Ineffable ꕥ Joost Klein ꕥ

27.

Elke resisted the urge to talk while Joost drove. At first, she talked about work and everything that she had been doing that week. Joost tried to show he was listening, humming and tearing his eyes away from the windshield from time to time . But when Elke asked what his sentiments were towards the cats, his distant answer told her that he wanted some quiet time.

She didn't mind this and sat with her hands in-between her knees. Assuming that the police's presence had unnerved him, Elke watched the streetlights pass out the window.

It was late and she had work tomorrow, but she didn't want the night to end. She had enjoyed being at the car meet, something that Elke never thought she would say. Leaning back into Joost's chest with his friends laughing and joking around them made Elke feel apart of something. If she were to walk away, someone would ask where she was going or ask if she was okay. They would pause their conversation when she said something and acknowledge her input by building on it. And the best part was seeing Joost's sneakers on either side of hers, his hands locked together in her lap and feeling safe with him behind her.

'Hey,' Joost's voice made Elke turn from the window. After desolate streets and enough turns to be sure, Joost could say that they hadn't been followed. His shoulders eased and he gave his rearview mirror a break from his piercing stare.

'I do like cats,' he said in reference to her previous question. 'I just prefer dogs. I want at least five when we get a bigger place.'

'We?'

Joost froze and his fingers tightened on the steering wheel. His smile fell and a panic settled into his stomach. He dared to gage Elke's expression, her exclamation already hinting what he would see. Swallowing dryly, Joost had an urge to throw himself into the street when his fears were confirmed.

Elke's eyes could have been compared to dinner plates. She thought she had misheard and she repeated the bombshell word to give Joost time to correct himself. But when Elke saw his Adam's apple bobble up and down and his jaw clench, she realised that he had meant what he had said.

'You... you want to move in with me?' Elke was shocked. With her back facing the passenger's door, the girl stared at Joost from the unexpected confession.

He hadn't meant to let it slip but Joost wasn't thinking when he spoke. He wanted nothing more than to spend every moment with Elke. They already shared each other's apartments, the only thing seperating them from 'living together' was retreating back to their respected spaces every two to three days. Although it didn't seem like much of a step to just have one place between them, Joost and Elke took any progression in their relationship seriously.

'O-Of course...' Joost said, the tips of his ears reddening with his stutter. 'At some point. I just... thought that instead of going between each other's apartments, we could buy a place together.'

The thought was wonderful. Elke imagined getting rid of Joost's well-worn in sofa and selling her own to buy a new, much larger one for the two of them. Their living room would be cosy and their bedroom even more so. Joost's large Stitch would befriend Elke's Mallard duck on the bed. With pieces of themselves on drawers and their clothes mixed into one wardrobe, Elke would adore the place they called their joint home.

Their fridge would be filled with things she liked and Joost didn't, and visa versa. Elke would walk into the kitchen to find Joost squeezing mayonnaise into his mouth and cringe with her whole being. Joost would make a face when he watched Elke dip her crisps into sour cream.

At the end of every day, Elke would fall asleep in Joost's arms and hope that she would be the first awake the next morning. That way, she wouldn't have to wake up alone and had the time to play with his soft, bright hair.