Henrik laughed. ‘Karate, eh? Impressive. What level dan are we talking?’
I had no idea. I mean, I had the outfit, but I wasn’t a dan. Whatever that was. ‘Now let me see… it’s been a while.’Think, think… what colour belt did they give me.‘I was er… orange dan last time I went.’
‘Orange dan?’ Henrik said, puzzled. ‘Is that something these days? You can handle yourself, then, can you?’
‘Absolutely.’ I thought back to my karate lesson. Singular. I’m still not sure if it was me who had accidentally booked the kid’s class, or the sensei had decided I was only at an eight-year-old level. I’d imagined a few cool Shoreditch peeps getting involved in some self-defence and chopping a couple of blocks in two, then going for margaritas. Instead, I did some very basic arm moves and repeatedly said ‘Yes, Sensei,’ for an hour with a load of schoolkids. And in hindsight… no, Sensei. No.
A whoosh of hot water started whirlpooling around me and I found myself pushed towards Henrik, unable to control my legs.
‘Ooh, sorry, argh, I can’t…’ I put my hands out to stop a full-frontal hug but still ended up cuddled into his big, broad chest.
‘So much for being able to handle yourself,’ he chuckled. ‘Or it’s my magnetic charm.’ Was he… flirting with me? He certainly wasn’t trying to stop me, or moving away. Although it would have been weird if he’d started moving around as well, like two crabs playing kabaddi in a puddle. ‘It’s easier to go with the flow until the water changes direction.’
‘This happens a lot, does it?’ I asked, feeling safe in his arms. I leant against them slightly, just to check. Yep. All that wood-chopping wasn’t for nothing. Rock-solid.
‘Not really. But the water has its own plans, and I’ve learnt not to get in the way of nature. It always knows what it’s doing.’
Henrik’s skin was warm and smooth, but it felt strange to be so close to a naked chest that wasn’t Mark’s. Hard and muscly with a dusting of hairs, it was like bathing with an elf king and I imagined myself as one of his many lovers.
A flurry of snow shook me from my thoughts and I shuddered underwater, pressing into him further. My nose was numb and I could feel my eyelashes crisping up as the snowflakes fell, but one patch of cold wasn’t enough to override the pleasure of the thermal pool on the rest of me. The aggressive jet of water had eased off, but I stayed in Henrik’s arms a few seconds longer, enjoying the heat of his body next to mine. He didn’t move either, lying back with his eyes closed. It had been a while since I’d been tangled up with a man like this, and I liked it.
‘Anyone in here?’ Jonas appeared through the mist, squinting to see, then backtracked when he saw us snuggled together. ‘Sorry, sorry, carry on.’
I leapt up and moved to the other side of the pool. ‘What? We’re not…’
‘No carrying on here,’ Henrik said. ‘Get in, Jo-bro.’
‘Room for me, too?’ A petite blonde with shiny plaits peeked out from under Jonas’s arm.
‘Hey, Greta,’ Henrik said, with a wave. ‘We were just talking about you. This is Sara; she’s over from London for a few weeks. Sara, Greta – Jonas’s fiancée and soon to be my sister-in-law.’
‘And a person in my own right,’ Greta said, smiling.
I laughed. ‘Nice to meet you. I’m only staying until the snow clears but I’ll be here for at least a few more days by the looks of it.’
‘How come?’ Greta asked, climbing onto Jonas’s back as he slithered into the water.
‘It’s not quite what I was expecting.’
‘Is that a bad thing?’
It was a good question. I shrugged. ‘Not necessarily.’ I hadn’t really thought through my reasons in any detail. My fight-or-flight instinct had kicked in the second I’d felt uncomfortable, and my knee-jerk reaction was to go straight home. It wasn’t the luxury break I thought I’d booked but I didn’t want to sound like a spoilt brat. So far, it had been challenging and cold and relentless, and I was way out of my comfort zone.
‘Give it some time,’ Jonas said. ‘Transformation doesn’t happen overnight.’
‘Especially for you Brits.’ Greta giggled. ‘No offence, but they usually have the most unwinding to do. The first week is for sleeping only.’
‘Well, that’s working, I’ve been like a little dormouse – the bed is too comfy.’
‘That’s my magic blankets at work. You’re welcome lads,’ Greta said, reaching over the side of the pool and putting a tiny teabag in her mouth. Probably LSD. She offered it round. ‘Do you snus?’
‘No. I don’t think so. Is it… drugs?’
The three of them laughed. ‘No, it’s notdrugs, Sara,’ Jonas said, doing a scary, theatrical face. ‘It’s nicotine.’
‘Arguably a drug,’ Henrik batted back.
‘Oh, well, yes, I do occasionally do nicotine.’
