Pod kůžíUnder the Skin

XVI.

Adam set his phone down on the coffee table.

Without a word, we started cleaning up.

I carried the mugs to the kitchen. On the way, I threw away the empty tea bag and opened the cupboard, where I began putting away the groceries. When I came back, Adam was in the middle of folding the duvet we had been sharing all morning.

I reached for the other one.

At the exact same moment, he reached for it too.

Our hands brushed lightly.

“Sorry,” I said automatically.

Adam looked at me.

Then, completely calmly, he unfolded the duvet back over the sofa.

I frowned in confusion.

“What are you doing?”

He shrugged.

“Leave it there.”

“Why?”

He looked utterly innocent.

“We’ll need it later.”

I stared at him for a moment.

“Oh?”

He nodded.

“This evening.”

He paused.

“After the boys leave.”

One corner of his mouth twitched.

I knew that expression.

He knew exactly what he had just done.

I shook my head.

“You’re impossible.”

I took two steps toward him.

I put a hand on his face.

And before he could say anything, I kissed him.

Just for a moment.

Completely ordinary.

When I pulled back, he looked startled.

“What was that for?”

I smiled.

“Just because.”

We stood there for several more seconds, just looking at each other in silence.

Adam smiled in that quiet way of his, as if he was trying very hard not to ruin the moment.

Then he glanced around the living room.

“So, what else?”

I turned in a slow circle.

“I think we’re done.”

Adam nodded.

“That’s suspicious.”

“What?”

“That we’ve actually tidied up.”

I laughed.

“That doesn’t happen to us very often.”

“Then appreciate it.”

At that exact moment, the doorbell rang.

We looked at each other.

“They’re here,” Adam said.

I nodded.

Before I could take a step toward the door, he lightly caught my hand.

Just for a moment.

Then he let go again.

I opened it.

In the hallway stood Kuba, Filip, and Matěj.

No one said anything.

They just looked at us.

At me.

At Adam.

And back again.

Kuba finally broke the silence.

“So...”

He glanced around.

“Are you going to let us in, or are we supposed to solve this curiosity out here in the hallway?”

I stepped aside from the door.

“Come in.”

Kuba was, of course, first.

“Oh, it’s warm in here.”

Filip only smiled and took off his shoes.

Matěj closed the door and looked around the apartment.

“Sit down,” Adam said, nodding toward the living room.

Kuba had already claimed the place on the sofa by then.

“What are you drinking?” I asked.

“Beer.”

“Beer.”

“Beer.”

They answered almost simultaneously.

I looked at Adam.

“You?”

“Me too.”

I nodded.

“I’ll have wine.”

Together, we headed into the kitchen.

We didn’t need to discuss it.

I pulled out the glasses, Adam opened the fridge and started taking out bottles.

I set the crisps on the counter.

He automatically opened the cupboard, took out two bowls, and handed one to me.

“Thanks.”

He only smiled.

I started pouring the crisps into bowls.

Adam was looking for the bottle opener in the meantime.

He found it exactly where I kept it.

“You know your way around here already,” I remarked.

“That’s dangerous.”

I had to laugh.

---

For a while, there was silence in the living room.

Kuba watched the activity in the kitchen for a moment.

“Is it just me...”

Filip smirked.

“No.”

“...or are you not even coordinating anymore?”

Matěj nodded.

“I noticed too.”

We carried everything into the living room together. Adam distributed the beer, I set the bowls of crisps and the glass of wine on the coffee table, and Kuba obviously took the first handful before I had even sat down. Filip only shook his head with amusement, and Matěj leaned comfortably into the corner of the sofa as if he belonged there.

“So?” Adam looked at the boys. “Shall we do NHL?”

“Are you really asking?” Kuba said, reaching for the controller.

Within a few minutes, the first game was already on the screen. I leaned into the corner of the sofa with my glass of wine, Adam sat beside me, and the others started arguing about who would play with whom. At first it was mostly complaining about the referees, who according to Kuba clearly had no idea what they were doing even though they were only computer-generated, and Filip laughing every time Kuba scored another goal. Matěj, as I quickly understood, did not need to talk much. He held the controller calmly, focused, while the others commented on almost every puck battle and he quietly collected points.

The atmosphere was surprisingly... normal.

No one was making a fuss. No one was asking me questions. Not a single remark was made about last night. Every now and then I caught Filip or Matěj glancing at me and Adam and smiling quietly. There was no mockery in it. More like a quiet acknowledgement that everything was exactly as it should be.

After a few games, someone paused the match, and the conversation naturally shifted elsewhere.

“When are you heading home, anyway?” Filip asked, reaching for more crisps.

“Wednesday morning,” Adam said. “My dad is picking me up.”

“I’m leaving on Tuesday after school,” Kuba added. “Otherwise my mum would disinherit me.”

“Tuesday too,” Matěj nodded.

Filip just shrugged.

“I’m going in the evening.”

Silence settled for a moment.

“And you?” Kuba looked at me.

“Thursday morning.”

“On Christmas Day?”

I nodded.

“Yeah. I’ll only be home until Sunday. On Monday I’m back at work.”

“That goes by fast,” Kuba sighed.

“You haven’t even started eating the biscuits and you’re already heading back.”

“At least you don’t overeat,” I smiled.

Kuba shook his head.

“You don’t understand Christmas at all.”

I laughed.

“That’s very possible.”

Adam nudged me lightly with his shoulder.

“Don’t worry.”

I looked at him.

“After Christmas we’ll make up for it.”

Kuba stared into the empty beer crate.

“We have a problem.”

Adam leaned forward.

“Did we run out?”

“Totally.”

Silence followed for a moment.

Adam stood up.

“I’m going to get more beer.”

“I’ll come with you,” I said before I could stop myself.

Kuba only waved a hand.

“Just don’t get lost.”

I laughed.

“It’s literally right around the corner.”

We grabbed our jackets and went outside.

As soon as the door closed behind us, Adam nudged me lightly with his shoulder.

“So?”

I looked at him.

“So what?”

“Do you like them?”

I smiled.

“Yeah.”

A few steps later, I automatically laced my fingers through his.

I did it before I realised what I was doing.

Adam looked down at our hands.

Then at me.

He said nothing.

He just tightened his grip on my fingers a little more firmly.

We walked in silence for a while.

It was strange.

Just a few days earlier, my head had been full of questions.

Now I had none.

It was enough that he walked beside me.

On the way back, we stopped outside my building.

Adam looked up at the windows of my flat for a moment.

Then he smiled.

“You know...”

I waited.

“I don’t think I’ve had such an ordinary, nice day in a long time.”

I looked at him.

I didn’t answer.

I only opened the entrance door and let him go in first.

As soon as the door closed behind us, I set the shopping bag down on the floor.

Adam turned toward me.

“What is—?”

I didn’t let him finish.

I put my hands on his jacket and gently pushed him back against the wall.

He blinked in surprise.

For a moment, there was confusion in his eyes.

Then he smiled.

I leaned in and kissed him.

This time I wasn’t in a rush.

I just needed to be as close to him as possible for a moment.

When we pulled apart a little later, Adam rested his forehead against mine.

“What was that for?”

I smiled.

“For the ordinary, nice day.”

Adam laughed softly.

“Then I should have more days like this.”

“I’d be in favor of that.”

Then I picked up the shopping bag from the floor.

When we returned to the flat, Kuba’s voice came from the living room.

“Finally! We thought you’d moved in.”

“We were just choosing the right brand,” Adam replied completely calmly.

“Sure.”

Kuba took the beer and opened it triumphantly.

The evening then passed much faster than I expected. One Xbox match followed another, arguments over who had given whom the assist for a goal, and the crisps slowly disappeared from the bowls while only empty beer bottles remained on the coffee table. Outside, it had been dark for a long time, and the rain kept tapping against the windows.

It was after eleven when Filip looked at the time.

“We should probably go.”

Kuba grumbled unhappily.

“Already?”

“It’s Sunday tomorrow.”

“Exactly.”

“And school on Monday.”

“You don’t need to remind me.”

Slowly, we started tidying the empty bottles and bowls. This time, everyone helped.

When we were in the hallway, Kuba was putting on his shoes and turned to Adam.

“Listen... are you coming with us?”

Adam didn’t hesitate for even a second.

He just shook his head.

“No.”

Kuba nodded.

As if he had expected exactly that answer.

“See you tomorrow, then.”

“Yeah.”

Filip shook my hand as he left.

“Thanks for having us.”

“It was nothing.”

Matěj only smiled.

“It was nice.”

Then they disappeared down the corridor.

We could still hear their voices and laughter for a while before the building door slammed shut.

Silence fell over the flat.

I looked at Adam.

He looked at me.

We said nothing.

He simply held out his hand.

Entwined our fingers.

And slowly led me back to the living room.

The duvet was still lying exactly where he had left it a few hours earlier.

I looked at it.

Then at him.

“That’s why.”

Adam only smiled.

He sat down on the sofa and gently pulled me toward him.

He wrapped an arm around my waist and rested his forehead against my shoulder for a moment.

“I missed you.”

I laughed.

“I was right beside you the whole time.”

“I know.”

He paused.

“But I couldn’t hold you.”

I lifted my head toward him.

This time I let him kiss me.

Slowly.

Calmly.

We weren’t in a hurry.

Outside, the rain continued.

The television stayed on, but the screen had long since gone dark.

I reached for the remote.

Then I changed my mind.

I left it lying on the coffee table.

Adam smiled.

“So what do we do now?”

I pretended to think for a moment.

Then I reached for the remote.

Adam glanced at the television.

Instead of turning it on, I set it back down on the coffee table.

I looked at him.

“I don’t think we’ll need it today.”

For a moment, he didn’t move.

Then that familiar mischievous smile appeared in his eyes.

“No?”

I slowly shook my head.

“No.”