Her First French Kiss: An Exotic BWWM Romance Read online

  “Attention, Mademoiselle,” Diamond heard a voice say, and she saw a man lean over and pick up her hat that had fallen on the ground. He stood back up and handed it to her. Diamond froze.

  “Oh . . . thank you,” she managed to reply.

  “My pleasure,” was his reply. His gaze was electric and Diamond’s heart began to pound in her chest yet again, as it had in the museum, but this time for very different reasons. Was she just imagining it, or was that the same face that she saw on the cover of Le Finance? No, it couldn’t be Baptiste Laurent. It would be far too much of a coincidence.

  “I’m sorry, I feel like I’ve seen you before,” Diamond said, shaking her head. A warm smile came to his lips.

  “Most likely.” His speech was heavily accented, but each word rang out as clear as a bell. “I turn up in the funniest places.”

  Diamond laughed at his humor, and he cocked his head, inspecting Diamond with care.

  “You have a pretty smile,” he said.

  “Thank you,” Diamond replied, feeling her cheeks blush.

  “Au revoir,” he finally said, and was off on his way. Diamond had to catch her breath once he was gone.

  She managed to order, and devour with pleasure, all the food that she had planned. Once she was done, Diamond asked for the bill.

  “It has been taken care of, Mademoiselle,” the waiter said.

  “What?” Diamond asked, not sure if she could believe him.

  “Complements of Monsieur Baptiste Laurent,” the waiter said, and walked away.

  Diamond nearly fell out of her chair. She gazed out onto the Place de l'Opéra and couldn’t help but think that her trip was off to a tremendous start.

  Chapter2

  “Did he leave his digits?” Tanesha asked over the phone.

  “No,” Diamond replied, lying in her hotel room bed, watching the flickering neon lights that come in through her window and flash on the ceiling.

  “What’s the point of paying for dinner if you don’t leave no phone number. Shoot. He probably be buying sistas dinner left and right then!”

  “Well thanks. That makes me feel real special,” Diamond said, rolling her eyes.

  “Girl, I’m not trying to make you feel bad. You know you my everything. But he probably felt sorry for you. He be like, what’s that black American doin’ in France? She probably read that they sell the best weaves!”

  “Girl, now you’re seriously cracking me up,” Diamond said. “But you gotta stop because it’s time for me to go to bed. Off to Veules-les-Roses tomorrow.”

  “Ooooooh, I like the way that you say that. So fancy,” Tanesha replied.

  “I wish you could be here, girl. Probably ain’t going to be no one there I can talk to,” Diamond said with a little yawn.

  “That’s what the telephone’s for. But you best be calling me cause I ain’t paying that damn bill!”

  “I hear you. I’ll catch you later, love,” Diamond said.

  “Ok, D,” Tanesha said.

  Diamond put down her cellphone and sighed, continuing to look up at the colorful lights on the ceiling. She could also hear people in the alleyway, probably coming home from a late night in a Parisian bar. She could smell cigarette smoke. Diamond was never one for smoking herself, but it seemed like everyone she saw that day was smoking. There was even a kid who looked no older than 14 smoking in the Tuileries gardens. The old stereotype was right.

  Although she knew that she had to sleep, it wasn’t coming upon her quickly or easily. God knows the last time that she actually nodded off. It was on the plane, she thought. But now she was tired and wired at the same time, that horrible limbo that was always the plague of travelers.

  “Damn,” she whispered to herself, massaging her temples.

  “You need a warm Coca Cola, child,” Bernice said, sitting off in the corner.

  “Mama, you just show up all the time now, don’t you?” Diamond said.

  “Someone gotta look after you. All alone here in a foreign country,” Bernice explained. She adjusted a hat on her head.

  “Mama, you wearing a beret?” Diamond asked in dismay, hoisting herself up on her elbows to get a better look.

  “You know I be,” Bernice said, striking a pose. “When in Paris . . .”

  “I think the phrase is ‘When in Rome,’ but you do you,” Diamond said, falling back onto the bed again.

  “You thinking about that man,” Bernice said saucily.

  “What man?” Diamond returned her attention to the neon lights on the ceiling.

  “That MAN. At the restaurant. You know what I told you about a fella that buys you dinner and aks for nothing in return.”

  “Marry him,” Diamond replied flatly.

  “That’s what I say! You marry that son of a bitch cause clearly, he like the pleasure of buying you a good meal, and he know you get all hot and bothered by it, but he don’t wanna overstep his bounds,” Bernice explained.

  “Yes, mama. That’s what you always say.”

  “Yo daddy, that useless SOB, we hopped in the sack before he ever bought me nothing. And now, you just look how that turned out.”

  “I know mama,” Diamond said, the sound of her mother’s voice beginning to put her to sleep.

  “Oh, I see how it is. I’m boring you,” Bernice said in protest.

  “No, mama. I’m just tired.”

  “Well, you sleep then cause I best be disappearing now.”

  “Okay, mama,” Diamond said softly.

  She gently fell asleep for a long while. She didn’t even know how long. She covered up the clock on the table next to her because she couldn’t stand that bright red light, reminding her that time didn’t even make sense any longer. Something startled Diamond and she was momentarily pulled from sleep, and she looked over to where Bernice had sat. Sure enough, her mother was gone. Diamond shook her head. If she told anyone about those little encounters with her mother, they’d probably think that she was damn crazy. Still it was so comforting. If only Tanesha would show up too, then it would be a real party.

  But no, even though Diamond longed for companionship with those that she knew so well, this was the moment where she was being called upon to be alone. If she was going to become who she was supposed to be, Diamond was going to need to be brave. To step out into the void and see what was waiting for her there. The thought filled her with hope and Diamond was able to fall asleep yet again. She thought that Baptiste Laurent came to her in a dream, but it was so hazy, that the following morning she wasn’t sure whether or not it had happened.

  *******

  “Damn!” Diamond said, looking over at the clock. It was 11am in the morning, and she was supposed to catch a train at noon. “Damn, damn, damn,” she kept repeating, running around her hotel room, trying to pack as quickly as possible.

  She had overslept, but who could blame her? Still, she had to catch that train in order to get to Veules-les-Roses on time so that the landlord of her little apartment could greet her. It didn’t take her long to pack, and she hopped in the shower for a few minutes and indulged in the feel of warm water enveloping her.

  It wasn’t long before she was down the stairs and passing through the breakfast room. This was a real challenge, because there was hot coffee and warm pastries there, and although the train was the priority, Diamond decided that she could still take a croissant to go.

  “Arrevois, Mademoiselle,” the man at the concierge desk said.

  “Arrerra,” Diamond replied, the croissant dangling from her mouth and her bag being pulled behind her.

  She managed to secure a car on the main road and just in time found herself at Gare de Nord, where she hopped onto her train just as the doors were closing.

  “That was close,” Diamond said to herself, wiping sweat from her brow. She plopped herself into an empty seat by the window and looked out at the station, wondering why the train wasn’t yet departing. There was a bit of commotion on the platform and the passengers on the train were beginn
ing to get restless. Finally, Diamond was able to see what the holdup was all about. Striding past her window was a man in a suit, followed by a number of other gentlemen in suits, and a rather striking French woman in a red dress. It was Baptiste Laurent. Diamond knew it instantly, and apparently he and his entourage had called ahead to hold the train up. It was amazing what money could do.

  “Fils de pute!” she heard an elderly man behind her exclaim, throwing his hands into the air. She didn’t know what it meant, but the man certainly didn’t sound very happy.

  Diamond leaned into her window, and she saw the doors to the train open again, and Baptiste and his gang entered a train car ahead of hers. She sat back in her seat and pulled her compact from her purse, looking at herself in the mirror.

  “Oh God,” Diamond said to herself. In the hurry to get out the door that morning, she hadn’t applied a touch of makeup. She still looked half asleep in her estimation. Diamond took out her makeup bag and tried to fix the situation.

  Of all the coincidences in the world, she thought to herself. It was like everywhere she went, Baptiste Laurent was bound to show up. She couldn’t tell what to make of it, but at the very least, she wanted to have a chance to thank him for buying her expensive lunch the day before.

  There was a bit of French jabber over the intercom and the train was off on its journey north, and Diamond was looking forward to the peaceful ride. She had brought a copy of Toni Morrison’s ‘The Bluest Eye,’ simply because Tanesha was always getting on her case about not reading it, but she found she couldn’t concentrate. The ride was too beautiful and Diamond just stared out the window, trying to take it all in. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and Diamond’s mind became quiet and content. She even managed to forget that Baptiste Laurent was in the car ahead of her. She became dreamy.

  This perfect revery only lasted until Diamond’s stomach began to growl and she found that she was famished. The croissant from that morning didn’t manage to hold her over, and she found herself wishing that she had had her shit together enough that morning to buy a sandwich. But oh well, that’s what dining cars are for, she thought to herself.

  Apparently, the dining car was two cars ahead of her, and that meant crossing through the car that she saw Laurent enter into. Diamond was a bit nervous. Did she look okay? Oh screw it, she thought to herself. I look the way that I look. Or as Tanesha would say: “You fly.”

  Passing through the car ahead of hers, Diamond tried to seem inconspicuous, but she was really looking around, trying to locate the group of businessmen. Oddly, they couldn’t be found, and not the lady in the red dress either. They were probably in some kind of VIP cabin or something, sipping champagne.

  Well, apparently it wasn’t that kind of train because when Diamond made it to the humble dining car that’s where she found the group of businessmen, apparently having a meeting at a nearby table. They were deep in conversation, and Diamond noted the look of seriousness on Laurent’s face. His eyebrows were knit and his jaw was tight. He leaned his elbows on the table and clasped his hands in front of him.

  Baptiste looked up briefly and spotted Diamond, then looked away. Realization came over him and he looked up again. It was a double take, and it told Diamond that Baptiste Laurent recognized her. She felt that flush come to her cheek again and turned to the counter of the dining car to order, and to pretend like she wasn’t caught staring at Baptiste.

  “Un café, s'il vous plaît,” she said to the bow-tied attendant.

  Diamond waited there, a tad anxious. She tapped her fingers on the counter, wondering if Baptiste was still looking at her.

  Damn, it was killing her. She had to turn back. Diamond tried to make it casual, but then she jumped, discovering that Baptiste was standing right behind her.

  “You were looking for me?” he said with a causal smile.

  “Me? Oh, no . . . I was . . .” Diamond was struggling to find the right words.

  “Iz okay. Everyone is always looking for me. Most of the time I find it annoying but in this case it’s quite flattering,” Baptiste said. Diamond was immediately in awe of Baptiste’s warmth. In all those pictures he looked so cool and serious, and even when he was in his meeting with the other businessmen, he seemed impossibly serious. But standing right in front of her, there was something almost boyish about him. His blue eyes penetrated hers, and they were hard to turn away from.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to stare,” Diamond said. “But I just saw you in this magazine on the plane.”

  “Which magazine?” Baptiste asked, putting his hands in his trouser pockets.

  “You mean, like, you in so many magazines you can’t keep track?” Diamond teased.

  “That is precisely what I mean,” Baptiste replied without a touch of irony.

  “Shoot,” Diamond said, turning to the counter. Her coffee had arrived in front of her and she took a sip of it.

  “Un deuxième café,” Baptiste said to the bow-tied man. He went to take his wallet from his jacket pocket.

  “Please, this is on me,” Diamond said, putting up her hand. Baptiste looked at her quizzically, as though he’d never heard anyone say that in his life. He lifted his brow. “You’re taller than I thought you’d be.”

  “I don’t look tall in photographs?” he asked.

  “Well, you don’t not look tall, you just seemed more, compact.”

  “I do not like this word, compact,” Baptiste said, coming close to Diamond and standing tall, proving how much taller than her he was.

  “Oh, now you just being competitive,” Diamond said with a laugh.

  “You have no idea,” Baptiste replied, still standing close.

  There was a strong bolt of electricity between them. Diamond could feel it so strongly, and she turned away feeling bashful. Baptiste laughed, as though sensing that the force of the electricity was too much for her.

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  “Back to my seat,” Diamond said.

  “No,” he replied with another congenital smile. “Where are you traveling to?”

  “Oh! Veules-les-Roses.”

  “Uh oh,” Baptiste said darkly.

  “What?” Diamond asked.

  “This is where I go, too. It’s my country house, you see. The rest of Paris likes to escape south, and that’s why I escape north.”

  “Will wonders never cease,” Diamond said, shaking her head. Of all the places for him to be going, of course he was going to Veules-les-Roses.

  “Ah, yes. Things could get interesting,” Baptiste said, taking his coffee and returning to his table. Was he flirting with her? It certainly seemed like he was. Maybe he came on to every woman that crossed his path. Maybe he was even married to that gorgeous white woman in the red dress. Nothing would surprise Diamond at that point.

  She returned to her car, trying to think about anything other than Baptiste Laurent, but it was impossible to get him off her mind. It was only after she sat down that she realized the whole point of going to the dining car was to get food, but once she saw Baptiste, she completely forgot that she was even hungry. Diamond couldn’t go back now and order a sandwich. She’d look like a complete idiot if she did that. No, she’d just have to sit there with her coffee and hope that it would hold her over.

  Apparently, someone on that train was a mind reader because a tray was delivered to Diamond’s seat by a gentleman wearing white gloves.

  “Mademoiselle,” the man said, presenting the tray to her.

  “You kidding?” Diamond asked.

  “Kidding?” he said, trying to understand the word.

  “Oh, never mind,” Diamond said, taking the tray from his hands. “Thank you so much.”

  At that point she had grown so hungry again that she didn’t stop to consider that Baptiste had had the tray sent to her. She found herself eating her cheese baguette hungrily. The bread was flaky and crunchy on the outside, and soft and doughy on the inside. The cheese was creamy with a hint of sharpness, and the
French mustard was spicy and pungent. The baguette was accompanied by a dainty dish of fruit that was sweet and cool. Lastly, there was an elegantly composed salad with a few purple beats, a crumble of goat cheese, tangy arugula, and thinly sliced almonds.

  All in all, it was a perfect meal. How was it that the French just knew how to feed themselves so well? Diamond didn’t feel hungry any longer, and she also didn’t feel too full. Everything was just right.

  Since she was satisfied and her brain was working again, Diamond came to the conclusion that Baptiste was to thank for the delicious lunch and perhaps she should return to the dining car to tell him so, but that was just as the train was coming to a halt at its destination.

  Diamond looked out the window and off in the distance she could see the ocean, glistening in the afternoon light.

  “Bienvenue au Veules-les-Roses,” the voice over the loudspeaker said.

  “Oh my God,” Diamond said under her breath, shaking her head. It was absolutely stunning what she saw. There would be a short bus ride from the train station to the town, but already, from what she could see, Diamond could tell that she was in for a real treat. She snapped a picture with her phone so that she could show it to Tanesha later. “Boughie ass shit? I think not,” Diamond said, looking at the gorgeous picture.

  As the train came to a halt, Diamond gathered her things and stepped out into the warm air, feeling the sun on her face and even tasting the saltwater in the air. She walked towards the exit of the train station and found herself in the parking area. There, Diamond could see a black car with dark windows pull up to the curb, and Baptiste and his entourage got in. The doors were closed and the car was off on its way. Diamond had to wonder if she’d ever see him again, but considering the encounters that they had had so far, it seemed like they would definitely run into each other sooner rather than later.