Author's Note: Thank you very much for all your reviews and messages (I'll reply to your messages this weekend).

Chapter Ten

Maura counted until five in her head before casting a glance at Jane. She burst out laughing with such honesty that she turned out to be the first one surprised of her own reaction.

Jane frowned but she kept her eyes closed nonetheless. As a matter of fact, she didn't move an inch. Her questions barely passed her lips.

"What's so funny?"

Maura folded her legs under her. She had chosen to sit right on the floor between the coffee table and the couch. A woolen shawl embraced her petite frame and the Persian carpet felt soft under her bare feet. She could hear the rain falling outside, in the darkness of the night. The City of Lights had succumbed to a winter-ish evening, a delicate one.

"You know that you can't get suntanned by simply coming as close as possible to the fireplace, don't you?"

Jane rolled her eyes rather dramatically but the smile that played on her lips swept away Maura's doubts: Jane hadn't taken the remark badly. She had understood that Maura's rhetorical question was nothing but a joke. Today had been a real rollercoaster of emotions. They had gone through the tension of a lunch to the delicacy of Maura's confession before the lightness of the evening to embrace them warmly. They now both needed the sweetness of the moment.

They immensely needed it.

"I just like the way it feels against my cheeks. Ugh... If I'd wanted to get sun tanned then I wouldn't have gone to Paris in October. I would have gone to Honolulu or something instead."

Maura poured herself another glass of wine. Jane's had remained untouched. She would drink it but she wasn't thirsty for the moment. Maura wasn't thirsty either though. She simply felt the urge to feel the heat of alcohol warm up her body.

It was comforting.

Maura was lucky and she didn't know what she had done to deserve it, to deserve Jane in her life. Jane's reaction to her confession at the cafe had been the sweetest that Maura could have hoped for. It hadn't changed anything to their bond. Or at least not yet. There was no awkwardness, no quiet judgement either.

Jane had planted a kiss on her temple then life had resumed at a delicate pace.

Perhaps things would become more complex later on, in a few days or in a few months. Or perhaps nothing would actually happen and Maura's fears would fade away slowly revealing the ridiculouslness of her fears.

Jane hadn't tried to solve anything. She had showed wisdom, sweetness and tact instead. She hadn't urged Maura to make peace with Léopoldine as much as it seemed to be the fairest scenario. She had whispered a maybe instead – through half-words – and it had been enough to calm down the storm that took place in Maura's heart right now.

"You don't like doing that?" Jane's dark eyes landed on Maura. The flames in the fireplace echoed in her dark pupils and made her eyes sparkle. "I always did that as a kid."

"Really?!"

Maura's perplexity caused Jane to scoff. As much as Maura's childhood had very little to do with anyone's else, Jane had to admit that she was surprised. Very surprised. Everyone did that. Everyone enjoyed the heat of a fireplace on their face.

"Oh c'mon! All the kids do that, Maura."

Maura came closer to Jane. Her embarrassment was palpable. She always felt a bit ashamed when she realized that she hadn't experienced one of these random but inescapable things that made life so touching. Her existence had been dull, too clean. Not fun enough. Thankfully Jane had changed that side of her existence a bit. Little by little, Maura had opened up to a whole new world, the one she had been staring at with envy for years.

"How does it even work?"

Jane went to sit down on the floor. She reluctantly left behind the smoothness of the chaise longue for the soft but firm carpet. She sat next to Maura, only a few inches away from the fireplace.

"You simply sit there, close your eyes and let the heat of the flames wrap you up."

Maura obliged like the good student she had always been. She closed her eyes and focused on the crackling of the flames, on the strong heat that came from the fireplace. She remained still. But her heart was beating too loud and alcohol went to her head too bewitchingly. She wasn't in the mood to remain quiet. She wanted to smile, to laugh. To embrace life.

She felt too much alive right now.

"And then?"

"And then?! What do you mean 'and then'?! That's it! That's the whole thing. Just enjoy the heat on your cheeks. It's a pretty basic passtime. It ain't meditation or anything. You don't need to open your chakra or whatever."

Maura's light laugh hit the air timidly. She opened an eye only to observe Jane who was really focused on her task. Their sitting position on the floor was similar. Even their hands on their respective lap matched. Maura smiled at the scene. It was exactly what she wanted to live.

They were bickering. Somewhat. Innocently. Playfully. It hadn't happened since they had left Boston a few days earlier. Paris had brought a different nuance of feelings into their life and as much as she liked the novelty, she was also glad to see that what she considered as references weren't gone forever. Bickering was part of these references, part of these details that defined their relationship.

"As a matter of fact, it's a form of meditation. The difference lies in the fact that you don't call it meditation." Of course Maura was teasing Jane and of course she wanted Jane to react to her words. "See? You're ready to resume these yoga classes you gave up a while ago."

"Bullshit!"

"Language... There are some words that one cannot say when one meditates."

...

Jane's curiosity had been piqued but she did her best in order to not show it. She knew how Maura needed the silence over Anita, how she couldn't be rushed into anything. Yet the mere mention of Maura's classmate had caused Jane to come up with a thousand untold questions.

Maura liked women.

So what? All in all, Jane had to admit that it wasn't necessarily much of a surprise. She simply wondered at what extent, how many women Maura had dated if she had dated any already. Maura had remained vague. She had simply said that she accepted this side of her persona. That didn't necessarily mean that she had had a girlfriend. Had Anita been one or she had remained an untouchable fantasy? What did she look like?

It wouldn't be an issue if Maura had been in a same-sex relationship. Jane was fine with it. But she couldn't help being curious about it. Very curious.

"François left this note for you..." François' night shift colleague gave Jane a sheet of paper that had been folded in two. "He hopes this will satisfy you enough."

Jane thanked the employee. Maura was waiting for her in the lounge of the Lutétia. She couldn't stay in the lobby for too long if she didn't want to raise suspicions. She nonetheless cast a glance at the list of suggestions. There were at least ten different places, with their respective addresses and websites. François had really done a great job.

Jane put the note in the pockets of her pants before heading towards the lounge. The hotel seemed even quieter than the usual. Not a single client was in the lobby and as Jane entered the Art Deco room, she realized that only another woman than Maura was sitting at one of the tables.

"Where's the singer?"

The question was genuine but it made Maura laugh nonetheless. She waited for Jane to sit down on her seat before replying.

"There isn't a concert every night. Today... You'll have to content yourself with the pianist." The musician was talented anyway. Maura could have spent hours listening to him. "Where have you been? Here's your Martini."

I don't know what to think about today. I guess a part of me is happy but another part still feels bitter about the whole thing. I suppose it's because I have only told you part of the truth. You still have no clue about my feelings for you. Do you?

Nothing has changed between you and me. It should be reassuring – it actually is, to an extent – but I can't help thinking that this isn't normal.

Are you pretending that everything's fine? Am I pretending that the page has already been turned? Are we trying to fool each other? I wish all these questions could stop, if only for an hour. Then I would be the person I dream to be. Do you know this feeling? Sometimes I think I'm a stranger even to myself. It's weird.

"Oh, to the bathroom."

Maura nodded but she didn't believe a word that Jane said. Disappointment invaded her but she tried to ignore. She tended to overthink way too much anyway. Jane was free to do whatever she wanted and - most of all - she didn't have to tell Maura about it all the time.

No, it was ridiculous. Maura didn't have to worry.

She smiled at Jane in return as Jane smiled at her. The smile reached her eyes with a confusing fragility. She felt emotional tonight.

Deep inside, you are probably wondering why I won't tell you more about Anita. About the others. I just don't think it's necessary. You now know the main lines. The rest isn't worth being mentioned. Believe me.

Let's just enjoy this singular evening together, Jane. Let's just let the melody of the piano take us far, very far from this world. Music has this power. You forget who you are and how you feel for how long a song lasts. Let's just enjoy this.

Nothing bad can happen when we're together.

Against all expectations, Maura managed to relax rather easily. The vapors of alcohol must have helped. She wasn't drunk at all but the few glasses that she had had nonetheless had a favorable impact on her state of mind.

It was a sweet night.