“Okay, Nora if you don't tell me what's wrong right about now, I'll have to force the words out of you,” Amy said as she put a cup of coffee on the table in front of me. What did she want to do? Wax my head?
Letting out a strangled sigh, I wrapped my fingers around the cup and looked at Amy. “He knows.”
Amy blinked at me, obviously clueless what I was talking about. She raised her dark eyebrows, waiting for a further explanation.
I closed my eyes briefly and drew in a deep breath. “Adrian, he saw me watching him having sex last night.”
“Oh my god! And?” Amy asked, her eyes filled with excitement. She even put down her cup, too excited to hold it without spilling coffee.
I frowned at her. “And what?”
Amy rolled her eyes. “How did he react?”
“He stared at me and then he smiled, and...” I trailed off.
“And?” Amy looked like she was going to burst from curiosity any moment.
“And then he started banging the woman right in front of the window, staring at me.”
Amy let out a squeal and took a deep gulp of her coffee. My eyebrows climbed up my forehead. I'd been caught, that certainly warranted compassion and not excitement. Whenever I thought I’d figured out Amy, she surprised me again.
“Amy what am I supposed to do? Maybe I should move out. Now that he knows what I've done, I can’t keep living here. What if I meet him by accident? I can’t possibly face him after what I’ve done.”
“Nora, don't be stupid. Stop worrying so much. Apparently, Adrian is some kind of exhibitionist and enjoys being watched, or why else would someone do it in plain view? He could have drawn his curtains if he didn't want to be seen. It probably turned him on. He’ll probably thank you, if he ever sees you in person.”
I thought about that for a moment. It sounded logical – well not the “thanking me” part, but that he liked being watched, and it would be perfect. But it was too easy. Things never were so easy for me. My bad luck was legendary.
“What if he's called the police?”
Amy actually had the audacity to laugh at that. “Oh, Nora, don't be so naïve. He won't call the police. He's probably quite keen on meeting you. Maybe he wanted you to join him and his lady friend. He seems like a guy who’d enjoy a threesome.”
My eyes widened in horror. What if he would try to talk to me? I had to prevent that. I'd certainly die of embarrassment if he spoke to me about my voyeurism. The bell rang and my entire body froze. Bruno was already on his way to the door, yelping excitedly. Maybe my pug would finally prove to be the protector that Dad had hoped for. Maybe Bruno would sink his little teeth into Adrian's calf and frighten him away.
Amy walked to get the door and I wondered if it would be childish of me to hide beneath the kitchen table. A male voice reached my ears and a moment later Jared appeared in my apartment, his dark hair disheveled. He wore nothing but pajama bottoms, showing off his hairless, lean chest. I felt my face heat and averted my eyes hastily.
“Hey Jared,” I said, staring intently at the coffee in my cup.
Amy pressed herself against his side, and he grinned. “I woke up and my girlfriend was gone and I thought I should get her back.”
I smiled at him. “I'm sorry for taking her from you.”
He shook his head. “How long have you been chatting? It's nine on a Sunday morning. Shouldn't you still be sleeping?”
I exchanged a smile with Amy. “You should know that Amy can't stay still for long. If she could, she probably wouldn't sleep at all.”
Amy poked her tongue out at me and Jared kissed her temple, chuckling. I felt a pang of jealousy when I watched them. They looked so happy and in love.
“So will you come with me?” Jared asked, his eyes practically burning into Amy. She gave me an apologetic look. “Go,” I said. It was quite obvious what Jared had in mind for Amy once they were back in their apartment.
I watched them leave, their arms wrapped around each other. The door closed with a groan. I sat at my table with only Bruno for company. I’d give anything, absolutely anything, to have what Amy and Jared shared. Briefly, I considered returning to bed and sleeping away my free day, but Bruno nudged my shin, reminding me of his needs. Even if I wanted nothing more than to stay in the apartment to avoid meeting Adrian, Bruno needed to pee and he refused to consider using the toilet. Next time I got a puppy, I’d toilet train him.
Resigned, I got dressed and grabbed Bruno. He wriggled in my arms as I straightened with him. Sometimes I wondered if he was scared of heights. I headed outside, for once using the staircase. Amy always urged me to make time for working out. Mission accomplished. The hood of my sweater was pulled over my head and sunglasses were covering my eyes to hide my identity as I crossed the narrow lawn. I felt like a criminal. Maybe the neighbors would think I was a burglar and call the police. Oh, that would be the icing on the cake!
As usual Bruno took his time sniffing every frigging inch of the lawn and I just wanted to get away. He always found the perfect timing…
My heart stopped beating for a second when I saw the subject of my dreams and very recently nightmares walking out of the neighbor house. It looked as if he was taking his garbage out. What an ordinary task. I wrenched at Bruno's leash but he didn't let me deter him from his sniffing mission. Why did he do this to me?
And then, as my bad luck would have it, Adrian looked my way and he must have recognized me even though I was hidden so well by my clothes. He halted in his tracks and a smirk curled his lips. And then he started walking my way with a triumphant, arrogant, devilishly sexy smirk on his face and I knew he was going to talk to me about my voyeurism. His blond hair was slightly disheveled as if he hadn’t brushed if after his sexual adventures.
No way. I bent down and grabbed Bruno, ignoring his yelps of protest, and squeezed him under my arm. Then I whirled around and walked away. Well, ran away as fast as my feet could carry me without actually running. I didn't look back to see if Adrian was following me but I hoped desperately that he wasn't.
Maybe there was some kindheartedness in him and he would forget that I was a perverted peeping Tom.
My heart was practically bursting my ribcage when I finally arrived in my apartment and closed the door behind me. I locked it twice and then backed away from it. Bruno gave me odd looks but I ignored him. It was his fault that I had almost been caught by Adrian.