Status: Complete!
Model Behavior
Moira.
Harry pulled the Vespa over to the side of a road she wasn’t familiar with and shut off the engine. As he hopped off, pulling the helmet from his even messier curls, he flashed her a dazzling smile and she nearly forgot what she wanted to say to him. “Harry – I don’t know where we are.”
“That’s all right – I do.”
“Yes, but I was hoping to go to the Arch de Triomphe and Notre Dame and maybe even the Eiff -”
“And shoot things that have already been done millions of times? Come on, Moira. You’re an artist. I promise you’ll enjoy all the places I’m taking you and, if you don’t, I’ll stop bothering you.”
Moira didn’t want that. She just wasn’t sure how to carry herself around Harry or on dates and she certainly had no idea why he was even remotely interested in her. “Well, where are we going?”
Sensing a victory, his smile broadened. “A nice little cinema up here. Not far. Come along, prep your camera.”
Moira pulled out her trusty vintage Canon and walked alongside Harry as she got it ready. He couldn’t help but look down at her while they walked, mostly to make sure she didn’t trip but also because she looked so cute messing with her camera. When she finally looked up when she sensed he stopped, she was blown away by the building in front of her. “This is a cinema?”
Harry chuckled and took her around back to a nice seating area as she started snapping pictures of the architecture and landscaping. “It’s called La Pagode. Do you like it?” He didn’t really need to ask with how many pictures she was snapping at various angles, but it was the polite thing to do. She didn’t even respond, but he didn’t care all that much. He just continued to watch her as she moved around surprisingly gracefully for her usually clumsy nature. He figured focusing on photography must help her.
After several minutes, she turned away from the structure to see Harry watching her with his hands shoved in his pockets and blushed. “I’m sorry. Did you say something?”
He chuckled. “Nothing important. Ready for our next stop?”
“Are you going to tell me what it is?”
“Where’s the fun in that? Come along, Moira. We have loads to see today.”
The next stop ended up being Bois de Boulogne, a beautiful garden with fountains, greenhouses, and even a waterfall where Moira took over an hour taking random shots. And, just like at the cinema, she didn’t hear a word Harry said to her as she snapped away. He was actually glad she was so focused because she didn’t see the many paparazzi shooting pictures of them. He could tell how they made her uneasy and he was glad she had stayed right up for their excursion thus far – throwing her off could result in something horrible like falling into the fountain or falling off the Vespa. When he finally got her attention again, there were more photographers and he had to grab her hand to keep her with him as they pushed through the crowd. She squeezed his hand which was reassuring enough for him to keep a hold of it.
“Ready for something touristy?” He called, over the quiet purr of the Vespa.
“The Arch? The Chateau de Versailles? The Eiffel Tower?”
He chuckled and she could feel the vibration where she held onto him tightly. “So eager! Just hold on, it’s a surprise.”
Moira knew the place the second she was within view and nearly jumped off the Vespa. She waited as patiently as she could until it was stopped and got off, not bothering to fix her mussed up hair, and grabbed for her camera to start snapping pictures of the Place de la Concorde. The fountain was easily one of the most notable features of Paris (for those that have studied it at all) and she was honestly a little shocked Harry took her there when he was all about the ‘secrets of Paris’. She just looked at him between two shots while he smiled and shrugged.
“It’s a beautiful fountain.” He explained. “We should come back at night sometime, though. It’s really beautiful all lit up.”
“And less people.” She continued, trying to get decent shots without crowds in front of the fountain. “ I see why you stay away from tourist areas.”
“Well, we can come back after dinner.”
She immediately stopped snapping and turned to him. He felt himself blush – of course she hears [that while shooting. “Dinner?”
“I’m reimbursing you, remember?”
“Right.”
“I say a trip up the Seine at sunset to snap pictures of Le Sacré Coeur and the Eiffel Tower, though we really should actually go there some night. Le Jules Verne is an especially amazing restaurant. Both the food and the view. Though I think we should wait until at least the third date to do something that romantic.” He rambled, teasingly with a soft chuckle.
“Third date?”
“Yes, I am indicating there will be at least two more. Admit it – you’re having fun with me.”
“I admit that you have shown me some wonderful places today and your knowledge of the French language has really come in handy. And you do owe me for tossing away my book.”
“Admit it.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Be-because … it’ll go to your head.”
“I promise only a little bit.”
After an intense eye-lock, the side of Moira’s lips tilted ever so slightly upwards. “Fine. You’re fun.”
Harry threw his fists in the air in triumph. “I knew you’d like me if you gave me a chance. Now come on. One more sight then we’re taking a boat ride.”
“Where to now?”
“Have you learned nothing today?” He grasped her hand and pulled her away from the fountain.
She knew where he was taking her within a few feet of the entrance. She had only heard stories and seen the odd picture, but it was never really something she thought very seriously about. Not only was it creepy, but she thought it couldn’t actually be safe to traverse tunnels underneath the city of Paris. The catacombs were one of the many tourist attractions that Moira thought she could live without seeing and Harry could sense her reluctance by the tug of her hand backwards.
“What is it?”
“Is it safe?”
“Of course it is. I’d never put you in danger, Moira.”
They were even creepier than she imagined they would be, made all the scarier by the fact that Harry arranged a private tour with just the two of them and a guide who allowed Moira to take pictures even if it was frowned upon. She was limited to ten photos while she was down there and she kept to that taking pictures of both the walkway and the many, many skulls lining the walls. Moira kept her hand latched tightly onto Harry’s when she wasn’t taking pictures which brought a large smile to his face. Dimples and all.
When they were finally out of the catacombs and her death grip on Harry’s hand eased up, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Not a fan of the morbid. I’ll take note.”
“No … it was interesting, but yes, a bit scary.”
“How about something relaxing then? A nice boat ride on the Seine as the sun sets and then we have that dinner I promised?”
“All right.”
Moira had never been on a boat before. Just as she had never been on a Vespa or gone in catacombs filled with the bones of the dead and it was beginning to dawn on her just how small her world had been until Harry was persistent enough to get her out. It was a little bit chillier sailing along the water and Harry didn’t hesitate to keep his arm wrapped around her as she took pictures of the passing buildings, bridges, and not to mention the people on the ship dancing and laughing. She wasn’t usually into taking pictures of people but she was in good spirits – she hadn’t done one clumsy thing all afternoon with Harry and that was an improvement.
She turned to him and caught his eye before bringing her camera up. She stopped seeing his smile falter and put it back down. “What’s wrong?”
He grabbed the neck strap of her camera and lifted it over her head. “I’m always the subject, never the photographer.” He explained, bringing the camera up to his face just in time to capture a blushing Moira. “You really haven’t a clue, have you? You could be on the runway, Moira. You should be. Instead of just snapping pictures of it.” When she looked down, he brought his free hand to her chin to bring it back up. “So beautiful.” He whispered before bringing his lips down softly on hers.
She moved to be closer and reciprocate and managed to trip over her own feet, knocking into him. Their kiss broke to a laughing Harry and a humiliated Moira. He used the hand cupping her cheek to bring her face back up to his and kissing her again. When he broke off, he pressed his forehead against hers and took a deep breath.
“Best first date ever.” He said, pecking her lips again.
“That’s all right – I do.”
“Yes, but I was hoping to go to the Arch de Triomphe and Notre Dame and maybe even the Eiff -”
“And shoot things that have already been done millions of times? Come on, Moira. You’re an artist. I promise you’ll enjoy all the places I’m taking you and, if you don’t, I’ll stop bothering you.”
Moira didn’t want that. She just wasn’t sure how to carry herself around Harry or on dates and she certainly had no idea why he was even remotely interested in her. “Well, where are we going?”
Sensing a victory, his smile broadened. “A nice little cinema up here. Not far. Come along, prep your camera.”
Moira pulled out her trusty vintage Canon and walked alongside Harry as she got it ready. He couldn’t help but look down at her while they walked, mostly to make sure she didn’t trip but also because she looked so cute messing with her camera. When she finally looked up when she sensed he stopped, she was blown away by the building in front of her. “This is a cinema?”
Harry chuckled and took her around back to a nice seating area as she started snapping pictures of the architecture and landscaping. “It’s called La Pagode. Do you like it?” He didn’t really need to ask with how many pictures she was snapping at various angles, but it was the polite thing to do. She didn’t even respond, but he didn’t care all that much. He just continued to watch her as she moved around surprisingly gracefully for her usually clumsy nature. He figured focusing on photography must help her.
After several minutes, she turned away from the structure to see Harry watching her with his hands shoved in his pockets and blushed. “I’m sorry. Did you say something?”
He chuckled. “Nothing important. Ready for our next stop?”
“Are you going to tell me what it is?”
“Where’s the fun in that? Come along, Moira. We have loads to see today.”
The next stop ended up being Bois de Boulogne, a beautiful garden with fountains, greenhouses, and even a waterfall where Moira took over an hour taking random shots. And, just like at the cinema, she didn’t hear a word Harry said to her as she snapped away. He was actually glad she was so focused because she didn’t see the many paparazzi shooting pictures of them. He could tell how they made her uneasy and he was glad she had stayed right up for their excursion thus far – throwing her off could result in something horrible like falling into the fountain or falling off the Vespa. When he finally got her attention again, there were more photographers and he had to grab her hand to keep her with him as they pushed through the crowd. She squeezed his hand which was reassuring enough for him to keep a hold of it.
“Ready for something touristy?” He called, over the quiet purr of the Vespa.
“The Arch? The Chateau de Versailles? The Eiffel Tower?”
He chuckled and she could feel the vibration where she held onto him tightly. “So eager! Just hold on, it’s a surprise.”
Moira knew the place the second she was within view and nearly jumped off the Vespa. She waited as patiently as she could until it was stopped and got off, not bothering to fix her mussed up hair, and grabbed for her camera to start snapping pictures of the Place de la Concorde. The fountain was easily one of the most notable features of Paris (for those that have studied it at all) and she was honestly a little shocked Harry took her there when he was all about the ‘secrets of Paris’. She just looked at him between two shots while he smiled and shrugged.
“It’s a beautiful fountain.” He explained. “We should come back at night sometime, though. It’s really beautiful all lit up.”
“And less people.” She continued, trying to get decent shots without crowds in front of the fountain. “ I see why you stay away from tourist areas.”
“Well, we can come back after dinner.”
She immediately stopped snapping and turned to him. He felt himself blush – of course she hears [that while shooting. “Dinner?”
“I’m reimbursing you, remember?”
“Right.”
“I say a trip up the Seine at sunset to snap pictures of Le Sacré Coeur and the Eiffel Tower, though we really should actually go there some night. Le Jules Verne is an especially amazing restaurant. Both the food and the view. Though I think we should wait until at least the third date to do something that romantic.” He rambled, teasingly with a soft chuckle.
“Third date?”
“Yes, I am indicating there will be at least two more. Admit it – you’re having fun with me.”
“I admit that you have shown me some wonderful places today and your knowledge of the French language has really come in handy. And you do owe me for tossing away my book.”
“Admit it.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Be-because … it’ll go to your head.”
“I promise only a little bit.”
After an intense eye-lock, the side of Moira’s lips tilted ever so slightly upwards. “Fine. You’re fun.”
Harry threw his fists in the air in triumph. “I knew you’d like me if you gave me a chance. Now come on. One more sight then we’re taking a boat ride.”
“Where to now?”
“Have you learned nothing today?” He grasped her hand and pulled her away from the fountain.
She knew where he was taking her within a few feet of the entrance. She had only heard stories and seen the odd picture, but it was never really something she thought very seriously about. Not only was it creepy, but she thought it couldn’t actually be safe to traverse tunnels underneath the city of Paris. The catacombs were one of the many tourist attractions that Moira thought she could live without seeing and Harry could sense her reluctance by the tug of her hand backwards.
“What is it?”
“Is it safe?”
“Of course it is. I’d never put you in danger, Moira.”
They were even creepier than she imagined they would be, made all the scarier by the fact that Harry arranged a private tour with just the two of them and a guide who allowed Moira to take pictures even if it was frowned upon. She was limited to ten photos while she was down there and she kept to that taking pictures of both the walkway and the many, many skulls lining the walls. Moira kept her hand latched tightly onto Harry’s when she wasn’t taking pictures which brought a large smile to his face. Dimples and all.
When they were finally out of the catacombs and her death grip on Harry’s hand eased up, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Not a fan of the morbid. I’ll take note.”
“No … it was interesting, but yes, a bit scary.”
“How about something relaxing then? A nice boat ride on the Seine as the sun sets and then we have that dinner I promised?”
“All right.”
Moira had never been on a boat before. Just as she had never been on a Vespa or gone in catacombs filled with the bones of the dead and it was beginning to dawn on her just how small her world had been until Harry was persistent enough to get her out. It was a little bit chillier sailing along the water and Harry didn’t hesitate to keep his arm wrapped around her as she took pictures of the passing buildings, bridges, and not to mention the people on the ship dancing and laughing. She wasn’t usually into taking pictures of people but she was in good spirits – she hadn’t done one clumsy thing all afternoon with Harry and that was an improvement.
She turned to him and caught his eye before bringing her camera up. She stopped seeing his smile falter and put it back down. “What’s wrong?”
He grabbed the neck strap of her camera and lifted it over her head. “I’m always the subject, never the photographer.” He explained, bringing the camera up to his face just in time to capture a blushing Moira. “You really haven’t a clue, have you? You could be on the runway, Moira. You should be. Instead of just snapping pictures of it.” When she looked down, he brought his free hand to her chin to bring it back up. “So beautiful.” He whispered before bringing his lips down softly on hers.
She moved to be closer and reciprocate and managed to trip over her own feet, knocking into him. Their kiss broke to a laughing Harry and a humiliated Moira. He used the hand cupping her cheek to bring her face back up to his and kissing her again. When he broke off, he pressed his forehead against hers and took a deep breath.
“Best first date ever.” He said, pecking her lips again.
