The Blackout ⤖ George Russell

T W E N T Y O N E

Nora sat on the ground in front of the couch, unpacking the sushi. "It has been a while," she said and gave George two chopsticks. "And it is looking delicious," she satisfied said. "Bon appetit."

A smirk rolled over George his lips. "Bon appetit." He looked at her. "I have been wondering, how do you get your memories back? Do you see something recognisable and get a flashback or do you suddenly see things?"

"Sometimes when I am just thinking, it shows up, or I'm like 'but in Abu Dhabi I did this' and I remember a piece of it. Or in dreams, what gives me the illusion it is a dream while it is a memory," she answered his question. "And I write it down and without noticing, the whole happening is on paper."

He nodded. "Do they scare you?"

The ones I had were not particularly scary. "Neh, I didn't have scary ones for so far. It is confusing. It's more like you finally remember why you walked to the kitchen after forgetting it when arriving at the kitchen," she said, and a small laugh rolled over her lips. "Or when you finally remember where you put your keys. A small moment of excitement and go on with your life."

"It must be weird to get those on random moments." George ate a piece of California roll.

She shrugged. "It is, it's like finding pieces of a puzzle without having connecting pieces or a puzzle itself. I've no idea how much I remember from what happened in Abu Dhabi, but I somehow can connect things." Her eyes found his. "Like I remember what happened on Friday, an interview on Saturday with Kimi..." Nora's voice became softer. "...what happened on Saturday evening and Sunday morning."

It was silence. George stopped chewing, his eyes were locked with Nora's eyes. Nora could feel her heart racing in her chest. George looked away and slowly continued eating the sushi. By the shocked reaction of George, Nora knew the memory happened.

"What do you exactly remember?"

"We slept together," she replied and looked down. "Twice, evening and morning." She ran her hand through her hair. Was she regretting on saying this? Yes, she was. It was getting awkward now. "And...I...erm... Gosh, it is getting awkward," she awkwardly chuckled and chewed on her bottom lip.

"You remember everything from it?"

"Well, I think I do."

He looked her in the eyes, she was blushing. It was cute. "Do you regret it?"

"No. You?"

"No."

The sparkle, she had the sparkle in her eyes again. George bit his lip and grabbed a new piece of sushi. He silently ate it, he distracted himself from looking at her again. Nora continued eating as well. Her eyes were focussed on the window, which gave her a view from outside. George was studying the sushi, thinking about what he should do next.

Nora dipped a piece in the soy sauce, brought it up towards her mouth, and it slipped between the sticks. "No," she blurted and watched it fall on the table. "Bollocks. I can't do a single thing right," she muttered and grabbed the piece before putting it in her mouth. She cleaned the table with a napkin. "I'm sorry," she apologised.

All the movements she made were observed by George. Nora could be clumsy, but the way she fixed it and dealt with it, was adorable. The innocent look in her eyes, the apologising smile, that was Nora.

Nora got up laboriously, she was stiff. She ignored the pressure and walked to the kitchen to get a dishcloth.

"Are you staying over?"

"Hmm?" Nora hummed and turned around to face George.

"Are you staying over?" George repeated the question and smiled.