67 Summer Nights (Unedited)

Chapter 5

It'd been a week since we'd seen Anders and Amanda having breakfast together and since I hadn't heard from him, I figured I wasn't going to. I couldn't really say that it bothered me, but that wasn't by choice. It was decided, during a secret meeting, that I had to be distracted from the situation, so my aunt Yoli, Oliver, and Hanna were carting me around all of Stockholm. That was the best part about working for winter sports, you didn't have much to do in the summer, so they had their days free. We visited shops and restaurants and beaches. My tan had resurrected and was glowing nicely, not to mention Hanna's running regime had helped me drop a few pounds. But no matter how many pounds I dropped, she was crazy if she thought she was going to get me onto that nude beach. I'll eat a horse, and I'll eat a reindeer, but a nude beach was completely out of the question.

Hanna and I were washing the breakfast dishes for my aunt. Oliver had made us something called muesli. It was like cereal, only the milk he used, that he called filmjölk was thick, like drinkable yogurt and sour. My stomach felt violated by this unnatural milk. It was topped with fruits, berries, and other grains, so my stomach wasn't totally confused. The puppies were near the side door, chomping away on their breakfast. We'd been for a run already this morning, and after days of fighting it, I was starting to like running. However, that was because running was better than the million squat jumps Hanna had me doing. She was like some Swedish fat camp.

Hanna dried the last dish, setting it on the rack. I mopped up the surrounding wetness on the sink with another towel then Hanna and I grabbed the leashes so we could take the girls out to relieve themselves. I opened the front door suddenly being met by a tall, brown-haired figure. Anders. Hanna greeted him, but I could sense slight awkwardness in her voice. He glanced at her for a second, nodding his head then set his sheepish gaze upon mind. Hanna excused herself, or at least that's what it sounded like. When the coast was clear Anders started off with an apology.

In my 22 years, I'd had about two boyfriends and not many other guys in between them, so I wasn't entirely sure he had anything to apologize for. He hadn't called, it had been one date, was he supposed to keep that promise, or should I have taken it as being empty? His next apology was something that was probably more warranted. He did pretend not to know me and maybe it was a custom, so I should understand, but you know, the American in me got hurt. I remained quiet, listening to him get his apologies out. His accent was thickening and I could tell he was growing nervous by the second.

Okay, did I really have reason to be mad? Maybe a little, but should I really give him crap for it? No.

"Anders, it's okay." I finally said. "The fact that you didn't call didn't really bother me. It made me wonder a little, yes, but what really bothered me was that when I waved, you pretended not to know me. Hanna said it was some sort of custom, but you know, in the US we don't do that, even if we're limited on time."

"I didn't mean to make you feel bad. We like to dedicate time to everyone that we speak to, and if we don't have the time we skip it all. I was just in a very awkward position." He further explained.

"Hanna mentioned she's your ex-girlfriend."

He nodded, with anxiousness clouding up his eyes. As quickly as the look had appeared, it disappeared.

"If there is still something between you, I don't want to get in the way." I said.

"Can we go out, so I can explain?" He asked.

"Well, I was going out with Hanna."

"Hon är fri!" Hanna called from the kitchen.

"What did she say?" I asked.

"She said that you're free."

"Hanna."

"Are you free?" He asked again.