23.

                                    

                                          
'I like it. It's different.'
Elke stared at Joost's new hair from the passenger's seat. He hummed a laugh and glanced to her, smiling at the way her body was positioned to face him. Her seatbelt didn't stop her from sitting with her knees angled to the left and with her back where her seat met the curved wall of his car.
Just like Joost had said, he had decided to change his hair. The shaved back grew out quickly, something that Elke envied, and Joost had opened his apartment door with his new look. Elke gasped when she saw it, her eyes wide and her hands already reaching out to touch the trimmed front. 
The girl stood on her toes to touch where the blonde sat over his forehead and Joost couldn't help himself from grabbing her waist. Elke's cropped top lifted from her stretch, letting him see her flawless curves. Joost's touch made Elke look from his hair to his eyes, before pecking his lips without leaving him time to react.
'I just hope everyone else thinks the same,' Joost said as he parked the car outside the workshop. 'You don't know what its like to walk into a room and be told you look like Mel Gibson.'
'Who said that?' Elke asked while unclicking her seatbelt.
'No one. I just know someone's going to say something of that tone.'
The workshop wasn't open today but some of the guys worked through the Saturday morning. Joost wasn't meant to be on the premises but he and Elke were passing on their way to lunch and he needed to grab something. Elke had hid her excitement at finally seeing where Joost worked and marvelled at his new look throughout the drive.
Walking through the carpark, Elke slipped her hand into Joost's. The wind was cold but being against his side made it feel like nothing more than a breath of air. Elke held his bicep with her other hand and Joost took the lead into the open roller door.
Drills and hisses of machinery echoed throughout the space. Elke stuck close behind Joost as he manouvered around the cars, drawers-on-wheels and dirty rags. He stepped over a creeper and pointed it out before Elke could slip on it. He waited until she was entirely over it while holding her hand before continuing around a red Toyota Yaris.
'Nice hair, Joost,' Apson called while leaning over an engine. 'Hi, Elke.'
'Hi, Apson.'
The girl waved in passing as Joost ignored the snicker in his friend's compliment. Elke took no notice and saw Tantu roll out from underneath a G-Wagon. Removing his hat to ruffle his flat, greasy hair, the brunette sat up and caught sight of the couple moving through the workshop.
'Hi, Teun!'
'Hi, Elke- woah, you didn't tell me you were dating George Michael?'
Joost threw a middle finger over his shoulder and Elke hid her giggles. She was amazed that he had been able to preempt the teasing. He never once broke his stride to acknowledge his friends that worked on cars and commented on his new haircut. Elke did her best to talk to all of them, happy to be greeted with such friendliness and genuinity. It was a stark difference from how her ex-boyfriend's friends used to treat her.
Where they would usually talk to customers, Alanis and Stuntje stood around the front counter. A man who Elke didn't know was in the chair looking at the computer screen. At Joost's entrance, their eyes made a syncronised shitft to him with Elke trailing in behind.
'You here for your glasses?' Stuntje asked and Joost nodded. 'I put them out the back. Give me a second.'
As Stuntje disappeared, Alanis took it upon herself to step around the counter. She greeted Elke with a smile and embraced her, forcing Joost to let go of her hand.