The sky was already fairly dark when Nadine and Rafka returned to the boarding house.
Rafka's motorcycle came to a stop in the courtyard. Nadine got off the back seat, then removed the helmet she'd been wearing the whole time. Their trip had turned out to take longer than she'd expected.
At first, they'd only intended to buy something to drink.
Then Rafka had invited her to ride around.
And somehow, afternoon had turned into night by the time they finally came home.
"Thanks," Nadine said as she handed the helmet to Rafka.
Rafka took it. "For what?"
"For taking me out."
"Oh."
Nadine looked at him.
"Just 'oh'?"
Rafka gave a small smile. "Yeah, you're welcome."
His answer made Nadine slowly shake her head. "Weird."
"Me?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"Nothing."
Rafka only chuckled before taking his motorcycle to the parking area. Nadine walked into the boarding-house building and headed to her own room.
The moment she opened the door, she stopped.
Dita was sitting on her bed, playing with her phone. The other woman's bag lay on the floor, while a drink bottle and several snacks were already on Nadine's desk.
"Where have you been?" Dita asked without looking away from her phone.
Nadine closed the door.
"Out."
Dita finally looked up.
"With who?"
Nadine set down her bag.
"Rafka."
Dita fell silent for a moment.
"Again?"
Nadine frowned. "Why 'again'?"
"Because it's again."
"Am I not allowed to?"
"I didn't say that."
Nadine opened the wardrobe, took out a change of clothes, and laid them on the bed.
"Where did you go?" Dita asked again.
"To buy something to drink."
"You only bought something to drink?"
"Then we rode around."
Dita looked at Nadine for a few seconds.
"Just the two of you?"
Nadine turned to her. "Yeah."
"Did you two make plans?"
"No. He invited me."
Dita nodded slowly. For some reason, her expression made Nadine feel as if her friend was thinking about something.
"What?" Nadine asked.
"What do you mean, what?"
"You've been acting like that for a while now."
"Acting like what?"
Nadine sighed. "Never mind."
She sat on the bed, not far from Dita. The other woman was still looking at her with a faint smile that made Nadine even more suspicious.
"You and Rafka have been spending a lot of time together lately, huh?"
Nadine immediately shook her head.
"Not that much."
"A lot."
"No."
"Nadine."
"What?"
"You just got back from riding around with him alone."
"Because he invited me."
"And you went."
Nadine fell silent.
She couldn't really argue with that part. If she hadn't wanted to go, she could have refused. But when Rafka stood in front of her door and invited her out, Nadine hadn't needed much time to answer.
She'd immediately said yes.
"It's not like I had anything else to do," she said at last.
Dita nodded. "I didn't say anything."
"Yeah, but your face looks like you want to say something."
Dita gave a small smile. "I do."
"See?"
"What do you think of Rafka?"
The question made Nadine pause.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what kind of person is he?"
"He's nice."
"That's it?"
Nadine thought about it.
"He's funny, sometimes."
Dita raised an eyebrow. "Funny?"
"Not like that."
"Then what?"
"He's just... weird. Sometimes he suddenly asks me to go somewhere. Sometimes he asks about things that don't matter."
"So you like him?"
Nadine immediately turned to her.
"I didn't say I liked him."
"I was just asking."
"No."
The answer came out too quickly.
Dita held back a smile, while Nadine immediately realized it.
"I'm just comfortable around him," she added.
Dita looked at her again.
"Comfortable?"
"Yeah."
"With Rafka?"
Nadine gave a small nod.
The sentence itself was simple. Yet after saying it, Nadine began thinking about what she really meant.
She was comfortable around Rafka.
Lately, that man's presence no longer made her feel as awkward as it had before. Nadine had gotten used to running into him in the hallway, hearing his voice outside her room, or suddenly receiving an invitation from him with no prior plans.
Today had been the same.
When Rafka invited her out, Nadine hadn't asked many questions. She'd simply gotten ready and gone with him.
"But that doesn't mean I like him," Nadine continued.
Dita smiled.
"I never said you did."
Nadine immediately looked at her.
"Why are you so quick to defend yourself?"
"I'm not defending myself."
"You just did."
"Because I knew you were going to say that."
"I hadn't even gotten the chance."
Nadine picked up a pillow and lightly tossed it at Dita.
"Shut up."
Dita laughed as she caught it.
"All right. You don't like him. You're just comfortable around him."
"Exactly."
"There's nothing going on."
"Right."
"You're just friends."
"Right."
Nadine narrowed her eyes. "Are you making fun of me?"
"No."
For a while, the two of them fell silent.
Nadine let herself drop onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. She didn't know why that simple conversation had made her think about Rafka more than she should have.
There was nothing to think about.
Rafka was just a friend.
Someone who happened to live near her.
Someone who had been asking her to go out with him a lot lately.
And someone who, without Nadine realizing it, was beginning to feel like a perfectly ordinary part of her days.