06

Cancan09: I know absolutely nothing about you and you think I'm going to have dinner with you? I don't even know if you're a man, where you live, how old you are, what you look like... I don't even know your first name!

Big brown bear: So if I answer all your questions, you accept my invitation? Very well then...

•I am a man

•I live in the Paris region, as you think?

•I am in my thirties

Then to know what I look like, you will have to accept my invitation...

Cancan09: Do you think I'll accept that easily? At the risk of sounding old-fashioned to you (and I really don't care what you think), my parents taught me not to dine with strangers. And you didn't give me your first name.

Big brown bear: At your age, do you still obey your daddy? Hmmm, I love perverting good girls...

I laugh and blush despite my will to resent him and hate him on principle. I think about what I might say to him when a new message from him appears in the conversation.

Big brown bear: And I'll tell you my first name when I know yours!

He's a player, this Big Brown Bear! Never mind, I can be too. After all, I risk nothing to have a little fun virtually. If all this goes too far, I would just have to delete my profile on this forum.

Cancan09: Then I guess I'll have to get used to calling you Big Brown Bear!

When I receive his answer, I cast a distracted glance at my clock which announces 1:20 p.m. If I keep chatting, I'm going to be late at Cass's.

Big Brown Bear: So that means we're on our way to getting to know each other for hours? I don't know about you, but I find it terribly... attractive to discover you as you go along.

Cancan09: Don't get carried away too quickly, I have to go on a date.

Big Brown Bear: A date... with a man? One thing is certain, he is very lucky. A piece of advice, if you want to be sure to seduce him, arm yourself with your tiny bikini and your beach dress...

I can't help but laugh reading these words, we've been chatting virtually for less than an hour and he already feels comfortable enough to make saucy comments to me. A screen always makes it possible to break down barriers faster. I don't reply to his last message and I disconnect in order to quickly get ready to eat. Leftover grated carrots and a slice of ham will do. Anyway, knowing Cass, we will necessarily take a coffee/pastry break in the middle of the afternoon.

I join my best friend at her place and we leave quickly in the direction of the pedestrian artery of the city center which offers serial-shoppers something to satisfy all their impulses. Cass is in particularly good shape today as she twirls from boutique to boutique, each time adding a new piece to her wardrobe. It is now after 4 p.m. and we have already made two round trips to his car to drop off his bags. Me, I'm having fun following my friend in her seduction operation! As usual, Cass decrees that after so many purchases, it's time to refuel. So we settle in a tea room located in a very small street, well hidden from the crowd of hurrying passers-by and we order whatever we want.

It's an unchanging habit we've adopted: we order absolutely anything that makes our mouths water and if we don't finish everything, we ask to take it home. No frustration and zero waste, that's the rule. The waitress approaches our table and we list our desires. She ticks slightly but makes no comment. Barely five minutes later, she reappears with a well-laden tray: our two teas sit proudly surrounded by a lemon pie, a raspberry macaroon, another chocolate macaroon, a vanilla and a pear tree. I look at my best friend with a big smile and our bellies growl with anticipation. I wouldn't trade this ritual for anything in the world.

As we dip into each pastry while chatting, I feel my phone vibrate repeatedly in my purse. I consult it and discover with astonishment 4 new messages from my mysterious thief.

Big Brown Bear: I hope your date behaves like a true gentleman...

Big Brown Bear: If he lets you get your wallet out, run away.

Big brown bear: If he has lettuce between his teeth, take a picture discreetly and send it to me. I also want to have fun!

Big brown bear: If his hands are too wandery, tell him you have syphilis. It always calms when we talk about syphilis.

I literally burst out laughing at the end of my reading and Cass tries to take my phone from my hands in order to find out what is putting me in this state. I manage to dodge her gesture and look up at her.

-Cass, I have to tell you what's been happening to me since this morning.

-Oh yes, my pretty Candice, you're going to tell me everything... she replies, rolling her eyebrows.

I launch into a concise but precise explanation when my friend interrupts me:

- So if I summarize, the guy who stole your places openly flirts with you and you... do you like it? Ooooh but it looks like my sweet Can-can is going crazy!!

- Pfff but not at all, he makes me laugh that's all.

-Stop, my Candice would never let a man talk to her like that if he didn't like him a little. What does it look like ? What's his name ? Tell me everything !

-I have no idea of ​​his physique and even less of his identity. He just sent me about ten messages, "flirting" me as you say, and I answered him nicely. There is nothing more.

"So get me to read the messages," Cass challenges me with a mischievous look I know all too well.

Not wanting to let her think that I have things to hide, I hand her my phone with a facade of ease, because I must admit that the hint of excitement mixed with the hint of guilt that I feel disturbs me. I stare at her as she reads the conversation and I can decipher all the emotions she is feeling in real time. Impatience quickly gives way to surprise and she literally exults reading the latest messages. My best friend then looks up at me and I know in advance that our next discussions will only be punctuated by the mysterious Great Brown Bear. She rests her gaze on the phone, her eyes racing across the screen as if rereading the messages before speaking again, laughing.

- This man really seems to be funny! Really really ! Listen to my can-can, if we disregard the fact that he did something wrong in stealing your concert tickets, you can't deny that he seems like a funny man, with a sharp wit and repartee. Ask him for a picture before continuing to chat with him and please do me a favor, don't worry and just let it go.

-Why should I ask him for a picture? Why immediately want to judge his physique? I like the idea of ​​mystery.

- Oh stop your hypocrisy a bit, will you? Imagine the scene: you expect to discover Bradley Cooper and it's Mister Bean who appears? No, you need to know what you're getting into before you start making a big fuss about yourself.

Cass gazes into mine and as usual, she reads me like an open book. I can't hide anything from her, I can't pretend with her and even if I could, I wouldn't want to.

-I know you've been wanting to meet someone worthwhile for a long time and I also know that you're afraid of being disappointed like you've been in the past, but you don't think it's better be disappointed now that nothing has started between you and that you haven't invested yourself rather than after weeks of conversations that could make your heart waver? Don't get into the game of total mystery, first make sure you're going to have fun with someone reliable and who you like. It's the best way to protect yourself.

I look down with a sigh. Cass is right. Of course she's right. But she also makes a whole mountain of not much. Of course these small exchanges pleased me but I did not get carried away and I did not imagine that I had just met the great love. I just enjoyed chatting with a man who makes me laugh, that's all.

-You are right my Cass, I will ask him for a photo and details concerning his life. If he answers me favorably, we will continue to discuss without pressure. Otherwise, I'll cut it all short.

-Perfect ! So go ahead, write to him. And ask him for a photo of the face and... buttocks.

I start laughing loudly at my best friend's repartee.

- You are incorrigible! Well, stop chatting and taste this delicious chocolate macaron before I devour it.

I'm not particularly fond of chocolate pastries, but macaroons are an exception. And the one I'm tasting will easily find its place in my top 3 macaroons for which I could travel hundreds of kilometers just to enjoy a few crumbs.

We finish our gourmet snack and leave the tea room sated. Cassiopée decides that a new pair of pumps won't be too much, so we head to her favorite shoe store. There is no doubt that she will find something to suit her. No joke I agree! Upon entering this temple of good taste, I immediately spot a pair of navy blue pumps adorned with a discreet but very chic crocodile pattern. These two little beauties are gorgeous! My eyes wander to the label displaying €169 and I sigh, swallowing my extravagant impulse. I'll be back next month, hoping my shoe size is still available. Cass joins me with sublime pumps in hand. The gradient from bright red at the front to almost black red at the

-Wow Cass! They are sublime! I tell him, taking the shoes in my hands to better admire them.

-I say ! I had a crush on seeing them and you know what? It's reciprocal! These little wonders will be at my feet tomorrow night. Oh but I see that you too have found your soul mate? she said, pointing to the object of my desires.

-It's a one-sided love, the price is too high for me this month.

Cass takes my arm and we head to the cash register. Leaving this shop, we decide to go home and I walk my friend home. We drink a small aperitif to close this perfect afternoon between girls and I take the direction of my apartment. While driving, I rejoice that this awful morning has been swept away by a moment of complicity so dear to my heart.

As I'm getting ready to go to bed, my phone vibrates again following the arrival of a message from Big Brown Bear asking me once again how my appointment went. I curl up in my sheets, determined to answer him and ask him once and for all for a photo and information about his identity. Hit or miss !