Attraction - temporarily available

Chapter 19

There was a certain kind of silence wrapped around the apartment while the two of us got dressed in the bedroom. I threw glances over my shoulder once in a while and felt stupidly shy about it. I didn't do shy which was a red alert in itself. Although, there were so many screeching signals going off in my brain that I couldn't really listen to any of them.

Tom searched the closet, pushing suit after suit out of the way while I watched. "Want to go out for breakfast?" he asked.

Since he wasn't looking directly at me, I had this strange idea that he wasn't addressing me. Of course he was, even if the question took me completely off guard.

"That'd be cool." My voice was steady at least. I wondered why the insecurities were back when they had the least reason to return. It seemed thoroughly unfair.

"There's a place down the street. Might have to call first because they're usually out of tables by this time." He finally found what he was looking for and retrieved a leather jacket from the back.

My eyes widened. I couldn't begin to imagine how hot he would be in leather. Fuck.

He adjusted it over his shoulders but let it remain open to show the black T-shirt beneath. I had been doing something with my hands, but they fell limp to my sides.

The half-grin on his face said that he knew exactly what was happening.

"You look insanely hot in that one." The words blurted out before I could stop them, but I wouldn't be embarrassed. He'd made me switch into flirt mode again, and I wasn't changing back into a shy bride. After the amazing night and the steaming shower sex, I had no reason to think he didn't want me. Sure, he might not like me yet, but if he enjoyed having me naked, we had a better chance than I thought initially.

I could see the laughter in his eyes but the full smile never appeared. The day he laughed for real I would probably faint. Now, that would be embarrassing.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Shit, yeah." I realized I'd been standing absolutely still, staring like a school girl. I rifled through my part of the closet and found the T-shirt I'd been looking for. It had a huge print of a stenciled unicorn. It looked a bit silly, but the shirt always made me happy for some reason.

The summer sun blasted down on us the moment we stepped outside. Crowds moved along the street, but the tempo was a bit slower than on an average day. Cars swerved by, people talked loudly to reach above the noise, and a distant sound of a siren penetrated the air.

"You coming?"

That question again. "Yeah."

The short walk took us to a cozy restaurant that had a bit of a feel reminding me of Söder. I'd spent most of my last three years in that part of Stockholm. It was a bit more chill than other central parts, full of young people who more or less lived the life of a hipster. I'd liked it at first, but after a while, any environment became stifling.

Tom had been right to order us a table because I couldn't spot a single free table.

"Hi handsome, your table is ready." The waitress smiled with her entire face, but I could tell the endearment was nothing more than what she gave everyone else. It was obvious Tom had been there before, though.

"I'll have the standard," Tom said before stealing a menu from the counter to place it in my hands.

"What's the standard?"

He looked over his shoulder while he walked toward our tiny table beside one of the huge windows. "It's the standard."

I shook my head. "Thanks man."