After some time, walking in silence Julie became hungry. It was getting late.
"Would you like to have dinner with me. I know a nice restaurant?" Julie asked.
"Yes, good idea." Gianni was delighted that Julie doesn't want to go home yet and that he can spend more time with her.
Julie led Gianni to a restaurant that she visited once with Pierre. It wasn't anything too fancy because this was quite spontaneous and for a more expensive place, she would have to book a table in advance.
But she wasn't bothered by it and it seemed like Gianni didn't mind either.
They sat down and ordered red wine. Gianni had a steak and Julie a seafood salad. The atmosphere was pleasant and they both felt good being close to each other.
Julie's mood dropped when she remembered that he wanted to leave tomorrow and that she might not see him again after tonight.
"What do you think about having breakfast tomorrow morning before you have to leave?" Julie asked hopeful to spend more time together.
"I'd like that but I don't think I will leave tomorrow," Gianni stated.
Matteo already offered him to stay longer and after the date they had, he couldn't just leave now. He would rather use the rest of his vacation time to be with Julie than hanging out on the beach. He was hoping to form a closer relationship with her so that she doesn't forget about him when he has to go back to Italy.
"I thought you and your friend wanted to go to the Côte d'Azur?" Julie asked confused if she heard him correctly this morning.
"I was thinking about canceling this plan and stay here until Sunday to get to know you better." Gianni answered honestly as he studied her reaction. He hoped she liked this idea. He didn't want to come off as too pushy but her face didn't give a hint. She was unreadable.
Julie's heart skipped a beat. He wanted to stay here longer for her and they had four more days until Sunday. She almost couldn't contain her happiness and barely managed to give him a normal answer. "I would like that but until Friday I still have to work during the day. But we can meet afterwards and make plans for the week-end."
Gianni felt his chest warming up when he heard the excitement in Julie's voice. She wanted to spend all of her free time with him. He couldn't believe his luck to have an amazing woman like Julie being interested in him. This feeling filled his heart with so much joy. He couldn't remember the last time he was this happy.
The last two month were torturous and even before Sabrina ripped his heart out completely the relationship with her was shaped by constant fights. The fights would be about all kinds of stuff but mostly about how much time he spends on his music. Sabrina didn't see a future for his music career and wanted him to climb the job ladder as a journalist.
Gianni thought that she might feel neglected by him because he invested most of his time in his music. He wanted to fix things but than she left him for a random guy who owned a successful start-up company.
He couldn't believe she just threw three years of being together away like it meant nothing and didn't even give them a chance to talk it out.
Gianni felt like a loser for quite some time and didn't know how to get back up on his feet after a blow like that.
But now that he met Julie all the struggles of the last few months were forgotten. With her everything seemed so easy. Of course, it was naïve to think like that because he just met her but something about Julie radiated so much friendliness and support for others.
More importantly, something deep inside him told him that he was meant to meet Julie here.
He didn't know if he believes in fate but it really seems like everything happens for a reason.
After dinner, Gianni walked Julie back to her apartment while holding her hand. She told him that she could go alone and that he doesn't have to do the detour to bring her home before going back to his hotel but Gianni insisted.
He didn't want to separate from Julie yet. If he could he would follow her into her apartment but he didn't want to overstep.
When they arrived in front of Julie's door both of them felt awkward. They didn't know how to say goodbye.
Gianni contemplated if it would be acceptable to kiss her. He didn't know if it was too early and looked for signs of approval in her face.
Julie felt her cheeks heating up looking into Gianni's intent gaze on her. She could look forever into his beautiful dark eyes but the silent started to feel uncomfortable and she grabbed her keys to let herself in.
"Good night, Gianni. See you tomorrow," Julie said smiling shyly at him and stepping into her apartment.
"Good night, Julie," Gianni said still looking her in the eyes while Julie was closing the door slowly looking back at him until the last millisecond when the door shut completely.
Gianni stood in front of the door for a little placing his hand on his heart while smiling like an idiot.
'Should I have kissed her?' He wasn't sure about that but it didn't matter. Tomorrow, he has another chance. They agreed on meeting again at 8 in the morning at the same café.
Gianni couldn't believe the intense feelings he had for her after just a day and he was impatient to see her again. He left while happily humming a melody that already has been stuck in his mind for hours.
Julie slowly sat down on the floor leaning her back on the door. Her heart was still pounding wildly in her chest. She never felt like this before.
'How can this guy just show up out of nowhere and flip my world upside down,' she thought smiling to herself.
Her mind wandered back to Gianni's intense gaze on her. For a moment she thought he would kiss her. Would she have led it happen?
She could already feel the butterflies in her stomach just thinking about kissing him. So, the answer was probably 'yes' even though she was nervous because the last time she kissed a guy was years ago.
Yet she never wanted to kiss somebody as much as Gianni. Something about him called out to her and she couldn't wait until she finally feels his lips on hers.
'Maybe tomorrow,' she thought smiling dreamily.
...
Pierre was sitting home alone. He couldn't stop thinking about Julie having a date all of a sudden.
Pierre liked Julie from the moment she moved into the apartment across from his own.
Since then, he tried to get closer to her. He helped her wherever he could, he introduced her to his friends. He wanted to make her a part of his life and hoped she would develop feelings for him if he always stays around her.
He made so much progress the last few weeks. They met almost every evening. On week-ends usually with his group of friends. Then they often went clubbing together and Pierre could remember how attractive Julie looked while dancing with her girlfriends.
His best friend Lucas once caught him starring at her for too long. Then he told him about his feelings for her and that he plans to make Julie his girlfriend. Of course, Lucas was supporting. He, Camille and Jade already liked Julie a lot. So, no one would object if they end up dating.
During the week, he often went over to her apartment. He would bring her dinner to spend time with her and they drank wine while talking about their days or just watching TV.
He could feel Julie getting more and more comfortable around him. He knew that she was inexperienced. That's why he didn't want to rush into it. After all he had time. Or so he thought.
Now all of a sudden some guy shows up and threatens to ruin everything.
Pierre heard voices in the hallway and hurried to look through the door viewer. He watched Julie coming home with a man holding her hand. They looked at each other like a couple who was freshly in love and Pierre could feel his stomach clench.
'Damn it,' he thought. 'How could this happen. Before today I have never seen Julie with this guy and she never talked about him.'
This morning he tried to play it cool when he found out that Julie has a date, but on the inside, he was panicking.
Over the last month he fell every day even harder in love with Julie and he couldn't just give up on her.
He watched Julie disappearing into her apartment and observed the man who was standing in front of her door. When he turned to leave, Pierre could see the stupid smile on his face.
'I can't lose to this guy,' he thought. He needed to do something before it is too late.
Pierre tried to come up with a plan on how to get rid of his rival. It was difficult because he didn't know anything about him. But at the end he had an idea.
It was risky but he needed to take this chance. He wanted Julie for himself and he was ready to do anything for it.