New home…?

After two weeks I was ready to move out of my old, run-down apartment and move into my living space. I couldn't wait for it to happen. I was so thrilled I couldn't close my eyes at night and even if I did, my heart would pound so loudly that focusing on sleep was nearly a mission impossible. But even after fourteen days I wasn’t exhausted in the slightest. All this excitement was overwhelming, but it was pure adrenalin.

When I was finally standing by my new apartment’s door my legs were shaking. My hands were also shakings. Every cell in my body was uncontrollably bouncing like it was screaming with joy.

“Apartment number 2022, here I come!” I said to myself while placing a key card on the reader and entering the memorized code number.

It was almost like entering some secret garden or any other magical place. A place like this… I’ve only seen it in romance dramas, where some wealthy CEO would spend his time after a hard day of work. He would go to the bar next to the kitchen space and pour some insanely overpriced alcohol into a crystal glass. This was the place that I was supposed to live from now on!

A magnificent ebony floor, spacious salon, expensive furniture, modern-style, electric fireplace and… a window view to kill. Wall-sized windows created such amount of light, that I felt like I’ve just stepped into a heaven. I came to the window, hesitantly touched it, and looked through. The top floor view was breathtaking. I couldn’t help but to say, “Wow…” – and then I hurriedly took my hand off the window not to leave a stain.

“God… window cleaning in this house will surely take the entire week of hard work!” I thought. I’m also almost certain that none of my new neighbors have ever had such thoughts. All they do is call some cleaning service. But for me… I’d feel extremely awkward facing people toiling to make MY home clean. Besides, I thought it would be better not to spend money too recklessly… 

After all, I’d just spent a huge sum for renting this apartment for six months. The money which I could buy a small house with. I was aware that I made probably the most irresponsible and absolutely unpragmatic decision in my entire life, but I was certain that this was the right thing to do. I thought about it like possibly the most expensive vacation I could take. My six-month dream.

After unpacking few boxes, I decided to buy some groceries. I wanted to wear something presentable, but then I found out my clothes are nowhere near matching the apartment’s style… I ended up wearing my best dress that I bought to wear on a date with my ex and I never had a chance to wear it, because… that was when he became the ex. With this dress I was ready to look super casual, but still stylish in front of any possibly encountered neighbors.

“Ana, you got this! This is a place where you belong now!” I cheered up myself just before going out. I untangled my hair to rise my own self-esteem and bravely walked out of the apartment repeating, “You got this! You got this!” like a mantra.

As I walked down the hall towards the elevator, I saw a beautiful, tall, fashionable woman. She looked like one of those top models. Each strand of her hair looked mesmerizing. I couldn’t help not to stare at her. When she was passing me by, I slightly bowed my head and smiled at her, but she responded with a full of contempt cold glare.

“And a very good day to you too!” I thought irritated with what I encountered. “Don’t worry! There are a lot of friendly people living here as well!” I told myself and took the elevator down.

When I reached the reception, I was greeted by a charming old receptionist.

“Are you having a good first day in your new apartment Miss Kowalsky?” he said with a warm smile. “Is there anything I can help you with? You can call me anytime, you know that right?”

“Thank you, Mr. Dayton. You’ve just given me everything I wanted. Your smile is the best remedy for my dilemmas…”.

That was the truth, I forgot all my uncertainties in an instant.

I walked out of the building wearing a grin on my face and feeling almost unstoppable.

“Now, I’m going to buy some veggies, a lot of coffee and a bottle of wine to celebrate my new home. Then I’m going to write a great criminal novel, and no one will stop me! Not my aunts who have constantly discredited my skills, nor my bullying ex-coworkers and certainly not my ex-cheating-boyfriend!”

After giving myself a pep talk, I was ready to march into a local supermarket, while already writing the first paragraph of my novel in my head.

I was walking through some colorful aisles full of vegetables and fruits until my eyes met something disturbing. An almost monochromatic figure…

He was tall with broad shoulders, but he wasn’t too muscular type. His skin was almost pale white which combined with his black hair, black eyes and black jacket made him look almost surreal. He looked like a vampire from all those romantic movies and dramas. His insanely handsome face surely caught the attention of every female… and male in the store. He looked like a celebrity and a supernatural creature at the same time. There was something pretty magical in the way that this irresistible man was picking firm tomatoes from a basket, touching them with his long fingers…

“God! What am I thinking about!”

I hit my forehead with my hand to chase away all those smut thoughts that came to my mind while looking at him.

Unfortunately, me hitting my head grasped his attention and he abruptly looked my way. When our eyes met, I flinched. His gaze was cold and frightening, but it suddenly changed into a less intimidating one. He smiled.

“Am I blocking your way to those tomatoes?” he asked all of the sudden. His voice sounded so deep and hypnotizing that my mind went blank. It took me few seconds to fully awake from it.

“Y-yeah… I mean… no! Take your time, I’ll watch… no! Wait! I’ll wait.”

“What the hell am I saying?!” I thought. That was so embarrassing that I hurriedly turn my head hoping he wouldn’t see me blushing like a teenager. Of course, all of my silly hopes shattered when I glimpsed at his devilish smirk, which made me feel even more embarrassed.

“The basket is all yours,” naturally he was still smirking while saying that. I bowed my head slightly to thank him but didn’t have the courage to look him in the eyes again. I only noticed him going to the next aisle. As soon as I lost the sight of him, I felt like I could breathe again.

Then I did my shopping hysterically fast, hoping that I won’t see that man ever again. Obviously, I couldn’t be more wrong…