This Night Talk

David did not strip naked. Still in his briefs, he slipped under the quilt. He grunted.

"I finished," he said toward the door.

Gustav appeared immediately, as if he was standing right outside the doorframe and just waiting for his words. He had a full bottle in one hand and tea glasses in the other.

"I don't have alcohol glasses," he explained, showing David what he had brought. "I guess I'll have to buy them."

"So... are you planning to stay here for a while?"

"I'm starting to think about it," Gustav set the glasses on the bedside table. He reached out his hand to light the night light but hesitated. "Do you need more light?"

David got the impression that the Norwegian would have preferred them to stay solely in the light of the moon, the stars and the glow coming from the lower floor.

"No, this is fine," he said. Maybe the lack of good lighting, the fact that they can't see each other's faces clearly, will help Gustav open up?