Ineffable ꕥ Joost Klein ꕥ

4.

'This is nice, El. You can see the Mondriaantoren building from here.'

Roan pointed out the window to the line of skyscrapers. Elke fixed themselves a bottle of water as her boyfriend wandered around her apartment for the first time.

He had finally driven over while saying he was taking her out. It made her rush to get ready and excitedly showed him the few touches she had done to the place. Some boxes still sat here and there, but ultimately, Elke was moved in and was pleasantly surprised by Roan's interest.

'The street is quiet, too. It's so convenient to get to work that I could walk if it's a nice day,' she said and stood waiting. Roan turned, showed her a smile, before putting a hand against her back to steer her towards the door.

'You've got a prize, for sure. I'm so proud of you,' he said. Elke paused in locking the door to look up at him, eyes wide and twinkling.

'Really?'

'Of course!'

Her heart swelled and she stood on her toes to kiss his lips. Roan reacted a moment too late but it didn't matter. He was finally showing some interest in her again and Elke was hoping it would continue. She didn't mind riding in his loud car that was parked in the underground carpark if Roan smiled, kissed her and took her to places other than car meets and his garage.

While waiting for the lift, Elke talked about how her new job role was going. It felt good to say that she was running her own division. It also felt good to know that Roan was listening, his eyes only on her and his hand holding hers tightly. Maybe things were falling into place and she felt like she didn't need to consider being single again.

The ding sounded and they went to step inside. But two bodies prepared to step out, making them pause.

'Joost!' Elke chimed, tugging Roan out of the way.

'Hey, Elke.'

Her blonde neighbour and his friend stepped out of the lift. Turning to face the couple, the two men matched the height of Roan while Elke broke the trend.

'Roan, this is my neighbour, Joost,' she gestured between the two with a smile. 'Joost, this is my boyfriend.'

'Nice to meet you, man,' Joost held out a hand to shake even though he didn't want to. He tried his best to not look at the girl who looked so pretty. Instead, Joost kept eye contact with the man who struggled to smile politely.

'Likewise.'

Roan shook Joost's hand without the friendliness he once had. In a jumper, gilet and yellow glasses, the man who Elke said was her neighbour was already in Roan's bad books. Being on the same floor as his girlfriend was one thing, already knowing each other was another. Roan made sure to shake Joost's hand firmly, almost painfully, before letting his hand fall back by his side.

'This is Tantu. We were just heading out for a drive, actually,' Joost used the hand that Roan shook to gesture to his friend beside him. He was slender and wore a hat, his dark eyes emitting a friendliness that Roan severly lacked.

'Drive? You race?'

'Yeah, man,' Tantu nodded. 'Do you?'

Elke's smile was slowly slipping at the mention. She squeezed Roan's hand but he took no notice.

'Yeah.'

'Is yours the WRX downstairs-'

'Let's leave them, Tantu. They're going out,' Joost intervened and his friend turned to him with raised eyebrows. It was unlike Joost Klein to cut off any talk about cars and racing, especially when someone like the frowning man in front of them was acting the way he was. Joost was one to take any opportunity to put a cocky man in his place.