Chapters tagged public

by Levantin

Chapter 41

Sunday dragged on like thick tar. I had sat hunched over the books late into the night, eyes burning, fingers cramping from the handwritten drafts. Every shift on the desk chair had been a petty : the freshly relocked resin cage chafed unyieldingly against my irritated, hy...

by Levantin

Chapter 48

The apartment door swung open, and Loona stepped inside with swift strides. “Nadja! So great you’re already here,” she called out in high spirits, slipping off her jacket and walking toward us with an open, genuine smile. Passing by, she draped an arm warmly around my shoulders....

by Levantin

Chapter 78

The Berlin U-Bahn ride felt like an endless journey through a feverish tunnel. Every stride along the platform, every descent onto the hard plastic seats drove the stainless-steel ring straight through stiff denim into my pubic bone. The chill of the metal had long since surrende...

by Levantin

Chapter 84

The stately period apartment in Mitte greeted us with muffled bass, the sharp tang of expensive gin, heavy perfume, and damp asphalt trailing from the guests' shoes. Clusters of medical students crowded the sprawling corridor, laughing loudly and clinking crystal tumblers. Direc...

by Levantin

Chapter 106

The air between us seemed to thicken, charged with the quiet murmur of the canal, the clink of cutlery from inside the bistro, and the low, persistent thrum of my own trapped pulse. Her thumb traced slow, deliberate circles over the back of my hand, each sweep sending a warm spa...

by Levantin

Chapter 107

Under the narrow bistro table, the toe of her boot continued its slow ascent. No longer just grazing along my shin, but tracing higher, climbing the inner contour of my thigh with smooth, uncompromising pressure. My breath caught. My fingers instinctively clamped around the edge...

by Levantin

Chapter 108

Every step on the damp asphalt burned like molten lead. I hurried down the pavement along Kottbusser Damm, my head buried deep in the collar of my jacket. Around me roared the evening traffic of Berlin: the dull rumble of engines, glaring headlights, the clatter of glass bottles...