The couple walked together through the halls of the Louvre. Julie listened attentive while Gianni told her everything he knew about the artworks. And he knew a lot.
Julie realized that Gianni really had a great passion for artistry and seeing him talking about it with so much fire in his eyes made her deeply fascinated by him.
They both arrived at a hall with ancient greek and roman statues.
"Isn't it amazing how these statues exist since thousands of years. They survived the man who sculpted them by so much time," Gianni said with fascination. "I wonder if I could ever create something so beautiful that even in centuries people would still admire it."
He had a longing in his voice that Julie couldn't miss.
"Do you mean your music?" Julie asked. He told her this morning about his wish to become a musician.
Gianni nodded. "Yes, I have written countless songs. Some of them I consider great work but no label wants to sign me. I guess the time is slowly running out for me. The older I get the harder it will become to start a music career." Gianni looked upset but quickly put on a smile. He didn't want to ruin the mood.
Julie tried to cheer him up. "Don't give up. If that is really your dream, I'm sure you will find a way." Julie gave him an encouraging smile. "Would you show me one of your songs someday?"
"Yes, I would love to." Gianni smiled at her brightly. He even would write a song for her. He could already picture the melody in his mind. It would sound gentle and warm just like Julie is.
"I'm looking forward to it," Julie responded. Imagining Gianni playing her one of his songs made her excited. But then she remembered that he lives in another country and that it could take a while until Gianni can show her his music.
She tried not to be too pessimistic about it. She already decided that she wants to get to know Gianni and Milan isn't that far away. Maybe she can visit him.
After they spent three hours to see all the famous paintings and other artworks of the Louvre the two left the museum. They decided to go for a walk in the nearby park.
It was evening but since it was the middle of July the weather was still good.
Gianni told Julie about his vacation in Paris with Matteo and about their previous party nights. He said that he is glad to get a break now thanks to her.
Julie laughed when she heard crazy stories about his friend Matteo and how Gianni always has to keep him under control and prevent him from doing something stupid.
He told her that he would often get in trouble thanks to Matteo. When they were teens, Matteo had the great idea to break into a swimming pool with some other friends and of course they all got caught.
Julie had to laugh hearing this story. "Sounds like fun," she said smiling. "Your friend seems like a careless kind of person."
"He is. He never thinks of the consequences. He is just living for the moment. I guess that's admirable in a way."
"Yes, I agree," Julie giggled.
Julie told Gianni stories from her travels all over the world. How she visited famous places, learned from other cultures and made friend all over the world.
"Of course, I could never form such a close friendship as you have. For that the time was just not enough. Whenever a place became to familiar I wanted to leave and experience something new." Julie thought it would be nice to have such a long lasting, tight friendship like Gianni has with his best friend but she also enjoyed travelling on her own and meeting new people.
Gianni was impressed that Julie has already been to so many places before. She was really sophisticated for such a young age.
"For how long do you want to travel? Do you have plans of going back to England some day?" Gianni asked.
"I don't know. I do whatever feels right to me in the moment. If I feel like going back I will and if I want to settle down somewhere else than I will do that. I am open to anything really. It is just important for me to have the freedom to make my own decisions," Julie answered him.
Gianni couldn't hide his smile. He was admiring her more and more. "I'm impressed that you are this independent. It must have been hard sometimes to travel alone."
"Sometimes yes. But luckily, I always met great people who helped me out," Julie stated.
The mood was joyful as they continued to tell each other stories about their lives. There shared lots of smiles and laughs and enjoyed each others company more and more.
Gianni contemplated if he could hold Julie's hand. He had the urge to get closer to her but was afraid that it would make her uncomfortable. He decided it was better to give it more time until he does the next step.
Gianni suddenly got pulled out of his thoughts by Julie's hiss. She limped and than stopped walking to lift her foot in the air.
"What's wrong?" Gianni asked concerned.
"I just stepped on a stone." Julie walked with open shoes and on the way were small pebbles. One got trapped in her sandal and she stepped on it. She tried to get the pebble out but it slipped further down her shoe and she couldn't get it.
'Great,' she thought. 'I should have just worn sneakers'
Gianni saw Julie struggling as a light bulb flashed over his head.
Julie let out a confused shriek when Gianni suddenly lifted her up princess style.
"What are you doing?" Julie became bright red from embarrassment when she realized her situation.
"Calm down. I'm just carrying you over to a park bench so that you can take off your shoe." He laughed at her reaction. It was cute that she was so flustered.
When he saw her struggling, he just had to take this chance to get closer to Julie. At least just for a moment. And it was worth it. She felt wonderful in his arms. She was light as a feather and Gianni could breath in her floral scent.
Julie could feel her heart pounding against her chest. 'Calm down,' she told herself. But it was hard to relax. She couldn't remember the last time she let a man get that close to her.
Smelling his after shave made her dizzy. She wanted to sink deeper into his arms but she was holding back. 'That would be weird,' she thought. After all he is just carrying her to a bench. He just wants to be helpful. No big deal.
Julie was impressed with how strong Gianni is. He is holding her like it was nothing and it doesn't seem to be exhausting for him in the slightest. She wondered how long he could carry her like that.
Gianni placed Julie carefully on a bench.
"Thanks," Julie said not being able to look him in the eyes because she was still embarrassed about being carried. Instead, she just took her shoe off in silent to get the pebble out.
After that was done, she stood up. "Ok we can go," she said and started to leave still not looking at him.
"Julie" Gianni called after her. When he caught up to her, he grabbed her hand. Julie was not expecting this at all and looked down at their connected hands in shock.
Seeing her reaction, he let go of her. "I'm sorry. I just thought it would be nice… I just wanted to hold your hand." Gianni stammered while running his hand through his hair. It's seemed like this was a habit of him whenever he was nervous.
He knew it was too early to hold hands but he just got carried away by the moment. "I'm sorry. Let's just forget about it," Gianni pleaded.
He started walking when Julie took the initiative. "I have no problem with holding hands." She smiled at him.
She was overwhelmed by the sudden closeness at first but she still felt like it was right to be close to Gianni. And seeing how insecure he got when he thought she rejected him made her want to get over her own shyness.
Gianni's heart made a leap. He was extremely happy that Julie accepted this skinship. If holding hands made him this content what would happen if he kissed her. He could feel the adrenaline rising just at the thought of that.
They started to walk through the park with their hands connected. In the distance they could see the Eiffel Tower. To outsiders they must look like a couple enjoying the most romantic city in the world.
They didn't speak for some time. They didn't feel the need to say anything. All that mattered was living in this moment of them being together and enjoying each others presence.