serendipity ≫ mario götze

009

        I am just saying, if a guy wants to cuddle under blankets, watch movies and order pizza with you, he's probably a keeper. I was embarrassed to take Mario to my apartment, because I was sure he was used to having a huge place and expensive furniture, while I bought everything secondhand.

        “It's probably not like you are used to, so I'm sorry in advance,” I say as I open the door to my little tiny apartment. Let me explain you what my apartment looks like. It's literally a bed in the middle of the living room with a TV and a window. I have a tiny kitchen and a tiny bathroom and that's all. It's the best I could get for the money I have and honestly, I don't need more. I am alone and I don't have a ton of friends either.

        “No, Lilly, it looks great,” he says and he takes off his shoes and puts them next to the door. Immediately he takes a sprint to the bed and jumps on it inviting me to come sit down next to him. Awkward.

        “Eh. Do you want something to drink, I could put up some hot water for tea or something,” I ask. I have never had this kind of date. It is always going to a restaurant, the cinema, bowling, I even went to McDonalds for a date once. Oh, and I had to pay myself, which I usually don't mind, but in this case it was kind of odd. It was, let's just say, a very interesting date.

        “Tea sounds great,” Mario answers and he looks at me, he looks at the way I walk, the way I talk, the way I move. I feel very uncomfortable, “So how does your TV exactly work?” He asks this with a DVD in his hands that he took from my not so huge collection on my shelves. I had some more DVD's, but they were all still in the unopened boxes that I, at some point, should open.

        “Turn it on with the button and shove the DVD inside of there and it should sort of automatically play,” I say as I put the kettle on the stove. Oh, how old fashioned I am. Mario is wrestling with the TV and I'm making two cups of tea and I'm actually enjoying myself. It's not really a date, but to me it's perfect. I take the two mugs towards the table and carefully place them on there before sitting next to Mario. I, obviously, keep a reasonable distance between us and lean back against the wall. This is one of those moments where you need a couch, but you don't actually own one.

        “What movie did you actually put in?” I ask when the logo of the movie company pops up.

        “UP,” Mario says, “And we put it in German language selection.”

        “UP makes me cry every time, I don't want to cry near you,” I say blushing.

        “Why not?” Mario grins, “I could always comfort you until you stop crying.” I rest my head in my hands. That was definitely a romantic come back, but not one that I was looking for to hear. It still felt a little strange to go hug a guy whose favorite color was the only thing I knew about him. Black isn't even a color.

        “I want to get to know you,” I suddenly say and Mario looks at me as if I come from another planet.

        “We are getting to know each other right now, aren't we?” he asks me.

        “I mean, really getting to know each other,” I ask, “I only know your favorite color and the fact that you play soccer and I don't know how soccer works.”

        “Yeah, knowing my favorite color is definitely an important part,” Mario laughs, “What else do you want to know?”

        “I want to know everything about you,” I admit.

        “Everything?” Mario repeats.

        “Yes, everything,” I confirm.

        “Hmm, where to begin,” Mario thinks, “I'm Mario and I'm 22 years old, I live in München right now, wasn't born anywhere near here though. Played with Dortmund before, my best friend Marco still plays there, so I go there occasionally by train. My house is probably 4 times as big as yours and I don't live too far away from you, so if you wanna come over, you could just give me a call...” I laugh, “Your turn.”

        “I'm terrible at introducing myself, this is like the first day at school where you have to tell your hobbies and all,” I say to change the subject. Mario groans.

        “I remember that, horrible, but really don't try changing the subject, it's your turn,” Mario says and playfully touches my shoulder.

        “Eh...You know I'm Lillian and I'm 19, and I have lived in a small town in Maine all my life. Very exciting. I worked for a summer to save up for this trip and now I ended up here,” I say, unsure what else he wants to know.

        “I'm glad you ended up here,” Mario says.

        “Stop flirting with me, it's making me feel uncomfortable,” I say. Mario moves a little bit closer to me.

        “Still uncomfortable?” He asks when his leg is touching mine and his face is close to my face and I can almost feel his breath touch my skin. His hand was now caressing my hand and I pulled away and moved a little bit away from him.

        “A bit yes,” I say and I try to focus on the movie that was still running, that had been running for the past 10 minutes. But believe me, it's hard to focus when there is a very, very hot guy next to you on a bed that you're using a couch.

        The movie is playing and I feel like Mario isn't watching, but instead looking at me, and every time I glare from the corner of my eyes, he is looking at me. And then I crack an awkward smile and he smiles back at me.

        “Why are you looking at me, you were the one that wanted to watch this movie,” I say.

        “I am watching the movie,” he says as he pulls the blanket up to his chin. I had completely ignored the blanket, because I was afraid of what would happen if I would get closer to him. I do want to kiss him, but I'm not sure if I want to kiss him now.

        “Do you believe in love at first sight?” he asks me and then I look at him. Really look at him.

        “I don't think I do,” I answer. He smiles and nods.

        “I don't think I do either,” he says and he holds up the blanket, “Come under the blanket with me.” We both look at each other and then burst out in laughter, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that.”

        “I don't believe you,” I say and dare to come a little closer to him. His body language is inviting and go back to the movie. He wraps his arm around my back and pulls me a little closer. It's like cuddling, but we aren't together – yet. I look up at him, and he is looking at the movie, not at me this time. I pull my legs up and I feel him switching positions too.

        It wouldn't surprise you if I said that I can barely concentrate on the movie and that I would rather kiss Mario's soft lips... The movie comes to an end and I can't say that I have enjoyed the movie this time.

        “Should we order pizza?” Mario asks, “That was your plan right?”

        “Would have been my plan, if you weren't here,” I say, “I'd rather do other things instead.” He raises his eyebrow, not sure if he understood me right. “I didn't mean it like that, I guess.”

        “Maybe you did,” he says and cups my face. Mario's face moves closer to mine and I feel my heart beating really fast. His thumb starts to move up and down and I look into his eyes. I think we both feel this connection, this attraction that is pulling us even closer. I feel his breath on my lips and I really think my heart skips a beat.

        “Yeah, maybe I did,” I whisper and then he presses his lips against mine, I respond immediately, surprising myself. The caress of his lips are softer than I had ever expected. I pull away and I smile. I rest my head on his shoulder and sigh.

         “Can I kiss you again?” he asks a minute later. And that's when we lock lips again.