POV Bon:

The next morning wasn't so nice. It was pouring rain outside and I rolled around uncomfortably in my bed. After five minutes, annoyed, I turned off my alarm and sat up in my bed. Damn, I was tired. Somehow I managed to get up, comb my hair and brush my teeth. I wanted to eat breakfast at work today anyway, so I grabbed my backpack and locked my apartment behind me.

*

When I arrived at the clinic, I strolled through the park with an umbrella in my hand. Nobody was outside today, and I was a little earlier than usual. After changing in the locker room, I went to the dining room. There was a lot going on here. Everywhere was full of people having breakfast. There were also many people queuing at the breakfast buffet. I stopped in the middle of the room and looked around a bit. A few work colleagues waved to me. I smiled and grabbed a tray before grabbing a bowl of cereal, a slice of bread and salami. Also a few cucumbers and a glass of orange juice. Once I placed everything on my tray, I looked for a place to sit. Most of the tables were already occupied. But then I discovered a free table. Only one person was sitting there. And damn. It was Malcolm. I smiled and slowly walked towards the table.

"Good morning." I said as I stood in front of him. Malcolm raised his head and looked up at me from his yogurt. His eyes seemed tired, he had large dark circles under his beautiful green eyes. Damn, his eyes were breathtaking. His lips curled into a slight smile.

"Morning."

"Is this still free?" I asked, nodding to the seat across from Malcolm.

"If you sit down, then no more." He replied sarcastically. I giggled and took that as an invitation. After my tray was put down, I sat down and started eating the cereal. As I ate, I noticed that Malcolm was just picking at his yogurt a little, but not really eating much.

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly. He huffed absently.

"Why is everyone asking me that lately?" He muttered. I looked at him sadly. He must have had a hard time the last few weeks. To me he seemed like someone who was independent and didn't need anyone by his side. But now... well the illness had probably forced him to accept help.

"Well, you eat very little." I said slowly.

"I'm not hungry."

"Oh come on. You are very thin. You should eat something. Here." I cut half of my salami bread and put it on his plate. He stared at it for a while.

"Why do you care about me so much? You don't know me." He said and raised his head. I bit my lip.

"As I said yesterday, I'm a nurse and..."

"You are a nurse. Yes, yes." He stood up. "You don't just take care of me because you're a nurse. And you know that yourself." He picked up his tray. "If you want to talk, come to the swimming pool in an hour." With that he disappeared into the crowd. I looked after him, puzzled, before I started to grin a little.

The game is on, Bon. I thought. Flirting with this Malcolm guy was going to be harder than I expected.

*

An hour later I found myself in the swimming pool. I sat impatiently on the bench and played with the ribbon on my trunks. There were two older women in the water who were aqua jogging and talking loudly to each other. There were two men sitting in the whirlpool and of course there was the lifeguard who was supervising. It took about three more minutes and then Malcolm came out of the locker room. He wore green swimming trunks on his narrow hips. His dark hair hung over his shoulders and I could see that his chest was quite hairy. I had to smile. He looked beautiful.

"Hey," I said as I stood up and walked towards him.

"Hello." He smiled a little as his eyes roamed over my body. I tried not to get hard. Damn. Just one look from him made me feel aroused. "Do you want to...go swimming?" He asked, tilting his head slightly. I smiled.

"Sure." So we entered the water via the stairs and then swam slowly. It was quiet between us for a while. I could still hear the old ladies chatting. "So...eh...how old are you?" I asked. Malcolm started laughing and I smiled. Damn, his laugh was beautiful. "What?" I giggled as we reached the other side of the pool. Malcolm held on to the edge of the pool and giggled.

"Your first question to me is how old am I? Are you serious?"

"Well..." I mumbled. Malcolm chuckled.

"I'm 25." I nodded. Damn, he's really young. "How old are you?"

"Well..." I scratched at my wet curls. "You know..."

"30?"He asked. I giggled. "32?"

"Bingo." I grinned. He smiled at me. "What are your hobbies?"

"Kind of a basic question, right?" I giggled. "I play guitar. And I used to play football."

"Used to play?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as we swam back.

"Well...before...before the illness." He said, now quieter again. I bit my lip. That was probably a wrong question. I shouldn't have asked it. Damn, you're so stupid, Bon. "Listen, I...I don't know what you want from me..."

"Nothing!" I shouted quickly. "I just want to get to know you."

"Why?" He asked quietly.

"You seem like a very nice guy. That's all. And I think you...you're really attractive." His face turned red. At the same moment my foot brushed against his leg under the water and I felt my face heat up too. "Sorry." I said quickly. Malcolm got out of the water and looked down at me. "Where are you going?" I asked almost desperately. Malcolm chuckled.

"I have an appointment with the physiotherapist in ten minutes."

"Will I see you again?" I asked. Malcolm smiled a little and crouched down to be at eye level with me.

"If that's what you want."