Thick

“I think I heard you on the other side of the door,” she says, and I see her squint as she looks into the peephole. “Sorry, I’ve been called nosy more than a few times. I just wanted to introduce myself and say hello.”

I open my mouth to say something, but I lose my nerve and clamp my mouth shut.

“Okay, sorry to bother you. Have you a good night.”

For just a second I can see her look crestfallen as she turns to walk away.

“Wait,” I call out in my deep and unused voice. I clear my throat and watch her stop and look at my door once more. “Sorry, I’m, um—” I look around for an excuse and glance down at my bare chest. “I’m not dressed.”

Her cheeks pinken and she brings her hand to her mouth to smother her smile. “I’m so sorry.”

It’s not unusual that I’m not wearing clothes. Being as big as I am, it’s hard to find things that fit and most of the time I’m more comfortable in boxer briefs.

“It’s okay,” I hear myself saying, because I want to make her feel better. “You moved in?”

Why am I talking through the door like an idiot? I rest my forehead on the wood and close my eyes. I wish I could open the door and get a good look at her, but I know the second she sees me she’ll probably ask to get a new place. She won’t want to live across the hall from Frankenstein’s monster.

“Yeah, I’ve got lots of boxes and unpacking to do, but I’m kind of excited about it.” She gets a dreamy look in her eyes for a second as she smiles to herself. “Anyway, I should probably go do that.”

I wait to see if she’s going to say anything else, but she just looks up and down the hall before her eyes come back to my door.

“Okay, I guess that’s it. Nice to meet you, um, what was your name?”

“Bull.” My voice sounds like I’ve been eating nails and I hate that I’m not smooth or able to play it cool.

“Bull?” she asks, and I nod, but she can’t see me. “That’s funny. I’ve always loved bulls since I was a kid and read Ferdinand.” She smiles and shrugs. “Anyway, have a great night.”

“Bye, Teeny,” I say, but it’s so soft I don’t think she hears it.

I watch her go to her apartment and look back one quick time before she goes inside and closes the door. I stand there staring for another few minutes just to make sure she doesn’t run back out and want to talk to me again.

I sigh as I push away from the door and go back to my living room. Why would she want to talk to me? I didn’t even open the door.

When glance outside I see that the sun is beginning to set and it’s time for dinner. I think about what I want and then it dawns on me that Teeny might not have had a chance to get any food from the store with moving all day. It’s been a long time since I moved, but I remember that it gets hectic and then before you realize it you’ve skipped a meal and you’re starving.

I go into the kitchen and grab a menu from the Chinese place down the block. I don’t know what she eats, but everyone likes Chinese, right? I call and order a couple of things for her that I think she might like and then order some food for myself and explain to them that they are two orders across the hall from one another.

After I hang up I pull on some shorts and then go to my office and try to pull up any documents I can on Teeny and who she might be. I did security for a long time because it was the easiest job in the world for me. My size alone would deter criminals and I did some bodyguard work for a few celebrities. I just got tired of all the looks I got when I went out, and since I already had a list of high-profile clients I decided to do private online consulting. I’ve made a ton of money doing this all from the comfort of my home. It also allows me to have access to a lot of things that most people don’t. Like Teeny’s lease agreement, for example.

Our building is comprised of just a few residences and I happen to own mine. The one across the hall from me is owned by a man with a large investment portfolio who leases this one out on occasion. I pull up all the paperwork he filed with his business. I want to know who everyone is around me even if I never meet them face to face. So when I found out who he was I got all the information I could on him.