Was this for real or was it just a fairy tale? I was afraid it was only a dream, but I desperately needed to go on with it. I didn't want to wake up. We spent the night together walking on the streets and having a laugh. We also tried to get into a club lying about our age, but this hairy bodyguard wasn't stupid to believe we were over 18. Actually, only Shane was over 18. We ended up on the benches near the Eiffel Tower and we watched the sunrise in each other's arms. It was so good. We seemed like three couples deeply in love. I was too scared to think what would happen when everybody had to go home. Why couldn't I found someone like Shane back home? Why did it have to happen down here? I was feeling too good to spoil it with sad thoughts and questions without answers. I usually fall in love real easy, but I was trying to keep my head clear concerning Shane. I told myself it was no point for me to feel nothing but the fact that we were having the best time in the world and we were happy.
"Lee, look at Celine and Kian…"

They were lying on the bench and they were asleep. Kian was holding Celine in his arms and they looked so cute.

"They look so carefree!"

"Yeah, they're just kids."

"And what does that make us? I'm Kian's age and you are just an year older."

"I'm 18, I'm a man now, but you can consider yourself a child young lady."

"Huh? You sound so much like my mother!"

"Then she's a smart lady."

"She is. She cares a lot about me, maybe too much."

"You know how mums are. My mum is so much into this whole band thing. She will definitely fix us up with something good."

"Yeah? My mum is not into music at all. Actually no one in my family is. They all hope that this entire music thing I'm in will end when I'll be older. They think it's childish, they don't understand me at all when it comes to music and I hate that."

"It must be tough…", he said in a very low voice, he was falling asleep.

"Shane… Shane…" But he was already snoring and I didn't have the heart to wake him up. Seemed like I was being a very good pillow. I didn't even move until I fell asleep too.

"Hey! Guys! Lee! Shane!" I heard Mark and I felt the sun shining on my face. I opened my eyes and the sun over our heads instantly blinded me. "Com'on guys! Wake up! People start to think we are homeless people that sleep on the benches every night."

"Hold your horses Mark! We are waking up right now."

"Did anybody say horses?" asked Shane with a very sleepy voice.

"Come on Shane! Wake up. It seems like we've been sleeping on a bench in center Paris for some good hours. Luckily we haven't been picked up by the police!"

"Ooooh, what time is it?"

"It's 11:45. God, my back hurts like hell!"

"Let me rub it for you."

"No, it's OK! I just need to take a few steps and wash my face."

Saying that I walked to a drinking fountain just a few meters away from us. Shane followed me.

"I had a great time last night" he said.

"Yeah, me too. I don't remember when was the last time I had so much fun actually."

"Me neither. I'd like to do that again."

I washed my face and waited for Shane to do the same thing. Then we walked back to our friends. I picked up my bag and looked for my chewing gum. Shane put his arms around me and without saying anything he kissed me.

"You want some gum?" I asked him after that.

"Oh, is my breath that bad?" he asked very serious.

"No, I was just being polite" I said and we both burst into laugh.

"You look well in the morning."

"It's lunch, Shane!"

"That remembers me I'm dead hungry. Come on everybody, let's grab something to eat."

We went to a Quick restaurant and ate. We spent there almost an hour and then we said we needed to go to our hotels or houses to take showers and change. We decided to meet back at the Eiffel Tower at 16 hours. My hotel was outside Paris so I had to take the tube and then a bus. When I got back to my hotel everybody was worried sick.

"Where have you been? We thought you got killed! I'm the one who's supposed to know here you all are, your parents trust me!"

Tibi was very upset and he was right.

"I'm real sorry man. I went out with my friends and we didn't notice the time passing. We had a great time."

"You should have told someone that you were leaving with your friends last night!"

"You're right, I should've, it won't happen again, I promise."

"For this one you will spend today and tomorrow inside the hotel. You are not allowed to get out. And no phone calls!"

"Hey man, wait a second here, you're not my father to forbid me from getting outside the hotel. I made a mistake, I promise not to happen again, but you cannot do this to me!"

"Yes I can and I will! If you're not satisfied with that you can get on the next plane to Bucharest."

"Please Tibi, you cannot do this to me. I've just met this incredible guy that I like a lot and…"

"What do you choose? The plane or the hotel?"

"The hotel…" I answered in a low voice.

It was pretty bad and I didn't have anything to say in my defense. I wasn't going to see Shane for such a long time and we were supposed to meet in just an hour and a half. What was I supposed to do?

I got into my room with my eyes full of tears finding my roommates, Val and Oli, waiting for me very worried.

"Hey Lee, where have you been? We've been worried sick!" said Val joined by her twin sister Oli.

"Yeah, Lee what the hell happened?"

"Com'on guys, drop it. I'm not in the mood. I had a fight with Tibi."

"He was also worried."

"Yes, Val, but he forbade me to go out for the next two days."

"Really?"

"Yes and I won't see Shane."

"The Irish guy from the concert?"

"Yes. I've been out with Celine, Amy, Kian, Mark and him last night. We took a bateau-mouche ride and then we just walked through the streets and then fell asleep in each other's arms on a bench near the Eiffel Tower."

"Woh, woh, woh. What?"

"Yes, I like him and he likes me back, can you believe that? We kissed on the bateau-mouche after having a small quarrel, it was so romantic, even if I denied it to Shane. And we had a great time together and he's a great guy."

"I'm sure. And he's gorgeous."

"Yeah… Only that I was supposed to meet them back in Paris at 4. And now I cannot go and I cannot even call Celine coz Tibi forbade me to make any phone calls. Girls, can you call Celine and tell her what happened? Please!"

"Yeah, no problem, Lee."

"And tell her to take care of my Shane and tell him that I'll miss him like crazy for the next days."

"We will. Don't you worry."

"Thanx guys, you’re the best."

I went to take a shower and the twins went to call Celine.

"Celine? Hi this is Val, Lee's room-mate."

"Hey Val! Whassup?"

"Lee had a fight with Tibi because she didn't come back to the hotel last night and everybody was worried something bad happened. He made her choose between going back home right now or staying inside the hotel for two days and no phone calls."

"Oh my God! And what did she choose?"

"Staying inside the hotel."

"Thank God!"

"She asked me to call you and tell you that she cannot make it this afternoon. And she also wants you to tell Shane that she'll miss him."

"I'll tell him don't worry. How is she?"

"Devastated. What really happened between her and Shane coz she looks so much in love with him?"

"Fortunately, all three of us found the best guys in the world. And she and Shane make a great couple. I think he cares about her a lot, too. He understands her."

"That's so nice… Anyway, I'm running out of coins, so I have to hang up. You'll see her soon. Actually… why don't you come to see her here? We are all going out, including Tibi, and nobody will know."

"That's a great idea, Val! Where exactly is this hotel?"

She gave her the address and after saying some other words she hung up. Then she and Oli got back into the room. I spent half an hour under the hot shower crying my eyes out. I had to admit it: I was in love coz only love would make me hurt so badly. It hurt like hell knowing that I wasn't going to see him for the next two or maybe more days. I got back into my room and Val told me she had talked with Celine and told her everything. I thanked her, then they left to the bus and I was left all by myself in my room. I hugged the pillow and the sheets and I cried until I fell asleep. I was woken by a knock on the door. I opened my eyes without knowing if that was only in my dream or for real. Then I heard it again.

"Who's there?"

"The manager" I heard a female voice from the other side of the door.

"Wait a second, let me put something on" I said and I dropped the towel I was wrapped in on the floor and then got dressed. I opened the door and had a big surprise: it wasn't the manager, it was Celine followed by everybody else.

"Hey Lee, we thought we'd better pay you a visit so here we are" said Celine making her way into the room.

"Oh guys, thank you for coming here. I'm so sorry about what happened, it was all my fault, I should have told Tibi where I went."

"Shh…" said Shane putting his finger on my lips. "Hello sweetie, I missed you, you know?"

"Oh, I missed you too, I thought I wasn't going to see you again."

"And why was that?"

"You would have found someone else, prettier than me, eventually and not waited for me."

"Do you believe what you're saying? How can you be so silly? Do you think I chose you to be with me only because I wanted a girl beside me and any would have worked?"

"Did you?"

"Of course not, I like you, in fact I like you more than I planned to, but I love this feeling."

"I like you too. Very much!"

That's when he kissed me. It was so good. For a moment I forgot all the trouble with Tibi. But not for long.

"Guys, if Tibi catches you here he will probably send me back home this time."

"Don't worry! We'll talk to him. He has to understand. He must have been in love once in his life" said Shane.

"Erm… what…?" I asked puzzled by what he had just said.

"Whoops! It slipped."

"Shane?"

"Remember I said I liked you? Well… this morning when I woke up next to you and then I watched you washing your face I realized that I was feeling different then I had ever felt. I… erm… I… I realized I'm in love… in love with you."

I was trembling now - my legs, my arms, all my body was shaking. It couldn't be true! That had to be a tormenting nightmare. Maybe if I kept on telling myself that it had been only a dream, only my imagination it would have disappeared as dreams always disappear.

"What? You're making fun of me, right?"

"Nope."

"No, he doesn't Lee. You were all he talked about in the last two hours, without even breathing. This never happened to him before, so we thought it had to be love" said Kian smiling.

"Oh my God…" I always thought that I'd be the first to tell these three words in a relationship, but I was so wrong. And it felt so good.

I stepped in front of Shane and I took his face into my hands and I caressed it slowly and then I pulled him next to me and I kissed him. We were so head-over-heels that we didn't even notice the rest of the guys leaving the room. We kissed for a long time and then we stayed in each other's arms until my roommates got back.

"Whoops! Sorry, we didn't want to intrude."

"It's OK guys! Come here you two, why didn't you tell me they were supposed to come here?"

"Celine said they wanted to surprise you. Are you mad at us?"

"No. Thank you! You're great pals."

"Then I think we're OK. Celine told us everything and we thought you would like to spend this night together and alone so we talked to Sid and BC, we had to tell them everything, and we'll sleep into their room. The rest of the guys went back to Paris, so it's OK for you Shane to stay."

"Does Tibi know?"

"Not a chance! We'll make sure he won't find out either, so have fun, we're leaving. Bye!" said Val winking at me.

I gave her and her sis two kisses and I whispered a thank-you in their ears. They left and I closed the door after them. Shane was lying on the bed so I went and sat near him. He put his arms around me and kissed me real slow. It was the best. We kissed for a long time and then we fell asleep one next to the other, holding our hands. I didn't want this to happen but it did and I was happy.