Page 79 of Paradigm

“I like your hair when it’s messy.”

Arlowe wrapped her own hands around Eline’s waist and asked, “You don’t like it when I actually do it?”

“I do, but you’re done with work, so it doesn’t need to be perfect, and I like running my hands through it now even more than I did back then. It’s shorter, and I can sort of…”

Eline moved a hand up the back of Arlowe’s neck and gave the hairs at the base of it a little tug.

“That can be useful,” Arlowe teased as she wiggled her eyebrows.

“Yes, it can,” she replied with a smile before she leaned in for a kiss.

Arlowe kissed her back and then pressed their foreheads together.

“I missed you today.”

“I missed you, too,” Eline said, trying not to think about the fact that they could be missing each other a lot soon.

“So, it’s okay that I stay over?”

“Of course, it is,” she said and kissed Arlowe again before she moved her hand around to Arlowe’s chest and rested it between her breasts. “I know we still have a lot to talk about, and with everything going on with my job and the risk of me having to leave, we haven’t talked much about where we are with each other, but I want to… do that with you again, Arlowe.”

“Sex?” Arlowe asked in a high-pitched voice that Eline found adorable.

“Yes.” She chuckled. “We have done that before, in case you don’t remember.”

“Oh, I remember. I remember every single time we did that. You want to do that now?”

“Not now, no,” she replied and kissed Arlowe sweetly. “And what I meant to say was that I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. I want to – I always want that with you – but right now, I…”

“I get it,” Arlowe said. “It’s okay. We can wait as long as you want.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “We have done that before, so I thought–”

“Eline, you have no idea how much I have missed that with you, but I will wait forever to have that again with you.” Arlowe cupped her cheek. “Are you bringing this up because you’re worried that we might rush things we’re not ready for since you might be leaving soon?”

“It’s something that I was thinking about today, yes,” she admitted and pulled out of their embrace in order to take Arlowe’s hand and pull her, along with their food, to the kitchen table. “I called my parents today and told them what happened. My mom doesn’t understand why I want to live here, so she’s making up my old room as we speak.”

“Your old room?”

“Just until I could find an apartment, which, if I look in Amsterdam proper, will be next to impossible, so I’d have to find something elsewhere.”

“What about you looking for a new job here and staying in America?”

“That’s still the plan,” she said. “I want to stay. I booked an appointment with the lawyer for tomorrow, but he said in his email that he can help me file for the extension. I’ll find out more when I talk to him about how likely that is and how long the extension is for if I get it.”

“I just wanted to make sure because I talked to Violet, Sarai, and Enya today,” Arlowe shared.

“You told them?” Eline asked as she pulled food containers out of the bag and set them in front of Arlowe and her own seat before she sat down across from her.

“Was that not okay?”

“No, it’s fine. I figured you would.”

“Well, good, because we all talked about it, and I think I have a possible solution.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, babe. I own a software company with three of my best friends. You had to know I would talk to them about hiring you.”