He laughs—a full, jolly sound that warms me and tickles me along with the gentle, delicious touch of his hands on my back.
I’m in my bed with Erik Storm.
It’s almost like a dream. It can’t be happening, can it? He’ll realize what he has done and regret it, won’t he?
I want to look in his eyes, so I drop from his body and lie on my pillow, facing him. He takes my duvet and covers us both.
What now? I want to ask. But I don’t want to ruin it. The moment we talk about it, it will all crumble, I’m sure.
I touch his face, almost as if I want to test if he is real. He puts his hand over mine. Sweet. Loving.
He said he wanted to fuck me, not that he wanted to be in a relationship with me.
Perhaps this is all we’ll ever have.
Wouldn’t it be enough?
Nothing but all of him would be enough.
“You look worried.” He half frowns, half smiles, sliding a finger over my nose.
“I’m afraid,” I confess.
“Of what?”
“You backing away,” I whisper, and my face gets hot. I feel more exposed now than at any other time today.
“There’s no going back, Sol.” He keeps smiling, and I exhale, calming down. “We’ve dived in.”
I try to smile back, but I can’t. He did that with her, and he regretted it.
I pass my fingers over his beard. He is so handsome. So...wonderful.
Too good to be real. Too good to be mine.
“Why did you stay with your parents for so long? Why did you barely text me?”
He looks deep into my eyes. “You were right to say I’m an idiot. Or I was. I don’t want to be an idiot anymore.”
I try to smile, but I can’t.
“I was scared, Sol, that’s the truth.” He breathes out and plays with my fingers, his eyes lowered in shame. “That kiss was...wonderful,” he stresses the word, curving his lips up when he remembers our moment in Tivoli. I can’t help but copy his expression. “But I was afraid this wouldn’t work... Afraid to get my heart broken...”
“Afraid I would go back to Brazil and never return?”
He smiles, sighing, and answers, “Yes.”
Like Lena returned to Poland. I frown when her name crosses my mind. “Do you still think about your ex, Erik?”
He blinks at me, a wrinkle forming on his forehead. “No. Not at all. I’ve... I’ve struggled to get over what happened, yes. I struggled to get my life back on track since all that...well, you know the story. But since you moved in, I haven’t thought about her once. All I think about is you. All the fucking time.”
I smile. Honesty is evident in his silly grin and in the way his eyes shine as he stares fondly at me. His chest rises with energy, his cheeks flushed. My hand is resting on his face. Erik covers it with his own and drives it toward his lips so he can kiss my palm.
“We should give ourselves a chance,” he says, and the words sound like magic to my ears. They sparkle and twinkle. They open my tight chest, making me able to breathe at last. “I can’t promise I’ll be perfect. But I won’t back away.”
I kiss him, chasing his salty tongue, biting his honeyed lips.
“There’s nothing I want more than to try,” I say with my nose touching his, and he smiles—not just with his mouth, but with his eyes too. They are shinier than ever, his pupils enlarged by the passion, the connection that took us both by surprise.
There is so much that can go wrong. There is nothing ideal about us living together. Not to mention that Martin can reveal us at any moment. Lars can fire me. I can lose my visa and return to Brazil like Erik fears.
For a moment, though, I dare hope it will all be just fine.
Twenty-Two
Confined in a mad scientist’s lab, solving one puzzle after another before the sixty minutes run out, Erik and I strengthen our cooperation skills together with Lars, Lotte, Chiara, George, and Alex. We make a swift escape while Martin, Astrid, Ellen, Mads, Simon, and Lia remain locked in the other identical room for fifteen more minutes to finally get out when the game master opens the door.
In other words: we beat the hell out of them.
At a table in a nearby pub, drinking beer, we boast about our superiority in the escape room, and Astrid marks victory points for the winning teams on the leaderboard. After today, Erik and I are tied for first place with Team Georgelex.
“Should we vote on the wild challenge pictures now?” Astrid suggests, and everyone agrees.
She has gathered all the pictures on her tablet, including mine and Erik’s from our winter bathing experience this morning, which I sent to her privately before we came.
“When did you guys do that?” Chiara asks me, smiling, when it’s her turn with the iPad.
“This morning, actually,” I say, my cheeks flushing. Erik’s face is rosy too.
