#mads lauritzen

Her heart skipped a bit. Could it be…? No, he wasn’t a martini man. At least, she didn’t think he was. Her eyes found the gaze of a gorgeous man. Tall, olive skin, enchanting brown eyes, and a pronounced nose and elegant cheekbones, he approached her with confidence and charisma that nobody could miss. He gave her a disarming smile “Buona sera, signora. My name is Alessandro, and I couldn’t help approach you. I hope it’s alright?”

Ghita was surprised to say the least. She wasn’t used to being approached, having that police presence about her. The man scratched his neck “Is everything alright? My Danish isn’t good—,”

She shook her head “Oh, no, your Danish is great, I just… I was caught off guard, I suppose.”

His eyebrows shoot up “Surely, a local beauty like you gets approached by many men… and women.”

Ghita chuckled in surprise “I… Do not get approached ever, and I’m not from here. I’m from the mainland.”

He looked genuinely surprised “A beauty like you never gets approached? Mamma mia, are the Danish men blind?”

She tried not to, but Ghita found herself chuckling at his reaction “Are you saying that I’d get approached by everyone in Italy?”

The man gave her a wide smile “Beauties like you never go unnoticed in my hometown, bella mia.”

Ghita looked at her lap, cheeks flushing pink, and bit back a giggle. It had been a while since she was showered with attention, especially from such a handsome and charming man like Alessandro.

And yet… As much as she liked the attention he doted on her, it wasn’t his attention she sought, but his. Mads’s… She knew that he was reserved and quiet, but surely, he had many chances of showering with attention. Like the younglings said, if he wanted to, he would, right?

Alessandro’s hand covered hers and she looked up “You look lost in thought, bambina.” He observed her and sighed, amused and…something else she couldn’t decipher “Do not fret. I know when a woman’s heart is already taken.”

“I didn’t—,”

“Your eyes and expression spoke for you, dear. You crave someone else.” He chuckled “Do not worry about it, I shall survive this rejection. Tell you what, let me give you my number and we can meet here and talk. I’m sure…” He kept talking, his hand in hers, but her eyes darted towards the door… where a wide-eyed Mads observed the scene that didn’t look like what it was. They were close, their hands clasped together, and he was giving her his number, not to mention he was staring at her moon-eyed.

Ghita cleared her throat “Thank you, Alessandro. I shall call you soon. I should get going.”

Alessandro looked back where Mads was standing, looking jealous and gutted, and back at Ghita, who was staring at him with raw longing, and pushed her towards her as he signalled the barista to put the beer and martini on his tab.

“Mads, wait!”

But he had already left.

Ever since, Ghita had decided to take a walk, let the winter cold dull her many thoughts and look at things from another perspective. People were living their lives. Children played snow games, teenagers shot TikToks and laughed loudly, adults chatted, and the elderly sat on benches, observing and reminiscing. Ghita sighed. How she wished her life were simpler. That her, Mads, this case, and this whole thing was easier. But alas, nothing in life was ever simple.

Ghita noticed something falling on her shoulder. If it was a pigeon crapping on her expensive coat… But no, it was a drop of rain. And another. And another. In a matter of seconds, it was raining and rumbling while droplets of snow accompanied the rain. Pulling up her cap, she took running with carefulness, not wanting to slip. She ran for five minutes until she found a gazebo that looked rain-proof, and nobody seemed to be there. Sprinting for it, she didn’t notice that, in her hurry, at the stairs, she slipped and fell onto something. No. Not something. Someone. Someone whose scent she recognized. Musk, expensive cologne and rain, she looked up, heart racing, to find the one who had been in her mind for a while. Lauritzen. He had caught her by the waist and was steadying her, and he also looked like he didn’t believe that she was here. Clearing his throat, they both separated and Ghita closed the door.

They stood in a filled silence until Mads half-mumbled “I had forgotten how much it rains here.”

Ghita chewed on her lower lip and tugged at her sleeves, not knowing what to do. “I heard things from my parents, but… well.”

Mads nodded in understanding, and his feet shifted several times until he cleared his throat, looking at Ghita in the eye “About earlier… I apologize. I overreacted, and… I shouldn’t have. What you do in your free time… It is up to you, and I have no right to…”

“What if I wanted you to care? To react, for it to be your business?”

His mouth opened and closed, and he swallowed “Ghita, we—I don’t think that—,”

Ghita threw her hands up in frustration, the events of the afternoon, Alessandro, and perhaps the cold, these past few weeks, it made her snap “We shouldn’t what, Lauritzen? You give me these signals that you care, that you like me, you tell me these things, and then… I just, I wish I knew for sure how you feel. About me. About us. About this!”

Mads sighed “Ghita, it is not easy for me—,”

“And you think it’s easy for me?! That I am not as torn as you are, between my duty and wanting to leave it aside to…to… you know!”

Mads, with a frustrated and determined glint, came closer to her “To what, Ghita?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know, Lauritzen! I’ve… I’ve been more than obvious!”

“Maybe I wanted to hear it from your lips,” he matched her anger quickly, not quite raising his voice, maintaining himself annoyingly calm “so I’d be sure I wasn’t imagining.”

“What about you?! One moment, we bond, and then, this barrier is up! Why?! Why don’t you take the step, if you feel the same?!”

Mads looked at her with adoration and yearning “Can’t you see it, Ghita?! I love you. I love you, Ghita, and for the first time in years, I am scared and uncertain on what to do! I’ve… I’ve never felt this way before, and especially not… not someone I work with! What if didn’t feel the same, or I was too pushy, or—,”

Ghita didn’t let him finish. She crashed her lips against him, kissing him with passion and craving, her hand gripping his hair and the other his broad, muscular shoulder. Mads went from shocked to match her within nanoseconds, seizing her waist and back with such passion and strength, he lifted her feet off the floor, a moan rumbling in his chest “Ghita…” He whispered against her lips, panting, his lips already swollen and deep red.

“Mads…” She sighed.

“Say it again. My name. Say it again.”

“Mads,” That was enough for him to lift her, her legs snaking around his waist and kissing her again, peppering kisses in her lips, her cheek, her jaw, her neck. Ghita threw back her head, giving him full access, and moaned again “God, Mads…”

They kissed again, kissing each other with an insatiable hunger, his hands firmly holding her in place. Ghita’s whole body turned up and vibrated with excitement. She could feel his muscles tensing and flexing on her entire body, his lips greedily nibbling her ear, kissing her again and again, barely breathing, their need to kiss each other so strong that it overcame nature itself.

Suddenly, the rain became more intense, drenching them both. They gasped, and Mads nearly dropped Ghita, but caught her in time, drawing her against his chest, panting heavily from their kissing session. A chuckle rumbled his chest, and he whispered against her ear “As much as I want to keep going, we ought to go back to the hotel before its doors closes.”

Ghita smiled “Good idea.”

He called an Uber, and as they went back to the hotel in silence, he quietly told her “I… wanted to say that what happened back there…” Ghita braced for the worst “It hasn’t happened before. I… usually take my date for dinner before… being that intimate,” he blushed, and then looked at her, squeezing her hand “How about we change and have dinner, the two of us?”

Ghita beamed “I’d love nothing more than to be wined and dined by you, Mads Lauritzen.”

He kissed her hand “Please, today I’m just Mads.”