They jumped the last meter onto the platform, and Susanne was glad she had chosen to wear flats, not high heels.

The train was still there, waiting with its doors open, and they rushed through them.

Anja quickly let go of her hand, as if only now becoming aware that she had grabbed it.

Susanne curled her fingers around one of the metal poles instead. Breathing hard, she looked around for free seats, but they were all taken. Apparently, a lot of people had the same genius idea of taking the train to the fair. Other passengers squeezed in after them until Susanne started to feel as if she were using the subway in Tokyo, where professional pushers were employed to stuff humans into subway cars. She muttered a curse as people jostled her from all sides, forcing her to take a step back. Now she had to stretch out her arm almost painfully so she could reach the pole, and the fingers of a stranger brushed hers in search of a spot to hold on to.

Anja wasn’t faring any better. A guy was pressed against her backpack so tightly that she squirmed uncomfortably.

“Hey, why don’t you back off a little?” Susanne snarled at him. “You’re so far into my friend’s personal space that you really should buy her dinner first.”

Anja gave her a startled look, either because she wasn’t used to being defended or because Susanne had called her a friend without meaning to.

“And where do you suggest I go?” The guy gestured behind him, where other people were squeezed in just as close.

She sent him a glare but had to admit that he really had nowhere to go.

Finally, the doors closed, and the train jerked forward.

Susanne clutched the pole more tightly, but Anja didn’t have anything to hold on to, so she was tossed forward, against Susanne. She grasped Anja with her free hand, keeping her on her feet.

A startled gasp escaped Anja. Her warm breath brushed Susanne’s collarbone where she had opened her coat, sending shivers through her body.

“Uh, sorry.” Anja tried to move back, but the people surrounding them had immediately taken advantage of the freed-up space and had crowded closer, so now Anja couldn’t back up. “Um…”

“It’s okay.” Susanne forced a smile and tried to ignore how much more than just okay her body found this unexpected situation. “Better me than that guy. At least this way, you have a chance of me buying you dinner afterward.”

Anja let out a nervous chuckle and managed to move back a little so that their bodies were no longer touching all along their lengths. But each time the train changed its speed or another passenger jostled one of them, their fronts brushed, and the temperature in the train seemed to skyrocket.