Lars Sings a Different Tune

Lars has already figured out how to dress this up on the way, he has decided to stay as close to the truth as possible. He tells her he rented a chalet with his brother and was curious about what there is to experience in this area.

'Does your brother happen to have dark brown curls, sir,' she asks curiously, 'because I think I met him this morning. He was here with a red-haired woman.'

'That may be true,' Lars agrees, 'and please, no "sir", just call me Lars.'

'Ellen,' she says, looking at him inquiringly for a moment, wondering how coincidental this encounter really is. Then her professionalism kicks in and she tells him all about the area and the activities that can also be booked through the hotel. The swimming pond is also discussed. Lars tells her he's already been there, and asks if she often comes there herself.

She visits it regularly, she admits, but only when she is not on duty during the day, as it is usually too cold to go swimming at night.

That's Lars' cue, he decides to go all or nothing, he really likes her, he must admit to himself, worth taking a shot at.

'And,' he asks hesitantly, putting on his most persuasive smile, 'would you perhaps feel like... what time does your shift end? Or do you have a boyfriend? You must have a boyfriend...'

Ellen laughs, a sparkling, sexy laugh, please, Lars thinks, moaning inwardly, don't let her have a boyfriend!

'I finish at four, what did you have in mind?'

Lars' eyes light up, 'how about swimming and then I'll take you out for dinner, Italian, or rather Greek?'

Ellen doesn't think twice. 'Sounds good to me,' she says cheerfully, 'you can pick me up here in front of the hotel.' Lars gives her a radiant smile, wow she thinks, this blonde version looks even better than this morning's dark haired one! At lunchbreak she will cycle home to get her swimming gear and that nice new beach dress, she decides.

Lars bids her farewell, with lavish thanksgiving for the information provided, and walks out of the hotel whistling happily. No 'Sweet Louise' this time, this tune comes up spontaneously, he doesn't even know what it is.

A very good-humored Lars steps back onto the veranda of the chalet a while later, Sven nudges Louise, pointing to the cheerful Lars. They sit lazily together on a pair of patio chairs, each with a large glass of water, recovering from the very exciting but pleasant mess and cleaning session they just had, the excitement blushes not yet completely gone.

'I just can't leave you alone for a minute, can I,' Lars grumbles teasingly. They look guilty.

Then Lars walks over to Louise, unceremoniously pulls her out of her chair and places a big kiss on her cheek. 'I love you, sweet Louise!' Ah, she thinks with satisfaction, mission accomplished, she glances sideways at Sven. He grins and gives her a double thumbs up.

'And?' she asks curiously.

'An absolute ten!' Lars replies with a broad grin, 'and we have a date.'

'Jeez,' responds Louise admiringly, 'you work fast! What are you planning to do?'

'First swim and then dinner,' it sounds satisfied. 'I'll pick her up at the hotel at four. And now I'm hungry, time for lunch.' He heads off to enter the chalet.

'I'll walk with you,' says Sven quickly, this is a perfect moment to call out the code, he thinks, that will be a load off his heart.

Louise closes her eyes, very pleased with the result of her impromptu scheme, let's just hope Lars gives Ellen the treatment she deserves, but somehow she has a feeling he will.

Lars is already waiting when Ellen leaves the hotel, they decide to walk to the pond, they will pick up her bike later tonight. He looks admiringly at her airy red and green beach dress, 'looks good on you,' he says complimentingly, 'wow!' Ellen blushes with pleasure.

She's a little relieved, she thinks a stunner like Lars can get any girl, so she was pleasantly surprised that he wanted to take her out. She tries to push the thought of Bert to the background as much as possible, she has had all day to think about her relationship, but she always comes to the same conclusion: it is high time to put an end to it. If she's honest, Bert's really just a stupid bastard, lazy, selfish and completely devoid of charm. Moreover, he always tries to belittle her, apparently that makes him feel superior to her, and that's no wonder, she thinks grimly, because in terms of intellect he cannot compete with her. And his appearance doesn't get any better either, with that greasy, too long hair, and swiftly developing beer belly. What did she ever see in that guy?! Well, she muses, he was charming at first, but that didn't last long, once he had conquered her, he didn't exactly bother much anymore.

She looks aside for a moment, at her attractive companion, the sunny smile returns, no matter what happens today, tonight, after dinner she goes straight to Bert and breaks up with him, enough is enough!

At the pond it is quite busy, a lot of people have come up with the idea to cool off in the refreshing clear water of the pond, but they still manage to find a reasonably secluded spot.

Lars immediately pulls his T-shirt over his head, Ellen stares mesmerized at his chest and arms, tanned and muscular, wow, she thinks excitedly, I'm curious about the rest! Then she catches Lars's amused look, quickly lowering her eyes.

'Is it to your liking?' Lars asks teasingly, sliding down his jeans. He has put on his swimming shorts today, his preference is normally for his natural state, but that did not seem appropriate here, with all those people. And of course, he doesn't want to frighten Ellen either, that shock will come later, he thinks with a grin, at least, he hopes so with all his heart.

Ellen giggles, but keeps quiet. Instead, she now pulls her beach dress over her head, revealing a beautiful red and black bikini. Lars holds his breath for a moment, the bottoms are cut high, her beautiful legs look even longer and the top makes the most of her breasts, and they are certainly worth looking at! He immediately feels a slight erection coming on, and is happy with the loose-fitting shorts.

Clearly pleased with the unabashedly admiring looks from Lars, Ellen suggests that they straight away take a cooling dip, after which they can dry on the towels that have now been spread out. Lars immediately grabs her hand enthusiastically and pulls her to the water's edge, a moment later she is stretched out in the water, did not see that coming, she thinks with amusement. Anyway, she's right and truly wet allover now and the water is lovely.

Lars turns out to be a real tease in the water, splashing her under, teasing her and challenging her. She is a good swimmer, even in shallow water like this, but she struggles keeping up with, or rather, staying ahead of Lars. In any case, it is a very pleasant experience, she finds, he's wonderfully playful, almost like a young dog. Laughing merrily, they leave the water a while later and sink down onto their towels with a satisfied sigh. Ellen lies on her back and closes her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her wet body.

Lars lies on his side and studies his companion. She is not only beautiful, but also very playful and energetic, he has just noted, all bonus points. Ellen feels his gaze and looks at him. She sees something in his eyes that instantly makes her feel guilty, time to get clean, she decides, metaphorically speaking.

'Lars?' she says hesitantly.

'Hmm?'

'I haven't been completely honest with you.' He looks at her expectantly, with an unusually serious look for his doing.

'Shoot,' he says, shit, he thinks in the meantime, his heart sinking, a boyfriend after all, too bad.

'I have a boyfriend, Bert,' she continues, watching him stiffen, 'but,' she looks at him with an intense gaze, 'it's almost been a year now, but I've been doubting this relationship for a long time. That's why I said yes to you this morning. And now with you,' she says pensively, 'you are so different from Bert, only now have I noticed that things can be differently, with you I feel valued and I can be myself. I've been chewing on it all day and had already decided that I'm going to break up with Bert tonight, regardless of how this goes, but this,' she points to the water and to both of them, 'has only strengthened my decision,' she looks at him probingly.

Lars is jubilant inside, doing his very best not to show it, but something seeps through his smile, much to Ellen's delight.

'So,' she continues, 'if this makes you feel uncomfortable, or even guilty, don't, it's both all to do with you and nothing to do with you, you've mostly helped me make my mind up.' She gives him a loving squeeze in his hand. Lars can't control himself and pulls her towards him and places a tender kiss on her lips.

'And Bert,' he asks, 'is he going to accept that without further ado?'

'He'll have to,' she says grimly, 'I'm done with him.' Then she opens up about her lazy, disinterested and belittling boyfriend, and Lars, like herself, wonders what ever attracted her to this guy in the first place.

'It doesn't sound like a golden lottery ticket, Ellen,' he concludes, 'dump that asshole, you deserve better!'

They settle back comfortably, both happy they are on the same page now. Then a shadow falls over them, there is a girl in front of them in a bikini that is both a bit too tight and too naked, all in all it doesn't look very appetizing.

'Hi Ellen,' it sounds a bit drawly, 'Bert not with you?' she looks curiously at Lars.

Lars looks sideways at Ellen in amusement and winks at her. 'Bert?' he then says, 'who is Bert?'

'Bert is her boyfriend,' the girl says directly, pointing at Ellen.

'Oh?' Lars responds innocently, 'I didn't know that. Ellen?'

Ellen looks at him, 'Bert is my boyfriend,' she says with a straight face, 'and no, Trea, he's not here. Anything else?' She looks straight at the girl, who looks away embarrassed, mumbles something unintelligible and then walks away, towards a bunch of giggling girls who all look in their direction.

As soon as she has lifted her heels, Lars pulls Ellen towards him and kisses her full on the mouth. Ellen doesn't exactly offer resistance; she returns the kiss with abandon and Lars feels a playful tongue slide into his mouth. Oh, boy, the erection is back, he feels, she's an amazing kisser. Reluctantly, he lets her go a while later.

'So,' he says with satisfaction, 'at least now they have something to talk about.' Ellen giggles, she has gotten wet, she can feel, she could get used to those kisses.

'I take it that wasn't really a friend of yours?'

'Not exactly, no,' agrees Ellen, 'a conniving bitch, always stirring things up. She has also always had a crush on Bert, couldn't stand him choosing me over her. So good news for her, Bert's coming back on the market, she can have him.' She chuckles a little, Lars looks at her curiously.

'That kiss from a moment ago will now spread through the grapevine very quickly, there's a good chance that Bert will already know this evening when I come to break up with him.'

'Is that bothering you?' he asks worriedly, 'is that a problem?' He immediately feels a little guilty.

'No, probably just makes it easier.'

Lars still sees the girls looking and pointing, he pulls Ellen towards him again, 'like to give another show?' he whispers. Ellen has no intension to say no to that, she is pleasantly wet and feels her clit tingling, Lars kisses wonderfully. Then she feels a hand on her buttocks, it elicits a soft cry from her, oh god, she thinks, now the grapevine really will be working overtime. Lars lets her go again, looks at her apologetically: 'Sorry about that, heat of the moment.'

'It's all right,' she says cheerfully, enjoying the excitement she's feeling, 'what time is it anyway?'

'Half past five,' Lars concludes, 'shall we head off to the restaurant?'

'Good idea,' she says, 'I'm pretty hungry by now.'

Not too long after that they are sitting across from each other at a table in the Greek restaurant. While Ellen studies the menu, Lars studies Ellen, he sits with his elbows on the table, resting his head in his hands. His dreamy gaze rests on the multitude of freckles on her nose and cheekbones, it looks delightful, he thinks, he would like to kiss them one by one.

'Shall we also have an appetizer?' asks Ellen, looking up from the map. An amused smile appears on her face.

'What are you doing?' she asks, 'have you already made a choice?'

'I think so,' says Lars thoughtfully, 'but maybe it's still too early...'

'Joker,' she says good-naturedly, 'first decide on what you'd like to eat, then we'll see what happens afterwards,' she looks at him coquettishly.

Lars chuckles, 'if you fancy a starter, go ahead, I think I will too.'

Animated conversations take place during the meal, Lars notices that she is very smart, even smarter than himself, he notes, and has a wide range of interests and a lot of knowledge.

'Why do you actually work as a receptionist at that hotel,' he asks at one point, 'you have so much more to offer.'

'Well,' she explains, 'that's what you get when you grow up in a closed community like this, everything is years behind the times, and you shouldn't stick your head above the parapet, just act normal, then you're already acting crazy enough, that kind of thing, you know?' Lars nods. 'I was an outsider at school,' she continues, 'because I got such high grades. Of course, my parents didn't think it was necessary to do anything with it, a girl doesn't need a career. And Bert also thinks that a woman's place is mainly at the kitchen sink, unless she brings in a nice pay slip, of course, which comes in handy,' she adds cynically.

'Ridiculous,' says Lars, 'that's not how it works anymore, is it?'

'Well, unfortunately it is here,' she laughs, shrugging her shoulders, 'eh, what about dessert?'

'Your choice.'

'Better not,' she says apologetically, 'I have a bit of a knot in my stomach, because of, well, you know.'

'I understand,' Lars says, taking her hand encouragingly. 'You know what, I'll ask for the bill, and then we'll be off, the sooner you can leave it behind you.' She looks at him gratefully.

Then they step outside, they each have to go in a different direction, so for the time being they have to say goodbye. That happens with a slow, tantalizing kiss, they can hardly separate themselves from each other, it strengthens Ellen even more in her decision to give Bert his congé.

They have agreed that she will text Lars as soon as the ordeal is over and he will pick her up at the hotel as soon as possible.

Lars walks energetically towards the chalet, whistling his new tune, he still hasn't figured out what it is. A little later it changes into soft singing: 'She's some kind of wonderful, yes, she is; she's some kind of wonderful yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,' it sounds.

Ellen watches him longingly for a while and then heads for Bert's house with a heavy heart.

A little later she is at the door of the Kramer family, although family is a big word. Bert's mother divorced a long time ago, her husband ran off quite early in the marriage, with another man, it is said. Bert's mother never got over it, she always remained alone. Maybe that's why Bert is such a selfish bastard, Ellen thinks cynically, pampered and cuddled to death by his mother.

She stands hesitantly on the pavement, finger to the buzzer. She's actually quite tense. Anyway, let's bite the bullet and get it over with, she thinks, and presses the buzzer.

Bert's mother opens the door and looks surprised at Ellen.

'Hello, Mrs. Kramer,' Ellen greets her.

'Hey Ellen, I didn't know you were coming over tonight, Bert didn't say anything.'

'No, that's right,' Ellen responds, 'this is a spontaneous visit, I need to talk to him.' Mrs. Kramer lets her in without further comment.

'He's upstairs,' she says, pointing to the stairs, 'in his room. Should I call him or would you rather go...'

'No, just call him,' Ellen quickly interrupts her, she has no need to have this conversation in the seclusion of Bert's room, she prefers to do that downstairs, with his mother nearby, within "screaming" distance, so to speak, she still has no idea how he's going to react.

It is clear that the grapevine has not yet reached the Kramer house, she notes with relief.

'Bert, Ellen is here, are you coming down?' There's no answer. 'Bert!'

'Yes, I'm coming,' it sounds protesting from above, 'you don't have to shout like that!'

'Just sit down in the kitchen Ellen, Bert is on his way,' says Mrs. Kramer, 'I'm going back to watching TV, give you two some privacy.' She walks into the living room, leaving Ellen behind.

Bert enters the kitchen, 'what are you doing here?' he asks, with a sullen look. Charming, she thinks, it's immediately getting her in the right mood, the tension disappears.

'I need to talk to you,' she says neutrally.

'O. Can it be done quickly? I've just reached a difficult level, so if you can keep it short, please do!' He impatiently runs a grubby hand through his greasy hair.

Okay, she thinks, you want it short, you get it short. Short and simple, that gives the best chance of letting it sink in, she thinks cynically.

'I'm here to break up with you,' she says.

'What?!' He looks at her uncomprehendingly, for God's sake, she thinks, is even this still too difficult?

'I'm breaking up with you, I don't feel anything for you anymore.'

'Oh,' it sounds bewildered, and then: 'Where did this suddenly come from, is it because I forgot your birthday?'

Ellen has to laugh involuntarily; she had completely forgotten. Funny that he thinks it's just about something simple as a forgotten birthday.

'No,' she says again, 'it's because I don't feel anything for you anymore.' Then she gets up, says goodbye to Bert's mother and walks out of the house without looking back. Well, she thinks with relief, that was that, what a wonderful feeling, she is free again, free to be herself. She looks at her mobile, all in all it took less than five minutes, great, the sooner she sees Lars again. She quickly texts him, almost immediately she gets an answer, he's on his way. Now on to the hotel, she thinks cheerfully, their rendezvous point.

It's already pretty dim, but she feels like she's walking in a radiant light, she should have dumped Bert long ago, it feels so incredibly freeing. Before she knows it, she is at the hotel, she sits down on one of the huge boulders in front of the hotel and waits. She thinks back at that first sweet kiss from Lars. She can't believe what's happening to her, and he's so obviously into her.

'Lars, my boy, what's the matter with you, just go sit, will you, you're making me very nervous!' exclaims Sven.

Louise looks at Lars questioningly, 'what have you been up to,' she asks, 'you didn't rush things to much with Ellen, did you?'

'No, "Mom",' he reassures her with a smile. Then he tells them about Ellen's boyfriend, who should be dumped at this very moment, and that he is waiting for her text that everything has gone according to plan and that he can pick her up.

Louise sighs in relief, then asks, 'So she did have a boyfriend?'

'A real jerk,' Lars declares, 'she was already planning on ditching him for a long time, I seem to have persuaded her to call it a day,' he adds with a smug grin.

'Now don't get cocky, Lars, you're not that irresistible,' Louise teases.

'I'm not? Because I have a different image, still fresh in my mind, sweet Louise,' he laughs mischievously, Louise blushes. 'Oh,' says Lars, 'while we're on the subject,' he looks from Louise to Sven, 'not a word about our threesome, please, I really like her, I don't want to scare her off.'

This stays between us, hand on heart, they promise, a bit sanctimonious, they also have every interest in it all working out between Lars and Ellen.