THE OXFORD BET *VirginityGames*

Chapter 33 Paris and feeling like a grown up

"Wake up," Daniel commanded, giving the other a slight shake. Francesca whined and buried her face with a pillow. Daniel smiled. "Come on, we've got a plane to catch. It's time to wake up."

Francesca slowly blinked her eyes open. They were still in the Swallows Lodge, and she sat up with a groan, every muscle in her neck protesting from the position she'd been sleeping in. Francesca leaned into Daniel who wrapped an arm around her.

"What?" Daniel asked with a laugh, ruffling her hair.

"I can't believe you just married me you plonker," Francesca said fondly, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

Daniel smiled. "So are you finally going to stop asking if I just like you, or if the registrar was fake and I'm still playing the Bet?" he asked, poking her side, and she squirmed.

"Maybe once we've hit the five years mark, I can be completely sure," she replied, doing her best to be solemn but failing miserably when Daniel looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She just laughed amused as she sauntered into the bathroom to shower.

The taxi ride from the Lodge to the airport was thankfully quick. The traffic was light and it was still morning. Daniel unloaded their bags, as Francesca gets them checked them in at the front counter. 

Speedily she thanked the attendant as they were shown their seats in first class. Francesca rolled her eyes at Daniel as they sat down in their huge pods.

"I had too! Only because we literally just got married, Francesca." He smirked. "Don't worry we can fly economy when we go backpacking around the world once you graduate."

She smiled. "I'm only worried I'll get used to this luxury and won't be able to go back- oh thank you." A eager flight attendant handed her a glass of champagne.

"Daniel..." She said tentatively after taking a gulp of champagne. "Were you offered a job in New York?"

Daniel nearly choked on his champagne. "Francesca, don't worry about that. My Father's friend offered me a job before us. Before...well before this." He grabbed her hand and gave it a small squeeze.

She took his advice and nodded absentmindedly. Instead of having an argument and fussing over it, Francesca told herself it was nothing to worry about. So, she simply popped out one of her wireless EarPod's and handed the second one to him. They watched the large screen in front of them together. She burrowed into his side as the plane travelled on the tarmac. It was bright outside, and she felt dizzy from her hangover. Looking up at Daniel though she can't help but smile. She couldn't wait to go sight seeing with Daniel. She looked forward to seeing the Gothic Notre-Dame cathedral and eating in all the little cafes and shopping in the designer boutique along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

The flight was relatively short but it still managed to tire Francesca out. She wasn't sure if it was that or the fact her head was still thumping from all the alcohol she had consumed at the wedding reception the night before.

They made their way to the hotel. Daniel picked up his keys to a top of the range Jaguar XE from the rental car park and drove them to the hotel. Francesca picked up the keys to their room, and Daniel appeared, pulling their suitcases. Their room was on the tenth floor, and they embraced as the elevator ascended. Francesca was half asleep by the time they made it to their room.

"I'm going to take a shower," Daniel said, taking his suitcase and tossing it on the floor, unzipping it and rooting around for a change of clothes.

"Why don't you change and get into bed with me instead?" She suggested, pulling Daniel in for a kiss. A sleepy Francesca tried to follow as Daniel pulled away with a chuckle.

"Bed for you, I'll join you later." Daniel ordered. Francesca pouted, but eventually set her suitcase on the floor as well.

Daniel showered quickly, and brushed his teeth before throwing on a pair of boxers and heading back into their room. He stopped when he saw his wife, asleep on top of the covers, wearing an old oversized band t shirt and nothing else.

When the sun began to set, the couple decided to go for a late afternoon walk through the shore of the Seine. They held hands, occasionally swinging their arms back and forth, or picking up the nicest seashells they came across the way. And so they both enjoyed the dreamlike paradise, that perfect entelechy: the roaring of the waves and the coast's wind blowing on their ears, the soft sand under their shoes, and the thin layer of water reflecting the sunset, making them feel like they were splashing on a mirror.

Francesca liked the weight of her wedding band. It was solid and sturdy, a tangible version of their love. It said, I'm here, and he was there, and we'll be this way, forever.

She and her husband- her husband, Daniel Summers was her husband that still made no sense to her. But it felt so right. The two made their way back to the busy evening streets. After a beautiful candlelight dinner inside a lovely Parisian restaurant. The upbeat music of a band playing live on the streets melted into a slower song by the time they step into the crowd of dancers-the band must have seen them, she thought with a smile.

Wordlessly, Daniel pulled Francesca to him and her head fell to his shoulder as they began swaying. Around them other lovers danced, but it felt as though she and Daniel were within their own world, unbreakable and for themselves.

"Remember when we danced at the Thornway charity event?" he asked, his voice a soft whisper. "I practically had to drag you onto the dance floor."

She stifled a laugh. "I wasn't prepared to dance and I already knew I had caught feelings for you. So it seemed best not to do any of that...stuff with you."

"Even then?" he questioned, delighted.

"I think you knew," she hummed.

"Really?"

"Mhm. You just weren't ready to face the truth that you were madly in love with me either." She corrected him with a mesmerising smile.

"Were you ready to face the truth then?"

"Of course not. But saying no to you is near next to impossible, so I still let myself dance with you anyway." She smiled into his suit jacket. "Plus, I think I made every girl in that room jealous."

"More like everyone was jealous of me. You looked fantastic in that pink dress," He corrected himself, "you always look fantastic."

She let out an amused laugh that swelled into a content sigh. "And now we're here."

"Now we're here in Paris," he echoed. He smiles into her hair. "I love you, Francesca."

"I love you too, husband." That still felt foreign to her tongue, but she liked how it sounds. How it tied him to her, how only she got to know him in such a way. Husband, her husband, and Daniel who was her partner, and her husband, the love of her life. Daniel.

He took the lead when they danced, cluing her in on his rhythm as if it were a secret. It was one thing she had always noticed about him: how he seemed to have his own beat, bouncing on the balls of his feet, light and second nature. A boyishness was trapped within him, no matter how they aged and what he endured. It added a spring to him, pulled at his muscles and a cat like lightness to him. It made her smile to think that the hurt he had experienced had never fully extinguished his fire. 

It had been dark when they'd left the restaurant. Suddenly it felt like an eternal night. Never ending perfection.

The slow song faded into something more uptempo, and he started laughing, pressing his mouth to hers. "Come on lets get out of here."

"Back to bed?"

He gave her a wolfish grin. "That would definitely be my first choice," Among the noise and the lights was her husband; his dark blonde hair and white teeth, strong arms, frown and unruly charm.

She saw him.

She always saw Daniel.