Eclair

- Is that your real name, Milinka?
- - Today is.
- - And tomorrow?
- - Why do you want to know? You never told me yours.
Boy sighed and said:
- Peter. Today and every day.
- How boring. – Girl shrugged her shoulders. – She was almost done with her coffee and eclair.
- - I can’t believe that you are drinking coffee at 11 pm. Will you be able to fall asleep?
- - I have no plans to fall asleep. This is my last night in this city and I am planning to spend it sitting on the big toe of Atlantis.
- Oh, that black guy, the sculpture, that holding roof of Hermitage museum?
- - Yep. One of them. Sunrise above Neva will be spectacular from that spot.
Waitress politely reminded them, that coffee house officially closed.
She was going to say good bye to her accidental acquaintance, but he asked her very quietly:
- Please, let me walk with you. I don’t want to be alone tonight.
- Something in his voice made her feel uncomfortable, unsure.. if that was a good idea. She just have met him, hour ago, when she arrived to this little coffee house on Old Nevski. He was sitting alone, having table to himself, staring at invisible dot in the air and his hands were tearing and tearing apart whatever left from the paper napkin.  She watched him for about 10 minutes and then moved to his table with her cap of coffee and eclair on a little plate. He just glanced at her, and then return his eyes at previous position.
- Are you broken? – She asked him and offered part of her eclair.
He took it without any hesitation and put in his mouth and swallowed whole thing at once.
- I am. I am crushed. – Finally he answered.
- - Do you want to talk about it?
- I can’t. It’s too painful.
- Whatever. Sorry. – She really shouldn’t be drinking so much coffee, but oh well, who cares!  She almost had no money left, train ticket was already in her pocket. Good buy St Pitersburg! City of unanswered prayers and dreams, that haven’t come through. She really was just trying to stay awake, this was her 11th cap of coffee today. Too bad that coffee house already closed.
Walking down the Nevsky Prospect, boy and girl were almost alone at this late hour. She did not say “No” to him. And did not said” yes”. She really didn’t needed company this her last night in this city. But when first drops of rain fall on their heads, he grabbed her hand and pulled into first open door of big apartment complex.
- All you need is to get sick… . – He said grumpily.
Some people compare Pitersburg to North Venice, some Fiery story, made of stone. No matter how it called, it was pretty much very cold city, especially, when it was raining there.
After a while, two of them were sitting on the steps, holding each other tight, trying to stay warm. He could feel, how shivering she is, and how fast her heart racing,so very close to his.
- You are so nice.. After what happened, I thought, that all women are bitches. – He said.
- - What made you think that way? What happened to you?
- I fall in love. She was much older than me.. She is a real women, beautiful, passionate! You should see, what closes she wears! She is a real Quinn!
- - How old are you? – Girl asked.
- I am 19.
- - And how old was she|?
- You know, it distasteful to ask women about her age… - He said with such a tone, as if he was a mature man. – I think, she was at least twice of my age.
- - Grandma! – Girl laughed.
- - Don’t you dare to speak that way about her! You know nothing! I love her! I loved her! What do you know about love?
- - Quite a lot. I read all Alexander Duma, Balzak, Stephen Zveig, many others. I read Pushkin, for god sake!
- Ha , you know nothing about love, whatever in books, it’s not real. I knew a real love.
- - And how is yours more real, than the one, that described in the books?
- Because… Because we had sex. That is real.
- Sex, that’s is disgusting! – She argued. Real love, it’s when it feels, that your heart so full of feelings, that it about to explode, like balloon! Love, it’s when you wake up in the morning and starting to sing, as soon as you open your eyes. Love, it’s when you can’t live without this person, and ready to die for him, if he ask. Love it’s when you not exist, because, you are so diluted in the one you love! And you are saying, that I don’t know much about love. – She moved away from his big hot body angrily, but cold quickly made her move back, as it was crawling fast under her summer closes.
Boy closed his eyes and kept silence. When he start talking, she saw that he trying to hold his tears very hard:
- Very first time we made love right in the middle of the day. She was unloading her car and had lots of packages in her hands, too many, to carry them all at once, and I offered to help. She looked at me, down and up, then smiled. I remember her teeth were so white and lipstick was bright red, kind of fire truck color.
“I see, you are a big boy. – She said. – Big and strong. No, you are not a boy, you are a man! All right then, help me.”
Her apartment was on the top floor, in the elevator she was standing so close, that I could smell her perfume, sweet and bitter at same time, I could smell her skin, and something else, that I knew nothing about, but I could smell it. And that smell made me dizzy… She was standing in front of me, and I also could see that space between her breasts.. Forgot how you call it…
- Cleavage – Said girl quietly.
- - Right… I could see that, and she knew, that I am looking down there and did nothing. She was just continue to smile, and time to time biting her lips. And that lipstick was so red, like fire truck.
- - You already said that. – Girl interrupted him. – What happened next? 
- She opened door of her apartment and allowed me in. I followed her to a kitchen. And then, she turned around, looked at me, and touched me there. You know… I did not know, how to react, but her hand was touching me, and petting me, and she got so very close to me, that I could see freckles in her green eyes. Did I tell you, that she was a redhead? It’s so beautiful, red hair and green eyes. Then she unzipped my pants. And jumped at kitchen counter and spread her legs. I never done any of it, so I was just standing there frozen, but she took my hand ( all the packages already were fallen on the floor) and she put my hand there… And then, somehow, I knew what to do… And we had sex. You know nothing about love, if you are saying, that sex is disgusting! It’s even smell great! I swear, I could smell it way after I left her apartment, and I didn’t want to take shower, as I didn’t want to wash it away.
She told me to come next day, and next.  I skipped school, I lied to my mom, but I did not care! We did it everywhere: in the bath tub, her bedroom, on the floor… But I loved kitchen counter the best, because it’s reminded me our very first time. And because I could see everything.. Everything. And it was beautiful. She was beautiful… Until yesterday..
- So, what happened yesterday? She threw you away?
- She told me, that love is addictive, and she worrying about me, and we should stop seeing each other . Yes, she was sort of right, I couldn’t think about anything else! I couldn’t eat, sleep, breath! Every time I was closing my eyes, I saw it… between her legs, right after I pull my… you know what, out of there.. And I couldn’t wait to put it back. I wear her smell with such a pride, as if it would be the most expensive perfume… No, much better, then any perfume! I didn’t even shower at all! And people in Subway started to sniff around me, especially man.. Some women too.
- I was wondering, why you stink so badly. – Said girl with pensiveness.
- And then, I saw her with another man. Little older than me, helping her carry her packages.. I ran to her, grabbed her hand and yelled:
- I should be the only one, who can carry your packages!
She yanked her hand from mine and said, and her voice was cold, like death:
- Get out of here, stupid kid, I am sick of you! Go, wash your self, and take a bath! You smell, like a pig!
And another boy, the one, who was holding her bags, put them on the ground and swung his fist. I bowed down, and he was able to hit only my ear. See, it’s still swollen.

He lifted hand and touched his ear. It was truly still red and a bit puffed up.
- And she , Greta, her name was Greta, screamed with very high pitch voice, as if someone was choking her:
- Get out of here, and never ever come back! I hate you.
I left.. The rest I don’t remember. I don’t even remember, how did I ended up at that cafe. I was just walking everywhere all over the city, thinking only about her, and that I can’t live without her. Not even one day. – He squeezed girl’s hand.
For a while two of them were sitting quietly. Then they heard, that somewhere upstairs someone opened door, then there was footsteps.
- We better go. – Said Milinka. Besides, I am hungry!
- Nothing open yet, but I have idea. – Said Peter.
There was a bakery around the corner and man was loading a bread truck. Boy and girl waited, until he went back to get paperwork, then very quickly they ran to a truck and grabbed a round loaf of bread. It smelled so good, that they both started to feel dizzy. It was so hot, that was burning boy’s hands.

In the alley between tall buildings, scaring local cats away, they tear big pieces out of the loaf, and blowing at them and cooling them, eating it so fast, that it was gone in the matter of minutes.
Satisfied, they looked at each other, laughed, and he said:
- Do you still want to go and seat at the toe on that statues foot?
- Nea, too cold! Look, it’s almost dawn, they will start open up bridges on Neva River soon. Let’s go, take a look!
And yes, it was magnificent. Dawn was grey and red at same time. There was no sun yet, but everything around got silent waiting with anticipation of the arrival of his majesty. Boy and girl were holding hands, watching, how two parts of the bridge, that was open all night, allowing for river boats to pass, slowly started to lean towards each other, getting closer, and closer and closer. And at the moment, when they touched each other and become one, boy said quietly:
- You know, I was actually thinking about jumping from this bridge, when they were going to open them up last night. That what I was thinking about in that coffee house.
- You was going to kill yourself? – Milinka’s eyes were wide open and big like a sky. - For that old grandma? That old turkey?
- Yes. But then.. you offered me eclair.