15. Damn freak

The loud sound of the phone ringing woke her from deep sleep. The ringtone was really annoying. It just kept ringing and ringing. When she woke up, it was so dark in the room that she didn't know where she was. She forgot that last evening she had tightly closed the shutters to make the bedroom completely dark and more quiet. It took her a long moment to realize where she was. Finally, she found the source of the sound that disturbed her nap.

When she picked up the phone, she heard a well-known voice. It sounded lively and fresh, even quite irritating.

"Hi guys! How are you? What did you do yesterday? Nobody called me. What did you do last night?" All in one breath, Mike recited.

"Damn, Mike! It is half past six in the morning. What do you expect?" Jo had already found her mobile phone and checked the time and to say that she was furious would be an understatement.

 "Is Matthew around? Could I talk to him?"

"No. You can't!"

She really wanted to tell him that his best friend was still sleeping next to her, which would probably ruin their relationship, but they wouldn't have peace all day.

"You're still the same control freak! Leave us alone today! Please!" It didn't sound like a polite request but an order. However, she finished the conversation with that.

In the next two minutes, she heard Matthews’ mobile phone ringing in the next bedroom. Jo covered her head with a pillow which didn't help much. 

‘Mike! Stop it! Damn!’ She wanted to scream. She was sure it was him. Nobody answered this call, though. The phone rang over and over again before she finally got up. The door to the next bedroom was open and she saw that the room was already perfectly clean. 

The bed was made. Even the suitcase on the floor looked packed. The shutters and windows were also open. There were audible water splashes in the bathroom. She figured that Matthew was taking a shower.

"What the fuck Mike? What's wrong with you?"

Mike was speechless. He expected everything, but not that Jo would answer Matthew's phone. He wasn't comfortable with this fact and wished that he'd flown with them.

"We were and still are busy. Could you please understand that?" She broke the long silence.

"What time should I pick you up from the airport?" Finally he regained his voice.

"We will be arriving just before 11.00 pm. And no, there’s no need; we can get a taxi."

"I will be waiting outside the departures, at the drop off zone. Have a good day!" And he hung up the phone first.

"Good morning, Beauty! What's wrong?" Matthew asked as soon as he came out of the bathroom.

"Mike was calling!" She said looking at the door. "First, on the landline for so long, later on your mobile phone. I picked up." She stated.

Jo wanted to run away as soon as possible and not to look at her friend. He was only in his boxer shorts and was wiping his hair with a towel. Almost every muscle was visible on his perfectly toned shoulders and hands.

She saw the glow in his dark blue eyes. She admired his ideal neck, beautiful traps, excellent biceps and abs. Water drops from his blond lush hair trickled down his neck. ‘Fuck! Get a grip woman!’ She thought. ‘He's your best buddy, not a sexual object.’ Her throat tightened. There was nothing she could do about it. She always believed that friendship between opposite sexes was possible but she began to have doubts about it now.

Immediately Matthew noticed that she felt uncomfortable in his company but chose to ignore it. His sudden laugh woke her up from her delusions.

"That's great that you picked up my phone." He wondered what she told him and how his friend felt when his ex-girlfriend answered his call in the early morning. "We have a guaranteed peace today." He added.

"Considering the situation, I hope so."

"Are you hungry? We can have breakfast in 5-10 minutes."

"Damn! Matthew, you have the perfect trap muscles! The ideal abs and beautifully built quadriceps and calves." Shamelessly she looked up and down his body very slowly. She was about to watch him from behind, but she stopped herself in time and summed up her observations. "Actually your whole body is perfect!"

"Really?" He muttered. ‘I have it since you have known me. How come you have noticed that just now?’ He questioned internally. "Do you want to only watch it or touch it too?" He started to tease her to see how it ends.

Unexpectedly, she inched closer to him and Matthew felt her breath on his body. To his surprise, she ruffled his wet hair then gently touched his neck. At that moment, he felt shivers down his spine. ‘You don't know what you're playing at.’ He thought. 

Then she delicately scratched the shape of his neck, slightly roaming her hand over his trapezoid, and finally keeping her palm on his shoulder. "Perfection in every way!"

He saw the gleam in her eyes. She was definitely up to something. He knew the expression perfectly well and wondered what she would do next.

"If I have some free time, I propose a photo session."

It wasn't what he was waiting for. Matthew thought that she had come up with something crazier and was a bit disappointed.

"Undressed, of course!" She added after a while.

"Sure! No problem. Just say where and when. I can undress and you can take as many shots as you want, as long as you do not publish the photos in some tabloids." Matthew laughed at the very thought of a photo session with him in the lead role.

They both stood in the corridor looking at each other for a long time. 

Matthew looked perfect to her.

In contrast, Jo looked terrible. She had a rumpled nightgown, messy hair, a puffy face with dark circles under her eyes and smudged makeup because she felt tired and slept without washing it off. She was aware of what she looked like but she was in no rush. He had seen her in even worse condition many times.

"Hmm, I think that’s enough admiration for your beautiful body for today! Finally she broke the silence. She already had an idea for some interesting shots. "Let's get ready. We have all day to enjoy Paris."

"I found my old camera. It's archaic equipment, but still good. My parents take pretty good pictures with it. I cleaned out the memory cards and charged the batteries, so think where you would like to go."