How she who had never loved fell in love

"Rafał, damn it, hurry up!

" "I'm coming, honey!" he shouted, running up to me. He looked really sweet, carrying shopping bags. I never suspected I could become so attached to someone. Maybe it's even worth mentioning love here...? I don't know. I'd never loved or even been interested in boys before. They only existed as friends for me. Besides, I haven't been around men long enough to even talk about it. Rafał is simply my first love, and that's it. The strangest thing is that I always imagined it would take a long time to fall in love. I used to laugh at those who talked about love at first sight. Meanwhile, as if out of spite, something similar had just happened to me...

It was exactly a year ago. My friend Kaśka and I had graduated from high school and were going to college. We didn't want to live in a dorm, so we looked for a small, relatively cheap apartment. We managed to find something nice after just a few hours of searching. The apartment was close to the university, and it wasn't particularly large or expensive. Although, for us, it was still too much. However, it was so beautiful that we didn't want to give up right away. It had two rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom. We thought about finding someone else... And with that "someone," we didn't have the slightest problem. Kaśka had been after this guy for a long time. He absolutely refused to let go of her, and she wasn't particularly interested. She liked him, so she put him forward, which led to her asking him out. And how could he say no? Yeah... Marek grinned and pulled Kaśka towards him, which made her start struggling, hitting, biting, and screaming. He let go of her about five minutes later... This completely ruined my friend's mood, and if it weren't for the fact that we didn't know anyone else suitable, she wouldn't have agreed to live with him under the same roof as him.

"Hey, but in that case, maybe you want someone else...? I have this friend I'd like to live with, because two beautiful girls for one is a bit much for me...

" "Who are you talking about?" Kaśka asked, looking at him suspiciously. She was right, though, because if he'd brought us some idiot who only cared about partying, we wouldn't have lasted two days with him. After all, we wanted to study, not have fun (that too, but to a lesser extent).

"You don't know," Marek said, "but I guarantee he's a decent guy. We're in the same year, except he studies a bit more and gets better grades..."

I'll mention a few minor facts here. My name is Ania (I'll leave the surnames in the background as they're redundant). I'm a student, and at the time, I was planning to study computer science. Kasia and I have known each other since elementary school. However, she went on to law school. She met Marek online somewhere, and the moment he saw her for the first time, he never left her side. A year ago, he was starting his second year of medical school, just like his friend, whom he just told us about.

We agreed to his friend, and we did so willingly, right after we found out he was studying. We decided to arrange the apartment so that the boys would sleep in one, blue, room, and Kasia and I would sleep in the other, green, room. And then the day of the move arrived...

We arrived (to Krakow from Częstochowa) on Saturday morning. The boys weren't supposed to arrive until the afternoon, as they lived somewhere near Krakow and had been commuting to university from home until then (for a year). That's why they were so happy to have the apartment, as they finally had the prospect of a longer sleep.

As soon as I brought in my things, I started unpacking. Kasia did the same. By noon, we had everything neatly laid out. And that's when "our men" arrived. We heard Marek before he even crossed the threshold. He's always everywhere and incredibly loud. Although not always, as we later discovered, he can be as quiet as a ghost...

And as soon as we heard his voice, we turned our heads towards the door. We were both curious about his friend... We were soon there. While Marek was carrying his bag into the next room, a guy came in. While he wasn't exactly a knockout, he immediately struck me as nice.

"Hi girls, I'm Rafał," he said, walking over to me and offering me his hand.

"Ania, nice to meet you," I replied, shaking his warm hand and looking at his kind smile. Then he approached Kasia, and they repeated the entire sequence.

Rafał, of course, had a lovely voice, as well as good looks. To be precise, he had (and still has) dark blond hair, cropped short, blue eyes, and was about 190 centimeters tall (he's currently 192 cm). Fortunately, he didn't have sticky ears, because I simply hate them. Just don't think I felt anything at the sight of him. No, I did think he looked nice, but that was all. Oh, and since I'm on the subject of people's outer appearances, I'll describe the rest.

Marek is a brunette with long hair that he always keeps tied in a ponytail and never wants to let down. He has hazel eyes, no pimples, and, from what Kaśka told me, is exactly 188 centimeters tall (unless he's grown...). My friend is a dark brunette with quite long, straight hair. She has what she calls "amber" eyes, a shapely, slim figure (her only insecurities are her small bust, which isn't that small, so Kaśka doesn't particularly complain), and is 162 cm tall. I, on the other hand, am also a brunette, but fair, with wavy, shoulder-length hair that has caused me quite a bit of suffering in my life (if only you knew what a fringe that's curled in the wrong direction is!). I have green eyes, and that color accompanies me everywhere and always because I simply adore it. I have a beautiful figure and I'm quite tall—a whole 171 cm.

After greeting us, Rafał went to unpack. To make things more interesting, we followed him... And of course, they couldn't do it without our help, because they were putting everything in a random place (especially Marek), and we were deciding it wasn't aesthetically pleasing and rearranging half of their stuff... Finally, we reached a more or less agreement. Then we left the men alone and Kasia and I went out into the city. We returned late in the evening. My friend started reading, and I took out my laptop and started surfing the internet. Marek and Rafał had clearly gone somewhere, because there was no sign or sight of them. It wasn't until around ten that we heard the door creak and the boys' voices. By then, we were all washed up, changed into pajamas, and getting ready for bed. While they were washing up, we chatted about all sorts of things, and when we finally went to bed, not five minutes had passed when Marek appeared in our room.

"Are you asleep?"

"Come on, we're playing sleeping beauties," Kasia scoffed, almost asleep. I echoed her with a half-awake yawn, having already dozed off and woken up.

Meanwhile, Marek, instead of politely leaving and letting us sleep, acted completely contrary to accepted etiquette. He approached Kasia's bed and said,

"Move over.

" "What?!" my esteemed friend exclaimed indignantly.

"I decided to sleep with you." He must have had a huge smile on his face as he said this, but we couldn't see it in the dark.

"You do have a good sense of humor," Kasia replied ironically.

"Would you rather I didn't let Co sleep for another five hours?

" "Why five?" I asked, but I don't think anyone heard me. Kasia, on the other hand, had clearly come to the conclusion, "What the hell?"

"Okay," she said, and moved over so Marek could fit next to her. He, on the other hand, reacted quickly. In a flash, he jumped into bed and pulled the poor, sleeping victim towards him. And of course, she started struggling...

Meanwhile, Rafał appeared in the doorway, something none of us noticed, but everyone certainly heard:

"So what am I supposed to sleep in there alone?!

We all reacted differently to this. Kasia's eyes widened, and I said curtly, "What, maybe I need to hold your hand?" But before Rafał could answer, Marek blurted out:

"Sleep with Ania."

After that, Kasia and I both stared at him with double the intensity. I don't think he noticed. Instead, Rafał simply asked as if it were the most normal question in the world:

"May I?"

I didn't really want to agree, but I came to the brilliant conclusion that if he'd said it so bluntly, as if he were asking "what time it is," then I couldn't be worse. I blurted out:

"You're welcome. "

He came over to me and slid under my covers as soon as I moved away. He wasn't wearing a shirt, so I could stare at his chest as much as I wanted. He clearly noticed I couldn't take my eyes off her and misunderstood (it was the first time I'd seen her this close!), because with one movement, he pulled me closer. I felt his warmth. He was truly hot. It was a wonderful feeling. I rested my head on his chest. Meanwhile, Marek and Kasia were having a very interesting conversation...

"You, she seriously agreed," Marek said.

"So what?" Kasia tried to hide her surprise, lest she disagree with her friend on something. In reality, she was surprised too, and it couldn't have been otherwise, because I couldn't understand myself...

"You would also agree to sleep with the first guy who came along?!

"Sleeping is one thing, having sex is another, you idiot!

" "You mean you would agree?!

You're living proof of that, you idiot!

" "You know me!

" "Like boom, tick, tick! I've seen you in person a few times, and that's it!

" "And all those emails???"

"I suspect you didn't write them yourself... That was too high a standard for you...

" "How could you..."

They probably would have continued arguing if they hadn't overheard me:

"Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight...

" "What?" they both said.

"Twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one..."

Rafał decided to enlighten them:

"Ania is counting the hairs on my chest."

Their eyes bulged.

"Thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four..."

Suddenly Kasia couldn't take it anymore:

"Are you crazy?!!!

I couldn't ignore her:

"No, thirty-five, thirty-six..."

"What the hell do you need that for?!

"Just like that... thirty-seven, thirty-eight...

" "Interesting? Well, actually..."

She decided to try it herself. She stopped struggling against Marek's hand (yes, they were still fighting), lay on top of him like me, and started counting. We were both counting in our heads now, so as not to disturb each other. About fifteen minutes had passed when my friend gave up:

"That's pointless, I'm not a mathematician."

I preferred not to acknowledge it, so I kept counting... Meanwhile, they resumed their wonderful conversation:

"Is she always like this?" Marek asked.

"Is she beating you?! I don't hang out with crazy people!

" "So what are you doing with Marek?" Rafał asked casually.

"I hang out, you know...

" "How could you...

" "But I'm not alone!!! You're friends, right?

" "But I never claimed I didn't like crazy people...

" "Who are you calling crazy?"

"You," Kasia and Rafał replied simultaneously.

"What am I getting this for..."

"For my life," Kasia suggested.

And this nonsense conversation continued for a long, long time... Finally, it was interrupted by my loud shout:

"Four hundred and twenty-six!!!"

In an instant, they stopped talking nonsense.

"What?" all three asked, and I reveled in the thought that finally there was silence and everyone was eagerly awaiting my answer...

"Rafał has 426 hairs on his chest...

" "So few?!" "Kasia.

" "So what?" "Marek.

" "Have you counted the ones on his mole..." "Rafał.

" "Yes.

I think it was clear then who I cared about. I finally answered only one of the three questions asked simultaneously... No, seriously, I just skipped the pointless ones. Okay, his was pointless too, but he was closest and had a better right to demand an answer... with that beautiful voice of his..."

We ended the conversation immediately afterward, and lying on Rafał's warm chest, I fell asleep.

I woke up quite early, still in the same position. It was actually quite comfortable... Anyway, I got up, grabbed my clothes, and went to the bathroom. I'll skip what happened next. We spent the entire day in our new apartment, getting to know him. Only at noon did we each go to our own university (Marek and Rafał together) to find out what time we were supposed to be in the classrooms the next day.

I spent most of the morning reading, pausing occasionally to chat with Kasia. Then we cooked dinner together, which we then ate, and at the end, the boys commented on how much they liked it ("It's okay" - Marek, "It's even good" - Rafał). I spent the evening watching TV with Rafał, and after half an hour, Rafał asked me something (I don't remember what it was), which later led to a conversation that lasted several hours. But I did watch TV, I did... Around ten, I'd had enough. I went for a bath (Rafał had bathed earlier while I was watching a TV series, and only then did he join me) and then I snuggled under the covers. Kasia was also washed, fed, and in bed. We started talking, but after a while, Rafał came in:

"Are you still awake?"

"No, because Marek will probably come in soon and then wake me up..." Kasia said.

"Would he wake you up too?" he turned to Ania.

"No, I'm here for company...

" "Well, I have some interesting news for you," he began, "because, you see, he wouldn't wake up sleeping people...

" "I'm sleeping," Kasia said, then began to pretend to be asleep.

"Will she manage to fall asleep?" Rafał asked me, as if he really wanted to know.

"No, but she's good at pretending..."

After a moment, Marek entered the room. He walked over to my friend's bed, looked at her longingly, and then asked us:

"Are you asleep?"

"Hell knows," Rafał replied, leaning on me in a very interesting way, which I unfortunately can't describe. In any case, Marek didn't give up that easily. He turned to Kasia in a suspicious tone:

"Are you asleep?"

Kasia gave up, opened her eyes, and with an ironic smile replied:

"I was supposed to tell you I was asleep in my sleep?

" "You weren't asleep.

" "But if I were.

" "So I was checking if you were asleep."

"Oh, you...

" "Move over...

" "Let it be...

" "Are you starting to give in without a fight?" I suddenly asked my friend.

"What?

" "She means whether you'll submit to my care or not...

" "What else.

" "You like him," I snapped.

"Oh, right! You like me!" There was a momentary silence, during which Marek climbed under the covers.

"Who said that?

" "Me," I admitted.

"Sigh..."

I suddenly remembered Rafał sitting next to me. I glanced at him. He looked as if he wasn't thinking about anything in particular. I was already starting to like his dry appearance. I liked earning his smile. Suddenly, this magnificent specimen of a human being turned his head towards me and, as if casually, blurted out a simple question that would have knocked me off my feet if I hadn't been sitting there:

"Are we sleeping together?

" "If you want. "

"I want to."

I moved over and he lay down. He looked into my eyes, and I was captivated by that look. If it weren't for the fact that it was dark, I would have started to worry about the blush that was probably appearing on my face. This time, Kasia, who was surprisingly calm on top of Marek, fired the gun.

"Oh! I just remembered something!

" "What?" I was the only one reacting to her friend's revival.

"I saw a star today!

" "What?

" "What are you so excited about? There are so many stars in the sky..." Marek said, looking at us as if we were crazy.

"No, imagine if we haven't gone crazy yet," Kasia replied coldly.

"Gwiazdka is this guy from our old school," I explained. "Where did you see him?

" "In the city," she replied. "I even wanted to talk to him, but as usual, I lost my voice at that moment...

" "How many times have you tried to talk to him...? About a hundred...?

" "Come on!" About twenty... But imagine, he's still gorgeous...

"What! Do you still like him...?

" "Well...

" "You're cruel," Rafał interjected.

"Why?" I asked, surprised.

"Look at that poor guy." He pointed at Marek, who looked devastated.

"None of my business," I replied.

"What's your business?" he asked in a provocative voice.

"My own crushes...

" "And right now, do you like some guy...?" Rafał continued down the dark corridor.

"Maybe..." I had the generous intention of being the mysterious person.

At the same time, on the other side of the room, another scene was unfolding, a detailed account of which I received from Kasia the next day, because I was too absorbed in Rafał's gaze to take in anything from that conversation. It went something like this:

"How can you be so cruel...?"

"As you can see, I can.

" "You're my girlfriend!

" "I wonder since when...

" "What about you...?

" "What about me?

" "Don't make fun of me...

" "Did I ever say I liked you?"

After that, Marek couldn't take it anymore. He got up and left the room before Kasia could say anything. Meanwhile, Rafał continued down a dead end...

"Will you be my girlfriend?

" "You don't know me.

" "But I want to get to know you.

" "So maybe you should wait with that question...?"

"When have I already fallen in love...

" "Don't joke..."

"I'm not kidding... Maybe?"

Then I realized he wasn't joking. His eyes were serious. And beautiful. And so deep... I couldn't take it anymore. I kissed him... Kasia stared at us because it was right after Marek had left (which Rafał and I hadn't even noticed). She broke down. Marek opened the door, looked at me and Rafał, and glanced at Kasia:

"Are you sure...?

" "What?"

"That you don't like me...?

" "No.

" "What?

" "I can't be sure because it's not true."

Marek started to approach Kasia. I tore my lips from Rafał's... We looked at Marek and Kasia.

"Wait... You're dating, aren't you?" Rafał asked.

Marek fell silent, looking at Kasia with a worried expression. Kasia had to answer...

"Yes, what? "

Marek was stunned. Rafał smiled:

"We have to exchange rooms, you and Marek and I with Ania...

" "No way!" Kasia and I shouted at once.

And that's how I met Rafał. It was only two days, but oh so long... And those conversations were all jokes. We're not that dense, we just have a unique sense of humor (all four of us).

But back to reality...

"Honey, how much longer will this be?" asked my beloved Rafał.

"A little, why?

" "This is the last store, right?

" "What! There's still five more to go...

" "What?! I'm not surprised you wanted to go shopping with me... I'm acting as a porter..."

This is how our idyllic life has been going for a year now. Silly conversations and pleasant times. But you know what? There will be time for serious conversations later... Because surely none of us will say something stupid at the wedding?! Although really... Who needs such an ordinary wedding? It's better to embellish it with something... even if it's just a stupid text... Okay, anyway, I'd better help poor Rafał because his muscles will hurt terribly afterwards. After all, he must be carrying quite a lot... This was already the twentieth store, and I buy something from every other one... And unfortunately, these aren't light things... But I have to spend money somehow, right? And I never said I didn't like tormenting people...