Julie was rushing back from the grocery store to her apartment. She was out of concealer and needed to buy new one. Normally, she wouldn't care and go out without make-up but she wanted to look pretty when she meets Gianni again.
She also bought some other essentials for the week because she wouldn't have time later. She was planning to spend every free minute for the rest of the week on Gianni.
Julie was walking down the street she lives in when something caught her eye.
There was a bouquet of flowers on top of a full trash can. The flowers looked still fresh. Like someone just left them there.
'Who would throw something like this away. They look expensive,' she thought.
She took the flowers and inspected them for any damage. But other than a little dirt that can be washed of, she didn't find anything. Julie decided to take them with her. It would be a waste to let them wilt and they would decorate her apartment well.
Pierre was about to leave for work when Julie came back. His heart stopped when he saw her with Gianni's flowers. 'Did they meet downstairs? Did he tell her everything?' Pierre became pale. 'She will confront me now and then she will end our friendship,' he panicked.
Julie on the other hand was puzzled about Pierre's shocked expression. "Are you alright?" She asked him worried.
Pierre was surprised that Julie didn't look angry. He composed himself quickly. "Sorry. I just remembered that I forgot something work related. But it's no big deal." he smiled at her. "Who gave you the flowers?"
His heartbeat was raising as he was expecting her answer. 'Maybe she was just pretending that she doesn't know.'
"I found them outside. Can you believe that someone threw such beautiful flowers away."
Pierre felt relief washing over him. 'That means they didn't see each other. Couldn't this idiot take the flowers with him. I almost got a heart attack.'
"Pierre, is really anything alright. You look stressed out. Maybe you are overworking yourself."
'She is worried about me,' he smiled to himself. He felt a warmth spread in his heart and the butterflies were already dancing in his stomach. That's the effect that Julie has on him.
"You are right. I had a lot of stress lately. I should take a break. Maybe we could do something fun this evening."
Julie looked at him flustered. "I already have plans. Maybe we can hang out next week," she said feeling guilty.
She didn't want to ditch him all the time but Gianni was only here for a few days and she wanted to get to know him as much as possible.
"It's fine," he said patting her head. "When you are free you know where to find me," he winked at her and left for work.
Julie realized that she just had five minutes left until she has to be at the café. She went inside, cleaned the flowers before putting them into vase and then she finished her make-up.
When she arrived at the café, Gianni wasn't there yet. The waitress came and she ordered a coffee and a croissant.
Julie looked around in hope she would see Gianni but he wasn't anywhere near. As the minutes passed she become more and more uneasy.
'Where is he? That's strange. He seemed so reliable', she thought.
After 30 minutes she had an empty plate and an empty cup and her date still didn't show up.
Julie felt irritated. She tried to stay calm. 'There must be a good explanation. Maybe he overslept,' she thought.
She decided to write him a message. "Hey, did you forget that you wanted to meet me or did something happen? I'm waiting for you."
When he didn't answer after five minutes she thought it was pointless to wait any longer.
She had work to do after all. Today she gives online lectures, so she will work from home.
Julie walked back to her place with disappointment. 'Gianni seemed so excited when I suggested to have a date over breakfast. Something must have happened,' she thought.
Another thought crossed her mind. 'What if I misinterpreted his signals and he actually doesn't like me?'
'What if he was just not bold enough to reject me and is really not interested? How could I read the situation so wrong?' Julie chided herself.
Julie heard of people getting ghosted after a date. But Gianni didn't strike her as a guy who would do that. He didn't seem like such a coward.
When Julie used to date in the past, she was always honest and rejected the man to their faces. Of course, that was embarrassing but at least they would know and Julie always gave them words of encouragement. Some of them were good men after all but just not for her.
Julie still had a small hope that Gianni just overslept or something else prevented him from showing up. But there was nothing she could do other than waiting for him to contact her.
...
Gianni made it back to his hotel room. He closed the door loudly in anger which caused Matteo to groan. He just came back from his party night and went straight to bed.
"Can't you be quiet. I'm trying to sleep."
When Matteo saw Gianni's extremely upset expression, he sat up in bed. "What's wrong? Aren't you supposed to be on a breakfast-date?"
Gianni was tracing through the room. "She has a boyfriend," he said shoving his hands into his hair while frowning deeply.
"WHAT?" Matteo exclaimed loudly. "Then why would she go out with you?"
"Apparently, she is in an open relationship and is often scheming with guys."
"How do you know?"
"Her boyfriend told me." Gianni laughed bitterly. "I met him when I wanted to pick Julie up at her apartment and then he told me everything. He even asked me if I would consider a threesome."
"And do you?" Matteo asked teasingly.
Gianni gave him an angry look.
"Sorry, I just wanted to ease the mood," Matteo tried to reason.
Gianni sat down on his bed. He looked defeated.
"Hey you just met her yesterday. You couldn't know what kind of person she is."
"She seemed so sweet. Not like someone who could lie so well and not at all like a promiscuous girl. Why is that happening to me." Gianni exhaled loudly and feel back on his bed.
"Don't lose hope. I'm sure you will meet someone just right for you," Matteo tried to comfort his friend.
"Thanks but I think I will renounce dating for a while."
Matteo felt sad for his friend. He saw glimpses of Gianni's old self for a day and now he is back to being miserable. 'Great now we are back to square one,' he thought.
"Stop pitying me." Gianni said while sitting up suddenly.
"I didn't…"
"I saw how you looked at me." Gianni interrupted him. "Don't worry. I'm gonna me fine. I will just focus on my goals for a while instead of relationships. I obviously don't have any luck with woman," he said with slumped shoulders.
"Well now you are pitying yourself. You just have to keep looking. The right one is out there." Matteo tried to cheer him up.
"Thanks, but I really don't want to talk about it anymore."
"Ok." Matteo said. Both of them sat there in silence for a moment until Matteo broke through it. "So, does it mean we can continue our trip as planned? Maybe seeing some girls in bikini will help you forget about everything."
Matteo knew that it wasn't that simple but what else could he do. He was still on a mission to distract his friend from a heartbreak. Sadly, he is failing miserably so far.
Gianni gave him a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Sure, we can leave after you slept a little. I know you still got a hangover. I will book the train tickets."
"What! I don't have a hangover. I feel fine. Just a little tired," Matteo lied. In reality he could already feel the headache increasing. But he didn't want to admit that all of that partying has become too much for him.
"If you say so." Gianni smiled seeing through him.
When he took his phone out to book the tickets Gianni exhaled sharply and furrowed his brows in anger.
"What's wrong?" Matteo asked.
"Julie wrote. She wonders why I didn't come."
"Maybe you should talk to her," Matteo suggested.
"What good would that do."
"Give her a chance to explain herself and tell her that she shouldn't lie about her relationship status."
Matteo was right. Julie deserves to be confronted about her behavior. She can't play with other people's feelings like that. But he didn't want to face her. He was way to hurt about her betrayal and he felt ashamed that he was deceived so easily by her act of the innocent and shy girl. He didn't want to find out what kind of person she truly was. That would most likely upset him even more.
"I don't want to see or talk to her again," he said with determination in his voice.
He thought for a moment about his options and then decided to do what was best for him.
With that in mind he blocked her number.