Page 66 of The Sleepwalker
‘I know.’
He takes out a clean spoon and tries the sauce himself.
‘I forgot the lemon,’ he says, reaching for one from the net and grating a little zest into the pan.
Moa playfully guides him through the finishing touches, showing him how to balance the seasoning and thicken the sauce. Erik then mixes it with some rigatoni in a warm serving dish and scatters a few basil leaves over the top.
* * *
They are now sitting across from each other at the table, eatingthe pasta. Erik pours more wine, and she praises his cooking again.
He uses the corner of his napkin to wipe a creamy lip mark from his glass before helping himself to more food.
‘You have beautiful hands,’ she says, reaching over to stroke the back of one of them, resting on the table beside his glass.
‘Do you think so?’ He looks down at it, as though he has never noticed it before.
‘How was your day?’ she asks.
‘Oh, nothing special. I tried to write a little .?.?. an article about the dual nature of the voice in my field. Attentive and reassuring, yet also authoritarian.’
‘Interesting.’
‘What else .?.?. I finished reading a German thesis about hypnosis and hallucinogens, which was pretty cool. And I saw two clients, too.’
‘Women?’ she asks, lowering her fork.
‘Yes.’
‘Do they .?.?. I’ve been wondering, don’t they fall in love with you?’
‘No.’
‘What?’ she asks, astounded.
‘If they do, they manage to hide it very well.’
‘Or maybe you’re just not so attuned to signals of that kind,’ she says with a smirk.
‘I think I’d notice.’
‘You haven’t noticed that I want to kiss you. A lot.’
‘Ah, you’ve got me blushing now .?.?. But the truth is that I’ve probably become more cautious about .?.?. interpreting certain things .?.?. Sorry, I don’t know what I’m trying to say here.’
‘You’re trying to change the subject,’ she says with a smile.
‘I’d really like to kiss you, too.’
‘But?’
‘I don’t want to rush it, to force anything .?.?. I’m so glad you’re here, that you wanted to see me again. You’re so attractive, vibrant and interesting .?.?. and you have incredibly sweet ears.’
‘But .?.?.?’
‘I’m not like all the exciting people you must meet through your work, with their cool clothes, tattoos and muscles.’
‘You’ve been working out, you said.’
