Amour à Paris- a rekindled Romance

Chapter 12

Zain knew using the manuscript was not the right thing to do, but he wanted to annoy Shirin and her responses made him angry instead. He wanted to spend time with her, and she was choosing someone else over him, once again. Why is it always like this with Shirin. Why does her work always come before him? Zain didn't know. What he knew was that asking this wouldn't be easier after the Girlfriend bomb. He still had 3 hours before he could meet Shirin and he decided to use it to get some work done. Work, his only respite from the intrusive thoughts about Shirin. It was about 4pm when his work was finally done and decided to get ready for the evening.

Shirin came back to herroom at around 3pm. She didn't know what to wear. After some thinking, shedecided to go for a long red tube dress with a thigh-high slit. It has a littlebit of shimmer that gives her figure a certain edge. She looked at herself inthe mirror and admired for some time. With smokey eyes, red velvety lips andred Swarovski earrings, Shirin was pleased with the way she looked. She neverquite knew what to do with the hair, so she just made a messy bun with aclaw clip. It was some time since she got a chance to flaunt her long neck and thatmade her happy about herself. It was 4:55 pm when Zain pinged her. "Waiting atthe lounge."

Zain was reading some latest analysis and reports, while sitting on the Sofa in the lounge, facing one of the elevators. The door of the elevator opened after 4-5 minutes and he didn't see that immediately. However, in the next moment, he was in a daze. From Shirin's toe to the head, his eyes moved up slowly.

:- You look drop-dead gorgeous! Absolutely stunning! Zain couldn't stop his reaction from coming out so abruptly. He didn't know how not to look at that long neck or at that mystic slit of the dress.

:- You don't look so bad yourself. Quite a dapper, if I may say so! Too bad I cannot whistle.

:- Thank you, Mademoiselle. Shall we go now?

:- So where are we going?

:- We are going to the oldest restaurant in Montmartre, Le Bon Bock. Let me show you the charming side of this city.

Sitting in the car, the tension between them had evaporated. They kept talking normally, without burning each other.

:- I remember from the interview, that you lived in Paris for some time before you came up with the idea of Dreamscape Innovation. How did you like it here then?

:- It was a mixed feeling. Paris healed me so a part of me fell in love with this city. However, it was also difficult. It felt like everyone around me was enjoying and so happy, but I was... I don't know lonely? Lost? Restless.

He suddenly realized Shirin was silent. Looking at her, he said "I am not telling you a sob story, Shirin. This is all part of my growth. Who I am today is because of all those experiences. Anyway, what about you? Is Paris like anything that you have always dreamt about?"

:- So you still remember that I loved Paris?

:- Anyone who knows you even for a day, knows your obsession with Paris. Of course I remember. Zain chuckled.

:- I don't know. I mean today was nice. I explored a bit. It's more crowded than I imagined. I like it. To tell you honestly, I am almost falling in love with it, but I don't know why or what is tugging my heart from behind. There is something... aching.

Zain thought, how she said what he felt about Paris, exactly. He sighed.

The dinner went smoothly. The conversations flowed well. Maybe it was the wine talking or maybe they remembered how comfortable they were with each other before everything went down south. Shirin wanted to talk about it suddenly, but Zain stopped her. Let's enjoy the cabaret first. After that, we have the whole night to talk. Let's please just be in this moment. Shirin obliged.

Moulin Rouge show was not anything Shirin has ever witnessed. The visual extravaganza was dreamlike. Before the show started some local singers were entertaining the audience. People were dancing, laughing and Zain extended his arm, like in the old days. They knew each other's moves. There was a bit of a butterfly inside Shirin's stomach, but she didn't show it. Zain wore a Black three-piece suit, with a black shirt. He kept his hair on the forehead instead of using any gel and back brush. They had a bottle of wine with dinner and Shirin thought it was not her but the wine that was making her so achy for Zain. Suddenly, she asked without thinking,

"Why did you wear black, Zain?"

"Why? Don't you like it? You used to ask me to wear black all the time in the past!"

"It's not about... forget it."

"Tell me... "

"You are looking... irresistible"

Zain raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"Maybe that's why!"

"huhh!!"

"Now let me spoil your look a bit, Mademoiselle"

Before Shirin could understand what was happening, Zain pulled the claw clip from her hair and let it fall on her shoulder.

"If you want me to stay decent and not do anything that we both might regret later, I need to look at somewhere else from that neck of yours, Shirin"

"Maybe, that was the purpose!" Shirin mocked Zain this time.

The show was about to start. So, they came back to their designated seats. A bottle of champagne was served to them. And in the next couple of hours, they were transported to the magical, extravagant world that was created in the cabaret show "Féerie". Shirin rarely felt so elated as she did after the show and as if she had forgotten the years in between, she held Zain's arm and said, "I wanna drink some more wine, let's go to a pub. Then we'll go see the Eiffel!".

:- We both drank quite a bit, Rini. Are you sure about drinking more? Let's get into the car. I have a bottle of Marsanay la Montagne 2017, and a Barolo 2015 there. Take whichever you like.

:- Both!

:- Easy, Tigress!