“Two fried eggs, please. I’ll be right back, I’m just going to take a quick shower, okay?”
She’s already turning to head back up the stairs when she realizes she’s not going anywhere because I’ve got the sheet clenched in my hand.
“Okay, but the sheet stays here.”
With a quick motion, I pull it off her body. Her naked form is just as stunning as ever. I grin from ear to ear.
“You’re really bad!” she exclaims.
She gives me a mischievous laugh and sprints upstairs as fast as she can. Not fast enough to avoid the playful smack on her butt, though.
About fifteen minutes later, she’s back. She’s wearing gray jeans, a light pink blouse with short sleeves, and white sneakers. Her casual weekend look suits her, but then again, she could wear anything and I’d still love it. We sit together at the table and eat our breakfast in silence. Neither of us really knows what to say. This feels both good and strange at the same time.
“What are your plans for today?” I ask her eventually.
“I don’t really have any plans. I need to go to the store for groceries, but nothing specific beyond that.”
“Feel like doing something together?”
Spending the whole day in bed is an option for me.
“Uh, I’d like to do something together, but what exactly are you planning, Andreas? I mean, I can’t keep up. You’ve already said more than once that this might not be the best idea, and then you stay over and ask what we’re doing today? What exactly are we doing, you and I?” she sighs.
I can’t keep up with myself either, so I can’t blame her.
“Maybe we can be friends?” I ask, immediately realizing how stupid it sounds out loud.
Nora stops eating and looks at me.
“Friends?” she scoffs. Her eyebrows shoot up. “Who occasionally have sex, right?”
“That’s a bonus.” A big bonus.
“Andreas, you know that kind of thing doesn’t work, right?”
“I know.” I do know.
“Maybe we shouldn’t put a label on this thing between us for now?” she says.
I mostly hear “us,” and a shiver runs down my spine. I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad shiver. It’s mostly just something new. She might be right—no label, no pressure. Just undefined us.
“Let’s not make it unnecessarily complicated. We’ll just take it day by day.” Make love, not war, something like that. I’ve officially turned into a hippie.
“Sounds good.” She gives a faint laugh but looks at me kindly and starts eating again. She has so much patience with me.
“I’ll ask Eric to pick us up.”
“Eric? Head of security?”
“You remembered that well.”
“And Eric drives you everywhere? Even on Saturdays?”
“Pretty much, yes.”
“So, your slave then?”
“I pay him enough, Nora, you definitely shouldn’t feel sorry for him. I also have another driver, they take turns regularly. Besides, Eric and I are good friends, and we often discuss things in the car. He’s more than happy to pick us up.”
