Chapter 7

The honeymoon phase. That's what they called it. Mara agreed on the choice of words.

Mara sighed against her bedsheets, loving the contact of the material against her skin and thriving in the peace of mind that brought a Saturday morning, when she didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to go to class. She rolled around to change position, but her arm didn't hit the mattress. The usually empty spot next to her was not, in fact, empty. Somewhere in the back of her mind, still deliciously numb from sleepiness, the thought that this was the best wake up she ever had appeared. She didn't say it out loud, but she knew she could get used to this.

"Chris?" She uttered, keeping her eyes close as she nuzzled him.

"Why, are you bedding other boys?" He laughed softly. He too wasn't fully awake, but it didn't matter.

"You stayed," Mara mumbled in her sleepy voice, her eyes still not opening.

It wasn't a question and didn't call for an answer, therefore Chris stayed quiet. He merely wrapped an arm around her figure to cuddle her and kissed her forehead.

"Your brother's home," Chris informed her.

This time she snapped her eyes open. Mara was about to start panicking and ask why how when what when she realised that she couldn't find it in herself to give two shits. Maybe later, when she would be properly awake.

"I heard him slam the front door this night," Chris explained. "'was too comfy to sneak out," he added before snuggling closer to her.

William always spent his Friday nights either partying – in which case Mara and Chris partied too – or at Noora's. They must have gotten into a fight.

"Don't worry, he won't barge in uninvited," Mara reassured Chris. "Especially not on a Saturday morning before noon. He's learned not to do that the tough way."

"I'll ask for the whole story later," Chris mumbled in his state of semi-sleep.

His hair was all over the place and he looked tired even after a night of sleep. With her only free hand, Mara carefully brushed his hair out of his face and stroked his cheek and the outline of his jaw until she saw the faint twist on his mouth, signalling that he was trying not to smile.

"Why were you awake in the middle of the night anyway?"

"I wasn't, your inconsiderate brother woke me up! I can't fall back asleep once I'm awake," Chris groaned and grabbed Mara's hand, only to kiss it and place it on his chest.

"You're such a grump when you're tired," Mara told him. "We're stuck here until he leaves, so you might want to try and get some more sleep anyway."

"Mmh, awful. Don't know how I'll survive to a lazy morning with my girlfriend," Chris replied in this mock-dramatic tone that made Mara want to roll her eyes so far back in her head she'd see behind her back.

"Also, we'll have to shower together, William will think it's weird that I take two showers in a row."

"I should stay here every week-end," Chris thought out loud, earning a frank chuckle.

Today was the closest William got to discovering their secret in two months.

000

The next incident wasn't nearly as easy to fix than the first one. Chris had simply waited until William locked himself in the bathroom to tiptoe out of the apartment, and that was the end of it. But this time, it was a close call. Not too close for comfort, but still, a little bit too close for their peace of mind. It was once again due to William unexpectedly barging home while Chris was over.

They had tried to do it the other way around and have Mara come over to Chris' house, but she didn't own a car so he would have to come and pick her up, and she reasonably couldn't tell William that she was 'spending the night at a friend's place' every week-end, especially since she barely had any female friends and she was a rather stay-at-home person.

It happened on a Sunday night, a little before dark.

"Mara!" William's voice called her as she and Chris heard the front door slam shut.

They looked at each other in panic, then down at the obvious lack of clothing covering their bodies. Chris as being pressed into the mattress by Mara, and luckily for them, they hadn't gotten past the clothes removal yet. With only their underwear and flushed cheeks, they still looked guilty as all hell. A low "shit!" escaped them both at the same time before they jumped off the bed. Mara did her best to arrange and smooth out the sheets to make it look like she wasn't not having sex in it, meanwhile Chris gathered his belongings, that included his clothes, his phone, his backpack, everything that would hint that he was in Mara's room recently.

"I thought he wasn't supposed to come home tonight!" Chris whispered frustratingly.

"He wasn't!" Mara replied, messily shoving her clothes in the laundry basket.

Chris pointed toward the bathroom door, silently asking if they should hide in there, but Mara shook her head and gestured him to come over to her.

"In here!" She said, gesturing to her closet.

Chris threw his stuff inside before she hopped in, her foot immediately sliding on something. Mara was lying on the floor and had to swallow down a complain when her back hit something sharp.

"Wait! Your phone!" Chris exclaimed under his breath.

He grabbed Mara's phone, which was on her bedside table, and then joined her, having no choice but to join her on the floor in order to not step on her. A millisecond after he closed the closet's door, William opened the door to Mara's room. He merely peeked inside.

"Mara?" He asked again, looking around. "Are you here?"

When it was clear that she wasn't going to answer he opened the door wider and walked in. Chris and Mara held their breath for fear of betraying their presence. They couldn't make the slightest noise, or they'd be fucked. In the rush of it all, they chose to hide their clothes instead of getting dressed and pretend Chris was just there to hang out – which, now that they thought about it, was not that stupid an excuse. Chris' clothes carpeted the floor and formed a cushion-y surface for Mara's back. To make it less uncomfortable for them both, Mara spread her legs and allowed Chris to lay on her, in this weirdly sexual position, despite the awkwardness of the situation they found themselves in. Honestly, if the situation permitted it, they would be laughing at how ridiculous they must look. Mara had to bury her face in Chris' neck in order not to muffle what little noise might accidentally come out of her mouth.

William lazily strolled through her room, as if he was in a museum and looked at strange art pieces. He took a book in his hand, put it back, then grabbed a pen, or a notebook, or even a makeup brush and examined it closely. Chris was the only one to see through the shutters of the closet's door, but if he told her her brother was going through her stuff she would no doubt be mad. After a couple minutes that felt like two years, he walked out.

"He's out," Chris said after another minute, just to be sure he was far enough not to hear them speak. "Give me your phone!" He then ordered Mara.

She was cradling her phone against her chest but hastily handed him upon hearing the urgency in his voice. Seconds after Chris put it on silent, there was an incoming call. Mara sighed in relief, letting her head hit the back of the closet and stifling a groan. That was one good point for Chris, she didn't think of turning off her phone in case William called. It would doubtlessly raise suspicions if the ring-tone suddenly emitting from her closet.

"Answer!" Chris urged her, using his authoritative voice she knew meant he was being serious.

"What am I supposed to say?" She still asked in panic, her eyes going wide.

"I don't know, just make something up, but you need to answer!"

"Hi?" Mara said into the speaker as she picked up.

She whispered. Had she screwed this up already? Maybe. She shot fiery glares at her barely-secret-boyfriend while he smiled innocently.

"Mara? Where are you? Why are you whispering?" William asked, his voice sounding louder than Mara's, even though it came out of the phone.

"I- eh I'm at the cinema," she said, and Chris nodded in agreement, signalling her she was doing great. "I can't really talk right now."

"Oh okay," William said. "Will you be home for dinner?"

Chris was already nodding before Mara had the time to give Chris her questioning look.

"Yes."

"Cool. I'll get us sushi, this way dinner won't get cold if you run late."

"From that place I like?" Mara asked.

It was worth a try. Her favourite sushi restaurant was on the other side of the city.

"It's a twenty minutes walk to go there!" William complained, but he caved in after a soft 'pretty please', and Mara smirked to herself.

"Thank you," she cooed into her phone.

She heard a grumble and then William hung up. As soon as the call was over, Mara relaxed, only then realizing how tense she had been during the whole duration of it. Chris was smiling. Of course he was smiling, he had every reason to smile, he was laying between the warm thighs of his barely clad girlfriend, using her as a pillow, while she counted the seconds until she could crawl out of there and stretch her back.

"You were perfect," he uttered against her skin as he placed a kiss on her throat and then proceeded to kiss his way up to her lips, hoping to distract her from the visibly hurtful position they were in.

Another five minutes passed before they heard the now familiar slam of the front door and cried in delight as they exited the enclosed space and stretched their limbs. Chris was about to grab his clothes and make a quick leave but Mara stepped between him and the closet, her fists resting on her hips – a position which never announced anything good.

"Where do you think you're going?" She asked, giving him an amused but stern look.

"Out, while I still can," Chris said, picking her up in his arms to move her out of his way.

But Mara wrapped her legs around him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"I just sent William to the farthest sushi shop I know, which means we have at least forty minutes before he returns."

"Make it thirty, just be to safe," Chris said, easily giving in and hooking his hands under her thighs.

"It's plenty of time to finish what we started," Mara uttered tentatively.

She was doing that thing with her eyes, the thing where she batted her eyelashes, let her eyelids droop just a little bit, then she bit her lip and Chris was a goner.