Ramper Pour Toujours

They say French is the sexiest accent. I never got it until I met Raphäel.

When he took me to meet his mother, she seemed offended by my terrible French. She had no English.

On my birthday, he surprised me with a trip to Paris. Beneath the sunset, on a quiet street, he said, "Dance with me,"

I giggled, nervous. He's confident on his feet, but I'm really not.

"Faites-moi plaisir..." I'd no idea what he said, but hearing it in that buttery-soft voice...

He dropped to a knee...

Oh, God!

The rest of the night was wonderful. He normally made no noise at all during sex, but that night a stream of French spilled out. I've never been more aroused.

Next morning, my insecurities bubbled up. I can't speak with him in his own language, or understand his mother. He can dance, and cook, he's charismatic... What do I bring?

I hatched a plan: learn his mother-tongue. Get fluent. On our wedding day, speak my vows in flawless French.

Excited, I sprang out of bed. He noticed something was up, but I just smiled.

"Paris was your secret, Raph," I said. "Now I have one."

I started weekly French lessons, saying it was cooking classes. I installed Duolingo on my phone, hiding it by locking my screen. I hired an online tutor, slamming my laptop closed or switching to another window when Raph walked in.

He talked more during sex. Something seemed off, but honestly, he could recite the phonebook, and it'd be like caramel drizzling into my earholes.

Wedding details coalesced. We set a date. My French studies redoubled.

One night, while fucking, he moaned in French... but this time, I understood!

You need to cut your toenails.

Another time, You dance like penguins wearing big boots.

My mother says your laugh sounds like chimpanzee.

You'd think it'd hurt, but my insecurities melted away. I couldn't wait for the look on his face when I said my vows. Realising he'd underestimated me. I'd never feel on the back foot in this relationship again. He'll be grovelling forever.

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Word count excluding note: 366 Submitted on Monday 5th August at 23.25

Thank you so much for reading my story! The ha'penny that Vocal will toss in my hat for your eyeballs landing on this humble piece will be well-spent. If you enjoyed this one, the very best compliment you can give me is to share it, or read another! A Year of Stories: I'm writing a story every day this year. This one continues my 217 day streak since 1st January. Please do consider lending your support to the other creators who are also on this madcap "a story every day" adventure. They are putting out excellent content every day! Rachel Deeming Gerard DiLeo Please do leave me a comment. I try to reciprocate as many as I can. Leaving a comment makes that easier.

The story behind the story: My French is terrible, definitely worse than the main character's! If I'd had another piece ready, I'd have sat on this until I got a French speaker to look over it. I can only apologise if I fucked it up royally.

This one flowed out easily, but it was nearly 3x too long, and the editing was hard. I'm not in love with the micro version. I think it feels choppy, like you might write in primary school. Less the sex of course. And then, and then, and then...

I had a very clear image of this character, her name, what Raph looks like, what his mother is like, what they did on their holidays... so many details I had to cut!

Thank you again! Especially if you are one of the wonderful people who has been staunchly reading these daily scribbles since the start of the year. I see you, and appreciate you very much indeed! + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +