The Brunch

May 26, 2022. The next day, a Thursday, I was awakened around half past eleven by the gentle touch of Mara's hand on my shoulder. I kissed her neck from behind.

"Good morning, darling. How about having breakfast at a café?" I asked with a slightly hungover voice as Mara lingered halfway in the land of dreams.

"You mean brunch," she replied sleepily, "we could go to Moccaklatsch. Let me call and see if they have any free seats."

She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and dialed the number of her favorite café. Luckily, they still had free tables. We hurried, got dressed quickly, brushed our teeth, and headed straight to the café.

We sat outside at a cozy table for two and ordered a delicious completely vegan breakfast for two. It consisted of scrambled tofu, fresh rolls, creamy cream cheese, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, butter, savory cheese slices, and for a sweet finish, jam, hazelnut spread, and refreshing fruit salad. Mara enjoyed her classic black coffee while I opted for a frothy cappuccino with oat milk. As a little birthday gift, I took care of the payment.

During brunch, she proudly told me about all the distant places she had already traveled in the world: Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, various places in Germany, and all the other places she had listed - which I had overlooked due to the amazingly good vegan scrambled tofu.

"Which country do you dream of visiting someday?" I asked her curiously.

"I've always dreamed of traveling to the USA," she replied, her eyes shining with joy.

"Then you'll have to give up the cheese on the pizza at the next Leineweber Festival to offset the CO2 emissions from the long-haul flight."

Mara laughed.

"So far, I've only been to Uzbekistan, Russia, Denmark, and the Czech Republic."

"Where would you like to travel someday?"

"I would say Egypt or Greece," I replied after a brief consideration.

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. I'm fascinated by the Egyptian and Greek gods," I tried to find an explanation for my travel destinations, "but at the moment, I don't feel a strong urge to realize this goal as soon as possible."

"Don't you have a desire to explore the world?"

"Well, I don't mind, but the spirit of adventure in me is probably not as strong as it is in you."

"We should travel together sometime. I'll awaken your spirit of adventure," Mara suggested with a mischievous smile.

"Sure! I'd be up for it anytime," I enthusiastically agreed, taking a sip of coffee.

After we returned home, Mara had some work to do. Meanwhile, I sat quietly on the couch, reading Giamarchi's book on one-dimensional quantum systems on my tablet and understanding absolutely nothing.

"I think it's cool that we can be together without disturbing each other or clinging to each other," Mara commented on the current situation.

"With my last boyfriend, that was absolutely not possible," she continued.

"For me, that's completely normal. I often hang out with Jule, and each of us has the freedom to do our own thing."

Mara nodded understandingly. "That sounds like a healthy and respectful relationship. It's cool that you get along so well."

After two hours of focused work, I suddenly realized that I urgently needed to use the restroom. The pent-up, suppressed fart that had built up throughout the day was no longer containable. With a glance at Mara, who was immersed in her project, I quietly sneaked past her back and made my way to the bathroom. I moved like a stealthy cat, trying not to raise even a hint of suspicion that I had left the sofa.

In the safety of the bathroom, I closed the door behind me and sat down on the toilet in a relaxed squat. My efforts to be quiet were in vain... A loud noise escaped me, sounding like a wayward trumpet fanfare. Panic-stricken, I looked at the door, hoping that Mara hadn't heard anything.

"Oh no, she definitely heard it," I thought to myself. My stomach still seemed to be filled with a plethora of gases. My second attempt was no better and ended with a prolonged sound resembling a jet engine starting.

Oh well, I thought to myself, it's human. It could have been worse. I let the rest of the concert performance go by and tried not to be too embarrassed.

After taking care of my business, I sneaked back into the living room as inconspicuously as possible and sat on the sofa as if I had never been gone.

Mara stood up and walked over to me, who was reading on the tablet on the sofa, with a grin.

I set aside my tablet.

"I want to watch a movie with you," she said, snuggling into my arm.

"Do you already know which one?"

"Not exactly, but definitely a romantic love movie."

Together, we browsed through the selection on Netflix and eventually decided on the movie Love, Rosie. It reminded me a bit of Mara and me: It was about two best friends. Although there is mutual attraction between them, they simply can't find their way to each other in love. Nevertheless, they have no secrets from each other and openly discuss their sexual experiences. Their friendship, which wants to evolve into a love relationship, is put to the test.

After the movie, time with Mara flew by as always, and when I checked the clock, it was already half past seven.

"Can I stay here overnight?" I asked her, as it would be very late by the time I returned home to Borsum.

"Yes, but we should go to bed earlier. I have a lecture at nine tomorrow. Shall we take a walk?"

"Oh yes, gladly! I love evening strolls," I enthusiastically agreed.

We walked along her favorite route through a park. It was already dusk, and we stopped at a slackline stretched between two metal poles, trying to balance on it. Then we strolled along a wild, overgrown small meadow. "Mara, don't walk so fast!" I called after her as she was already a few steps ahead, while I paused briefly at the meadow to look at and touch the plants growing there.

Mara came back to me and stood beside me.

"Right, we wanted to walk, not jog," she commented, leaning over to me to examine a plant closer together.

After our refreshing walk, Mara put on relaxing music in the kitchen and went to shower, while I set about cooking pasta with tomato sauce and fried vegetables from the leftovers in the fridge.

When I finished, I was already sitting at the dining table, listening to a voice message from my mother, who could pick me up tomorrow. Shortly afterward, Mara entered the kitchen.

"Oh, delicious! Thanks for cooking!" she said, leaning over to give me a kiss on the mouth. Then she retrieved two scented candles from a drawer and placed them on the dining table.

"Let's make it a date," she commented on her plan with a smile and lit the candles. I turned off the lights, and in the glow of the candles, we enjoyed our dinner.

There was a cozy silence between us.

"When is Jule coming back?" she suddenly asked while we ate.

I thought for a moment.

"In a month. A few days before my sister's wedding."

"Is she coming to the wedding?" I continued.

"Well, Masha and Tobi don't know you. Otherwise, you would have been invited for sure."

"What about your mother? Does she know what we're up to here?" she asked curiously.

"Not quite. We decided with Jule not to tell our parents about it. I just told my mother that you're a good friend of mine."

After we'd filled our bellies, I lay down on the sofa in the living room while Mara washed the dishes on her own. She said that she didn't need my help and that I could rest.

When she had finished, we got into bed and covered ourselves up to the waist with a light blanket. I lay down on the pillow, she on my chest. From one moment to the next, she slipped her hand into my underpants and placed it on my flaccid penis. She made it hard with gentle massaging movements.

"Can you lie down on my stomach?" I asked her in a very aroused state.

Without saying anything, she put her ear on my belly button and looked at me with a grin.

"Now turn your head around," I continued to demand as my heart raced and my breathing quickened.

Her soft, warm lips touched the tip of my glans. My heart raced even faster. Mara allowed it and opened her mouth slightly. I lifted my pelvis slightly so that the glans could fully penetrate her mouth.

She took the penis out of her mouth again and turned to me with an intense look.

"I would only allow that with someone I trust very much," she said before she came up to me and breathed a tender kiss on my lips.

"Have you actually tasted sperm yet?" she whispered as I let my happiness hormone levels fade with my eyes closed and a big grin on my face.

"No, I think I'd find it disgusting."

"Then why do men expect women to swallow sperm?"

"It's probably because of social norms. I'll try my sperm next time," I assured her.

She rested her head on my chest and a short time later we fell asleep.

The next morning, at eight o'clock, the ringing alarm clock woke us from our sleep. We had a delicious muesli with apples for breakfast, which we enjoyed on the sofa. While Mara read the local newspaper on her iPad, I enjoyed teasing her with tickling kisses on her neck and stroking her arm while enjoying my coffee.

After a leisurely breakfast, we said our goodbyes and I set off. It had been a lovely time with Mara and I was already looking forward to our next meeting.