“I’m home!” Karen announced as if he did not know that already. He had been enjoying her clicking since she left the corner shop.
“Hi, darling.” Matt said from the living room.
He was taking the night off because he really needed some rest after so many nights sleeping less than he should. At least that’s what Karen thought, and said. Insistently.
“I brought wine.” She said swinging it triumphantly, then left it on the countertop.
“Are you hungry? We could order some food before I shower.” She added.
She went to him and gave him a quick peck. Without asking, she took his hand and led him to the sofa, where she sat next to him. She brought his hand to her lips, kissed it and started playing with his fingers.
“Sure. Any ideas?” He said resting his head on her shoulder. His fingers started playing with hers.
She squinted and pursed her lips. “I don’t know. Chinese? Thai, maybe?”
“You can never have enough of curry, do you?” He let out with a smile.
“Nope.” She answered. It took her a few seconds to realise something.
“Wait.” She added and frowned. She turned her head moving it a bit sideways to have a better look at him. “How- How do you know? I didn’t tell you, did I?”
“Karen,” he said laughing, “you know me, I just do.”
“Oh my god!” she exclaimed moving forward unexpectedly what forced Matt to readjust his posture at once. “Could you… like… smell it? Eww! I always brush my teeth thoroughly.”
He cupped her face with both his hands and tugged her towards him. He kissed her until they could barely breathe.
“Yeah. Very good point. Very good one indeed.” She said smiling. “But you still haven’t answered my question.”
He shook his head and rested his forehead on hers.
“Coffee and a few cinnamon cookies before lunch. Then, a curried pasta salad that had too much cucumber and not enough chicken to my liking. A green apple, some nuts and more coffee in the afternoon. You should seriously start considering de-caff.”
“Shit. I feel kind of embarrassed now.” She moved her head backwards and ran a hand through her hair.
“There’s nothing I can do to block it out, Karen. It’s just there. And I like this new toothpaste you’ve used much better than the previous one. That was too intense.”
“And exposed.” She added thoughtfully, not paying any attention to what he was saying.
“Exposed? Really?” He asked laughing. God, she loved those little wrinkles he had next to his eyes.
“Even after…” He ran a finger from her earlobe, along her jawline, down her neck and then her cleavage. He raised his eyebrows questioning.
“Yes, even after that.” She answered nodding and laughing.
“And don’t take advantage of your charms, you handsome devil.” She added getting ahold of his hand and kissing it. He let out a laugh.
“As you probably know, that salad was not filling enough and I still need to shower.” She got up and headed for the bedroom.
“Can you order the food while I’m in the shower?” She asked him. “You can use your special senses to order something fantastic.” She smiled and he chuckled.
“That’s not how it works.”
“How would I know?” She said closing the bathroom door.
He shook his head, took the phone and ordered her favorite curry. He did not need to use his special senses to know which one it was. Every time she ate it she insisted that she did not know all the things she was missing until she arrived in New York, especially once she had met him.