Friday, February the second

« Pierre, my little sister, sis', my Pierre . » I said, making the introductions.

« Does she have a name or do I call her Sis' too? » said Pierre as Victoria rolled her eyes and intervened:

« Well thanks for the intro Aurelia, but you could have briefed him beforehand don't you think? - I looked sideways - Anyway, Victoria, but my closest friends call me Vicky . » 'But my closest friends call me Vicky' tss, I thought, girls these days...

« I'll go with Victoria, I'm not much for shortening names, especially when they are so pretty.» Which was good, I thought, as I'd rather not hear him call her Vicky, but was the last part really necessary? It sure got my sister's approval though, she was beaming and, as he went to take a table, she whispered into my ear:

« Nice catch big sis'! »

« How did you two meet? Aurelia barely told me anything except that you were super hot, intelligent... » I put my hand on her mouth and coughed, glaring at her, while Pierre chuckled and answered:

« Did she told you how smitten I am with her, how wonderfully lucky I feel whenever I see... » In a matter of seconds my cheeks were turning pink and my second hand flied to his mouth. I look at them both in turn.

« You guys are sooo embarrassing, really! - I feel their mouths curl up under my palms and I see their eyes sparkle with a smile - Can I trust you two not to team up against me again? » - Vicky shrugged and Pierre's shining eyes were about as convincing - He took my hand away from his mouth, brought it back for a kiss and winked while telling me:

« I'll try but I'd rather not make a promise I'm not sure to keep. »

« Rah, fine fine. » I concede as I withdraw my hands. As soon as she's free to speak again, my sister does so:

« You're cute together - 5 seconds, she couldn't hold it for 5 damn seconds?! - But don't think that it'll stop me from getting my answer, so? How did you two meet? »

« Do you want to tell the tale Aurelia or do I? - I shake my head, motioning him to go on - Well it's not that grand of a tale anyway, I was at a party at my school, our eyes met, we danced and liked each other so we decided to see each other again...

And that's it, sometimes I do feel a bit... how should I put this, disappointed? that our beginning wasn't as great or out of the ordinary as I could have dreamt. But well, as long as it's going well between us, the beginning isn't that important: I prefer our beginning to be a pale shadow of what followed and what will follow than the other way around. »

« You never told me that it bugged you... » I said, taking his hand under the table as my sister came to the rescue:

« First times are overrated, honestly you look really good together, how you first met is of little import as long as you feel good together now. » We both smiled, looking at each other, before it bugged me.

« Wait a minute, what do you mean by 'first times are overrated'?!? » Victoria tried to bluff her way out of this, babbling about first times eating pastries, reading books, meeting people... but her rosing cheeks were telling another story. In a desperate attempt, she talked about first hangovers which was too much for Pierre, who excused himself, chuckling like crazy:

« I'll go to the restroom and let you sort this out. » My sister looked at him walking away, looking for help that wouldn't come. He just shrugged, with a face that seemed to say that this was out of his jurisdiction. Facing me, she tried to defend herself pleadingly:

« I just felt like it, maybe I had had one glass too many, we knew each other for a while and I knew he liked me... Please don't tell mom or dad... Are you angry? Why don't you say anything? » - Then before I could answer she became more aggressive - « Anyway it's none of your business! I'm an adult and it's my body, I can do whatever I want about it! And don't play prude with me, I'm sure Pierre and you don't just play cards! » I let it all wash over me and simply answered, with a small voice:

« Of course you're right, I just wish you'd told me... » And like that her anger vanished.

« So you're not angry with me? » She asked.

« Why would I be? It's not your fault if your first time was bad, and you are indeed old enough, you've been for a while now. You're, legally, an adult anyway.» She sighted in relief, before adding, as Pierre was coming back.

« We can talk about it later if you want. » I nodded as he sat and smiled to see us both back in good terms, giving Vicky some support at last:

« I agree with you, first times are not that important in the end, and I wouldn't exchange Aurelia for any other girl, no matter how Disney-like our encounter could be - Vicki and I smiled - I actually have a friend who always has some great encounter, it's almost as if he's an expert in that. But he doesn't usually have a lot of luck afterwards. » he stopped talking, leaving us with unsatisfied curiosity for a minute or two. I could see in his eyes that he was just playing with us, Vicky lost as her patience disappeared:

« So? Can you give us some examples? »

« Sure, hmm... Well there is this time where he wrote a poetry to a girl but it may be too much... Not so long ago, he was reading a book in the subway when a woman sat in front of him, he looked up, out of curiosity, and had to try real hard not to stare.

She was apparently a sight of wonder and he didn't want to let the chance slip, so he tried to think of a way. He wondered whether he should just talk to her, but she had her headphones on and he didn't want to be a bother. Fast enough, motivated by the fear that she might get out at any moment, he found a way.

He took a pencil, some paper and, using his book for support, wrote her a little note. 'You really have the most wonderful face, I hope, you have a nice day'. His heart beating like crazy, he gave her the note, smiled and went back to his book. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her smile as she unfolded the piece of paper, and with that he was content. » Pierre stopped and drank. Once again, Vicky wasn't as patient as I was - or maybe I was just used to it by now?

« So? What happened then? Did she react in some way? »

« She appeared to be hesitating for a while but didn't make a decision in time, he was already two or three stations after his stop, so he decided to leave. When he got up she whispered 'Thanks' while fidgeting the paper, but failed to say anything more, so he left with a 'It was my pleasure', smiling, content to have brightened up her day. »

« Oh... » we both said, disappointed for him.

« Who is it by the way? It's the first time you told me about him. » I asked.

« Hugo, he's an old friend, we where in high-school together, quite the nice guy. Maybe too much so. Or maybe he just isn't lucky, I don't think he ever had... » Vicky, who had been looking at her phone, interrupted him.

« But I don't understand, is it him? - she showed us a facebook profile and Pierre nodded - He's fairly handsome, I mean he looks nice. Oh come on Aurelia, don't roll your eyes, he may not be the same type as Pierre, but we don't have to like the same kind of guys, right? This way you can be sure I won't try to steal him from you! - Pierre chuckled as I sighted - Tell me Pierre, she said with a sweet voice, you couldn't introduce us, could you? »

« Vicky! » I protested, unaware that she was about to show me how convincing she could be. Taking no account of the tone I had, she just said kindly

« Ooh big sis, I just LOVE it when you call me Vicky! - she took my harm and, confiding in me, she half whispered - Besides, with what I told you about 'you know what' earlier, it would be great if I could simply meet a really nice guy, don't you think? » I'm sure I had reason to disagree, like the fact that it might complicate things between her and Hugo, or between me and Pierre, if sides had to be taken at some point, or the simple fact that Hugo was about two or three years her senior...

But the thing is, I couldn't think of any at that moment, or they suddenly seemed irrelevant compared to that sweet smile - This sister of mine is dangerous! muttered a small voice in my mind, but I ignored it and shrugged it off as Pierre answered:

« Ok, why not, I'll see what I can do, although I can make no promises, said Pierre. But first, I have to make sure of one thing: why is it that you want to meet him? Please answer sincerely... » Vicky took a moment to think and answered:

« He looks nice, he really does, I think I'd like to meet someone like that. The rest depends on whether we get along I suppose, and on whether he likes me, she said with a small smile »

« So it's not just for the experience of an overly romantic encounter? » asked Pierre to make sure. Vicky seemed surprised

« Of course not, it wouldn't be particularly romantic anyway if you did the introductions. » Pierre laughed and nodded

« I'll see what I can do, Aurelia, are you sure you're fine with it? »

« Yeah, sure, she's old enough to make her own choices, isn't she? »

« Sure seems like it . » he chuckled as Vicky rolled her eyes.

We talked of various things, of school, friends, favorite spots in the city... It was really nice, they were getting along well and the three of us had a good, uneventful, time until my dear little sister reminded me how nosy she could be.

« Come on, can't you tell me one cute thing about the two of you? With the little I know she might be better off with Hugo! » I could see Pierre's eyebrow rise at that and, though he surely was aware that she was just baiting him, he answered:

« Well then, I could tell you a few things I guess, I wouldn't want you to have a bad idea about us... Recently she wrote me a letter » - Wait, what?! The embarrassing thought sprung in my mind. You're going to tell her about THAT?! I shot him a surprised and pleading look that he faced with a tender smile against which I was powerless -

« It wasn't a love letter per say, but no one ever wrote me a letter before, it felt like she was just with me through this paper. It was really touching - I sighed in relief, seeing how he stayed evasive, and started to smile at what he was saying: it was kinda cute -

« I'm still working on a reply that would match the strength and passion of her words and make her heart beat as hard as mine did » - I blushed slightly at the hidden message but Vicky didn't seem to notice - « You know Victoria, I really do like your sister, I've met a lot of girls before, but never have I met one like her, it's like the sun shines in every smile of hers. »

« Wow, that sounded really cheesy... said my sister, but you really mean it, don't you? » Looking straight toward her, unblinking, he said:

« I really do. » Before they both looked at me, him with the utmost tenderness, her with a simple joy. This time I wasn't able to hide my rosing cheeks. Damn you Pierre, can't you be embarrassed sometimes? Timidly, without convincing even myself, I replied

« Well, this Sichuan thing is really hot don't you think? »

« Chinese food can sure be spicy love. » said Pierre seriously as my sister failed at hiding her bemused look. - Breathe, breathe, breathe, I thought as my heart raced and I took a little emotional step toward him:

« You know, I... - shit, I can't go back now - I really, really, like you too Pierre, so I'm glad you two can get along. » I wanted to tell him that he was the color of my mornings, the breeze on a hot summer day, the moon in my night... Seeing his overjoyed smile as he heard me, I almost did it. Almost. But I'm no poet. This was as far as I could go today.

What was it we said about small steps Bob? Nevertheless, wherever these steps lead me, I'm glad to do them with his hand in mine.