Inner Desires

2.

Holding her cup of coffee in her hands, Hanna Jansen recalled the events of the previous night. She had surely had a ball. After finishing work at the restaurant, she had had a snack with her roommates, and then the three of them had gone out. No matter what happened, Friday night belonged to them. Sometimes they'd just stay at home and watch a movie, while other times they'd party together or even go on small trips.

They had accepted it as some small rule amongst them – the rest of the week, they could do anything they pleased in anyone's company, but Friday was theirs. However, even though they all complied to it strictly, it wasn't a sacrifice at all; more than roommates, after two years living together, they were good friends, almost like family.

In spite of his menacing appearance – big and strong, long hair and a long beard – Mark Wahlström was a protective and friendly man. Back in Sweden, where he was from, he had met an American girl and fallen in love with her, which ultimately had caused him to leave his home country, following her. Although the relationship unfortunately didn't last for long, he decided to stay in the States. He enjoyed the way of life there; besides, after getting involved in Little Europe, the urge to go back home had decreased considerably.

That is how he had met Johanna Settels, a young, bubbly girl from Austria who happened to be looking for two people to share a flat with. Johanna had spent one year in Baltimore as an exchange student. Like Mark, she had fallen in love; not with a person, but with the place. Therefore, she had decided to study there. Despite the age difference – he was in his late 30s, while she hadn't yet turned 20 – they clicked from the very beginning. Then, their search for a third roommate finally ended by chance when they ran into Hanna in a supermarket.

On that Friday, though, Hanna hadn't quite followed the rules. Once in the club, she had met two girls who had insisted on buying her a drink after an incident with her blouse. She loved making new friends, so she had accepted right away. That one glass of vodka orange had led them to the dance floor. In turn, the dance had turned into some more drinks and more chit-chat. And the chit-chat had taken them to the only quiet place that was open at that time, where they could sit comfortably with a pint of beer and continue their conversation.

Mark and Johanna had observed it all from a different corner of the club, discreetly. They knew their friend seemed to attract people wherever she went, so they didn't mind. They didn't even complain when she came to say goodbye to them before leaving the club with her two new acquaintances. After all, there'd be more Fridays... At the end of the night, all three girls had exchanged their phone numbers with the promise to hang out some other time. Meanwhile, no-one knew what happened to Angela.

"Oh, hey there" a sleepy Johanna greeted, stretching "We already thought those two chicks had kidnapped you"

Still in her pajamas she tiptoed into the kitchen to get some coffee. Hanna watched her, sipping her own.

"I'm sorry I disappeared like that"

"It's fine" her roommate called from the kitchen "Did you have fun?"

"Sure! They were really nice"

"Nah, I'm convinced they were not as nice and cool as we are" Johanna joked, sitting down next to her friend on the couch.

"Of course not!" the brunette giggled . "You're the best little sister in the world and will always be"

The younger girl seemed very pleased by the answer. She leaned forward, mug in hand, eager to know the details she had missed the evening before. Hanna took a breath.

"Yeah..." she said, giving herself time to think "We went to that late bar downtown and talked about... well, basically everything. One of them lives close to the restaurant"