BUBBLE

4 - deal or no deal

At 7 am, the man wired to an early rise had left the bed. It was dark, and nearly difficult to get up, but he was awake and had spent the past 30 minutes laying, trying to fall back asleep without the ability to. He knew why once he took a glance at the bedside clock. It was morning already, technically, though it didn't look like it at all. The woman beside him was sound asleep, curling furry blankets over her shoulder, facing the other direction and on her side. She was still in slumber and if he remembered her well, she would be for another hour, or an hour and a half at most.

With that in mind, Björn had left the bed, used the bathroom and then returned to find it as it was. No movement. Still incredibly dark by the look of the windows. The ceiling had the motion of the Northern Lights running since he'd switched it on the night before. Standing before them, he was lost in it, watching the colors dissolve, one into the next. It came to his mind suddenly that he should run the shower first thing, getting that out of the way when she is asleep. It would be less awkward, he considered, and by the time he is finished and dressed he'd find time to go to the lobby so she could have the freedom to do the same for herself without feeling him around.

He pulled fresh clothes from the drawers and crept around the room carefully to not wake her. Crossing towards breakfast table, he considered the idea of starting the coffee now. By the time he would be out of the shower, it would be ready and she would be awake to share it with him. It took just a few minutes to let it start brewing, and he disappeared into the shower.

For the woman who had rested perfectly well, she had opened her eyes to find herself comfortably secured in a glass room. All around her was dim, quiet, and peaceful. She had not yet seen the light of day, but she was already excited to witness the sunrise for the first time in Lapland. She had woken up to the sound of whooshing from behind her that became progressively louder the more seconds ticked on. Agnetha had pushed herself up and turned over her shoulder. Of course. He was awake before she was. Nearly always was the case and now he was out of the bed and making coffee.

Throwing covers off, the woman put her feet to the ground, sliding them into white slippers and she moved around the room. Agnetha caught sight of the mirror, and thank goodness she did, she thought. Her hair was a mess. She had grabbed a spare robe that the room had offered and had thrown it on as she walked towards the kitchen, but to her surprise the man she expected to find there actually wasn't. She brought down a glass from the cupboard and pulled out a water bottle from the fridge to pour water for herself.

Björn, who'd finished from beneath the water had stepped out of the rectangular box and had begun to towel dry his body. He turned around in search of the clothes he'd brought in but then huffed irritably at himself to realize he never did.

That was just brilliant. If he was lucky enough, she wasn't yet awake. He remembered now he'd left them out on the breakfast table when he had the idea to make coffee, all he had to do was grab them, turn around immediately and go back in. He wasted seconds standing nervously behind the door.

"Oh, just do it," he growled at himself. His head poked out gently and it was all stillness. There was no one around him. Just quietness with a pleasant scent of coffee that he'd made and no other sound. He spotted the clothes he needed and discreetly made his way out. Things became quicker and with less thought when he had the items he needed, creating a motion with him turning immediately for the bathroom. At the same moment, Agnetha had picked up the glass of water she had just poured, turning to leave the kitchen area.

It couldn't have been written anyway else that morning, the clash was bound to happen and in the quick movement of it all he listened to her yelp and gasp all in one. His arm kept her from falling back as he ran into her, and the only thing she could think about was that he was there, dripping, and pressed to her. He smelled clean, and his hair was wet and brushed back, and the only thing covering him from the waist down was a towel. He captured her in a way she hadn't expected and now she was speechless while he stayed staring into her alarmed eyes.