Wolfgang doesn't sleep long: The street light streams through the curtains and wakes him, disoriented.
He gets up, careful not to disturb Kala, and walks to the bathroom to properly dispose of the condom. He cleans himself off, washes his face, the familiarity of the ritual disrupted by his reflection in the mirror: He sighs at the marks along his neck, the bruises ringed and smeared with the red of Kala's lipstick. It will definitely be visible regardless of what he wears tomorrow. If Felix was around to see, he'd never hear the end of it. Wolfgang gives a huff as he wipes off the stains.
He washes his hands and returns to the bedroom. His clothes are on the floor, pants and underwear dragged near the bed when he'd grabbed the condom. But his eyes focus on Kala's red dress, lying in a silky heap beside his things. He picks it up, holds it out by the straps. The dress is hopelessly wrinkled, noticeably stained. He does indeed owe Kala a new dress: perhaps one that brings the same reaction as its predecessor. And ends up with the same fate. Wolfgang smirks before he throws the dress over the back of a nearby chair.
He grabs his underwear, puts it on, and reaches for his pants. He finds his phone in a back pocket, checks it quickly, surprised that it's just past 11: There's a message from Yeruslan, making sure he's not needed to keep surveillance tonight, and a message from Felix, with a reminder that a shipment of liquor isn't coming tomorrow. There's a missed call from an unknown number with no voicemail. Wolfgang puts on his pants, returns the cellphone to his back pocket.
He grabs his shirt from the floor, shakes it off with a slight flourish. He glances at Kala, who doesn't stir: She sleeps soundly, the bedsheet pulled back where he moved it to get up.
He stares at her for several seconds. In sleep, Kala is almost ethereal: her face peaceful, undisturbed; a tangle of curls fans over her pillow. Wolfgang's gaze travels lower, follows the dips and curves of her bared body, lingers too long at the shadows.
He exhales a little, moving to draw the bed sheet to cover her.
He frowns as he puts on his shirt, annoyed, although he's not clear why. He feels a sudden urgency to leave, to be gone before Kala wakes, and buttons his shirt quickly.
Yeruslan will be unamused babysitting her for another night. But with Lila maybe still somewhere in Berlin, Wolfgang thinks he'll feel better knowing Kala is under Yeruslan's watchful eye.
He grimaces, wonders if he's being too paranoid when it's unlikely Lila would even approach Kala. Maybe Lila is already gone.
Maybe he is just making excuses.
Wolfgang mutters a curse when he realizes his buttons are misaligned. He undoes them impatiently. He buttons again, his fingers only pausing when he hears Kala move in the bed.
He catches the look in her eyes - too bright, too unguarded - before they shutter, self-aware. "Leaving?" It's a statement more than a question, her voice husky with sleep. She rises a little on her elbows, the bed sheet tucked under her arms.
Wolfgang breathes out, nods. "Yeah." He resumes his task re-buttoning his shirt, his sense of urgency dissipating as quickly as it came. "I know you don't want me to stay."
There's a flicker in her eyes, something he isn't really sure he sees, but enough to make him pause again. "Am I wrong?" he asks. He doesn't know why he asks. They've already fucked; it's his cue to leave. But he watches her as her eyes lower, at the way her expression softens, and his heart pounds loud in his own ears. "Do you want me to stay?"
Kala exhales slowly. She gives a nod: "Yes," she says. She smiles a little at his face; he must look surprised.
"Even though it's Wednesday?" he asks, reminding her of her earlier comment. He gives a faint smile. "Even though you need to get up and work tomorrow morning?"
She looks at him gravely. "Even you fall asleep for the night," she says.
For a moment, he is startled by her response. But he notices the amusement in her eyes, at the way her lips quirk as she suppresses her smile, and he finds himself smiling back, undoing the buttons of his shirt, unexpectedly light. "Don't challenge me, Schatz," he tells her, voice deliberately low.
Kala arches her brows but looks at him placidly, unconcerned. She watches him strip off his clothes, shifts to make room for him in bed, yawning.
Wolfgang takes the space she offers. He kisses her lightly once, eyes closed, then again, before he draws gently away.
"What is it?" Her eyes flutter open. She looks at him quizzically. Wolfgang draws her hair back, his hand trailing down her spine to loop around her waist. He nudges a little and they lay down, Kala's head on his shoulder.
"You should go back to sleep," he tells her. She tilts her head up from under his chin, hand resting lightly along his chest. "I know you're tired. If you just want company I don't mind." He is a little surprised to know he means it, that he doesn't mind staying just to hold her. He thinks it's the oddest thing he's ever said.
Kala relaxes under his arm, kisses his chest. "I'm awake now," she says. She runs a hand across his pecs and he releases a taut exhale: the touch of her fingers sends a fissure of desire straight to his groin. She reaches up to meet his lips, smiles against his mouth when he deepens it, and moans when his hands explore her body.
They do not sleep right away.
…
It is a tedious, difficult day, with no answers and more questions, even as the others in the research group seem ready to move forward.
Kala is only comforted by the fact that Hernando, too, seems to be encountering setbacks.
She sits at a table where her laptop is connected to two other monitors, paused in her own work as she muses over data Hernando compiled from several samples. Her brows furrow lightly, curious.
"See?" Hernando shrugs, leans back against the table. "I'm not sure that the last batch was tested correctly. I think I need to start from there before we can really move on."
Kala nods. "Yes," she agrees. "You're right. You should talk to Yrsa about running your own tests." She blinks back a yawn. "You have time. I'm not ready to compare results yet, either. I want to run additional checks on my samples."
Hernando shakes his head. "With both of us finding issues, we're behind even before we've started." He shuts his eyes, pinches the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Yrsa is in the lab," he says. He gives a sigh, lifts himself from the table. "Do you want to come with me to talk to her?"
"Not now." Kala hands back the printouts that Hernando had given to her. "I'm going to finish looking at my samples first. But if you warn her that I'm coming across some questions too, I would appreciate it."
Hernando groans but nods his head. "You owe me, Miss Dandekar." he says sternly. "I want a large coffee from somewhere other than the cafeteria first thing tomorrow morning."
"Of course!"
He grimaces comically but leaves the room.
Kala exhales in grateful relief. She has not been looking forward to telling the team leader, Yrsa, that she needs more time: This first week was supposed to be spent acquainting themselves with the data from the Phase 1 subjects. Instead, both she and Hernando found the reported deviations weren't as expected, while it seems the other groups are ready to move forward: Yrsa is probably in the lab already discussing the start of someone's testing.
Kala settles back into her seat, scrolls through downloaded images of blood cells from a test group. With Hernando gone and the room to herself, she re-focuses on her work, confirming inconsistencies she noted the first time she went through the data.
She is so engrossed that she doesn't immediately notice she's not alone until Lukas calls her name.
Kala startles at the interruption, hand to her chest.
"I'm sorry!" Lukas looks at her apologetically. He sits down at the edge of the table, where Hernando had been, his laptop in hand. "I didn't mean to surprise you. I just saw you looking so, so intently… I just thought I'd offer my help, if you need it."
He still makes her uneasy. In the few times they've interacted, Lukas has been unfailingly polite, even charming, much like when they first met. Yet even now, Kala feels the reflexive need to back away, even though Lukas sits no closer to her than Hernando had been.
Kala reminds herself they are starting again. And for all his faults, Lukas is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable researchers in the company: his family's company.
Still, she hesitates asking for his help.
"Thank you," she says. "I'm fine." She manages a good-natured smile. "I always look like that when I'm thinking."
He nods, returns her smile with a fleeting one of his own. Perhaps she imagines it but she thinks Lukas looks uneasy. "Good." He gets up from the table. "Let me know if you need help with anything," he says. "Especially if you think it could impact the rest of our research. We can't afford to get behind."
"Of course," she agrees. She almost tells him a delay is inevitable, especially with Hernando also expressing concern, but she holds her tongue, wary.
Lukas moves to the opposite side of the table, across from Kala, and sets down his laptop. She shifts in her seat, aware of him as he sets up his work station; that they are alone.
But Lukas also seems distracted, as if something else weighs on him.
Her brows knit. Perhaps he still worries about her complaining to Wolfgang. Perhaps whatever it is doesn't concern her at all. She steals a glance at Lukas, but his eyes are trained intently on his screen.
They work in silence for several minutes. Kala wonders what happened to Hernando; if Yrsa is upset by the delay.
She manages to re-focuses on her monitors, although she feels Lukas's occasional stare. Oddly, it doesn't unsettle her: She can sense that he isn't leering so much as trying to gauge her mood; as if debating what to say next.
This time, she doesn't startle when Lukas clears his throat with exaggerated loudness: "Kala."
He looks at her oddly, his eyes darting from her face to his screen and back. "If you ever need help other than with work," he says carefully, "you know, you can come to me."
Kala exhales, surprised. "I don't understand," she says. The irony of his offer almost makes her laugh. She wonders if he is really so oblivious that he doesn't know she has only ever been concerned about him. "What kind of help?"
Lukas shifts a little, gives a shrug. "Maybe nothing," he answers. "But if you did, please know you can come to me." He gives her a faint smile before his attention returns to his screen, clearly done.
Kala frowns, debates whether to press the question. But Hernando returns and sets his laptop in the station beside Kala, his face showing relief. "It was rough, but we're good," he tells her. His eyes narrow when he realizes Lukas is there. He throws a concerned look at Kala.
She shakes her head, turns her attention to Hernando with a quick, reassuring smile. "What happened?"
Hernando tells her that Yrsa appreciated his diligence and agreed further testing was necessary. They talked about his concerns and discussed possible solutions. "And I mentioned you have issues as well," he adds, voice hushed. "She wasn't happy. It is probably too much all at once. But she knows to expect you whenever you're done here."
Kala gives a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she says. "I might not be ready to see her until tomorrow. Maybe if I work late tonight, I can finish."
Hernando frowns, eyes sliding beyond her to Lukas. "I can't stay," he says quietly, concerned. "I'm picking up my partner from the airport."
They have only worked together a few days, and they haven't shared much personal information, but Hernando felt obligated to mention his actor-boyfriend when yesterday's working lunch was twice interrupted by a frantic call from Mexico City. Something about allergies and chemicals in makeup paste. Hernando had been apologetic and maybe a little embarrassed, despite Kala's assurances. "Lito is a bit excitable," he'd said.
And now, it seems Lito will be in Germany.
Kala smiles in genuine pleasure. "He's coming tonight?" she asks. "Of course you can't stay!"
Hernando gives a sheepish smile. "It was literally last minute," he says. "His co-star hurt her ankle and now they have to wait at least a week before they can start shooting again." Hernando pauses, brows furrow. He types quickly on his laptop. "Maybe if his plane is delayed..."
"Hernando." Kala lays her hand on his wrist, frowning. She drops her voice, conscious of Lukas just to the other side of them both. "I told you I'm fine," she tells him. "Please. No need to worry about me when you should be planning on arriving early at the airport."
He looks at her uncertainly but finally gives a small nod.
She nods back, grateful for his chivalry but mildly annoyed all the same. If she has any doubts that Hernando deliberately stayed behind the last three nights to make sure she was safely at her bus stop, those doubts are gone.
"You'll still be here tomorrow?" she asks.
Hernando looks at her as if there is no question. "Absolutely. We have work to do." He smiles teasingly at Kala. "And don't forget, I like my coffee black with just a little cream, thank you."
She rolls her eyes and smiles back.
...
Kala works later than she plans, finally leaving only after she is sure she checked her findings against the data presented at least twice. She schedules a meeting with Yrsa before Yrsa leaves, and is still at work long after Lukas is gone. By the time she is on her bus, it is after 8 in the evening. She hopes somewhere Hernando is having a lovely reunion with Lito.
She blinks back a sudden rush of envy. She wishes … She's not sure what she wishes. If things were different, if she'd met Wolfgang under different circumstances, she doubts either of them would have given the other much thought: He would only be interested in someone for the night, she would never have bothered to speak to him.
If Lila had not come back to Berlin so soon after Lukas's party, Kala would have continued on with the routine of her life, maybe curious about what might have been, but eventually growing indifferent.
Instead, Lila's return triggered a series of poor decisions that Kala knew she would regret. That she accepts for what it is.
She gives a humorless smile, swallows against the lump in her throat.
She takes out her phone as the bus nears her stop. There are no messages from Wolfgang, no missed phone calls. She puts her phone away and watches the streets.
When Wolfgang left this morning, he told her he would be busy with opening the club, that Thursdays are usually spent covering whatever the needs are for the next few nights. They made no plans for when they would see each other next, although he told her he'll call.
He has not.
Kala tries to shrug off her stupid disappointment, her illogical hurt. He doesn't owe her anything. Once Lila is gone, the only contact she can expect from Wolfgang - if he even chooses to contact her - is when he wants her in bed. That's all he's ever wanted from her, and he's been clear from the beginning. There's no future with Wolfgang. Only the occasional hook up and the inevitable heartache.
She rubs her eyes, embarrassed by her foolish expectations. Wolfgang told her she can call him, too, whenever she wants. Maybe she will and take back some sense of control.
But she already knows that won't work. Kala stares blankly out the window. The only way to regain control is to end everything as soon as Lila is gone: Her experiment with casual sex is a resounding failure.
She gets off at her stop, purchases some bread and a can of soup for dinner from the corner grocer.
She doesn't think of Lukas when she eats, or when she calls Wolfgang and leaves him a message, wondering if the club is already open and he's simply too busy now to talk.
She cleans up after herself in the kitchen and goes to her room.
There is a note on her bed.
Kala stares, disconcerted, but not quite alarmed. She looks around, but the room is otherwise undisturbed: drawers shut, curtains partially drawn. She wonders if Wolfgang made a copy of her key before he returned it to her and her eyes narrow.
She picks up the note and finds her hands shaking by the time she reaches the contact information at the end.
How well do you think you know Wolfgang? Maybe it's time we meet. LF
And she wonders if maybe this is what Lukas was talking about.
A/N: Thank you to my beta for suggesting a more helpful title to this update than "Chapter 15" :D
As always, reviews are much appreciated!