"Charlotte?"
Leonid whispered softly, nodding his head backward.
"She's still asleep. Do you want to wake her?"
Lyudmila's mind paused for a moment as she studied Leonid's features... his silver hair was tousled, and his bare chest betrayed the laziness of the morning.
"Ah... so you really were... sleeping."
"Seriously, what do you think we were doing?"
He replied sternly, his eyes half-closed, pretending to still be sleepy.
Lyudmila blinked in surprise, frozen in place, then backed away awkwardly.
"Yes, yes, sorry for the disturbance... Just, please wake her up."
She smiled shyly and stepped back.
"And don't be late. Breakfast is already ready."
She turned quickly toward the stairs, while Daniel remained standing, staring tensely at Leonid.
The lips… swollen, red, marked with signs still clearly visible.
How did Lyudmila not notice that clue? he wondered in disbelief.
Leonid glanced at him briefly, then quietly closed the bedroom door, leaving Daniel standing in shock.
"Hey! Aren't you going to thank me?!"
Daniel shouted emotionally and stepped toward the door, knocking hard, but got no response.
"Ungrateful... and perverted too!"
He muttered angrily, turned on his heels, and stomped down the stairs.
Inside, Leonid rolled his eyes in annoyance at Daniel's comments, then dusted off his hands and approached the bed.
He paused for a moment, then reached out and lightly smacked the blanket over her thigh.
"Ugh!"
Charlotte gasped from beneath the covers and quickly covered her mouth.
"They're gone. You can get up now."
Leonid said calmly, sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for her.
After a few moments, Charlotte peeked out from under the blanket, her face flushed, her lips like his swollen under the weight of what had happened.
She was very shy. And although she had lost herself in the moment under the spell of the kiss, she had finally regained her composure. Thankfully, at a crucial moment, she had bitten his lips and stopped him.
Otherwise... something she didn't want to happen might have happened.
"You still blush so easily."
Leonid remarked indifferently, tilting his head as he watched her with his icy blue eyes.
"Th- th— that's normal!"
Charlotte stammered, trying hard to defend her flustered modesty.
The corner of his lips curled into a mischievous smile before he added teasingly:
"Shall we continue what we started?"
"No!"
Charlotte shouted, completely rejecting the idea, her face turning even redder.
"Alright, darling... I'll spare you today."
He raised his hands as if surrendering, then added in a quieter tone:
"But tomorrow? I can't promise anything."
He was already planning to make her his, but not now. When they returned to his apartment, he would. And on his bed, specifically.
Charlotte narrowed her eyes, a mix of irritation and embarrassment dancing in her gaze. Then she quickly got up, grabbed her things, and headed to the bathroom.
She shut the door behind her with a soft thud.
Leonid shrugged indifferently, then lay back on the bed, exhaled deeply, and allowed his muscles to relax under the morning light.
Inside the bathroom, Charlotte leaned her forehead against the door for a few seconds, trying to catch her breath.
The heat still burned in her cheeks, and her heart was pounding against her ribs, as if trying to escape her chest.
"Oh my God..."
She whispered to herself, slowly raising her hand to touch her swollen lips, as if she were still living inside that kiss breathing it, its echoes replaying in her memory.
She looked at the mirror.
She saw a familiar face… but alive.
Her eyes were wide, glowing beneath her lashes, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and her hair slightly tousled, as if it had been through a soft storm.
She shook her head and sighed, then suddenly turned on the faucet, splashing cold water onto her face.
She was trying to silence everything: the redness, the memory, the sticky warmth his presence had left inside her.
She turned off the faucet slowly and lifted her eyes to the mirror again.
This time, she looked longer… and deeper.
"Hold yourself together, Charlotte."
She muttered, then dried her hands, carefully gathered her hair, took a deep breath, and began to compose her appearance.
After minutes of staring absentmindedly at the ceiling, Leonid slowly got out of bed the moment he heard the soft click of the door opening.
Charlotte stepped out, wearing a short skirt with a high-neck, long-sleeved blouse in a gentle color that complemented her fair skin and matched her constant shyness.
Leonid turned quietly, picked up his towel, gave her a brief glance, then winked and said lightly:
"I won't take long… wait for me."
Then he entered the bathroom without delay and pushed the door behind him though not all the way closed. It remained slightly ajar.
He was in a real hurry. He didn't want her to go to breakfast alone.
Suddenly, he stopped when he heard her soft voice slipping through the gap:
"You can take your time, I still have to brush my hair."
Her voice was shy, yet reassuring, as if she, too, didn't want to go out without him.
Leonid smiled to himself and replied:
"Alright, I'll take my time. But still… I won't be late."
Charlotte sighed faintly, cast a quick glance at the ajar door, then walked over to her bag. She pulled out her comb and gently ran it through her chestnut strands, arranged her bangs carefully, and tied her hair into a neat ponytail.
Then she searched her suitcase for her socks, moved away from the mirror, and sat on the edge of the bed to put them on.
The weather was shifting between cold and warm impossible to bear without proper socks.
She had just started putting on the second sock when the door gently opened, and Leonid stepped out, towel wrapped around his waist.
He looked at her for a moment. She realized immediately and quickly lowered her leg, adjusting her skirt as her cheeks flushed with a visible gradient.
Leonid gave a dry chuckle and headed to his bag, droplets falling from his damp hair, water slowly trailing across his muscular body with every movement.
Charlotte bent forward, her lifted hair swinging slightly over the cold floor. She pulled on her last sock, then glanced toward Leonid who was just about to remove his towel. She quickly turned away, averting her gaze entirely.
Leonid watched her with a critical eye and sighed in frustration:
"How long are you going to keep acting like you've never seen anything before?"
She didn't answer. Silence fell for a moment brief, yet heavy.
Charlotte knew that any reply would only plunge her deeper into embarrassment, especially with the warmth of his presence already filling the room despite the cool air.
She tugged lightly at her skirt, took a deep breath, still turning her back to him. Then she murmured in a faint voice:
"Tell me honestly… do I really deserve to act naturally and look at you?"
Leonid stopped drying his hair and lifted his eyes toward her. He hadn't expected that question.
He frowned slightly, then tossed the towel over his shoulder and slowly approached her.
"Why would you think you don't deserve that in the first place?"
He asked softly, barely a breath separating him from the nape of her neck.
Charlotte lowered her head without turning around. Her fingers clung to the edge of her skirt as if holding onto a final barrier.
"Because… I still feel like you haven't forgiven me yet."
The air between them stilled. Time slowed.
Leonid looked at her for a long moment, then muttered, more to himself than to her:
"That feeling doesn't belong to me… I forgave you from the start."
Her eyes shimmered beneath her lashes, his words echoing in her mind like a distant whisper.
After a moment of silence, Leonid added, with a calm tone tinged with reproach:
"I thought you were just shy… but it seems I didn't understand you well."
He turned away, disappointed, and began dressing.
"It hurts me, Charlotte, that you let me hold you and kiss you, while you're still unsure whether I've forgiven you or not… Ah, Charlotte, you really are something else."
His voice still rang in her ears, as if something had cracked inside him… and inside her, too.
Quietly, without a sound.
At that moment, something shifted within Charlotte; she no longer wanted to keep her back to him.
She turned slowly, her eyes glowing with a different light. No longer hesitant. No longer shy.
"Leonid."
Just the way she said his name was enough to stop his hand as he reached for his belt. He turned toward her, meeting her gaze one that didn't shy away this time.
"I let you hold me and kiss me because I wanted to. Not because you did."
Charlotte confessed boldly and took a step toward him, then another. Each step shedding a layer of old fear and hesitation.
"I was afraid… afraid that you'd push me away if I crossed the line I thought was drawn for me. But now, since you've forgiven me, there's no reason to think that way anymore."
She now stood directly in front of him, closer than ever before.
Leonid remained silent, his hand still suspended at his belt, eyes fixed on her.
Charlotte lowered her gaze, then slowly reached out and touched the edge of his belt.
"All I want now… is to start over. With you."
Leonid stared at her as if seeing her for the first time. She was no longer the hesitant girl who lowered her eyes and whispered shyly. She now stood before him with the certainty of a woman who knew what she wanted and asked for it with clarity that left no room for escape.
He looked down at her hand still holding his belt, then back at her eyes and said in a soft voice:
"And who said I ever wanted to be the reason you were afraid?"
He paused for a moment, then added:
"And who said I don't want to start over with you?"
He smiled gently, beautifully making Charlotte's heart pound violently in her chest. She fluttered her lashes and slowly raised her head, looking at him with shining eyes.
Leonid leaned in toward her, and nothing remained between their lips but a breath. He drew closer, but suddenly Charlotte's face turned beet red. She quickly released the belt and stepped back.
"I'm glad to hear that! But… can we postpone the reunion kiss? I just put on my makeup and I don't want to ruin it. Anyway, go finish getting dressed I'll wait for you outside."
She said it quickly and rushed out the door, standing beside it, fanning her face with her hand to cool down the heat.
Leonid laughed and shook his head, then remarked sarcastically:
"Well… habits don't die."