It was two in the morning when Jane’s mobile phone rang. She woke with a start and looked around in her bedroom, disoriented. Viktor’s name flashed on the screen. With a sigh she picked up and said: “What happened?”
“I’m sorry to wake you, Jane, but I need your help.” He sounded strange, so Jane turned on the light on the nightstand and sat up. “I somehow hurt my knee when I tried to fall asleep and I’m in pain now. Could you please come over and give me my pills?”
“I’m on my way.” Jane hung up and took a deep breath. She didn’t want to get out in the cold to deliver the pills to him, but in the end she got up. She’d just spend the night on this sofa. That way she only had to go out once.
She was wearing loose boxer shorts and a black Blackhawks shirt she’d once gotten as a present from Patrick. She put a change of clothes in a bag along with his pills and went to the living room. She put on her coat and boots before she sprinted to her car. It didn’t make sense to change her clothes, because she’d change again once she got there.
Snow was covering the streets, but at least it wasn’t snowing anymore. It didn’t take long for her to reach Viktor’s apartment building. Taking a deep breath she braced herself against the cold, got out of the car and ran towards the entrance. Once she was upstairs on the twenty-fifth floor, she got out the keys to the apartment door.
“Viktor, it’s me,” she called out as soon as she’d closed the door, to tell him that it wasn’t someone trying to break into his apartment. It was wonderfully warm in here and her body warmed up immediately. She toed off her boots and took off her coat.
There was a blanket on the armchair that she’d use. She grabbed the bottle of pills out of her bag and went to the bedroom. Viktor was lying on top of the blankets only wearing his boxer briefs. His eyes widened when he saw her.
“What are you wearing? It’s freezing cold outside.”
“I just got out of bed, okay?” Jane sat down on his bed to take a closer look at his knee. “And I didn’t want to put on some clothes, because I’m going to sleep on your couch.”
Viktor watched her and sighed: “You should take the bed, I’ll take the couch.”
“No way.” Jane carefully touched her fingers to his knee and examined it. It didn’t look different, but he was obviously in pain. “You’re the one with broken bones and bruises. And a banged up knee. Your couch is really comfortable.”
Viktor knew she was right, but he still wanted her to take the bed. She was his guest, she was a woman, and this was the right thing to do. But she wouldn’t let him talk her out of it. He took one of the pills from her and, after swallowing it, said: “Fine.”
He let his gaze travel over her body, while she examined his knee further. Her hair was tousled from sleep, her cheeks had a nice glow from the cold and her hands were warm despite her being out in the cold. He hadn’t seen her wearing this little before. His gaze dropped to her thighs and what he saw shocked him a little.
“Say, Jane? How did you get these scars?” He carefully leaned forward and touched the scars on the insides of her thighs without even thinking about it.
Jane got up so quickly that she nearly toppled over. Having him touch her thighs had sent a shock through her body. Especially because he’d touched her scars. She hadn’t thought about them when she’d left the house dressed in boxer shorts. “I got them when I was around thirteen I guess. I wasn’t very careful back then, so I ended up scratching my thighs more often than I can count.”
“Jane,” Viktor said to make her look at him. He didn’t believe her at all. She was avoiding eye contact and etched closer to the door. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t lie to me. If you don’t want to tell me, just say so.”
“I’m not-“
“Yes you are. But you don’t have to, okay?” Finally she looked at him again. Viktor knew that it didn’t make sense to talk about this any further. “You should get some sleep. Thanks for coming over, Jane.”
“No problem.” Once she was in the living room again she let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. It was late, she was tired and the couch was screaming her name. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out cold.
The next morning Jane awoke to the smell of scrambled eggs. Slowly she opened her eyes and saw Viktor sitting in the arm chair, two plates on the table in front of them.
“You woke up just in time for breakfast,” he said with a grin.
“You cooked?” Slowly Jane sat up, leaving the blanket around her legs. She was still a little sleepy, but breakfast convinced her to stay seated. Her mouth watered at the smell.
“I thought you might be hungry and I’ve been awake for over an hour. I don’t cook that much, but I know how to make delicious scrambled eggs.” He handed her the plate and studied her. Her hair looked even more tousled than in the night, but a smile was playing on her lips.
“It really is delicious,” Jane said after tasting the meal. It had been some time since a guy had last cooked for her. The last one had been Patrick when she’d joined him and Abby one evening.
They ate in silence. When they were finished Viktor got up and carefully carried the plates to the kitchen, using one of his crutched for support. His knee was feeling so much better today. After putting the plates in the dishwasher, he returned to the kitchen door and watched Jane from there.
“You know, you look cute when you’re still sleepy and your hair’s a mess. I like that look on you.”
“What?” Jane had already gotten up from the couch and looked at him incredulous. “Oh, shut up!” She picked up one of the pillows and threw it at him. It hit him square in the chest and dropped to the floor. His chuckle echoed through the room.
Jane bent over to retrieve her bag from the floor, drawing Viktor’s attention to her legs and her bottom. Oh, that was nearly better than seeing her drowsy eyes and tousled hair.
“I’ll take a shower.” She said, cheeks a little flushed, as she nearly sprinted to the bathroom and locked the door.