Chapter 20 – Paris

Over the course of the next four days, they explored more of Paris' attractions; the many museums and gardens; they climbed the Eiffel Tower and walked the Champs Elysees. They climbed the Arc de Triomphe.

Santana, ever the Googler, found a cool "what not to do in Paris" list and they had a lot of fun following that list.

They laughed. A lot. Santana felt Brittany regaining her confidence as she spoke French in restaurants, cafes, and at the attractions.

Throughout the four days, Brittany managed to get all the pictures of the Eiffel Tower that she wanted (and filled a memory card with pictures from their excursions). Once she had them, the girls took a day off to relax by the pool while Brittany fiddled around with the photos to make the time-lapse collage she wanted to make. It took her about four hours but when she showed the finished product to Santana she beamed proudly.

"Britt … this is really cool looking!" Santana looked at her girlfriend, completely impressed with what Brittany had managed to do with a camera, an iPad, and some photo editing software.

"Thanks," she smiled brightly, "I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out."

"You should be. Are you going to post it?"

Brittany nodded. "Yeah, and I want to do a Fondue for Two here in Paris, I mean, because, really? Fondue? The food of the French? So I want to post a bunch of things to, like, Instagram and Twitter and, obviously, YouTube. I kinda want to do that today since we're not out and about. That way we can do that day trip to Versailles tomorrow."

Santana smiled. "Sounds like a plan. What can I do?"

"I thought you'd never ask," she laughed, "I want you be my guest, of course, and we'll talk about what we've been doing since we left Lesbos. I haven't really posted much more than a few pictures of Europe so I thought we could do a recap and just talk about the things we've seen and done." She frowned a bit, "I think … we'll just skip Brussels."

Santana nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."

They spent the rest of the afternoon getting what they needed for Fondue for Two and filmed after dinner. Once Brittany had edited and posted Fondue for Two, she edited and uploaded pictures, including the Eiffel Tower collage.

Xoxoxoxoxo

After their day trip to Versailles, and following the advice of the "what not to do list", the girls spent a couple of days just wandering the city and finding a lot of really interesting places that weren't on any "must see" lists. The city of love was just that and Brittany and Santana found themselves holding hands, giggling, leaning into each other, and buying each other flowers on a whim.

Brittany couldn't explain it. She knew she was in love with Santana but wandering Paris just filled her with such a deep sense of love for the Latina it was almost impossible to stop looking at and touching her.

Maybe it was the magic of city of love. Maybe it was the love and patience and care Santana had been showing her since Brussels. Brittany felt herself shedding the insecurities that Brussels had caused. She was feeling more like herself and she was really enjoying wandering Paris with the love of her life.

That night, following the advice of the "what not to do" list, they picked up a small bottle of Champagne from a store around the corner from their hotel, got some crepes from a food stall, then sat on the stairs of Trocadero and watched the sunset over the Eiffel Tower.

Brittany leaned her head on Santana's shoulder; Santana's arm was around her waist. The food and Champagne were amazing, the sunset was beautiful, and Brittany was in love. She realized, in that moment, what she had almost allowed that criminal to take from her; her confidence, her sense of self, and, most importantly, her love. She had almost stopped allowing herself to love Santana because he had caused her to doubt herself and feel unworthy of being loved by anyone, let alone someone as amazing as Santana.

She lifted her head and turned to look at her beautiful, amazing, sweet, incredible girlfriend. Santana turned to look at her and smiled softly.

"Everything okay?"

"Perfect." Brittany leaned in and caught Santana's lips in a gentle, tender, loving kiss. She leaned her forehead against Santana's when the kiss ended. "I love you, Santana."

"I love you, too, Britt. So much." Santana pulled back and looked into Brittany's eyes. "Welcome back, my love."

Brittany smiled. "It feels good to be back." She leaned in and kissed Santana again. "Really good."

Santana giggled and leaned into her and Brittany put her head back on Santana's shoulder as the dying rays of the sunset disappeared over the horizon.

Xoxoxoxoxo

They had two days left in Paris before they left for Spain when Brittany opened her email and gasped.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Oh my god, Santana! Look at this!" Brittany spun her iPad toward Santana.

Santana took it and read the email that was open on it. Her eyes snapped up to Brittany's. "Holy shit! Is this for real?"

"I … I don't know."

Santana grabbed her phone and started googling as Brittany re-read the email.

"Britt … they're a totally legit company. They've been in business for over twenty years." Santana looked back at her. "We need someone who understands this kind of stuff." Santana picked up the room phone and called the front desk.

A tourism company called Tours, Voyages, et Bibelots had contacted Brittany wanting to use her Eiffel Tower collage as part of their marketing; promotional materials as well as posters, magnets, mugs, postcards, hoodies, sweatshirts, and t-shirts. Brittany was stunned.

Santana hung up the phone and turned back to Brittany. "Okay, so the concierge gave me a few names and numbers to call. Lawyers, or lawyer types, I guess. Who can read through this and advise you on what it means and if you're being scammed or whatever."

Brittany nodded and looked at the list. "How do we pick one?"

Santana shrugged. "Maybe just start at the top and call and see who can fit us in as soon as possible. Or whoever sounds friendly?" Santana laughed. "I have no idea."

Brittany picked up her phone and started dialing. She called them all, making notes on when they could be seen and how the person sounded. "I think number three sounded the most helpful. She was actually giving me some advice over the phone and said she had time this afternoon around three."

Santana nodded. "Then call her back and let her know we'll be there."

Brittany made the call.

Xoxoxoxoxo

At three p.m. they were sitting in the office of Elise Moreau, a petite brunette with green eyes and a soft smile. Her hair was up in a chignon and she was wearing a pair of blue framed glasses. She looked to be in her mid-thirties.

"Hello, I am Elise Moreau. How can I help you?" She asked in French.

"Do you speak English? I speak French but my girlfriend doesn't." Brittany responded.

"Yes, I do," she smiled at Santana, "my apologies."

Santana waved it off. "We're in France, I'm just glad Britt knows the language."

Elise chuckled lightly. "What can I do for you ladies?"

Brittany produced a copy of the email she'd received along with a contract that had been attached to it.

"I got this today and, honestly, I have no idea if it's standard or a scam or … well, anything. I mean, I don't even know US contract law so I really have no idea what I'm doing here."

Elise took the papers. She looked over the email then read through the contract.

She turned to her computer and typed a few things in then turned back to the girls.

"Well, I can tell you that Tours, Voyages, et Bibelots, which translates to Tours, Travel, and Trinkets, is legitimate and reputable. I pulled up their licensing information along with their incorporation information. The contract says what the email does; it simply puts it into legal terms.

"You'll receive five thousand Euros for an exclusive license and ten percent of every sale. Fairly straight forward and fairly standard. I can find no fault or loophole; as I said, it's a fairly simple and straight forward contract."

Brittany nodded. "I still own the rights to the picture, right?"

Elise nodded. "Yes. Essentially, you are granting them the right to use your photo in their marketing and you agree not to grant anyone else the right to use it but it's still yours. The contract is for two years; after that, you are free to grant the rights to the photo to anyone you wish. Unless, of course, you and Tours, Voyages, et Bibelots renegotiate for the licensing again. You'll receive the five thousand Euros immediately, the rest will be deposited directly into your bank account on the first of every month for the previous month."

Brittany frowned. "I don't have a European bank account. I mean, we're only here for a couple of months."

"They can do a wire transfer into your US bank account as long as you give them the information."

Brittany nodded and looked at Santana. "I think that's everything, right? Am I forgetting anything?"

"We're probably going to have to speak to a tax attorney when we get back to the states because I'm sure we'll have to pay taxes on anything you make but, yeah, I think we've got all the information we need."

"Thank you, Ms. Moreau, we appreciate all the help. Um, how can we pay you? I mean, I guess you probably normally bill people but we're due to leave France in two days. We can pay you now."

Elise waved it off. "For ten minutes worth of advice," she laughs, "it would cost me more to generate the bill than you would pay me." She smiled at them. "It was my pleasure to help you ladies. This was not the time consuming endeavor I'm used to. Enjoy the rest of your stay. Oh, and congratulations."

Brittany's mega watt smile made an appearance as she stood up and shook Elise's hand. "Thank you so much! Both for your help and your well wishes."

Santana stood up and shook Elise's hand as well. "Yes, thank you."

They left the office hand-in-hand and began walking to the metro station that would take them back to their hotel.

On the way, they passed a gift basket shop. Brittany stopped and grinned, pulling Santana in with her.

Fifteen minutes later, they'd chosen a modest gift basket of fruits and cheeses to send to Elise's office as a thank you.

"That makes me feel better," Brittany explained.

"Yeah, I didn't feel right not paying her either. That's the perfect solution. Of course it is because …" she turned and looked at Brittany, "sheer genius."

Brittany blushed and ducked her head as she re-captured Santana's hand.

Xoxoxoxoxo

The next two days passed quickly; Brittany met with the people from Tours, Voyages, et Bibelots, signed the contracts, and received a check for five thousand Euros.

They went to the bank and added the funds onto their prepaid card (another ten percent fee), found a place to ship another souvenir box home, and spent the rest of the two days simply wandering Paris. They were a little tired but strangely energized.

Their last night, they decided to stay in and call it an early night since their flight to Lisbon left at seven a.m..

They were watching a movie, cuddled on the couch when Brittany turned to Santana. When Santana turned toward her, Brittany leaned forward and caught Santana's lips in a gentle kiss. She pulled away and nuzzled her nose against Santana's before pulling Santana's lower lip in between her own. She bit down and tugged lightly causing Santana to moan softly. When Brittany tilted her head to get a better angle, she moved her lips against Santana's before darting her tongue out and sliding it over Santana's lower lip, requesting entry.

Santana's lips parted, allowing Brittany's tongue access. Their tongues dueled and danced and dueled again. Santana sighed and pulled Brittany closer; her hands stroking Brittany's back, under her shirt, as Brittany pressed Santana back against the couch.

The kisses deepened further becoming heated, passionate. Santana felt the heat low in her belly; felt the dampness between her thighs. It had been so long since they'd last … Santana moaned as Brittany's hand stroked the outside of her thigh.

Brittany pulled back and looked into Santana's eyes. "I love you, Santana." Her voice was rough with emotions that I love you didn't begin to describe.

Santana felt a tear slip free as she looked back at Brittany. "I love you."

Brittany stood up and Santana took the hand Brittany offered, standing up with her. Brittany placed her hands on Santana's hips and pulled her close before leaning in and kissing her deeply.

When she pulled away again, Santana could see the love … and desire … in Brittany's eyes.

"Let's go to bed." Brittany led Santana into the bedroom and they spent the night not sleeping.