‘You and I are something far too special for words.’
I hate how my heart flutters.
‘That felt like flirting,’ I scold him.
‘While you’re in the bathroom of your four-night-stand’s apartment? Never! Anyway, I won’t keep you. I have stuff to do too, I just wanted to make sure you’re still boarding the train tomorrow.’
‘I will be there. This afternoon. To pack my bags,’ I say.
‘If you say so,’ he says. ‘Tell Lina I say hi.’
‘I won’t.’
He hangs up pretty quickly, leaving me to my ever-so-slightly improved reflection. I fumble around the cupboards for Lina’s toothpaste and finish the last of my freshening up before heading back out to see her sprawled across the entire bed, her light, wispy hair gently tousled from the night’s sleep.
‘I worried you left,’ she says sleepily.
‘Without telling you? I could never.’
She moves over as I shuffle back under the covers. Within a second her hands are on me, stroking my skin, tracing my curvesas she pulls me in for a morning kiss. My lips part instantly, her tongue tracing over my teeth until they part for her as well. I start to writhe against her. She moves back, the small moan that leaves her mouth sending shockwaves through my body and against my lips.
‘Good morning,’ she says in a whisper once we finally come up for air. ‘Did you sleep well?’
‘Fantastically. You?’
‘Yeah, I slept great. You really wore me out last night.’ She taps my nose lightly with her finger.
‘Says you! These last few days have been...’
I can’t fathom the words to describe how amazing my time with her has been. Just the thought of trying fills me with an unmistakable shyness. It’s terrifying how much I long to give her all of me.
‘These last few days have been beautiful.’ Her thin lips spread into a smile. ‘But I am going to have to get back to my life at some point today.’
I nod with understanding. After all, I came back home with her five days ago and have shaken up her schedule ever since. We spent the whole day in bed together Sunday, hung out with her friends on Monday, and she cancelled yesterday’s shift to take me on the tour since I loveThe Sound of Music. We have been consumed by each other since our first kiss. My obsession arguably started even earlier, after I met her at speed dating. From the second we touched we have been inseparable, and I have had a little pit in my stomach filled with dread at the thought of its impending end.
‘Do you have to goright now?’ I ask.
The truth is, once I walk out that door, I’ll have to accept that I’m leaving her behind in Salzburg. I softly trace the skin of her side and imagine life without her. A sadder, greyer, less vivid place.
‘My shift starts at twelve. I suppose if we were really quick, we could...’
Her hand reaches around me, pulling me in closer for a kiss. Our tongues meet violently and she grabs me tighter before pinning me onto my back and straddling me.
I love her weight on top of me. I love the way that she kisses. She’s this ball of light and laughter, and makes everything soeasy. I melt back into the bed as she bends down to kiss me once more, her hair falling like a curtain around my face.
Later on, I sigh as we cuddle and catch our breath. ‘I could stay here all day.’
‘I’ll cancel my shift.’ She declares this unabashedly.
I pull her closer and give her a kiss on the head. ‘You are adorable. But don’t cancel. I need to leave at some point. We go to Vienna tomorrow.’
She pulls back. ‘Oh. That’s tomorrow?’
I sigh again. ‘Yeah, I feel like the last few days flew past.’
‘I’ll grab your clothes,’ she says woodenly.
She hops out of bed instantly, shuffling over to her wardrobe and pulling out my jeans and top. I have no idea when she folded them in there in the first place, but that’s not surprising given how lost in her I’ve been these past few days. I give a smile of thanks as she comes back over and presents me with the neatly folded pile, then start to shimmy my underwear on from under the covers while she picks out her own clothes.
