Sarah carried her basket of laundry downstairs to the basement, taking her time in order to give Vince the time necessary to make his phone calls; calls she felt she shouldn’t overhear, so she went at a leisurely pace. Eventually she made her way into the laundry room, stopping just in the doorway. There, against the wall of dryers, back to Sarah, was Mrs. Finch, one of her neighbors. She was a nosy busybody who liked to keep on top of everyone else’s business, and as of late had been trying especially hard to get Sarah to date men she thought were ideal and get her to give up on the foolishness of acting, as she called it. She wanted to back out and head upstairs, but Vince needed time to make his calls, so she tried to tuck Vince’s clothes out of sight and headed straight for one of the banks of washers.
She tossed a pod apiece in a couple of the washers, then quickly, before Mrs. Finch could see, she tossed in Vince’s clothes, then some of hers on top. Fielding questions about why there were men’s clothing in her laundry was not something she wanted to do right now. She was just closing the lids to the machines, when her neighbor turned around finally, spotting her.
“Oh, Sarah! It’s you!” the older lady said with a smile.
“Hello Mrs. Finch.” Sarah responded, bracing herself for the inevitable flood of questions.
“I’ve been meaning to come up and check on you dear, after the terrible screaming a few nights ago. I was worried it could have been you, but I was sick and haven’t been up and about until yesterday. Is everything alright, dear?”
Sarah nodded. “Everything’s fine. Maybe somebody was watching a movie too loud.”
“Perhaps.” the old lady said, looking thoughtful. When she spoke again, it was more pointed questions. “Have you had company? Or are you bathing more than usual?”
“It’s the best way I know to get rid of stress.” she responded, and started to try and make an excuse to leave when the old lady interrupted.
“Goodness, aren’t you supposed to be at work? Why are you home? Are you feeling well?”
Sarah sighed. “I’m fine Mrs. Finch. I just had too many days built up – they said I had to use them.”
“You work too hard, Sarah. You really should quit that foolish after work business you do. You’d be far less tired and stressed. You should date! I know of this really nice young man who – “
“I’m sorry Mrs. Finch. I’m not interested right now. If you’ll excuse me, I left something in the oven and want to make sure it doesn’t burn.” she said, putting the laundry soap in the basket and hurrying out of there. Mrs. Finch was one of the reasons she left early and came home late…it was outside of the woman’s normal hours, and Sarah was largely free to not be harassed. Still, the old lady sure made up for it when she got the chance. Lord only knew what she’d think of Vince if she knew about him…
With a sigh Sarah hurried up the stairs to the building door, left her basket next to it and pushed the door open. She would go for a walk, she decided. Just around the building should be fine, she figured. She meant to clear her head and calm down as she walked, but instead her thoughts only managed to turn back around to Vince. She sighed when she thought about him. She found that she was rather enjoying the company around the apartment, and he didn’t seem like a bad guy, though from things he’d said she gathered that he could be. Well, things he’d said and how he handled those men after her the previous evening.
Was she attracted to him? Without a doubt…and she’d seen more of him than she’d ever anticipated she would, and all of it – every inch – was delicious. When he’d turned on the charm while telling her how good he was at seducing – that he had to be – it had sent small thrills shivers through her body. Oh yeah – she was attracted. When she’d gotten up the nerve to go up to him – to touch him – what did she do?
Sarah blushed a little bit in memory. She’d gone behind him and hugged, sliding her hands under his shirt in order to feel his abs and chest beneath her hands. In that moment, she didn’t want sex or romance – just safety and security. She’d just wanted to be held and feel safe, that’s why she offered for him to stay in her room, though likely, he took it different. She still appreciated his dog form, though the comfort quotient wasn’t quite the same.
I would sorely love to taste those lips sometime, she told herself. And it was true, she would. Ultimately, after her upteenth time around the building, she decided that, no matter how much she wanted him, she would abstain. It didn’t seem right to start something when he was trying to protect her, and from things he had said, she interpreted that it wasn’t something he wanted anyway. Oh, sure, he’d mentioned being a sex toy…but she didn’t want to use him, either. Only if he’s interested. Only if he makes the first move.she decided. We’ll see if I can handle that.
Thoughts sorted and feeling more satisfied, she headed back to her building, opened the door, picked up her laundry basket and headed up to her apartment, where she headed in quietly, in case Vince wasn’t through with his calls.