Jessica woke early the next morning to her phone ringing loudly on the nightstand. She didn’t open her eyes as she reached for the phone and answered the call.
“Hello?” she said, the fog of her sleep barely lifted.
“Good morning babe! How is Sweden?!” It took a moment to register, but Jessica quickly realized that it was her boyfriend on the phone. She quickly sat up, suddenly wide awake.
“Hey Babe! Sweden is amazing! I have been having a great time so far!” Jessica couldn’t help but feel guilty, knowing that Mikael was the reason she was enjoying herself so much.
“That’s great? So where have you been? What have you seen? Any crazy adventures so far?” There it was again, the guilty lump in Jessica’s throat. She knew she couldn’t tell him about her affair with Mikael, but she knew how incredibly unfair it was to her boyfriend that she was sleeping with someone else. She told him about the shops and the places that she had visited, leaving out that she wasn’t alone. He was so happy that she was having a good time, and told her that he couldn’t wait to see her pictures. Their conversation doesn’t last long, her boyfriend needing to go to back to bed. Jessica thanks him for calling, telling him that she misses him and loves him. Her boyfriend returns the sentiment, and hangs up, leaving Jessica alone with her guilt.
Jessica knows that how she feels about Mikael is wrong. She knows that she shouldn’t be seeing him when she has an amazing boyfriend at home. But she is drawn to Mikael. He makes her feel free, and more alive than she has ever felt in her entire life. And each time she thinks of him, her whole body tingles, remembering his touch and how he felt inside of her. Jessica promises herself that she will stop seeing Mikael, even if it just feels so right. She knows that it is a short-lived romance that will mean nothing when she steps back on the plane to Canada.
Jessica gets out of bed, stretching in attempt to motivate herself. With no plans for the day, she decides that it is a perfect time to spend the day just relaxing in her hotel room. She sauntered to the bathroom, leaving a trail of clothing behind her.
She turns the shower on and give it a moment to heat up, examining herself in the bathroom mirror. No visible marks from her encounter with Mikael, but she could still feel his hands all over her. She didn’t ever want to lose that feeling, but she knew cutting off the relationship would be for the best. Jessica sighed and got in the shower, letting the water wash off the residual sand. Jessica ran her fingers through her hair, just as Mikael had. No matter what she did, she just couldn’t get him out of her mind. Jessica soaped up, attempting to wash away her guilt. She spent a few moments just letting the water run over her skin before deciding she needed to get out.
Before Jessica even got a towel wrapped around herself, there was a knock at the door. She was hoping that it wasn’t housekeeping but it very well could be because she hadn’t put the “Do not disturb” sign on her door. “Just a minute!” Jessica called out, wrapping a towel around herself and walking towards the door. She took a peek through the peephole, and couldn’t believe that Mikael was standing there. She opened the door, and he smiled.
“Good Morning, min kära.” He took her hand and kissed it, making Jessica blush. Her guilt was still causing her stomach to churn, but she was doing her best to force it out of her mind. She stepped to the side and gestured for Mikael to enter. He stepped inside, grabbing Jessica’s hand and pulling her in. She giggled, caught off-guard by his gesture. Mikael pulled her in close to him, wrapping both arms around her. Jessica could feel the heat rising in her once more. He smirked, his eyes focused intently on hers. He kissed her softly on the lips, his breath warm and sweet.
“I decided to come and surprise you. I have the day off of work and I figured we could spend the day together again.” Mikael released her, sitting on the edge of the bed. Jessica adjusted her towel, suddenly shy in front of him.
“Oh! Well that’s great! I was just planning on hanging out in the hotel room today, but you are more than welcome to join me.”
“Sounds like a great plan to me! Have you eaten breakfast yet?”
“Oh not yet, I hadn’t really gotten that far.”
“Well how about we head down to the café and grab some breakfast, and then come back here to spend the day?”
“That sounds great! Just give me a minute to throw on some clothes and we can go.” Jessica grabbed the nearest clothes she could find and hurried off to the bathroom to get dressed.

***

The café was busy for an early morning. The line was long, and Jessica was starting to regret not ordering room service. Mikael lead her to the chair in the corner, the same chair where Jessica first spotted him. He pulled up a chair and sat down, offering the other to Jessica. She smiled and thanked him, looking for a server.
“Well good morning!” said a familiar voice. The server that Jessica she had asked about Mikael was standing right there, a big grin on his face. “I was beginning to wonder where you two had gotten off to! Just the regular order today?”
“Yes please. And can we also get a breakfast menu?” Mikael replied, his smirk showing that there was more to the story than he let on.
“Of course. I will be right back.” The server hurried off to get their drinks.
“What was that all about?” Jessica asked, curious of the story behind the strange interaction.
“Oh. Luka and I go way back, he is one of my best friends.” Mikael’s grin got even larger, and Jessica immediately blushed. She had been asking Mikael’s best friend about him. She couldn’t hold back laughter, embarrassed that it had taken her this long to realise how Luke knew so much about him. Mikael took Jessica’s hand in his. “Don’t worry, min kära. I thought it was very cute that you were asking about me.” He gently kissed her hand, melting away any worry in Jessica. Mikael got a puzzled look on his face and let go of Jessica’s hands, reaching into his pocket. He grabbed his phone and Jessica could hear it vibrating. He looked more confused as he looked at his phone. “Please. Excuse me for just a moment.” Mikael answered his phone.
“Hallå? Ja det stämmer. Vad kan jag göra för dig?” Mikael sounded angry, but surprised that he was receiving the phone call. She couldn’t help but wonder, what it was about. “Nej. Jag tänker inte komma nu. Det finns ingen möjlighet. Jag... visst... Om det verkligen är så viktigt för dig så möter jag dig där om fem minuter. Hej.” Mikael hung up his phone and sighed loudly. He put his phone on the table and ran his fingers through his hair, looking at the floor.