In awe

While Noah and Laila were making their way over to Steve's place, and Noah was busy telling Laila more about the house where her closest friend would be staying for the time being, Maria and Steve had just arrived at that place in that very moment. Maria opened the door with Steve's instructions, who of course was adamant to make even that small task as difficult as possible for her, while getting the maximum amount of enjoyment for himself.

"Where are your keys?" Maria asked as Steve was leaning on her with one arm around her shoulders. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "They must be in one of my pockets, why don't you check?" Maria stared at him with an unamused look but Steve just looked back at her as if he didn't know why she was upset. After a few seconds of staring back and forth, and Maria realising that their battle of the eyes was turning into an impasse, she let out a sigh and began her search for Steve's keys. She began by patting down his coat pockets. But they all turned out empty. Then she stuck her hand in his front pocket and then the next. Neither contained a key. She then reluctantly moved to the back pockets, but as soon as she touched the first, Steve gasped and said in and offended tone, "Don't you think you should buy me dinner first, before you try and feel me up like that." Although Maria was startled at first, she didn't waste much time to move onto his second pocket, while Steve continued his little monologue. "I have feelings too you know, and I'll have you know that I am a man of class, who is more than just my body. Not that a wo-man would understand."

Maria fought hard to hold back the urge to laugh, as she didn't want to give Steve that satisfaction, and simply looked up with an annoyed look on her face and said, "I checked all your pockets and no key. Where. Is. It. ?. You are heavy and if you don't tell me soon, I will be forced to make one out you!" Again Steve gasped and said, "Oh my, such scary words out of such a little woman. But well, since you put it like that, I guess this would be the best time to tell you that I don't have a key. I hoped you would notice that there isn't a lock on my doo, but somehow you were too focussed on finding a key to see it…" Maria quickly turned her face around and looked at the part of the door where the lock should be. She saw that it was indeed a smooth surface without anything to fit a key. When she turned back around with a confused look on her face, he said, "All you need is the keypad with the code." He then used his free arm to point at the small metal square with a flap, to the right of the door.

After she had looked at the keypad with some disbelief, as she had yet to see something like that in her years of living, since all the people she knew just had a key to open the door. Including Laila. So, she didn't even think of the possibility of there being a door that opened and locked without a key. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she glared at Steve one more time, this time with some reddened cheeks, and waited for him to press the code. Once the door was unlocked, she grabbed a bit of his skin and twisted it by way of a punishment. As Steve yelled out an "Auch!" and then proceeded to let out a longer a-ha-hauw, mixed with a chuckle, Maria threw open the door and began to help Steve inside.

As soon as she stepped over the threshold, she was in awe. She looked around with widened eyes at how big and beautiful Steve's condo was. Despite him living in a condo and her living in a three story house, her house could fit into Steve's place about three or four times. The places was huge. So spacious and there was so much light flowing in from all of the windows. Although she was in different country, in a place she had never been before, and the place had been decorated completely different from her own house, it still felt like she was home. Somehow the feel of the place resembled her own sunny house and expressed all the warmth she felt over there. She immediately felt comfortable and a huge part of her worries fell off her shoulders. Suddenly the thought of having to stay here for a while didn't seem so bad and she could understand once more, why she was feeling drawn to Steve. Why things felt so right between them, despite not knowing each other for so long. It was because they were in sync. So very different, yet so very similar at the same time. As if almost, at times, they were one and the same person. A scary, yet soothing realization.