HÉLÈNE BLANC
First encounter
In 2002, I was in my final year of high school, preparing for the baccalaureate exam. At 17, I was juggling some serious studying and my first real parties. No one in my group had a driver's license, so we were always wondering how we'd get home. One evening, it was Ewen, my friend Simon's older brother, who came to pick us up by car. I had never seen him before.
My other friend and I got in the back, with Simon in the passenger seat. I looked at Ewen's eyes in the rearview mirror. I noticed his hands on the steering wheel. I've always been fascinated by men's hands, and his fit all my criteria. I found them stunning.
In the car speeding through the night, I couldn't see all of him, which intrigued me. For the half-hour drive, I watched these little glimpses of him that appeared and drew me in. I liked the energy he gave off. He seemed gentle, calm, mysterious. Even his voice, when he asked for our addresses and said, "Bye, have a good night," made me feel a bit shaky.
