We're going to need more than five minutes

Have you been to Hollywood Boulevard recently?

„Oh... my... God!", Soma flipped through the pictures she had of Jordane and both of them together on her phone, „THAT's your new guy? He is SO hot!! I thought you weren't into the really hot ones?"

„Hey! Excuse me... But yes, that's my new boyfriend, and yes, he is pretty hot", she smiled while stirring in her coffee, „And that's enough with the pictures, now give me back my phone, please."

Her niece though didn't stop side scrolling through her camera roll. „Why? Are there any dirty ones on here that I'm not supposed to see?", she asked with a smirk.

„No, of course not! At least... I think so. Anyway, just give it back... Soma!... Please!"

Finally, the young woman had mercy with her and returned her phone – the last picture to be seen on the screen was Lana, without any make up on and pretty messy hair, snuggling up in bed to his bare chest with a satisfied smile. Her eyes were closed, while Jordane with smiling into the camera, obviously he had been the one who had snapped this selfie with her phone. She blushed a little, the circumstances of this picture were pretty telling, put her phone back into her purse while clearing her throat and shooting her niece a reproachful look. It's bad manners to flip through other people's phones unsolicitedly after all! Initially, she had simply wanted to show her the same sexy and cool, but still innocent picture of him that she showed to everyone who asked her.

„His name is Jordane, and he's an actor too. He was filming my last show with me, ‚Why Women Kill'. We met on set."

„Uuuuuh, sexy! And for how long have you been together?"

„About, like, six... seven weeks? Not long, but long enough to know that it's pretty serious", she smiled dreamily, „I'm really, really happy with him."

It felt strange talking to her niece about all these things, her treasured memories of babysitting Soma, feeding her banana porridge and playing peek-a-boo with her were still very present, but she was an almost grown woman now who had just graduated high school, so their relationship had naturally progressed into a close friendship. Now, Lana was more like a mentor to her, and she liked being the ‚cool auntie'.

„That's awesome! I'm really happy for you, titi, you so deserve it! And he looks like a super nice guy too! Are we going to meet him while we're here?"

„Thanks, sweetie! But no, not yet this time, I'm sorry."

„Awww, no! Why not?"

„He's meeting my mom and Aunt Candy tomorrow for the very first time, I think that's stressful enough for him for now."

„Are you nervous about it? Aunt Dee is so cool though!"

„I know she is, but... well, he's quite a bit younger than me and I know my mom is not a big fan of that. I know, age ain't nothing but a number and all, but still. Such a big gap is rarely sustainable for long in a relationship, especially when it's the woman who's older."

Soma frowned. „Why, how old is he?"

„He's 28... turning 29 in a month."

„Ah, maybe I should try my luck flirting with him then?", she chuckled, and so did Lana since it was obviously a joke. The thought that her boyfriend was closer in age to her niece and nephews than to herself was somewhat chilling though.

She took another sip of her coffee. „Feel free to try! Though I have seen other women try this with him before and he's almost shockingly uninterested in anybody else other than me, at least at the moment. There's really nothing they can do, no matter how pretty they are. It's crazy!"

„That's really cool! Maybe he's finally a guy who treats you right, for a change."

„Yeah... maybe."