“‘Man I’m Fucking.’”
“Eh.” She shrugged, but she was smiling, some of the stark look fading from her eyes, so he kept going.
“‘Sex God.’”
She snorted, then tapped her screen before turning it so he could see.
Above their conversation, the contact name now read “Szerelmem.”
“Is that a word, or did you just hit a bunch of letters?”
“You figure it out.” Nikolett had a grim, determined look in her eyes as she tapped her screen. “I’m getting answers.”
He lifted his own phone. “How did you spell that?”
She spelled it out, looking at her phone as it pinged.
He put it into the translation app.
Szerelmem—the possessive form of the word for romantic love. Used to refer to something or someone as loved (romantically) by the speaker. “My love” or “Beloved.”
Eric tossed his phone aside and grabbed her, pulling her with him as he lay back on the couch. She yelped, grabbing for her own phone as he settled them with his head on the armrest, her on his chest.
“You love me,” he said smugly.
“As I mentioned, I might be stupid.” She dug an elbow painfully into his ribs as she lifted herself, staring at her phone when it pinged again. He was about to make a joke about her addiction to a screen when he processed what she’d said before, while he’d been focused on getting a translation.
You figure it out. I’m getting answers.
“Nikki, what did you mean when you said you were getting answers?”
“I mean that I’m not waiting to see if the Spaniard really shows up. We have no idea if he’s coming tonight or tomorrow or in two weeks. It’s stupid to wait that long when there’s a simpler way to answer the question of ‘Is Gus the Spaniard.’”
“Damn it, Nikolett, what did you do?”
She turned her phone so he could see the screen, and the most recent text exchange between her and Gus. “Nothing yet. But if he responds to this message, I’m going to invite him over for a drink.”
Nikolett
I’m sorry I feel asleep. I think I had too much wine
Cookie Guy
Don’t apologize, you were exhausted
Nikolett
I wanted to say that I had a really good time
Cookie Guy
So did I
The food was good, but the conversation was better
“Nikki, stop texting the maybe bad guy!”
“Why?” She rolled off him when he grabbed for her phone. The phone pinged as he surged to his feet.
