Chapter Twelve #2
‘Are you sure?’ I asked, knowing as soon as it went on, he wasn’t getting it back. The woody, musky smell was homely and comforting. If he hadn’t ever washed it, he shouldn’t. It was like Santa, Prince Charming and a handsome woodcutter had all got together and collaborated on a scent.
Jonas wriggled his way out of the headlock and ran into the changing rooms, and Henrik caught the door before it slammed. ‘See you out there,’ he said, his beard and hairy chest connecting to give him a natural fur coat.
I had a shower and made my way out to the thermal pools, which were bubbling away, blowing steam into the air.
Each one glowed a different colour. The eggy smell of sulphur was unavoidable as I held my breath and headed for the turquoise pool – it was the furthest away and the only one still empty.
I wasn’t in the mood for small talk, and the thought of any leg touching or an accidental toenail scrape gave me the ick.
The water was divine, with pockets of hot and cold swirling around my body, the minerals stinging my skin as they did their thing.
I lay back on a ledge in the rock, letting the bubbles come up to my chin, and could feel three other seats covered in natural sponge, oscillating in rhythm with the jets.
The snow was still pelting down, and the clouds were so low, I was practically breathing them in.
The steam mingled with the mist making it impossible to see, but it was strangely calm and relaxing.
Submerged in the heat and thinking about nothing, I floated in a surreal, dreamlike state as I enjoyed my one-woman bath in the sky.
Until someone else showed up.
A red beanie poked through the smoke followed by Henrik’s face. ‘Oh! Hei, Sara. Sorry, I thought this one was free.’ He started to back away.
‘There’s plenty of space! I can’t hog a whole pool to myself.’
‘Of course you can. You’re on holiday. Please. Enjoy.’
‘Honestly, it’s fine. See it as a thank you for giving me your robe.’
I was loving the space and quiet, but why not add a Nordic hunk into the mix? I didn’t want him to disappear back out into the fog.
‘Fine. It’s too cold to argue.’ Henrik dipped a set of neat toes into the water, then jumped in. ‘And to be clear, I’ve loaned you my robe for the day. It’s not a forever thing.’
‘Can I not buy one from somewhere? Or order one in? I thought I was going to an actual spa where there would be thousands of robes; not two between twenty, like some kind of biblical nightmare.’
‘They’re not meant to be shared, the two we have are mine and Jonas’s. I can order you one, of course, but it won’t arrive until the snow clears and you’ve already said you’re leaving as soon as it does.’
‘Order me one anyway, in case I decide to stay. Can I borrow Jonas’s in the meantime – when he’s not using it?’ What had I become? A desperate woman, begging for men’s clothes. This place was destroying my street cred.
Henrik bobbed down, leaving just his eyes and nose above the waterline, the pair of us blinking at each other like hippos.
Gold flecks swirled around the brown as he looked at me from under his lashes.
He had a beautiful face, but there was only so long we could stare into each other’s eyes without speaking, and eventually I had to look away.
The intensity was too much, and I could feel something beginning to stir in my stomach.
‘Sure. Jonas won’t mind. Greta goes to the mainland all the time, too.
I’m sure she’d bring you back some clothes if you asked. ’
‘Amazing! Yes please – whatever she can. Jumpers and jeans would be great. The clothes I’ve got won’t last me a month.’
‘Have you changed your mind about leaving then?’
‘I’d rather be overprepared than eating dinner in my karate outfit.’
Henrik laughed. ‘Karate, eh? Impressive. What level dan are we talking?’
I had no idea. I mean, I had the outfit, but I wasn’t a dan. Whatever that was. ‘Now let me see… it’s been a while.’ Think, think… what colour belt did they give me. ‘I was er… orange dan last time I went.’
‘Orange dan?’ Henrik said, puzzled. ‘Is that something these days? You can handle yourself, then, can you?’
‘Absolutely.’ I thought back to my karate lesson.
Singular. I’m still not sure if it was me who had accidentally booked the kid’s class, or the sensei had decided I was only at an eight-year-old level.
I’d imagined a few cool Shoreditch peeps getting involved in some self-defence and chopping a couple of blocks in two, then going for margaritas.
Instead, I did some very basic arm moves and repeatedly said ‘Yes, Sensei,’ for an hour with a load of schoolkids. And in hindsight… no, Sensei. No.
A whoosh of hot water started whirlpooling around me and I found myself pushed towards Henrik, unable to control my legs.
‘Ooh, sorry, argh, I can’t…’ I put my hands out to stop a full-frontal hug but still ended up cuddled into his big, broad chest.
‘So much for being able to handle yourself,’ he chuckled.
‘Or it’s my magnetic charm.’ Was he… flirting with me?
He certainly wasn’t trying to stop me, or moving away.
Although it would have been weird if he’d started moving around as well, like two crabs playing kabaddi in a puddle.
‘It’s easier to go with the flow until the water changes direction. ’
‘This happens a lot, does it?’ I asked, feeling safe in his arms. I leant against them slightly, just to check. Yep. All that wood-chopping wasn’t for nothing. Rock-solid.
‘Not really. But the water has its own plans, and I’ve learnt not to get in the way of nature. It always knows what it’s doing.’
Henrik’s skin was warm and smooth, but it felt strange to be so close to a naked chest that wasn’t Mark’s. Hard and muscly with a dusting of hairs, it was like bathing with an elf king and I imagined myself as one of his many lovers.
A flurry of snow shook me from my thoughts and I shuddered underwater, pressing into him further.
My nose was numb and I could feel my eyelashes crisping up as the snowflakes fell, but one patch of cold wasn’t enough to override the pleasure of the thermal pool on the rest of me.
The aggressive jet of water had eased off, but I stayed in Henrik’s arms a few seconds longer, enjoying the heat of his body next to mine.
He didn’t move either, lying back with his eyes closed.
It had been a while since I’d been tangled up with a man like this, and I liked it.
‘Anyone in here?’ Jonas appeared through the mist, squinting to see, then backtracked when he saw us snuggled together. ‘Sorry, sorry, carry on.’
I leapt up and moved to the other side of the pool. ‘What? We’re not…’
‘No carrying on here,’ Henrik said. ‘Get in, Jo-bro.’
‘Room for me, too?’ A petite blonde with shiny plaits peeked out from under Jonas’s arm.
‘Hey, Greta,’ Henrik said, with a wave. ‘We were just talking about you. This is Sara; she’s over from London for a few weeks. Sara, Greta – Jonas’s fiancée and soon to be my sister-in-law.’
‘And a person in my own right,’ Greta said, smiling.
I laughed. ‘Nice to meet you. I’m only staying until the snow clears but I’ll be here for at least a few more days by the looks of it.’
‘How come?’ Greta asked, climbing onto Jonas’s back as he slithered into the water.
‘It’s not quite what I was expecting.’
‘Is that a bad thing?’
It was a good question. I shrugged. ‘Not necessarily.’ I hadn’t really thought through my reasons in any detail.
My fight-or-flight instinct had kicked in the second I’d felt uncomfortable, and my knee-jerk reaction was to go straight home.
It wasn’t the luxury break I thought I’d booked but I didn’t want to sound like a spoilt brat.
So far, it had been challenging and cold and relentless, and I was way out of my comfort zone.
‘Give it some time,’ Jonas said. ‘Transformation doesn’t happen overnight.’
‘Especially for you Brits.’ Greta giggled. ‘No offence, but they usually have the most unwinding to do. The first week is for sleeping only.’
‘Well, that’s working, I’ve been like a little dormouse – the bed is too comfy.’
‘That’s my magic blankets at work. You’re welcome lads,’ Greta said, reaching over the side of the pool and putting a tiny teabag in her mouth. Probably LSD. She offered it round. ‘Do you snus?’
‘No. I don’t think so. Is it… drugs?’
The three of them laughed. ‘No, it’s not drugs, Sara,’ Jonas said, doing a scary, theatrical face. ‘It’s nicotine.’
‘Arguably a drug,’ Henrik batted back.
‘Oh, well, yes, I do occasionally do nicotine.’
‘You do, do you?’ Greta said. I took one of the little pouches and copied Jonas, who popped it in his cheeks like a lop-faced gerbil, and carried on talking.
‘The nicotine goes straight into your bloodstream, so you don’t need to do anything,’ Jonas said, but it was too late, I’d already started chewing.
‘Cool,’ I side-mouthed, tasting the grossness and looking for an appropriate spittoon.
Henrik was lowering himself into the water, which was now just below his chin. ‘Got it,’ he said, bouncing back up and holding a stone in the air. Blue and bronze-green with gold-tinged edges, it twinkled in the light as he held it out to me. ‘Labradorite for the lady.’
‘There’s loads of it in this pool,’ Jonas said, feeling down and pulling out another piece. ‘It polishes up really nice.’
‘I prefer it natural and raw,’ Greta said, finding her own rock to admire. ‘You should take them for your cabin, Sara. Labradorite is very calming – it gets rid of negativity.’
‘Facts,’ Jonas said, putting his piece on top of Greta’s and giving them both to me. ‘It’ll take away all your stresses. Guaranteed.’
‘Thanks,’ I mumbled, trying to smile, my mouth now full of nicotine spit.
‘All included in the mind and body transformation package,’ Henrik said with a wink.
I considered coughing the snus into my hand and washing it in the pool. But I couldn’t bring myself to contaminate the water. Not when Tore had beseeched us all so earnestly to follow the rules. There was obviously a tiny eco-warrior inside me, somewhere.
I rolled onto my front, letting the water massage my legs, then put the tiny chewed-up bag on the edge of the pool. Yuk! There were a lot of things to like about Norway, but snus was not one of them.