Author's Note: This story is set in the fictional country of Nordland, a small island nation in the North Sea between the UK, Norway, and Denmark.
Please note that this story is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places described in this narrative are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
All comments and feedback are welcome.
HF
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*BEEP...BEEP...BEEP...BEEEE...*
Sigrid's hand snaked out and slapped her phone, silencing the alarm. Wearily, she opened her eyes, looking at the bedside clock: 5.30am. It was the Thursday after she and Magnus had arrived home from their weekend getaway in London, and she had promised herself she would get up early for a run. As she slowly pulled back the sheets and blankets, careful not to wake the still slumbering Magnus who was snoring softly next to her, her mind drifted back to the couple of days they had spent away.
It had been an enjoyable experience, notwithstanding the altercation with the chavs on the Friday night. The pair had enjoyed the football on Sunday night and had reconnected in a way she hadn't thought possible after her time in New York with Marcus a week earlier. Making her way to the bathroom to freshen up, she reflected that it was perhaps the little getaway they needed, a reset to reconnect with each other. What this meant for her relationship with Marcus was still hanging over her mind like a dark cloud.
Pushing her pajama pants and briefs down around her ankles, she sat on the toilet, her thoughts still on Marcus. He was due to arrive in Nordland today, according to his messages they had secretly exchanged over the past several days. Should I go and see him, she thought nervously? What would his presence in Nordland, the first time since they had started their affair, mean for them?
Finishing on the toilet, she stood and pulled her pajama pants and briefs back into position. As she stood at the basin, washing her hands, her eyes drifted to the place on the shelf where she usually placed her packet of birth control pills. Now, however, this space was vacant as she had finished the last pill two days before, and the empty packet lay discarded in the rubbish bin. Having agreed not to refill her prescription before they left for London, Sigrid now struggled with the realization that, unless she used a condom, every time she had sex with either Magnus or Marcus there was a chance she could fall pregnant.
She had read a few books and visited several sites on the internet that advised some of the best ways to fall pregnant and she was now more aware of the likely chances to her cycle as the chemicals in her system dissipated and she returned to her natural hormonal balance. This was all in preparation for starting a family with Magnus, but the impact this would have on her affair with Marcus was far from clear at this stage.
The logical part of her told her that if they were to continue their affair they needed to use some form of protection, lest she fall pregnant with her black lover's baby. The emotional part of her reminded her of the pleasure that she and Marcus felt when he was inside her without a condom or any other form of barrier between her intimate pink folds and his black cock. The dichotomy of her thoughts continued to trouble her as she washed her face and tied her brown hair back into a ponytail.
Returning to the darkened bedroom, she silently slipped out of her pajamas and into her running gear that she had laid out the night before. Leaving Magnus to his dreams, she made her way to the kitchen, drinking a glass of water before leaving the house and heading off on her favorite running route. Usually, she wore her ear pods and listened to her favorite songs to distract her and occupy her mind, but this time there was no need. She had enough on her mind to keep her deeply occupied in thought.
She was no closer to a solution for her dilemma by the time she arrived back home an hour later. She hoped that something would present itself before she had to face the harsh reality of her situation, that she couldn't be with both men that she now loved.
Magnus was awake and in the kitchen when she arrived back, hot, and sweaty from her run, despite the cool morning air outside. "Hey, Sigi...good run?" he asked with a smile as he made some coffee.
"Yeah, bit cool out there though..." she panted as she pulled her ear pods out and placed them on the table. "Want some coffee?" he asked. She nodded gratefully as she poured herself some more water to rehydrate.
"Here you go," he said, handing her a steaming cup of coffee. She flashed him a smile in thanks as she took a sip. Hot and black, just the way she liked it, she thought to herself.
Making her way to the pantry to start preparing her breakfast, Magnus glanced over his shoulder. "How's your day looking?" he asked. She rocked her head from side to side. "So, so...I guess..." she replied, peering at the ingredients on the shelves. "Meeting with some of the new flight attendants today, got an orientation session for them. Part of my transition to a management role," she replied as she pulled out the ingredients she was looking for.
"Looking forward to it?" he asked, with a little smile. "Giving up the skies?"
"I guess so...the time away from home is pretty draining..." she replied as she made her way to the bench to start preparing her food. Magnus paused. "Look, Sigi...I just want you to know...despite what I've said in the past...I'm really proud of you and your career...you've gone where you want to go...done what you wanted to do...maybe I wasn't as supportive as I could have been and I'm sorry about that," he told her.
Sigrid paused and turned to look at him, a look of love and affection on her face. "Mags, thank you...it's ok...I know we've been through some rough patches...everyone does...but let's just focus on the future now, ok?"
Magnus nodded and they returned their attention to their food. "So, are we still going to dinner with your family on Saturday night?" he asked, their focus turning to more prosaic issues.
She let out a groan and rolled her eyes. "Yes...please don't remind me..." Sigrid's bother, Niels, was in town for several days and had wanted to catch up for dinner with his younger sister and parents. Niels was the one bright spark in Sigrid's family; despite being several years older that her they had always had a strong relationship. This had even survived the family dramas when she'd decided to leave a career in law and join Air Nordland as a flight attendant, much to her parents' disgust and chagrin.
Niels, a tall man with dark brown hair, had followed their parents into law, becoming a corporate lawyer for a major UK bank and had moved to London nearly a decade earlier, where he'd met his wife, Penelope. A tall, willowy blonde from an upper-class English family, she owned an art gallery in Mayfair and, when Sigrid had first met her, she'd made the mistake of referring to her as Penny in a conversation. "It's Penelope, dear..." Niels' wife had stated in her refined accent, thereby setting the tone of their relationship since then.
Even with her cool relationship with Niels' wife, Sigrid loved spending time with her brother. Despite his own career path into law, he'd always supported her with her decisions, even when this put him at odds with their parents. Sigrid often reflected on how someone as gregarious and affable as Niels had ended up with someone so cool and dismissive as Penelope.
She had hoped to catch up with Niels while they were in London, thus avoiding having to go to dinner with him and her parents when he was in Nordhaven. Unfortunately, he had been travelling and she had reluctantly acquiesced to his request to come to dinner when he visited on the weekend. She was expecting to get the typical battery of questions and criticisms about her career and life choices from her parents.
