It was fifteen to ten when I reached his building. Now what?
I hesitated before I went to the guard who'd also been on duty when I went home Wednesday night.
He looked at me, a tad bit interested, but not enough to wake him completely. How long had he been here?
"I'm seeing Alexander Greene?" I said. How the hell did I get into this building?
"And you are?" He asked.
"Christina Kirkegaard," I said. In an American accent.
He checked something on his computer. "He has said you are allowed access, but he hasn't said you'll be here today. I'll just call him so he knows you'll come. If you'll excuse me a moment." He said and pressed a few buttons on his phone.
I looked away when he spoke.
It was a nice day, but I was glad I was wearing a jacket. It had been a little cool Thursday for lunch but we hadn't walked far.
"You can take the elevator," the guard said. "Push the top button, I've coded it so you'll get all the way to the penthouse."
"Thank you," I said and went to the elevators.
I pushed the call button.
A moment later and I was in the elevator. The button for the top floor had already been pressed. It wouldn't hurt to do so twice? I pushed the button, the doors closed, and I was sent up.
With a pling, the doors opened on the top floor.
Alexander was in the foyer. He wore dark jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt in navy blue.
"Hi," I said and exited the elevator. I wasn't sure what today would consist of so I wore jeans and a t-shirt. It wouldn't matter if anything happened to the clothes.
He smiled a crooked smile. "If Marcus says anything to you, don't listen to him."
"Understood," I said.
His smile widened. "I can't promise if he'll say something about us being a couple," he said. "I've told him we're friends but he has to annoy me."
I nodded.
He didn't move.
I smiled. "Where can I put my stuff?" I asked.
"Uhm, this way," he said and led the way through the impersonal dining room and up the stairs for the first floor. "Just, in here," he said and opened the door to the room where I'd changed clothes the last time I'd been here.
"Thank you," I said and put my jacket on the bed. I put my phone in my back pocket and left the room again. I shut the door behind me.
Alexander looked at me. "Do you want to go back downstairs?" he asked.
"Of course," I said and followed him down the stairs and into the living room.
He went to the white living room and sat down on the couch.
"Aren't you worried something will get dirty?" I asked and sat down next to him.
He looked at me. "They can behave," he said. "And they know food and colored pencils aren't happening on the couch."
I smiled and leaned back against the back rest. "It surprises me you're willing to do this."
"Why?" he asked.
I shrugged. "You're so in control, and this place is painfully clean."
"I have an issue with dirt," he said quietly and looked away from me, arms crossed.
"Are you a neat freak?" I asked.
"No," he said. "But I like that it's clean."
"So if you didn't have someone clean for you, how often would you clean yourself?" I asked.
He was still looking out the windows before looking at me. "I don't know," he said. "I trust that it's clean, and I can see it's not dirty. That's enough."
I smiled.
The elevator announced its arrival with a pling.
Alexander stood. "Come," he ordered.
"No thanks," I said.
He looked at me, his eyes in deep shadows caused by his brows. "Do you want to argue about this every time it slips for me?"
"Depends on the situation, but right now? Yes." I said.
He glowered at me. "Do you want to come?"
"Okay," I said and stood. I followed him to the foyer where the elevator doors had opened.
Children's voices reached my ears.
"Xander!" a child exclaimed. I couldn't hear if it was a boy or a girl.
But if I assumed the girl was a year? Then it was probably a boy.
I leaned against the door frame between living room and the foyer.
Alexander was crouched on the floor and stood with a boy on each hip. An arm around them.
A man, a bid smaller than Alexander, but twice in size caused by muscles, had a girl in his arms. The pink clothing was a dead give-away.
He looked at me. "Hi," he said.
He had brown hair, dark eyes, and something about him seemed so much more relaxed than when I looked at Alexander.
"And you are?" he asked.
"Christina," I said.
He nodded. "I'm Marcus, Alexander's older brother. I didn't know you had a girlfriend," he told Alexander.
"I don't, so that's probably why," Alexander snapped.
Marcus laughed and helped the girl out of her clothes. She had close to white hair and huge, dark eyes. She was leaning into Marcus.
"Julia has had better days," he said. "But she's just unwell, nothing serious."
Alexander put the two boys on the floor. They managed to get off their jackets and shoes on their own, left it on the floor and ran towards the living room.
"Are you sick?" Alexander asked Julia.
She reached for him.
He lifted her away from Marcus and held her close. She leaned into him and didn't utter a sound.
Marcus picked up the boys' jackets and put them on the foyer table. "I've got to go," he said. "Nice to meet you Christina," he said. "And I don't hope the kids scare you too much."
I smiled.
He said something to Alexander I didn't hear, went into the elevator and went down.
Alexander went into the living room. "Get off the table."
I followed and didn't notice, before now, what he'd put on the dining table.
"Do you want to give me a hand?" he asked me.
"With?" I asked.
He looked at Julia. "Do you want to meet Christina?" he asked.
Julia lifted her head from his shoulder and peeked at me with huge eyes.
I went to them and stroked her hair.
She didn't say anything, and Alexander handed me her.
I kept her close, and either she was too unwell to care, or then it didn't bother her I was holding her. She leaned into me and relaxed.
"Have you introduced them to someone before?" I asked Alexander.
"Never," he said and put some Legos on the floor, followed by coloring books.
"Lego!" the eldest exclaimed. He jumped from the couch and ran to the Lego. Some of it was build.
The smaller boy jumped off the couch and followed.
"What your names?" I asked.
They both looked at me. It was odd they all had blond hair and dark eyes.
"Harry," the eldest said.
"Owen," the other one.
"What's your name?" Harry asked.
"Christina," I said.
How crazy wasn't it that they looked almost identically? Harry was just older than Owen.
They both looked at me, still. "Can you make cookies?" Owen asked. "Alexander can't, and the buying ones are not so good."
I looked at Alexander who was sitting on the floor too.
"What's wrong with my cookies?" He asked.
Owen wrinkled his nose. "Buying ones are not as good, and yours are burning."
I smiled. "Are they burned?" I asked.
"I can't cook," Alexander said and looked at me.
"It doesn't mean you have to be mad at me," I said. "Can we bake cookies after lunch?"
Alexander was still looking at me. "Fine." He said.
I sat down on the floor. Julia turned and crawled to Alexander.