Page 20 of The Seducer
“Right you are.” A slow smile grew on Finn’s face, and it provoked me. That’s why, when I pulled back, I timed my next sentence to give him the full impact of my bad morning breath. “You can untie your own feet, right?”
When he wrinkled his nose, I suppressed my smile and got out of bed.
“Breakfast is ready in ten minutes,” I said and walked downstairs, where Hans was already up and folding the blankets he’d slept with.
“Did Finn’s whistle wake you up too?” I asked and yawned.
“Yes, it was very loud.” he replied and gave me a sympathetic glance. “Did you get any sleep at all?”
“Hard to believe, but, yes, I slept well.”
“That’s great. I couldn’t sleep so I read a little.” He pointed to a book on the table. “I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed one of your books.”
“Not at all.” Walking over, I picked it up and turned it around to see the cover. “Myths and Legends of the Past,” I read out loud. “Ah, one of my favorites.”
“I’ve always been fascinated by the past,” Hans explained and piled the pillows and blankets neatly on the sofa.
“Me too. It’s the mystery of lost knowledge, don’t you think?”
“Uh-huh.” He yawned.
“It’s not even six o’clock,” I said and washed my hands by the kitchen sink. “I don’t know about you but I need a cup of strong herbal tea to wake me up.”
Hans smiled. “Sounds good. I just need to freshen up a little first.” While he walked to my downstairs bathroom, I began prepping for breakfast.
Five minutes later Finn came down the stairs with his hair still wet.
“The shower has a dryer function, I can show you how it works,” I offered.
Shaking his head, he sat down at the round kitchen table, grabbed the cup I’d already poured for him, and took a large sip.
“Are you okay?” I asked when he started coughing violently.
“What kind of horrible coffee is this?” Finn sputtered and looked at me with blame-filled eyes.
“It’s not coffee, it’s herbal tea with nettle, licorice, lemon, and a whiff of mint,” I explained.
Finn shook his head with a look of disgust. “Please tell me you have coffee.”
“Sorry, I don’t.”
“And you callusprimitive,” he muttered and sniffed at the tea.
“What’s going on?” Hans asked when he came out from the bathroom with his blond hair pulled back in three symmetrical braids.
“Athena gave me a witch brew to poison me.”
Hans looked confused and took a seat opposite Finn.
“Hey, Hansi, you’ve got something on your face there.” Finn was gesturing at his eyelashes.
Hans’ hands flew up to his face. “What do you mean, did my make-up smear?”
I looked over. “No, you’re fine.”
Finn turned to me. “Wait a minute, are you saying he put on that purple shit on purpose?”
“Yes, and it shouldn’t surprise you since Hans had make-up on yesterday as well.”
