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Celine! Get ahold of yourself!I race up the stairs to the second floor, blindly dialing the number of my bestie.
It rings almost endlessly; I’m about to go to voicemail when she finally answers.
“‘ood mor’ng?” she mumbles sleepily, yawning. “Wha’s wrong?”
“Pauline, you’ve got to help me! I… Oh my God…”Darn it! Normally, I don’t use that phrase so often!“I got into a hell of a mess!”
“Now slow down first.” Rustling, coughing, a murmuring male voice—male voice?—can be heard. “Well, I’ve sat up. There’s no question of being awake, but I’m listening: what’s the matter?”
“Oh, Pauline, I… I have a huge problem! You know, today is my first counseling appointment of my own—”
“How could I forget?” interjects Pauline. “You’ve been talking about nothing else all weekend.”
I won’t let her put me off my stride. “And, guess what, I spilled the client’s coffee all over his shirt.”
“How?” Pauline chortles. “You? Don’t make fun of me. Scatterbrainedness is my profession, not yours, sweetie.”
“I’m telling you!” I don’t have the time or nerve for a discussion right now. “Anyway, since you work atChic & Grace,could you please drop off a men’s shirt in size…” With my cell phone clamped between my left ear and shoulder, I fiddle at the collar of the turtleneck to read off the size. “…extra-large for me? I’ll pay for it right after work.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Please,” I beg. “I can’t think of anyone else!”
“All right.” By the energy radiating through the telephone, I can tell Pauline is now getting up to speed. “So, what exactly do you want me to deliver? What did you ruin?”
“A black long-sleeved turtleneck, figure-fitting,” I explain.
“Okay,” Pauline says, “we should have something like that in stock.”
“Yes… No…” Uncertainty grips me. “Do you perhaps also stock this in a loose fit?”
“A turtleneck in loose fit? That looks totally… Sweatpants!” Pauline snorts out a laugh.
She always has to use Karl Lagerfeld quotes. I don’t care what it looks like!“Then just something else that fits loosely. The main thing is I don’t see his Adonis-like astral body in front of me all the time.”
“Waaa-iiit!” Pauline sounds one hundred percent committed now. “His Antony-what?”
“His a-do-nis-like astral body,” I repeat. “Gee, Pauline, if I tell you, under the thin jersey fabric of the turtleneck, every single one of his muscle strands stands out in the clearest possible way—”
A knock makes me pause.
I turn around and freeze in shock because I realize that Mr. Sandtmann is already standing in the middle of the room.
A cloud of a scented mixture escapes from him, which I hadn’t even noticed downstairs in the foyer and kitchen. It wafts over to me, penetrating my every pore: exotic, masculine, and dangerous. Plus, the subtle smell of my sports detergent.
“The door was open,” he explains, smirking. “That’s why I took the liberty.”
Oh my Go— Fudge! Today is really not my day!
3. To Drown with AllHopes
Philipp
I almost feel bad for the little sweetness when I catch her chatting. Under her discreet makeup, the blush of her cheeks can only be guessed at. Her ears, adorned with classic pearls, shine bright.
“Mr.… ah… um… Sandtmann.” She ends the phone call, though not without first whispering, “I’m counting on you!”
So, I possess an Adonis-like astral body.Well, this is not new to me. After all, before the stress of self-employment took over, I spent enough time getting my body in shape.But the wording…I smirk. I like it. Just as, for some inexplicable reason, I like the fact I’m appealing to her.
