Gabriel stared as she walked off.  He was just commissioned by the daughter of one of the best designers in Paris...  It still didn't fully click in his mind.  What was he going to do?  He needed to make something she liked.  There were so many types of dresses!

He took a deep breath, reminding himself that he was fully capable of working under these conditions.  He knew what types of dresses would work with her body type.  He'd just have to go from there.

Gabriel stared at his watch.  Perhaps it was time for his lunch as well.

When Iris arrived a the cafe, she saw Lori sitting outside. She pulled her out seat and sat down. "Sorry I'm late I was talking to one of my professors."

"It's fine," Lori replied. Iris and Lori had been friends since they were kids. Lori was from America and moved to Pairs, when she was nine. She attend the Pairs School of Fine Arts as well. She was studying photography in the fashion industry. "Anything wrong?"

Iris chuckled. "Not at all. In fact I think I made a new friend."

"Huh?"

The waiter came by and took their orders. After he left, Iris explained her meeting with Mr. Agreste. Lori stared at her in disbelief which confused Iris. "Why are you giving me that look?"

"Because you're engaged! You shouldn't be flirting with other men especially your teacher."

Iris snorted. "That was not flirting. I like his style and want him to make me a dress. Is that crime? My father gets commissions from married women all the time."

"I suppose."

"I can make male friends. I don't think Beau will care." Iris started to play with her engagement ring. "It would be nice to have someone to talk about fashion."

"I like fashion."

"Lori, not a designer level."

Her friend rolled her eyes.

Iris just waved her hand. "Don't worry about it. Nothing will happen." Truth be told Iris did think Mr. Agreste was attractive. She also was more curious about him. After their little meeting, she felt like there was more too him.

Gabriel headed to a nearby convenience store and bought a sandwich before heading back to the campus and sitting on one of the benches to eat and continue sketching. He wanted to have at least ten designs ready for Iris to look over on Wednesday. 

"You're very focused today."

He jumped at the sudden voice and looked up to see Nathalie with a small smirk on her face. "I thought you had a class during lunch."

She shook her head and sat down beside him. "There weren't enough students registered so they changed the time to appeal to more.  They should have known students wouldn't want to have a class at lunchtime."

He nodded. "I'm sure you're happy about that."

"Sure. I like having a lunch break as much as everyone else. So, what are you designing?"

"A dress. One of my students asked me to design one for her, but she doesn't know what she's looking for." he answered.

Nathalie raised an eyebrow. "You're not the type to take a commission from a student."

He shrugged as he finished the basic outline of a dress. "It's a good way to challenge myself. Plus, her father rejected my application. This might be a good way to get his attention."

She smirked, "There's the Gabriel I know. Always looking for an opportunity. You do realize you're going to have to get that girl's measurements, right?"

"Of course. I'm a designer. That's how it works. Why do you think that's something to point out?"

Nathalie sighed and shook her head and stood. "Never mind. Well, I'm going to go. Good luck with your dress design." Gabriel nodded and turned his attention back to his sketchbook.

Wednesday came quicker than Gabriel expected, but thankfully he had the ten different designs he'd wanted ready for Iris's inspection. He grabbed some coffee and headed to class with his sketchbook in hand.

Iris arrived to class super early despite telling him to show the designs after class. She was too excited to sit around in her apartment. She sat down in her seat and placed her messager bag over the back of the chair. She got her sketch pad and started to doodle. 

As she was doodling she glanced at her engagement ring. She frowned. Was it really that bad to ask Mr. Agreste to make her a dress? Most of her father's personal clients were married women. Then again he was married himself. But people could still cheat despite being married! She dropped her pencil and started to play with the ring on her finger. No it was fine. Lori was just talking BS. Nothing was going to happened between them and Beau had a problem with it then so be it. She found a designer that she truly liked.

Gabriel entered the classroom and was surprised to see Iris sitting there already. Most students wouldn't make their way in until about five minutes beforehand, or later if they really didn't want to come.  

As he approached, he noticed her playing with a ring.  Engaged already?  Most young people were getting married later nowadays. Not that it was any of his concern. He stopped next to her and cleared his throat.  "You're here early."

Iris jumped. She didn't notice him come into the room. She stopped playing with her ring at once. "Yes." she couldn't help, but smile at him. "You're here early as well."

"I like to beat the crowd," he answered before walking over to his desk and laying his bag down. He dug through it and found his sketchbook. "How is your week going so far?"

"Alright," she said. "Still getting a swing of things." Iris was tempted to asked about her dress, but told herself to wait until after class. "Yours? Do you teach other classes?"

"Yes. I teach two other design classes. Every first day of class is basically the same for me. I introduce myself, go over the lesson, and then let people work while critiquing." He took a sip of coffee while wondering he'd sounded too unenthusiastic about the entire thing.

She studied him. Mr. Agreste didn't sound thrilled about his job. She wondered. "Do you like teaching, Mr. Agreste?" Iris wondered if that was a personal question.

Gabriel tapped a finger on his desk. How to answer such a question? He absolutely hated teaching, but it paid the bills for the most part. But he couldn't give such a response to a student. He shrugged noncommittally, "It wasn't my first choice."

She wanted to ask him what his first choice, but one her classmates walked in. Iris went back to her sketchbook. It would be weird to continue this conversation with him. As she was doodling her gaze drifted to her ring. She shouldn't be talking to him to on a personal level. Iris shook her head and focused on her doodles. There's nothing wrong with learning more about him. You can befriend people of the opposite while your in a relationship. 

After class Iris stayed in her seat, until all of her classmates left the room. She got up to her desk and walked over to his desk. "So did you finish my dress's design?"

Gabriel nodded. "I wasn't sure where to start, so I made ten different designs with a wide range of styles. That should give you enough to choose from. I will edit anything you don't like, of course." He flipped through his sketchbook as he spoke, stopping on the first design and offering it to Iris to look through.

Iris took his sketchbook from him and looked down at the first design. Excitement filled her eyes. She carefully went through each dress. They were all beautiful so she found herself flipping back and forth. She couldn't decide! Then an idea hit her. "Why don't you pick? What dress would look the best on me?"

Gabriel frowned, holding back a protest. She was not making this easy for him, and part of him respected that more than the extremely frustrated part of him.  Either she was just this indecisive or she was doing this on purpose. Either way, he would overcome it.

He studied her for a moment, taking in every curve of her figure.  "Alright. I'll choose one, but you won't know which one it is until your first fitting. Fair?" He paused for a response before adding, "Oh, and I need to take your measurements. When are you free?"