone can Can Can.”

The two burst into peals of laughter at the ridiculous pun, which would have been quite a sight to the actual people who traveled this street. They practically had to hang onto each other to keep from collapsing in the middle of the road!

“I can’t believe you can make a joke like that!” Nick roared in amusement, shaking his head.

“I couldn’t help myself!” Rose snorted. “Come on, I think that’s enough. The sun will be going down soon… and there’s one more place I wanted to show you.”

Nick nodded, glancing towards the horizon. He had no idea how the sun had gotten so close to the ground. It felt like only a few minutes ago that they were enjoying the sight of the city from the dome of the basilica; now Sacré-Cœur was far in the distance.

Rose took him by the hand, and led him towards the metro station.

“You know, Nick, I don’t want you to think that I learned all this stuff from a book,” she said, narrowing her eyes. Her gaze was adamant, and Nick didn’t really know what to say in response.

“Oh… okay?” He said, not sure what else he COULD say.

“I’ve been to Paris many times, just so we’re clear. I’ve just never gone to the Eiffel Tower again.”

“Really?” Nick was surprised by that, but he didn’t push. It was clear that Rose had her reasons, and it would be rude to try and pry into them.

“Oui,” Rose nodded. “I told you before, didn’t I? I… I was waiting for the perfect moment.” She glanced aside, scooting a little closer to him on the metro as she did. “But… if I’m being honest… even more than sunset on the Eiffel Tower… there’s somewhere else I want to show you. Somewhere breathtaking.”

She finally looked him in the eyes again. “I promise, it will be worth it.”

Nick swallowed, seeing the resolve blazing in her eyes. They were quickly coming to the end of their date, that much was clear. And what came after would be…

He placed his hand over Rose’s and squeezed. “Whatever you want to show me, I’m sure you’re right,” he nodded. “It’s going to be gorgeous.”

Rose seemed to relax at that. She smiled and nodded as the train pulled to a stop.

They got out, and Nick was astounded by what waited for him at the end of their destination.

It… it looked like a really big doorway. Like someone had taken the entrance to a castle, and then cut away all the parts of the castle around it, leaving only the arch.

Arch…

“Wait!” He gasped. “I know this, this is…”

“Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile,” Rose informed him. “Of all the places in Paris, it is perhaps one of my favorites.”

The imposing structure stood in the center of a circular plaza. Twelve streets branched off from it, heading off in various directions across Paris, and in its heart there stood this monument.

“The Arc de Triomphe is a memorial,” Rose murmured, drifting towards it as she spoke. It was like she was caught in a spell. “It honors those who fought and died for France in our revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.”

“…How romantic?” Nick replied, not sure what the appropriate response to that was.

Rose just laughed. She looked back at him with a smile on her face and held out her hand.

“That isn’t the romantic part,” she replied. “Look.”

The sun was beginning to set on the horizon.

“We don’t have much time.”

She led him to the arch, while describing the different meanings behind the sculptures on each of the Arc’s pillars. Nick was amazed. He had no idea all of this was here; he’d always thought that the Arc was just some big thing in the middle of Paris, he had no idea how many sculptures and reliefs were actually contained on the massive structure; it really WAS a monument to France’s history. And with Rose there to describe them all, he felt like he was back in a classroom.

Only his teachers were never this hot.

But Rose and the Arc held one last surprise.

“A staircase?” Nick was shocked.

“What? You didn’t think I brought you here just to brush up on your knowledge of the revolution, did you?” Rose tittered, flashing him a coy smile.

Nick blushed. “I just, I mean…”

“There’s a rooftop view,” Rose encouraged. She looked at him with her big blue eyes. “It’s just a little over 300 steps…”

“300?!” Nick exclaimed.

“I did the math!” Rose insisted, a line that would fill anyone’s heart with dread. “I’m not like maman! As long as we keep up our pace, we’ll reach the top just in time to get a perfect view of the sunset!”

Well, when she put it like that… Nick couldn’t really resist.

For the second time that day, Nick learned that one of France’s most famous landmarks did, in fact, have more to it than he’d first imagined. He ignored the ache in his legs and climbed the staircase, trying to keep up with Rose.

She sure walked with purpose for someone who must have been just as exhausted as he was.

But when they stepped out onto the viewing terrace, Nick’s breath was taken away.

“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Rose’s whispered voice hissed in his ear as her fingers curled around his.

The skyline of Paris at sunset was a view that Nick couldn’t compare with anything.

The sun dyed the sky in reds, oranges, and purples as the lights splayed out over the clouds. Nick turned and took in the sight, scanning his eyes over the Paris skyline as color danced before them both. Then, his eyes landed on the Eiffel Tower. It was bathed in gold and seemed to shimmer in the light, and he realized just how close and yet far away the tower really was.

“It’s…” He was at a loss for words.

“Magnifique,” Rose murmured. “Maman always said that watching the sun set from the Eiffel Tower was gorgeous… but perhaps it’s even more amazing to witness the Eiffel Tower itself at sunset.

Nick couldn’t deny that.

“I lived in Paris briefly, and sometimes I would come here… just to stare at the tower from a distance,” Rose murmured. “To think about my promise to myself again. To imagine what it would be like, to come with someone one day. Nick… oh, there’s so much more…”

Her voice broke into a sob and she threw herself into his chest. “There are so, so many more things I want to show you… one day just isn’t enough.”

“Rose…” Nick’s voice cracked. They weren’t staring at the sunset anymore, they only looked into each other’s eyes now. Their lips met again and they held each other close, feeling the air turn cold around them.

When they parted, tears fell down Rose’s cheeks.

“I love you,” Rose said, in English this time.

“I think… I’m falling in love with you, too,” Nick confessed.

Rose’s eyes opened with wonder, hearing words that she’d wished to hear but never thought she could. As dusk fell and Paris lit up with lights, the two kissed again, dancing in one another’s embrace.