38

Rose
I remembered when I was young and I would go and visit with my family before all the crazy stuff happened. We went across the country but mainly visited the capital, Paris.
I loved spending my summers there with my sister. We'd play games, speak to other family members and enjoy our childhood.
The last time I went to France was the last family holiday we had. The last happy moment of us all together.
I was nervous. So nervous.
As I sat down, Cristiano pushed my chair in for me like a gentleman before asking a seat beside me. He rubbed his hands together in excitement before his hands dug in, taking a large bite out of the freshly baked croissant.
"Yes! This is amazing!" He moaned, his voice muffled as he chewed the pastry, throwing his head back in delight. I rolled my eyes, scrunching my face up at him.
"Ooo la la! Hi, cutie!" Jordan bubbled, beaming and holding an innocent girl's hand as she walked, stopping her and her friends. Her friends giggled, the girl blushing hard as she looked at Jordan. "Enchante, ma Cherie!" I felt like correcting him so badly for his pronunciation but I just sat and rolled my eyes, pursing my lips at him.
I loved France.
". . .uh. . .Rose, tell me how to say a good pick up line in French. . ."
I gave him a look of disapproval before asking the girl, "quel âge avez-vous?" {how old are you?}.
"Sieze." {sixteen}.
"She's not even legal yet. She's sixteen. Let her go," I bluntly told Jordan. His eyes expanded as his jaw dropped. He immediately let go of her hand, clearing his throat and looking away. The girl and her friends left and I tutted at him as Dax joked, "don't worry, doofus. You'll find a girl soon. . ."
"This is so unfair," Jordan bursted, folding his arms in annoyance as he looked at all of us irritably. "Cris, you have Rose. You've got Genevieve, Gage, Dax, you have Tori and who do I have? Hookers."
I chuckled, giving him a warm smile. "Don't worry. Like Dax said, just wait. Someone'll come when you least expect it."
Jordan huffed again, rolling his eyes and folding his arms like a child. "Whatever. Cliche shit."
"I feel sick," I murmured, placing my head against my fist. I sighed softly, my stomach twisting and churning. I roughly swallowed a lump in my throat, nausea hitting me.
"Well, are you pregnant?" Jordan asked me, raising an eyebrow mischievously. I looked up at him and rolled my eyes.
"What?" Cristiano exclaimed, his head snapping in my direction. His jaw dropped as he stopped looking at his phone, his eyes filled with seriousness. I rolled my eyes again. "We haven't even - there's no way I'm pregnant, idiot."
"You haven't even what?" Jordan curiously pressed on, a teasing look on his face. I gave him a glare and he grinned from ear to ear.
Cristiano exhaled in what seemed to be relief. He went back to scrolling on his phone. My eyebrows creased as I looked at him. He was relieved. I licked my lips and looked away, feeling uncomfortable for some reason.
"None of your business," I reminded him, and he wriggled his eyebrows. "Well, then, y'all must of been doing something nasty this morning because you weren't that quiet."
My cheeks automatically went red. Dax's jaw dropped and he snorted, shaking his head as Jordan sniggered. "Shut up," I grumbled, "I'm not pregnant, just nervous."
"You're so nervous that you can't eat your delicious melted cheese and bacon baguette? Wow, who are you and what have you done to Rose?" Gage asked in surprise, his eyes filled with astonishment. I sighed, glancing over at Cris.
"Come on, let's go pay," I murmured, pulling his strong arm that barely moved as I stood. Despite his protests, I made him come with me up to the food truck again.
We waited in the line and he kept his eyes on his phone. It irritated me. I licked my coated lips and moved my hair away from face before questioning quietly, "what if I was pregnant? What would you do?"
I was curious; I was extremely curious. I desperately wanted to know what he would do if I was actually pregnant. Of course, I wasn't because we hadn't had 'normal sex' since the night in the bakery.
Did Cristiano want children? What if he didn't? Our relationship was still early but his response before intrigued me.
He didn't seem to hear me at first and I got even more annoyed. I cleared my throat before sighing, "Cris? You've been on your phone all day, what's so important that you can't answer one simple question?"
"Hmm? Sorry." He put his phone into his pocket and met my tired eyes. The gentle breeze blew my hair to face and he pulled a strand of it behind my ear, leaning in and pecking my lips. "What did you ask, baby?"
I rolled my eyes, moving my head so his hand slipped off. "It doesn't matter." I turned, walking up the queue as it moved a little.
"Tell me," he pressed on, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my cheek. I didn't reply and he sighed in my neck, his breath tickling me.
"I'm sorry, Ro. I've been distracted all day but I won't be like this for the whole trip," Cris began, "we're in the city of love and I promise I will be making more than love to your fine ass," he seductively whispered into my ear but I wasn't in the mood. I sighed again, turning and facing him.
I closed my eyes as I confessed, "I'm so. .anxious right now and I feel really sick. ." He pulled me into a warm hug and I closed my eyes tighter, my hands holding onto him.
"I understand. I'll be here for you. Trust me, when you see her, all your emotions are gonna change."
I exhaled slowly before pulling away and meeting his eyes. "Thanks." He pecked my lips before we went up to the front and paid.
In the cab, I watched out the window, gazing at the beautiful city of Paris.
It was a city of wide avenues and small places to sit and eat, to relax as Parisians went about their day. There were shopping centres, stores. There was parks and wild spaces, chances to walk among nature or enjoy the trails on bicycles.
I would gaze at the river that flowed through the centre, crossing the bridges, pausing just to look at the view.
Paris wasn't just about monuments and tourist attractions but more than most people knew. The city was always moving; cars, people, busses, trains. There were churches, mosques and temples. Hospitals and libraries, museums, markets.