"I just don't see why she has to be with us every fucking minute." Gigi's voice was whiny and plaintive.

"I've already explained this to you," Luc began, trying to keep his voice even and not impatient. "She's here as my guest, I can't just chuck her in a bin or whatever when you want alone time with me, understand?" He sighed and looked at his on-again, off-again girlfriend.

Her petulant face was pouty, brows drawn together, full lips pulled up in a frown. "You could've at least gotten her her own suite, couldn't you? Why on earth is she in here with you?"

"I don't know, I set it up that way back in New York, and it just worked," Luc explained. He turned back toward the view of the city. He'd performed in Rome three times, to sold out crowds, and they were off to Milano the next day. Again, he hoped Haley couldn't hear them.

If only Gigi hadn't come.

Luc pushed the uncharitable thought away.

Gigi was very busy, in demand during these summer months as a model, and she'd turned down work to be with him, he knew. And any man would be glad to have Gigi. He must be crazy to be thinking as he was. He turned to look at her once more, noticing the curve of her hips into her narrow waist, her perfect skin tone. Then there was her face, unblemished in any way, eyebrows arched just so, full lips just inviting anyone to kiss them.

Her beauty had no power to move him today, however. All he could see was the petulant expression on her face, the childish pout to her mouth.

"I'm not going to get into all of this again," he finally said. "She's here, she's my guest, she's staying in her own room, which is all the way down the hall from ours, might I point out, I really don't see the problem."

"Well, what if I want to do this?" Gigi stepped into his arms while untying her halter top, exposing her perfect breasts. The nipples began to harden immediately from being exposed to the air. "What if she were to walk in on us right now? Hm?" She leaned in to kiss him.

"Oh, please," Luc responded, stepping way from her. "We can do that anytime, anywhere. We have, in fact—"

"Not this time," Gigi pointed out. She stood in the middle of the room, topless, voice tearful. "We haven't been together at all this time, have you noticed? It's because she's here, underfoot, every fucking minute of the day." She gestured angrily in the direction of Haley's room.

"Put something on, for Christ's sake," Luc responded. "I'm sick of—" he stopped himself.

"You're sick of what?" Gigi asked, gesturing to herself. "Sick of the sight of me? Sick of looking at my breasts? There was a time when you enjoyed them, quite a lot, if memory serves. Now what, you're tired of looking at them?"

"No, I"m not tired of looking at them," Luc responded in an exhausted voice. Though he was, kind of. They were too round, too perky, too perfect, like the rest of her. "Could you just put something on? Please?"

"Sure," Gigi replied. She reached for her halter, hammocked herself in, and buttoned the back. "Better?"

"Loads," he said, sitting in a chair next to the window. Normally this view could always calm him, make him feel better about life in general. The dome of St. Peter's, the tiled roofs of the city, were beautiful beyond measure, but nothing seemed to matter today.

He felt Gigi's gentle touch on his neck and shoulders as he sat, and resisted the urge to shrug her off.

"Come on, Luc," she coaxed, her voice breathy in his ear. "This is us, remember? Always there for each other? No matter what or who comes in between?"

"Maybe I don't want anyone to come in between anymore," Luc retorted in a tired voice. He lifted his arms and let them flap down onto his thighs in an exhausted gesture.

"You're saying you want to be exclusive?" Gigi's voice held surprise. She came around to sit in his lap. "Is that what you're saying?"

Shit.

She put her arms around Luc's neck and looked into his eyes.

"No, that's not what I'm saying," Luc answered, wanting to lift her off his lap immediately.

Gigi lifted her arms from where they rested. "Oh, I see. I'm the one that comes in between, that's what you're saying." She considered for a moment. "Have you met someone new? Is that it?"

"No. Yes. I don't know," Luc said, his voice anguished.

"Well, whatever your situation, I think I should scoot on out of here for a bit," Gigi said in a resigned voice. "That seems best for now, don't you think?"

"I suppose so," Luc agreed. "Look, Gigi, I'm sorry about all of this. I know things were good between us, uncomplicated and everything, and I'm just fucking it all up—"

"No, not at all, these things happen," Gigi replied, smiling, though her eyes had a suspicious sparkle. She rose from his lap. "This is why we kept things casual, right? So no one gets hurt?"

Luc sighed. "Yes, sure, whatever you say." He watched as she moved through the room, gathering her things. "Where will you go?"

Gigi looked at him and shrugged. "I don't know. Probably back to New York for a few days? Gretel has been after me to visit her farm in Vermont, so maybe there? And then there are a few jobs I turned down, I can see if they already asked someone else." She smiled her spectacular smile. "There's always some place for me to go, don't you worry about me."

Luc smiled back. "I know that, I know," he agreed, rising from his chair. He walked to his dresser and pulled out a T-shirt, which he pulled on over his toned torso.

Twenty minutes later she was gone, leaving behind only the trace of her expensive perfume.

Haley emerged from her room, looking around curiously. She was wearing denim pedal pushers and a blouse with flowers embroidered on the collar. Her blonde hair was up in a bouncy pony tail. She didn't seem to know anything was amiss, so maybe the sound hadn't carried.

"Where's Gigi?" she asked, turning guileless eyes in Luc's direction.

"She had to go," he lied. "Something came up to do with work, I think."

"Oh, that's too bad, I know you were happy she was here," Haley commiserated.

"I'm okay, no worries," Luc assured her.

"You look absolutely delightful today, by the way," he remarked. "Like you're ready to go for a ride on a bicycle or something."

"Thanks!" Haley was pleased.

She thought Luc looked outstanding, also, in his tight T-shirt and shorts. His hair was getting long, and he'd taken to wearing a head band to keep it off his face, which only accentuated his jawline.

"So, what would you like to do today?" Luc smiled at her.

"You don't have to entertain me every moment," Haley responded. This had become a popular refrain between them.

"Yes, you've told me this often," Luc said, grinning as he chucked her under her chin. "And like I always say back, I don't feel like I'm 'entertaining' you. In fact, it's quite the opposite, it's you who are endlessly diverting to me, you must know this, hm?"

"If you say so," Haley said doubtfully. "I don't do much that's interesting or fun, though, do I? And I'm not much of a conversationalist, either."

"I think you sell yourself short," Luc said, grasping Haley around the waist and giving her a quick spin around the room. "I find you no end of entertaining, fun and funny in equal measure."

"Wow, thanks," Haley answered, laughing as he spun her.

He finally let her go, spinning her on the bed.

She bounced a couple of times, continuing to laugh, as Luc threw himself down next to her.

"So? What would you like to do today?" he repeated, rising to his elbows so he could look at her.

"Well, I planned to spend my last day in Rome just looking around, taking some final photos, and saying goodbye to all the people I met, you know?"

"That sounds perfect. May I join you?" Luc bopped Haley on the nose.

"Of course, silly." She rose from the bed. "You know, I hope Gigi's leaving didn't have anything to do with me? I mean, I hope I didn't crowd her?"

"What? No, I told you, it was something to do with work."

"There's a line in a movie I heard once?" Haley continued, sitting up and sitting cross legged on the bed. "People are like gas."

"What?" Luc snorted and laughed.

"Yeah, that's the response it got in the movie, too, but it makes sense. People are like gas, they expand to fill the available space, you see? And when there's not enough space, there's pressure. I hope Gigi didn't feel pressure because I was here. That's all I mean."

Luc rose, continuing to laugh. "Well, Haley with the hazel eyes, let's expand out into the city and say a proper good bye to it, what do you say?"

"Sounds like plan."