Make Me Bad: Private Lessons (27 page)

He sits down next to me and takes
my hand. “Really, Maddie it’s fine.” He sighs. “But I do need to leave here
soon for a meeting.”

I nod. “I’ll get out of your hair.
I know you have to work. Is it okay if I shower though? I’m afraid to go out on
the streets looking like this,” I let out a weak laugh.

After my coffee and toast, I take a
quick shower and try to rub off as much of my smudged makeup as I can. When my
hair is wet but clean, and my face is clean enough, I get dressed in last
night’s clothes and find Luc playing on his guitar. He’s playing part of the
piece we have been writing together.

I come from behind and wrap my arms
around him.

“I like being here with you,” I
say, kissing him on his neck.

“Mmmhhhmm, I like it too,” he says,
turning his face to kiss me.

I kiss him harder, and he puts his
guitar down, pulling me into his lap. The kiss deepens and Luc sighs, prying my
arms from his neck.

“I’m going to get fired because of
you,” he says in a husky voice.

“Well, if you get fired, you won’t
be my professor anymore,” I point out, though I refrain from kissing him again.

“Good point. Maybe I should get
fired.”

We begrudgingly get our things and
leave his apartment together.

“Ugh. I don’t want to deal with
Cleo. I’m really angry with her,” I complain as we walk along the familiar
streets. The air whips around us.

“I don’t blame you.”

 Luc walks me to the corner of my
apartment, and then gives me a kiss before he heads towards the Metro.

“I’ll call you later,” he promises.
“We’ll make the most of our time left here. I’m going to miss you like crazy
when you go home to Nashville for the holidays.”

I don’t even want to think about
that yet.

I give him one more lingering kiss,
wishing I could spend the day with him, and then I watch him walk towards the
Metro.

Sighing, I head inside to deal with
Cleo.

I shake hands with the director of
the study abroad program, and say goodbye to my fellow advisors and professors
in Paris. I gather up my papers and briefcase, and leave the Paris NYU campus
for the last time.

It’s hard to believe that in three
days I will be on a plane back to New York. I’m not sure where the time went
while I was here in Paris, but I know the time flew by because of Maddie.

Madison Evans.

How could one young woman change me
so much in such a short amount of time?

Eight weeks ago I came to Paris
without any expectations, just wanting a change of scenery. I found Maddie to
be attractive and vibrant, and I couldn’t keep myself from staring at her
during our first days in Paris. And then spurned on by a little too much
alcohol, I beckoned her to follow me to a bathroom.

And she did.

Nothing was the same after that.

What I thought would just be a
tryst with a young, beautiful student turned into so much more than I could
have expected. Or even knew I wanted.

I know that I’m not good enough for
Maddie. I know that deep in my bones, as sure as anything. But for some reason,
Maddie wants to be with me. Even though I tried to push her away, tried to
convince her that I was no good for her, that getting involved with me would be
foolish, she didn’t give up on me.

And I’m only so strong.

How could I resist her?

So I finally gave in, told her we
would take it day by day. And I know I won’t allow our relationship to ruin her
amazing career before it’s even started.

I take the Metro back to my
apartment, wondering what Maddie is doing. I know that she and Cleo were
planning on spending the day packing.

Later on, I’ll swing by and take
Maddie out to dinner. I wanted to do something special. I’m not a usually romantic
person, but Maddie has brought out my softer side and I’ve been more romantic
for her than I’ve ever been with any woman.

 Our last few days in Paris have
been busy with wrap up activities, finals and making preparations to leave.
Tomorrow evening the entire group of us from NYU will be going out to celebrate
the end of our semester abroad. The following afternoon, we’ll board a plane
headed back over the Atlantic.

I get back to my small one bedroom,
thinking of Maddie’s and Cleo’s lavish apartment, wondering what her famous
parents would think if they knew their daughter was in a relationship with me.
I can’t imagine they would be pleased.

Although my apartment looks the
same, it feels empty. My laptop no longer sits on the side table, and my phone
cords are now rolled up and tucked in the side of my suitcase. Papers have been
cleared off the small desk, and the kitchen cupboards are bare besides one or
two items.

My phone goes off and I answer it
without looking, assuming it’s Maddie.

“Hey,” I greet, my voice warm.

“Bonjour!” the sophisticated,
heavily-accent French voice chirps back.

Shit. I pull the phone away to look
at the name, and sure enough, it’s Juliette.

“Juliette,” I say, my voice now more
guarded, “How are you?” I’m trying to be polite, though Juliette and I haven’t
spoken in weeks. We didn’t exactly part on good terms.

“Oh,” she says, slightly confused
by the change in my tone. “I – I – wasn’t sure you would pick up. I was just
calling to wish you farewell. I remembered this was your last week in town.”

Of course she remembered.

“Yes. I leave in a few days. That
was kind of you to call.” Kind, or desperate, I’m not sure which.

I’m actually very surprised that
she called after she throwing herself at me and blurting out that she gave
amazing blow jobs as a last ditch effort to get me to stay.

“Well, I just felt that I owed you
an apology after my deplorable behavior. I shouldn’t have acted in such a way, especially
around an old friend. I think it’s important to remember that we spent
childhoods together. I’ve lost touch with so many childhood friends.”

Hmm. I’m not really sure where this
is going.

“It’s fine, Juliette, and I
appreciate the gesture. It was nice bumping into you as well. I wish you and
your girls all the best. You have a lovely family.”

“Yes, thank you.” She pauses, and I
sense that I’m about to hear the real reason why she’s called. “Do you have any
plans to return to Paris? Now that you’ve spent time in the city, perhaps you’ve
discovered you’ve missed it?”

I try to figure the best way to
answer. I decide to be honest without giving away too much information. “Yes, I
realized that I missed it very much. As for returning, I would like to someday.
I don’t have any immediate plans. My work comes first.”

“Ahh, yes, your beautiful music.
That keeps you very busy in New York, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does.”

“That’s the other thing. I have a
few contacts in New York for my jewelry. I’ve been meaning to make a business
trip over there,” she hesitates, “perhaps you would be willing to show me
around? You could let me know when would be a good time for me to make the
trip?”

Oh boy.

“I can’t really say when would be a
good time for
you
to make
your
trip,” I say slowly. Juliette just
doesn’t give up, does she? “New York is lovely during all times of the year.”

She lets out her tinkling laugh.
“No, silly! What time would be good for
you
? I can plan my trip around
your schedule!”

Of course.

“Juliette, I’m usually very busy
with my music and teaching. I’m afraid I don’t have the kind of leisure time
that would allow me to spend time showing others around the city. And my
schedule can change so quickly.” This is partially true. “If you happen to come
to New York, you can let me know, and I’ll see what my schedule looks like at
the time.”

There’s silence on the other end
and I can tell Juliette isn’t too pleased with my response. Oh well.

“Ah, I see. Well, perhaps that’s what
I’ll do then. I will ring you if I’m in the city, and hopefully you can make
time for your poor, lonely French friend, Juliette.” She’s teasing and her
voice has taken on a little pout, but I’m no fool. She’s still playing her
games.

“Well, it was good speaking with
you Juliette, and I appreciate the call. I have to go now.”

“Alright. Au revoir, Jean-Luc. Safe
travels.”

We hang up and I breathe a sigh of
relief. Hopefully that New York visit will never happen.

I find that doubtful, though.

I busy myself around the apartment,
until it’s time for me to get ready and then go get Maddie.

We have always taken the Metro when
we have gone out in the city, but I’ve decided we’ll travel by taxi tonight. I
walk to her apartment, planning on having the taxi pick us up there.

When Maddie pulls the door open, I
find myself speechless. She always looks beautiful, but tonight she’s outdone
herself. She’s dressed in a deep red sheath dress, trimmed in tasteful black
leather. It hugs her body without being too much. She’s wearing simple heels,
and her chestnut hair is hanging in loose, thick curls down her back.

“Damn, Maddie. You look amazing.”

She blushes. “Stop.” She opens the
door wider. “Come on in. I just have to grab my bag and coat.”

I step into the apartment, and
notice that her apartment has the same empty feel that mine has. While it still
looks the same at first glance, I notice Maddie’s books and guitar are no
longer strewn across the coffee table and rug, and the numerous pairs of shoes
that previously lined the wall by the door are now gone.

Maddie comes back with a glittery
black clutch, and a long black coat wrapped around her.

“Where’s Cleo?” I ask, lowering my
voice.

Maddie frowns. “She’s out with
Philippe. I think Philippe heads back to his family’s home tomorrow.”

I nod. Ever since Maddie and Cleo’s
night out drinking, things had been strained between the two of them. And I
hadn’t bothered to hide my disgust with Cleo’s obvious lack of concern for her
friend.

“Let’s get out of here,” I say,
wrapping my arm around Maddie’s waist. I lead her downstairs, and sure enough
our taxi is waiting. Maddie goes to walk in the direction of the Metro, but I
pull her hand and lead her towards the taxi, pulling the door open for her.

“A taxi?” she asks, unable to hide
her surprise.

“It’s a special night,” I explain,
“Let’s stay above ground.”

She laughs and slides into the warm
car.

“So where are we going?” she can’t
help asking.

I take her hand and give her a
mysterious smile. “I thought we would do something a little different. And a
little touristy.”

“Ooh, now I’m intrigued.”

The car speeds through the streets
and we soak in the sights. It’s a comfortable silence.

Maddie sighs. “I can’t believe
we’re leaving here so soon.”

“I know. The semester went by
quickly, didn’t it?”

She nods, still quiet. “I miss my
family, but I’m going to miss you while I’m home.”

I squeeze her hand. “I’ll miss you,
too. But January will be here before we know it, and you’ll be back in the
city.” I didn’t have Maddie for any classes this semester – she actually
doesn’t have many classes for the Spring semester. Most of her course load would
involve practical application.  However, I was going to continue her private
lessons. I knew there was no one else as qualified as myself to help her.

The taxi makes it way towards the
Eiffel Tower and I can tell that Maddie is confused by where we’re going. The
taxi stops by the Eiffel Tower and we get out among the throngs of people, but
instead of leading Maddie towards the tower, we turn in the opposite direction
and head down towards the Seine.

“No Eiffel Tower?” she asks, and
then the river cruises come into view. “A river cruise?” she asks excitedly.

I nod. “It’s going to be a little
chilly, but you can’t beat the beautiful buildings lit up at night.”

“Oh, Luc! It’s perfect! I can’t
believe I didn’t think about doing this earlier!”

I grin and lead her down the hill
towards the dock. The boats are enclosed, but if memory serves right, they are
still pretty cold during this time of year. Regardless, the views will be
stunning.

We don’t have to wait long before
our boat is ready to board, and we climb on along with a number of other
tourists. We hear snippets of conversations in various languages, and I pull
Maddie into one of the first rows and place her next to the window.

The tour begins, and we settle in
and listen as the sights are pointed out to us.

“You’re not going to change your
mind about me again when I’m back in Nashville, are you?” Maddie asks, pulling
nervously at one of her curls.

I know what she means and it makes
me feel terrible that she has to ask the question.