Opposite me, Chapter 1

On this particular afternoon, she was in the cafe down the road, lost in a daytime reverie as she often found herself thinking of her childhood and the seemingly innocent crush on her top professor. She had walked in wearing her normal type of attire as the sun had decided to come out and play, ordered her normal tea and biscuits, and sat in her shaded corner with her back to the wall.

Given that it was a pretty hot day as well, her attire had caught the attention of a handsome man ordering a coffee. At first, he was wondering as to why she would be so covered on such a day, then quickly started wondering how he could speak with her as he thought she was very beautiful. He noticed her long golden brown waves disguised as tresses, a darling heart shaped face, prominent cheekbones, and luscious full lips.

She seemed a bit pale, but he could tell that she must have been second or third generation born from immigrants as she had olive skin. The slight darkness around her eyes somehow complimented her long dark lashes but they were nowhere near as distracting as her emerald green orbs. He also noticed that she was obviously studious spying a stack of textbooks to the right of her laptop and that was probably the reason for not seeing much of the sun. He didn't like to think he was shallow and held much value in only looks, but with how covered she was, all he could look at was her face, and she was beautiful.

Ondine hadn't at first noticed that he was handsome, but when he was politely making pleasantries with the flirtatious barista who had noticed, she had overheard his voice. She perked up. It wasn't as deep as Mr. Tussier's, it had a different timbre, but it was just as appealing. The way he spoke sounded like pure seduction, she imagined the finest of silks caressing her neck, her lips with every word. Against her better judgement, she glanced over, accidentally catching his gaze as he was fixing his coffee at the end of the counter. He smiled at her.

He was exceptionally good looking. He was tall, long legs and broad shoulders, dark hair with deep blue eyes, a strong jawbone and great lips, just standing there in a light button up shirt with the first two buttons undone. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and he had on a pair of black slacks and nice dress shoes. He had clearly come out of a meeting or something of the sort.

Holy shit.

Ondine smiled back at him after what seemed like ages, but turned back to her work, betting on the suspense making him want to talk to her more. She was also intrigued as she had never seen him before and as much as she hated to admit it, she spent quite a lot of time in that cafe. The man looked over at her again as he was finishing his coffee and this time she had noticed.

"You don't come in here often." She simply said with a beaming smile. In response, the man's countenance changed in a handsome way at how forward she was, but the smile that followed showed that perhaps he thought it was also refreshing.

The man chuckled, turning toward her now with one hand in his pocket, coffee in his other. "No, I don't. I've actually just moved to the city."

She pointed to her textbooks and laptop as her explanation. "What's your excuse?" Her tone suggested that she was emitting a bit of satire and playing at the stereotype of people who hung out in cafes all day.

He lifted his to go cup of coffee as his tribute to the joke, not initially noticing a body coming towards him. He moved slightly to make room for another customer heading to order apologizing like a gentleman and eyed the chair across from Ondine.

"Please," she answered in response, gesturing to the seat and moving some of her books. She tried to hide her delight as he sat across from her, taking a sip of her tea to do so. All he could see were her bright green eyes as he got situated.

"Thank you…" His words drew out slightly as he didn't know her name.

She grinned as she took in more of his handsome features. "My name’s Ondine.” She offered him warmly.

"Ondine," he echoed her name, nodding once, and she nearly combusted as he took a sip of his coffee as he gazed back at her.

In response and thanks to her quick wit, she quipped back. “Couldn't have you standing about hogging the walkway, could we?" She found herself to be flirting, but in an entirely different way than the barista.

He chuckled at her remark. "You are my savior, I'm such a heathen." He spoke in jest and she loved it. A man with my sense of humor!

After about an hour of talking about various subjects, she found out his name, Mikael Connar, that he was a writer, not married but once engaged, thirty five, and loved to dance. Ondine had gotten around to telling him a little about herself as well. She liked to keep her illness and childhood to herself mostly so she opted to tell him that she was in her senior year at University, that she was twenty four, she loved to read, and ride horses but wouldn't mind dancing more often.

When it was almost time for her to leave and get back home and as she packed up her books she felt an foreign, overwhelming feeling rush over her of not wanting this encounter to end. He spoke again.

"I would love to speak with you again. Will you be here again tomorrow?" Mikael asked with what sounded like an air of hope.

"Perhaps," Ondine teased as she hinted with a smile.

He mirrored her gesture. "If not, I'd love to phone you? I always love getting second opinions on my writing, and you love to read, you said." He didn’t need to persuade her at all but her unchanging smirk didn’t let him know that and she loved to watch him try.

She thought for a second, biting her lip briefly before responding. "Would you read them to me over the phone? Your writings?"

"I suppose I could." He answered, failing to hide his confusion. "I could read them to you here, too, if you'd like." It was obvious that he would have liked to see her again, but she was enjoying this too much to outwardly say ‘yes’.

Smiling, Ondine wrote down her mobile number then handed it to him. "If I don't answer right away, just leave a voicemail. I always return phone calls."

She stood up and gathered her things and Mikael rose with her, offering to walk her out of the cafe. Once outside, he heard no tell-tale jingle of keys.

"You walked here?" He asked, looking down at her. Ondine nodded. "If you would like, I could walk you home."

"Oh that's not necessary, Charming. I'm just at the end of the block there." She gestured onward, holding her books to her chest. "Call me." She smiled playfully, and turned to walk home.

Mikael smiled knowing that her use of 'Charming' wasn't a term of admiration, but a reference to Prince Charming and that she had noticed and approved of his gentleman like manners.

Clever girl.

He waved as he watched her walk until he could no longer see her and she disappeared onto her walkway. He felt like his whole world was about to change.

His hands were itching to write.

When Ondine walked into her loft, she heard her phone start to ring but she was already halfway to her bedroom to undress and get into the shower before her nap. She let it go to voicemail, she would check it after she had gotten some sleep.

Dmitri Tussier was off campus until his evening classes started and was currently still at home having a cup of tea when he heard his email on his laptop ping. He had set a particularly abrupt deadline on a paper for his class and he assumed it was just assignments being sent to him from his students. Initially, he intended to ignore it as he would be receiving a lot of pings in the next few hours. He had just come back from an evening run at dusk and finished showering and was currently debating on what he could make for a late lunch before leaving for campus.

Curiosity got the better of him and he looked over at his mail to see how many of his students had actually done the assignment. He smiled when Ondine Komarov's name was near the top of the list.

She was one of his favorite students. He felt his heart skip a beat when he saw her subject line: You're Welcome. He quickly opened her attached file and it was her midterm essay. He didn't know what he was expecting to find? Surely not a profession of her love for him because that would be absurd… he slowly felt his heart sink into the pit of his stomach.

Before he got out of his email program he noticed that she also left him a quote in the body of the email:

The most sweetly ripened fruit is forbidden fruit and though it may hold the best knowledge it also has the most dire of consequences.

He felt like he could tackle every class that night just that she finally acknowledged his very small advances. Dmitri's heart started to slowly rise back to its designated spot in his chest as he reread every word, melting from the heat rising in his body. He felt the warmth resonating to other parts… and like he needed another shower.

As Ondine awoke from her nap she heard a faint beeping from her kitchen that was disorienting in her first woken moments. But as fast as the confusion came, it was gone; it was her phone. She quickly threw the covers off of herself and made her way into the far side of her loft. Dusk was her favorite time of day, just before the night when the sun set and the weather dropped a significant number of degrees. She could smell the starlight in the dim lights, if not through the small plane rays from her muted curtains, then from the light puddles ebbed near the window sill in her kitchen.

The air smelt crisp and twinkly, she loved the small sound her bare feet made, gently slapping against the upcycled cement flooring. She grabbed a stone cutting board hanging on a hook, along with other various kitchen items, from the exposed rafters that ran through the majority of her home.

From the fridge, she pulled out fresh leafy greens, vegetables, and some oil and vinegar to start putting a salad together before class. She gazed over at her iphone, testing her own patience as she knew that there were notifications that were still left unread from during her slumber.

Before cutting up her veggies, she went over to grab it and when it was unlocked she saw she had a voicemail. Her eyes lit up as she tapped the voicemail bar. She put it on speaker and set it down on the kitchen island and returned her knife to her hand. She got two cuts into her romaine lettuce when her heart melted into her belly at the sound of Mikael's voice through her phone speaker.

"Hello Ondine. How are you?" He chuckled a soft, almost inaudible chuckle, and she could tell from his tone, and the voicemail time stamp, that he must have called her directly after watching her walk away from him in front of the cafe. She sensed that he was flirting with her and this was in response to her use of the name Charming before.

"I've just watched you walk away from me, quite burlesquely might I add, and if I'm honest, I quite enjoyed the sight. You have magnificent posture." She shook her head, trying to stifle a giggle at this teasing, as she dropped her romaine into a bowl she grabbed from the cupboards behind her. "I thought that I should give you a call so as to remind you not to forget about me tomorrow, or whenever, though I should warn you: you should have not shown me where you live." She sensed a… wicked grin? He revealed so much in just his voice, and that was what she loved so much about listening to him speak. "I am, after all, such a heathen." Another chuckle. She admired another reference to their meeting at the cafe, this meant that he listened to her, that he was paying attention. "I'm very much looking forward to sharing my world with you. See you soon, Miss Ondine." The message clicked to an end.

Finishing up cutting her veggies she dropped them into her lettuce and made quick work of her dressing, gazing down at her phone with a stupid smile on her face. If even half of Mikael's message was some type of actual warning, she could match and double his, and also give him a run for his money.

After her usual night class, Ondine took longer than usual to pack up her books as she watched Dmitri Tussier switch on the lights when his lecture was over. The other student's footsteps filed out in various rhythms as the buzz and hum of their voices faded away into a soft muffled drone and then to complete silence just seconds after.

She smiled to herself when she knew they were alone, collected her things and put her purse onto her shoulder. When she looked up she realized that he was already watching her, hands in his pockets, as he leaned against his desk.

"I trust you got my term paper?" She asked, trying hard to not come off too flirtatious, as she walked toward him. She couldn't outright ask him what he thought about her quote she'd left, but she hoped that he would decipher her message.

"I did, your writing is lovely. As usual." Dmitri nodded, successfully hiding the fact that he was nervous being alone with Ondine.

"If you think my term paper writing is lovely, you should read my other writings." She smirked.

"So humble." Dmitri teased, shaking his head.

"That's obviously why you admire me so much, for my meekness and humility." She retorted sarcastically, full well knowing that it was the direct opposite.

Dmitri shook his head, smiling as he sighed a soft sigh. "Are you going to be at the Scholar Ball this weekend?"

She nodded. "Oh yes, it's my last hurrah before I graduate. Besides, when you don't show up to your own awards show, people start to think that you're ungrateful." She shrugged, what could she do? "Perhaps I'll even save you a dance." She walked closer to him so they could speak more closely.

"A dance? You don't think that's inappropriate?" Though the matter was airing on the side of caution, he was smiling, so she knew that he was just teasing.

"You were the one who asked me to be there, isn't that inappropriate?" It was a rhetorical question and she was pleased when he did not answer, he understood, but only laughed softly. "But, I've never been one for discretion." Beaming, Ondine gave him a wink and turned on her heel to head toward the door. "Have a nice night, Dmitri. Email me sometime, will you."

Dmitri gulped down words that were entirely and actually too inappropriate to say back to her and opted for something simple. "I thought you'd never ask. Have a good night, Ondine." Something overtook him and just before she reached the doors he called to her.

"Forbidden fruit," he spoke the words in the same way someone would utter "I love you".

She looked back at him, her hand on the door handle, and with the lecture hall empty and so quiet, you could hear a pin drop, she spoke to him. "And you've made me so sweet," she answered his call in the same tone.

As she walked away from Dmitri's lecture hall she felt a deepening sadness inside of her, but she ignored it as she dug for her phone in her purse. She had yet to call Mikael back from earlier and the man she had just met seemed to be leaving an impression on her much more than she thought. She was longing to hear his voice again… she felt herself falling into a two-part dream with it's first act being Dmitri and now for the finale. With a smirk she returned Mikael's call, walking through the double doors into the parking lot.

After two rings, he answered. "And here I thought that you had forgotten about me," the smirk apparent in his voice.

"I said that I always call back. I must admit I rather enjoyed your voicemail earlier. Cheeky, I like it." Ondine was starting to think that Mikael was naturally flirtatious and perhaps it wasn't just her that brought that part out of him. She had to push the envelope more and more.

"Me, cheeky? You were the cheeky one." He teased back. "Calling me 'Charming', as if we are familiars."

"Oh, stop, you enjoyed it. I could tell." She alluded to his voicemail remembering the flirtatious air of the recording. As she neared her car, someone called for her, grabbing her attention. "Hold on a second." Mikael's soft reply could be heard in her ear as she turned her attention to the approaching person.

"I'm sorry, Miss Komarov, but I thought your tutor study hall was today?" The young girl was a high school student, promising and hardworking, who had dual enrollment and would come into University as a sophomore after she received her diploma.

From her crush on Mr. Tussier grew another love, her love for seeing people succeed. In her second year she went to the University board to propose a sub-tier to her previous program for dual enrollment high school students. She proposed a voluntary work placement for professors and T.A.s. The alumnae that volunteered as tutors earned credits toward their internships and professors were offered a bonus at the end of the year. She was the head creator of the Tutor Study Halls, where young students in high school, and even currently enrolled university students could get tutoring and the extra teaching they needed.

Upon the giant success that the tutoring program brought in, there were more high school students and transfers to the university than there had been in years. As for Ondine, she was offered a grant bonus, an award and honorary guest at the Scholar Ball, the end of the year winter formal for the top ten percentile of the senior class and the staff.

"Miss Darnell, I'm sorry, love, it was yesterday. What did you need help with?" Ondine smiled warmly, a very nurturing and domestic part of her personality showing to her silent companion lying in wait on the line.

"I've just been confused about a few chapters in my macro economics course… but I know you're busy," the young girl didn't want to trouble her.

"Oh no, don't worry about it, you're on the email list on the message board, yes?" The girl nodded. "Perfect. I will email you once I get home and you can attach the parts you're having trouble with. I'll write up an outline for our session tomorrow. Does that sound good?"

The girl's face brightened. "Yes, thank you so much. I'll feel much more confident about study hall tomorrow. Have a good night, Miss Komarov!" Ondine watched the girl walk off, a small soft smile on her face. The wind picked up and Mikael's musing hum brought her back to the present.

"Sweet girl," Mikael responded after a few seconds. "Miss Komarov," he added in a playfully deriding manner.

Ondine's brow raised. "Always teasing, this one." Mikael's robust laugh on the other end of her phone made her smile. Did he always laugh this way, or did she bring him actual joy? But all of this was too fast, right? She reached her car and started it, and put her phone on speaker, placing it in a cell phone holder.

"Going somewhere?" He asked, after hearing the car start and the sounds of the wind now muffled on his end.

"You're on speaker. There's probably a lot of background noise." Ondine playfully responded not answering his question as she made unnecessary noise in the car as she got situated.

"No, that's you," he quipped with a soft chuckle. "You didn't answer my question."

"Yeah, home. That place that you threatened to ambush whenever you so please." Now she was making her way out of the University parking lot, waiting to turn onto the main road.

"Not ambush, darling. You'll be inviting me."

"Uh huh, okay. Where are these writings you keep going on about?" She purposefully changed the subject and again Mikael laughed. It seemed so easy, talking to him, and she didn't have to be censored or careful. She didn't have to worry about her sense of humor being taken in the wrong way and he never got offended. In fact, in some ways he seemed to harbor an exact darker sense of humor as she. Where she enjoyed the secrecy of Dmitri and their talks, she enjoyed the freedom of Mikael more.

"I've got about twenty minutes before I get home, you should read me something. Then we can discuss it after."

"Of course, it's not very romantic, it's for work. But I trust your vision."

Ondine hummed in response, a smile creeping on her face, thinking it was curious that he brought up the topic of romance at all.

After a few seconds she finally spoke. "Hey, do you wanna ambush me at home? And also, are you hungry?"

A soft chuckle came from Mikael's end. "Are you inviting me to ambush you?"

"In a universe where no means yes? No."

"I'll bring the wine. Is the dish paired well with red or white?"

She shrugged. "Bring both, it won't go to waste."

"Not a drop." He agreed mischievously.

Ondine smiled a devilish grin. "Race you there." Then she hung up.

Mikael hung up and he was heading in the shower before he could think, excited that even only after a day Ondine was full of surprises. As the realization that they would be having an intimate meeting, might as well have been a date really, he felt his insides liquefy with nerves. He was normally beyond confident, but there was something about this woman, something hidden just beneath the first layer of her personality that made little appearances throughout their time together already that made him … cognizant of how dramatically his life was about to change. He'd be lying if he said it didn't scare the shit out of him a little.

Here he was, racing out of the bathroom to dry off and get dressed in some of his better clothes to look murderously handsome for dinner. It wasn't even about seducing or being seduced as much as it was about being desirable. Yes, that was the word to best describe Ondine, he had finally found it: desirable. Mikael desired to have her in his life, to always be close to her; it seemed as though they'd known each other their entire lives.

After slipping into a dark long sleeved shirt with a V cut into the neck, dark jeans, and nice shoes, he gathered up his laptop and his work into a messenger bag and shouldered it. He walked to the kitchen where he gathered a wine bag from the pantry, and from his wine rack, one each of a crisp white and a semi-sweet red.

It took him nearly only fifteen minutes to arrive at her loft, parking on the street. He noticed the light was on and knew she had just beaten him there, which was to be expected. It was hardly fair, the rush she put him in with the head start she had gotten.

Mikael sat and watched for a few seconds after he turned off his car, seeing shadows moving past the front window and watching her silhouette move about the room. He took one deep breath and with his heart in his throat, he got out of his car, wine bag in tow, and made his way up the steps that led to a new adventure.

Inside, Ondine had been slightly flustered, though excited, to have him over and spend more time with him, as she had a plan for the evening. Then suddenly, she quickly thought that maybe she had given the wrong idea by inviting him to her home so flagrantly. To combat that, she made sure to put a pot of water to boil and pull out some food on the kitchen island. This was a harmless dinner and some business, yeah? It was all in the details.

Quickly running to her room, she changed her clothes into something a bit modest but half-obvious, deciding on a scoop neck sweater that fell far off her shoulder and slim legged dark pants. It drew the eye, quickened the heart, but left enough to the imagination, just as it should be.

Outside her door, Mikael stood, hand perched close to the wood of her threshold, and though he hesitated, not sure if he was ready for the sex-exuding Goddess he was meant to "dine" with, a triage of knocks came from the front of the loft. Ondine smiled to herself and she stuck her head out to call to him that the door was open. With a breath of confidence, he walked in slowly, and as his eyes fixed upon her home in front of him, he did not see her right away. With a soft click, and turn of the lock, he was inside.

When she didn't come to meet him, he smiled. He heard her behind a door ahead that was only half closed but he turned toward the kitchen.

Upon gazing around the dimly lit space, setting the wine and his work case on the kitchen island, his attention was brought to the stove.

"Our water is boiling," Mikael called back, a smirk in his voice.

"Tend to it, will you." She called back, and from the tone of her voice, the "please" was silent.

In response, he took the pasta that was off to the side, opened the package and dropped enough for two into the water, as well as some salt and oil, giving it a stir.

Ondine came down the hall, barefoot and silent, and took a great deal of joy in watching him for a few seconds without him knowing. She liked seeing him smack dab in the middle of all her things. A soft smile spread on her face, and she walked over and took hold of one of the wine bottles.

"You have good taste." She said softly, hopping up onto the island.

At this elevated place she was able to enjoy the view of her new found friend: she could gaze over the lines of his shoulder blades through his shirt as he stirred the water. The faint lines of his waist…

When he turned to face her at the sound of her voice, Ondine reached down to open a drawer that fell between her legs to retrieve the corkscrew. "Thank you for starting the pasta." Her tone suggested that she was pleased he had at all.

"Of course, we have to eat sometime, amongst all of this shameless flirting." Mikael started, his own tone mimicking her own.

"Because one would work up an appetite." Ondine finished, giving him a little wink.

She set the bottle down between her legs atop the marble of her kitchen island and started to stick the screw into the wine cork. Without question, or hesitation, Mikael came closer and grabbed hold of the bottle, but didn't lift it from its spot, and his eyes met hers.

"Can I help you?" She teased playfully with a soft chuckle, and tried to take the bottle back, but it was obvious that she didn't mind. Mikael simply looked up at her, a smirk on his face, as he slowly twisted the screw down. The electrified silence they shared as they held eye contact was innately sexual. The caliber at which he gazed upon her at any given time was in tuned to a certain attentiveness; he loved to read her and notice the smallest changes in her countenance from a small quirk in her eyebrow to just the twinkling of her eyes. Already he loved being the reason for her bodily things that she could not control.

Nothing but the faint bubbling of pasta water and the small soft squeak of the corkscrew splitting through the cork was audible. With every turn, Ondine seemed more drawn to him, and once it was completely twisted inside, he pushed the lever down to prop onto the lip of the glass, then pulled straight up and the pop of the airlock being broken made her smile. Without breaking their eye contact, she reached down to take the bottle by the neck, lifting it up to her lips to take a gulp.

She nodded in approval, then took another swig.

“You’re spoiling me,” Ondine smirked, well aware of what he was doing. “Also, I hope you brought enough for yourself, too.” She teased, pretending like she had claimed the bottle. “None for you.” With another smirk, she took another gulp.

Mikael gazed at her. “I shall just work harder.”

“The pasta.” Her demand was soft but sure, and Ondine looked pleased when Mikael pressed off the kitchen island and walked to the stove to attend to their dinner.

“Did you invite me over to bark orders at me and watch me make you dinner or to cook for me?” He laughed, as he stirred the pasta.

“Both,” she said simply, hopping down onto the floor and coming around to the other side to gather a cutting board and knife to chop some vegetables.

“So, read me some of your work? You wanted my expert opinion.” The tone of her voice was exaggerated in a silly over acted old Hollywood accent, rolling her thumb and index fingers together to signify that she was twisting her imaginary handsome mustache.

Mikael laughed, shaking his head, wishing the proper response to her flagrant teasing was a soft kiss on the neck, but it was far too early. He thought the pasta should be fine for the time being and walked around to his work case and opened his laptop. Ondine started the gas on another eye and set up a skillet with oil to saute the vegetables and some fresh shrimp from the fridge.

“Shrimp scampi with greens?” She asked Mikael his preference as at this point dinner could go a few different ways.

“Yes, that’s quite alright, love.” He answered warmly as he pulled a bar stool over for him so he might sit and begin to read to her. He looked to her.

Ondine nodded. “Go ahead.” Smiling, she turned to the food. “I’m listening.”

He started reading to her and Ondine liked the mixture of the sizzling of the oil in the skillet, the bubbling of the boiling water mixing with his voice. It was relaxing.

Once she got to a good point that she could let the food cook for a bit on its own, she turned to him, taking another gulp of the wine, nodding again. Damn, he could pick a good year. For a few minutes she got lost in him, mapping the cadence of his words with the beating of her heart, willing him to continue with the smile on her face. He was writing about some ancient Mayan tribe for a world renowned anthropology magazine and she thought it was fascinating. As an elective, she had taken Occult Sciences and some scholars speculated about the Mayans having something to do with spiritual rituals and holistic shamans that were the first alchemists.

“Occult sciences?” She asked after a few minutes.

“I told you it was for work. Can I finish?” He teased.

She gestured for him to continue as she turned off the eyes, mixed the pasta and other ingredients together and gathered their silverware. She again hopped up on the countertop to sit across from him and set the skillet she had been using onto an oven mitt and set it between them. She offered him his fork, daring him to refuse, as they would have to eat from the same vessel.

He stopped reading for a second to thank her and with a grin to make ladies blush he took his fork. Bravely Mikael took his first bite and the satisfied moan he emitted made her swell with pride.

“Ondine, this is amazing,” taking another bite Mikael approved, taking the bottle and drinking straight from it as she did. Though when she didn’t speak he met her eyes again. “What, love?” He wondered.

She shook her head slowly, shrugging.

“Nothing… I just like listening to you talk is all.” She finally admitted, a demure smile spreading across her face. She too was very confident but something about being in such small quarters with Mikael made her feel a certain type of feeling that she wasn’t used to feeling.

“I like to listen to you talk, too,” he responded, and Ondine took that as the most minor confession of love that was possible because of the way he said it. His words were so sincere and soft, completely different than their incessant teasing from before. She could see herself cherishing both in the future.

“I suppose that we should always endeavor to speak with each other then,” she offered a semi cryptic invitation for him to stay in her life, reaching to take the bottle of wine from him but not before she laid her hand over his.

“I would like that very much.” He accepted. He then gestured to his laptop. “Would you like me to finish?”

Ondine nodded. “Yes please.” Her voice was sweet and she got comfortable as he continued his article, drinking wine and eating their dinner.

One article lead to another and another, and she gave her input and critiques when she felt it was needed, and by the fourth article they had finished the first bottle of wine and started on the second and she was feeling just a little buzzed. It was nothing she couldn’t handle. She uncurled from her position when they were both finished with their food and collected the dishes.

“I like music when I clean up.” She explained as she turned on her iphone playlist with an array of abstract and relaxing songs. Mikael closed his laptop and stood from the bar stool to lean against the island as he watched her start to dance a little as she rinsed some of the dishes before placing them into the dishwasher. He felt himself fall more in love with her right then, if it was even possible. The way she always seemed to truly be herself regardless of who was watching her, he loved that. Even then when she could have no idea if he was still watching her, she didn’t feel the need to impress him, and that alone, was what actually impressed him.

He chuckled and came to her, grabbing the dishes and setting them down in the sink.

“Dance with me.” He said softly, taking her hand in his and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Mikael, what kind of woman do you take me for?” She teased tipsily, allowing him to hold her in an intimate dance frame.

“A woman that said she wanted to dance more often.” He retorted in the softest of voices, he was referring to their conversation in the cafe earlier that day. He really had listened to her, didn’t he? She had thought he had meant to take her out dancing, but something about making couple dancing happen anywhere made her want to kiss him.

Ondine chuckled, slowly resting her cheek against the curve of his chest, letting him lead her in slow sways and after a while she relaxed fully against him and he could hear her sigh of contentment. This made his heart swell and he smiled to himself as he rested his chin against the top of her head. It wasn’t too long before she completely lost track of time, how many songs had they danced to? Three, four? It didn’t matter because the natural progression of their body language led to them pulling back slightly in sync.

“Thank you for tonight,” Mikael spoke first, reaching out to touch a wave of her hair letting his fingers caress the softness of the strand.

“It was my pleasure. Besides, how else would I get you to spend more time with me?” She leaned in slightly to allow her cheek to brush into his hand and her eyes closed in delight when he held her face, she felt the warm pads of his fingers against the side of her neck.

“Oh Ondine… you needn’t to beg. I will come running. Every time.” Mikael had no problem expressing his feelings even if the whole thing seemed crazy.

“I'm going to hold you to that.” She answered with a smirk.

“Oh you're very punny, because we’re holding each other.” He laughed, caressing his thumb along her cheek.

“Yeah,” she nodded, laughing with him. “I would very much like for you to read to me every night, if you would be so inclined?”

He nodded. “I am.”

Something was happening in the air between them, she could feel it. It was like the air was filled with electricity… Sparks as the laymen call it. Finally she lifted up to press her lips against his softly, and though it was a modest kiss, it meant the world.

“I think that's enough for you then,” she teased once more, cherishing his laugh in response.

He pulled away and gathered his things smiling all the while. He turned to face her, bowing overdramatically. “Milady,” Mikael bid her goodnight in a way that she found silly but perfectly perfect as teasing seemed to be their default.

Ondine blushed, laughing softly as she curtsied. “Kind sir.”

With that, he reached out to take her hand and kissed the top of it, but he said nothing else, he just looked into her eyes, smiling when her blush slightly deepened. He took his leave and already she wished he hadn’t.

Unbeknownst to the pair of them, nights such as these would become normal, and even in a fortnight, their lives were about to fully collide.