People don’t take trips, trips take people - Antoine 02

“Found you”, Antoine said pushing open their bedroom door to see his goddess, kneeling on the bed looking at him with her beautiful eyes, playfully lifting the bottom of her short skirt up high on her white patterned tights, and inviting him to join her.

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“Took you long enough”, Lily said, giving him a magnificent smile that sent butterflies to his stomach and blood pumping to his lower regions, “so are you going to just stand there all day or are you going to come over here and show me how much of a man you are”?

Antoine didn’t need a to be asked twice, he bounded across the room and leapt on top of her, initiating a passionate kiss, what followed was 45 minutes of passion and excitement, as the couple pleasured each other all the while, trying not to fall out of the inconveniently small single bed.

Naked, sweaty, and exhausted, Lily propped herself up on one elbow and lit up a cigarette, Antoine hated that she smoked but he had accepted it, Lily had always been a bit of a rebel, always doing what she pleased, not caring what others thought of her, and although frustrating at times, it was also one of the many reasons he loved her.

“So are you all packed for your trip”, Lily asked, breathing out a lung full of smoke.

“Yeah, I guess so”, Antoine replied, “but I still don’t see why you can’t just tell her the truth about us, you’ve graduated from university now, you’re a grown woman”.

“Antoine, we’ve been through this, I told you when you moved in here about my mother, she made me promise when she rented this place for me that I wouldn’t bring any men here”, Lily replied in a serious tone.

“Why do you care? you never normally care about the rules”, Antoine said joking.

“It’s different ok, she's my mother and besides she’s only visiting for a week, you get to spend a week in Spain, relaxing and getting some sun, I’m the one who’s stuck here entertaining her”.

“Is she really that bad”? Antoine asked.

“Well one day you’ll meet her, and you can see for yourself, her heart is in the right place but she’s so overbearing and controlling, you know I’d love for you to meet her, but if she knew you were living here, she’d go ballistic, stop paying the rent and demand I move back home to Avignon”.

“Come on, really? Are you sure you’re not overreacting a little bit? That sounds a bit extreme”.

“Well, she’s an extreme person, listen the week will pass quickly and then she’ll be gone, you know I’d much rather be coming with you on your trip”, lily said stroking Antoine’s arm playfully.

“Oh yeah, going to miss me huh”? Antoine said turning to face her.

Lily, stumped out her cigarette and smiled, “why don’t I show you how much, ready for round two”?

The pair once again started exploring each other’s bodies, and while deep in the throes of passion, they were blissfully unaware that their lives were about to be thrown upside down.

Lily jumped, “did you just hear the front door”? she said rattled, Antoine heard it too as he sat upright to listen.

“Lily, Lily, are you home”? Came a voice from outside the bedroom.

“Shit, it’s my mother, what is she doing here”? lily whispered while panicking, she leapt from the bed and started to throw on her clothes, “just stay here and don’t make a sound, ok”?

She left the room as Antoine sat there under the covers not knowing what to do, as he listened to the conversation on the other side of the door.

“Mama, what are you doing here, I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow”? He heard Lily say.

“What are you not pleased to see your me, my plans for the day got cancelled so I thought I’d come up early and surprise you, you could look a little happier to see your old mother”.

“Of course, I’m happy to see you, I’m just surprised”.

“Lily why can I smell cigarette smoke, are you smoking”?

“No, of course, not Mama, these walls are pretty thin, it must be coming from next door”.

“No, it’s coming from your room”? Lily’s mother said as Antoine heard footsteps approaching the door. Panicked he tried to reach for his clothes, got tangled in the sheets and fell hard on to the bedroom floor.

“There’s someone in there, Lily have you got a man in there?

“No, of course not Mama, it’s… it’s… my roommate, Zara”.

“Really? I thought you said, she was away travelling, and why is she in your room”?

“err… she cancelled her plans to try and find a job, she has a date tonight and I was in there helping her pick out something to wear when you arrived”, Lily replied, happy with her quicky improvised answer.

“Oh Lily, You’re a good girl, such a good friend”.

“Yeah, I try Mama, perhaps I should see if she is ok, make yourself at home, Ok, I’ll be right back”.

Antoine once again heard footsteps approaching the door before it opened and Lily slipped inside. She looked down at him on the floor wrapped in the bedsheet. “You idiot, I said to be quiet”, she whispered angrily.

“I’m sorry Lil, I heard footsteps and was trying to put on my clothes, but what have you done? You told her Zara was in here”?

“You heard that huh”?

“Yeah, I heard your whole conversation, you’re going to have to tell her the truth, shit, this is not the way I wanted to meet your mother, she’s going to hate me”, Antoine said annoyed picking himself up and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“No, it’s too late for that and besides, do you want her to ship me back off to Avignon, how are we going to see each other? do you have the money to take the train down there every weekend”?

“Fuck, of course, I don’t want that”, Antoine muttered, realising the severity of the situation, “but what choice do we have? She’s expecting to see Zara come out of your room and as you know she’s on the other side of the world right now”.

“Listen I’ve got a plan, you may not like it, but it will work”, she said sitting next to him on the bed.

“Come on Lil, really? you know you’re crazy plans never work”? Antoine replied sceptically.

“Yes, they do”, Lily replied sounding hurt, “well apart from that time in Latin quarter, and ok maybe that time...  but never mind that now we’ve got no choice, you need to be Zara”.

“What”? Antoine said loudly, “you can’t be serious”, he added in a quieter voice, realising he had shouted to loud.

“Lily is everything ok in there”? came a voice from the living room.

“Yes, Mama, I’ll be out in a minute”, Lily shouted before turning back to Antoine, “listen she’s never met Zara, you put on one of my wigs and we find you something to wear, then all you have to do is leave this room and go straight to Zara’s bedroom, I’ll find a someway to get Mama out of the house and then you can head off on your trip, easy”.

“Easy, it’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard, it’ll never work”, Antoine stated.

“It has to work, and you have to try or this good thing we’ve got going here is going to come to an end, if you love me, you’ll try”, Lily said, looking at Antoine with pleading eyes.

Antoine lowered his head, knowing he couldn’t say no to her, he loved her more than anything, and the thought of losing her terrified him, “Ok Lil, I’ll try, what do we need to do”?