Paint the town red

Chapter XXIV

Sunday morning began when I woke not from the alarm or the noise in the kitchen, but from a thunderclap that almost shook all the windows in the house. Out of surprise, I abruptly sat up in bed and looked at the uncurtained window – the whole sky was unusually dark, covered with dense gray clouds, through which not a single ray of sunlight penetrated. The weather was worsened with every minute, and I'm betting it's either a storm or worse. I'm not a fan of thunderstorms, heavy rains and whatsoever, so I'm just damn glad I don't have to go anywhere today.

The awakening itself turned out to be so-so, but at least I didn't have to brew coffee to wake myself up completely.

I was sitting on the bed, and just a minute later my neighbor knocked on my door and walked in.

"Did you hear the bang? I almost shit myself."

I nodded, and Yuki went to the window and put his hands on his hips. He whistled, and then turned to me.

"I haven't seen such weather for a long time. And the forecast didn't seem to mention a thunderstorm."

"That's for sure. Although, God knows, what if there's no storm?"

"Are you so sure about that?"

He said, nodding towards the window, on the glass of which small drops of rain had already begun to appear and drip. I shrugged and yawned, covering my mouth with my hand, and the Japanese laughed softly and nodded.

"Wanna get some coffee?"

"Nope."

"And breakfast?"

"Sure."

We laughed, and then Yuki left the room. I sat in bed for a while, then lay back and stretched out – morning stretches are still the best thing that can happen in the morning. After lying around for a while and examining the ceiling once again, I got out of bed and wandered into the bathroom to wash my face and erase any trace of sleep before breakfast.

After finishing my morning routines, I texted Max our "traditional" good morning message, and then went to the kitchen to Yuki, who had probably already prepared something for breakfast. And I was right: when I got there, the neighbor was already sitting at the table, drinking coffee with sandwiches and switching TV channels, obviously looking for something for the background sound.

I sat down at the table opposite Yuki and smiled – he made a cup of coffee for me too. He put the remote on the table and propped his cheek on his hand, while I took a small sip of coffee and reached for a sandwich.

"Well, how are you and Max doing?"

Looking at me, the neighbor asked with interest, and I almost choked on my coffee. He laughed and handed me a napkin to wipe my lips and chin.

"Well... we're dating, everything's fine."

I shrugged my shoulders, and Yuki's gaze turned from interested to more excited.

"But?"

"But what?"

"You said it like you didn't finish your sentence. What's the matter?"

He sat up straighter in his chair, straightening his back and folding his hands on the table in front of him. I now felt like I was in the principal's office when classmates broke the glass, and I was the only one who saw the menaces and had to immediately name them.

I smiled at the comparison, then sighed and shrugged again, because I really don't know what to say to him. Max and I are fine, we communicate every day, and any meeting of ours doesn't take place without at least one kiss. But it's my friends' words that bother me. And I'd understand if it were people I don't know that long, but that's what our profiler told me, someone who reads people like an open book, and my friend who knows me a little less than Pierre knew me.