225 Chapter two, 2016, just another Christmas: 6 (1/2)

Long before they came back to their flat Ulf regretted the way he had treated the man from that black car. Maybe it was unavoidable, but that still didn't make it right.

While Amaya parked the car Ulf ran up the stairs and hurried inside. There was a little something he needed to do that involved a computer and their television set. More exactly, it involved connecting his laptop to the media-box and making certain all signals went through the way he wanted.

Ulf got his confirmation before Christina arrived together with Amaya, and he hastily closed the lid and hid his laptop behind the TV.

They barely made it inside the door before Amaya threw a hand to her mouth in the worst attempt at acting Ulf had seen for a very long time.

”My my, I forgot the cake! No worries, I'll just leave and get it. Should take about half an hour.”

'What are you up to now?'

”Ageruman-san that should be enough time for you to take a bath. Thirty minutes.”

'What the hell?'

And Amaya was suddenly on the outside of the door.

Left inside was Christina who stood facing the door with her arms hanging by her side. Despite watching her back Ulf knew she was grinning wildly, and blushing while doing so.

'Take a bath. Sheesh! Thank you Amaya!'

Half an hour, it turned out, was more than enough for the kind of bath Amaya had in mind for them when she left to fetch a cake Ulf was certain had never been forgotten in the first place.

Two flustered teenagers, with the experience of most of a full life, each tried preparing food pretending that nothing had happened. In that sense the doctor Principal Nakagawa had brought with him, down at the beach resort during August, was right. All that experience couldn't prevent Ulf from behaving like a teen, and from what he saw of Christina, neither could she.

'But you're cuter this way, he thought,' and was rewarded with yet another deep red blush.

He sliced up some green vegetables for their mostly Japanese Christmas dinner when he heard keys inserted in the door, and Amaya returned with an overly loud greeting.

'You never wait in the doorway like that when you come home. Amaya, you're sweet. Thank you, I really mean it.'

Then his guardian must have heard the sound from the kitchen and entered the flat. Ulf could hear her dropping off her shoes in the hallway.

Beside him Christina flared red once again, and busied herself with something that would give her another few seconds before she had to face Amaya.

'Christina, in what alternate universe do you believe Amaya would expect us not to have shared a bed until now?'

Ulf shook his head and smiled down at the food he prepared. Then he felt his own face heat up and realised he was just as prone to blushing as Christina right now.

'Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!'

Embarrassed for the very reason that he could still become so embarrassed he left the kitchen and rushed into the small living room. There he busied himself with laptop, cables and the TV.

After a minor eternity he had finished his work and checked the time. Almost three pm.

'I hope you like my Christmas gift for you Christina. It's the only thing special for Sweden I could think of.'