The Taste of Pure Passion

They met in a bar. They just met and they just talked. It was enough. For years they thought they'd never be more than just friends. Until that day came. The day they really saw each other for the first time. They saw each other's physical and inner beauty. They looked beyond all the personalities they could've owned and found passion. The purity of the passion they found, was...indescribable.

A Saturday night. A night worth remembering. Blaine was done with his work for the day and had decided to go to Le Cab for a drink. Le Cab was a trendy restaurant, bar and club in Paris. It was right around the corner of his office on 2 Palais Royal 1st Street. He sat at the bar with a beer in hand and just thought about everything. He lost control of his thoughts when a woman sat down next to him. He was startled.

"Hey, aren't you that journalist from that magazine?" Blaine asked without even considering that she might not want company.

"Yeah...I'm surprised you remembered."

"Blaine Wilson, and what should I call you?" He reached out for her hand.

"Charlotte Anderson, nice to meet you."

That night they just talked for hours. They told each other everything about themselves and wanted to know even more.

After they had met that night they saw each other every single day. They met each other for coffee at Café Marly every morning at seven o'clock. Blaine was working at an architect firm and Charlotte was a journalist. They sort of knew that they would always be friends - just friends. Nothing more, nothing less. They were getting to know each other in every possible way. For both of them it felt like they could rely on someone for a change.

3 years after they met

"Hi, Blaine. Can we talk for a minute?"

"Hi, what's wrong?! Why do you look so upset?"

They sat down on a bench in the park.

"Do you remember that day when you said that we know practically everything about each other?"

"Yeah?"

"Well...you don't know everything about me..."

"Is it something serious or just something you'd rather avoid?"

"A little bit of both...it's about my family...about my dad."

"What about him?"

"He...uh...he...did something to me...when I was younger." Charlotte said. Blaine could see that she wanted to cry and it broke his heart to see her that way.

"Charlotte?... Did he hurt you?"

"He...uh...I can't say it out loud." she stuttered. Charlotte was crying. Blaine just placed both his arms around her. He knew what she wanted to say.

"The reason I'm telling you is that, he called me this morning...and we haven't talked since I was fifteen years old. I didn't answer it...I couldn't. I came to you right away."

After a few weeks Blaine could see that the issue with Charlotte's father was really starting to get to her. She wasn't the same Charlotte he knew. He decided to ask her if she wanted to stay with him for a while. Just to get her mind off everything.

Sns?

"Hey Char...I was thinking that it would be a good idea for you to stay with me for a while. Just for a week or two. We could order as many pizzas as you want to and stay up all night watching our favourite movies. What do you say? Let me knowl Love, Blaine. xx"

That was what Charlotte saw on her computer when she woke up one morning. She thought it would be fun to just...have fun for a while. She replied to his email.

"Meet you in twenty at Café Marly! xoxo Char"

When Blaine showed up at their favourite coffee spot Charlotte had already ordered for both of them. An iced coffee for her and a skinny latté for him. Every Friday they asked the waiter to serve their coffee in take-away cups. Then they would take a black permanent marker and write the date and the topic of their conversation on the cups. They had been doing it for over two years.

"Okay, I thought about what you said and I know exactly why you're doing this. And I'm still going to say yes," Charlotte said firmly.

"T'm glad. I'm just worried-"

"Don't, please? I'm not in the mood for that conversation right now."

"You do realize that you have to talk about it at some point? Maybe not now, but if you don't it'll bother you and it'll do more damage if you keep it to yourself."

"I know...uh, when should I come over to your place?"

Blaine was just trying to help her, but he knew her better than anyone else. He knew she wasn't going to budge that easily.

A few days later Charlotte showed up at Blaine's apartment. They were happy to see each other, but Charlotte could see the worry in his eyes and he could see the pain in hers. That's why they were such good friends; they knew exactly when to speak and when to shut the hell up. It was the one way they could communicate without anyone knowing or even suspecting.

Blaine took a couple of days off at work to spend them with Charlotte. They watched movies, listened to their favourite band Metallica and ate as if they were nine year olds.

Blaine had a surprise for Charlotte. He arranged a rock climbing trip at Fontainebleau Forest in the south part of Paris. They both loved the outdoors and he thought it would be a good idea. For her, mostly, but also because they hadn't done anything like that before. After two whole days of total relaxation Blaine told Charlotte about Fontainebleau Forest and she was so excited that she immediately bought all the things they would need for their trip. Blaine was happy to see her smile - really smile.

They were ready for their trip...everything was set.

They arrived at the forest around ten o'clock on a Saturday morning. It was a great day for rock climbing. They ordered coffee first at the cafe just for some energy after the previous few crazy days. They barely got any sleep.

After their first two hours of walking, there was suddenly an awkward silence between them.

"He abused me..." Charlotte said after a few minutes. At first Blaine had no idea what she was talking about, but then it hit him.

"For how long?"

"Four years.. .you'd think one would get used to it after so long, but...I didn't. I never told anyone, but you. I never had the courage with any of my other friends. I left my house when I was fifteen. My grandparents gave me enough money to finish school and helped me with college and stuff. I told them I couldn't stay with them, because otherwise he would just come looking for me there. It was hard...leaving everybody that I love behind. I pushed everything away for all these years, but when my dad started making contact with me again...all the old feelings came back. I was scared again..."

They stood there in that spot for the entire conversation. Blaine pulled her towards him and hugged her. She lost control of her emotions right there in Blaine's arms. She felt safe enough to do that.

They walked for about an hour after their conversation. They reached one of the largest boulders in the forest and agreed to climb it together. Blaine made it to the top before Charlotte. She was almost at the top...when her foot slipped. Blaine's heart almost stopped. He didn't understand what was happening right before his eyes. He grabbed her arms and saw the fear in her eyes.

"Blaine!" Charlotte screamed.

Blaine was struggling to pull her towards him. He was so frightened that he felt almost paralyzed. When he finally managed to pull her up, a strange sensation went through his entire body. Blaine looked at Charlotte once more and realized that during all those years he had loved her with everything he had. Charlotte was still in his arms and she looked at him and felt the happiness between them. They were both entirely caught up in the moment. They pulled each other closer...tighter. Blaine was struck silent by her beauty...by her. Charlotte placed her hands at the sides of his face and looked straight into his eyes. Nothing else mattered anymore. Charlotte explored his features with her eyes...and suddenly Blaine pulled her even closer. He kissed her in a sense that no one would ever comprehend. In a sense that was so passionate and reckless at the same time. They had been looking for someone similar for years...all they had to do, was open their eyes.