Page 110 of Sixty Meters Under
“You two are related, aren’t you? Only now have I noticed how much you look alike.”
“We’re sisters. Yes. Nice that you noticed,” Valeria said dryly.
“Of course. I have an eye for detail,” Björn declared with a grin plastered on his face.
Valeria tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and averted her gaze. Leticia looked at her sister, then at Björn, but she seemed quite distracted. Her eyes wandered all around and at some point Björn noticed that something had caught her attention. He followed her gaze and saw Lennart walk through the bar. He turned back to Leticia and said, “That’s my brother.”
Both young women looked at him, surprise painted all over their faces. Björn chuckled, “I guess you weren’t aware of that.”
“I definitely wasn’t,” Leticia admitted, but Valeria didn’t comment.
“I thought so. He’s your boyfriend, isn’t he?”
“Yeah. He’s my boyfriend,” Leticia said absently, her eyes following Lennart closely. Then all of a sudden, she looked at Björn and gave him a forced smile. “Excuse me.”
“Sure, go ahead,” Björn said nonchalantly as she stood up. When she was on her way, he added, “At least we’ll have some time for ourselves,” and winked at Valeria.
Valeria’s cheeks reddened, and she looked away again. She glanced one last time at her sister’s retreating back before her eyes locked with Björn’s.
?
Ryosuke joined the gathering later that evening. He knew his parents and Ayame’s parents would be at the same table, so he postponed his arrival as much as he could.
When they noticed that he had come, mothers and Ayame smiled, fathers kept their serious faces, but Ryosuke noticed their looks full of expectation. And of course, the only chair that was free was the one next to Ayame.
“Good evening,” Ryosuke bowed before sitting.
They greeted him back, and his mother said, “We were worried you wouldn’t even come.”
“I promised to come.”
“What took you so long?” Aki added. “Ayame got really bored without you.”
“I… I wasn’t feeling well,” Ryosuke said, hoping it would be a good excuse. “I took a nap and when I woke up I realized I slept longer than I intended.”
His mother asked worriedly, “Are you feeling better now?”
“A little bit, but still not the best.”
“Did something happen?” Ayame’s mother inquired.
“No. Nothing happened,” Ryosuke felt like he was being interrogated, and thought he was really going to get a headache if they kept it up.
“What a beautiful song!” Keiko gasped and turned to him and her daughter. “You and Ayame could dance.”
Ryosuke cleared his throat. “We’re still not actually together.”
“Oh, I almost forgot! Forgive me. I’m so used to you two being together.”
Ryosuke knew she’d said it on purpose, but he wasn’t willing to relent. He wanted to return back to his room, but decided to wait at least until midnight. As he turned in another direction he noticed a woman approaching Lennart. His blood pressure instantly rose.
?
Lennart arrived at the bar, and immediately checked if Ryosuke was there. When he saw him sitting at the table with his family, he relaxed and continued walking towards the bar. Liam, Edvin, Mattias and Alice were already chatting over drinks.
“I’ll have a beer,” he addressed the waitress when he occupied one of the chairs. Liam noticed him and said, “You’re late.”
Lennart raised an eyebrow. “Late for what?” he asked and looked at his watch. “If my eyesight still serves me well, midnight hasn’t passed yet.”
