He gives me a cheeky grin, letting me know that this is more of a real offer rather than just a duty, which of course causes my heart to race at the speed of light. I haven’t ever eaten with a man before, I’ve never even been kissed, much less gone on a date. This may well be more of a friendship thing than romantic, but it will be the closest thing to a boyfriend that I have ever experienced and it’s nerve wracking. Almost so much that I want to say no…
But I can’t say no. I can’t turn him down. This is all about new experiences, about growing and becoming the woman that I have always wanted to be. Going on a semi date is a great start to that. And what else will I do? Sit inside, all by myself, wishing that I had agreed to go out with Will. Regretting the idiotic decision to say no.
“Sure.” Oh God, did I really just say that? “Sure, that sounds good.”
His eyes widen with either surprise or joy. I hope that he’s happy for me to agree. “Great, well I will just give you some time if you want to get dressed or whatever. I will just be next door. Come and knock for me whenever you are ready to go.” He rubs his belly. “I’m ready to eat whenever you are. I am starving after work. It’s been a long day.”
I half wave like an idiot as he leaves and as soon as he closes the door behind him, I leap around all excitable, like a crazy person. This is madness, isn’t it? I’m going out on a semi date on day one. This may well have been the best move that I ever could have made. Now, I finally feel like I can breathe and grow at long last. Without the strain of David over my shoulders, I can finally become me. Whoever I am…
“This is mental.” I clutch my chest as my pulse pounds. “This could well be the first day of the rest of my brand new life.”
Chapter 2 – William
I step inside my mostly empty apartment, basking in the joy of my weekday home. One of the first things I purchased when my business grew in its success was my mansion, but that’s quite far away from the office and since I work quite long hours, the commute can be a bit of a bitch. That’s why I rent this place for the week since my office is just around the corner. I don’t have any responsibilities at home anyway, so this is perfect.
It gives me that much needed separation between work and weekends anyway. I’m not tempted to blend everything into one big mess. It’s for the work life balance that I need.
But I haven’t ever spoken to another person from this apartment building before. Not more than just a causal greeting anyway. I don’t really have time to get to know people here, they aren’t really my neighbors. I don’t have any neighbors at my actual home. Just empty land surrounding me everywhere. But today… today is different.
“Serena,” I whisper to myself as I think about the petite red head with hazel colored eyes who is moving in next door to me as we speak. The beautiful little fire cracker who has a lot hiding underneath the surface. I might not have seen it yet, but I know that it’s there. “What is it about you, Serena? What makes you so special?”
She captivated me from the moment I first saw her struggling on the stairs. There was something about her which caught my attention and made me pause, and I don’t think that it was just the curve of her sexy ass. I knew immediately that I wanted to talk to her, that I needed to help her, and since it seems like she is alone here, I’m glad that I did. I’m even more grateful as I got to learn more about her and I see how much we have in common. She’s a lot younger than me, about twenty one years old since she has just finished college, where as I am twenty nine, but somehow, we manage to have a lot in common regardless. She intrigues me in a way that I wasn’t expecting.
That’s why I impulsively asked her out to dinner, because I want to know more about her. She doesn’t seem like anyone I have ever met before, deep down there is something very different about Serena and I want to explore that. I want to see if the sparks that I feel with my next door neighbor could be something real. But I can’t forget that I need to be careful, that I have to protect my heart in every way possible, because I can’t get caught like that again. Not after what happened to me before. This would be worse as well because Serena lives next door. There will be no avoiding her, we will bump into one another in the hallways at all times, it will be extremely complicated.