Chapter 2

A person can only live in uncertainty for so long, however, and tonight, she could take the weight of not knowing no longer. When Lauren came back home at around 10 pm that night, Sharon was in her chair by the pool. She stood up, took a deep breath, and walked over to where Lauren was fumbling with her keys to let herself into her apartment. As Lauren’s key was turning in the lock, Sharon said, “Excuse me for being so forward, but I would love it if you would come to my place tomorrow night for dinner.”

Lauren froze. Leaving the key in the lock, she slowly turned around. The light from the pool cast an unearthly glow onto the side of Sharon’s face, and for the first time in a year, Lauren really saw her neighbor. Sharon was beautiful. Her green eyes sparkled with a mixture of fear and bravado. Her muscled body was sensually accented by a loose tank top and cargo shorts. Lauren was suddenly conscious of her disheveled appearance, the smell of fish that lingered still on her hands, and of how completely out of shape and downright fat she was. How could this gorgeous woman want to have dinner with her? But she answered with a smile, “Sure. What time?”

The next night, Lauren spent an hour standing in front of her closet and putting on various outfits. She had gained 40 pounds in the last year, and nothing she owned fit well. She hadn’t been in a relationship for over two years, and had stopped trying. Her online trysts were her only recent experiences in the realm of dating, and they were few and far between and short-lived at that. Finally, she told herself that this was just dinner, that Sharon obviously had seen her in everything she owned in the year she had lived next door, and to stop obsessing over it and just pick something.

She knocked on Sharon’s door a few minutes later. Sharon opened it, and the most magnificent smells wafted out from the inside of the apartment. The scent was so heady that Lauren almost swooned from the impact. Clearly, whatever Sharon was cooking far surpassed anything she’d eaten in years. Lauren grabbed the door frame to steady herself and in a low, breathy voice, she managed to apologize and explain that the aroma had swept her off her feet. Sharon handed her an expensive imported beer, and took her hand, and led her to the couch.

Lauren drank her beer and watched Sharon. The kitchen was open to the living room, like the one in her own apartment, so she could see Sharon’s every move. She moved with incredible grace, and beads of sweat stood out on her bare shoulders. She was wearing a tank top again with a skirt this time, and it swished as Sharon went to the fridge to get out some butter. Swish went the skirt again, as she flashed Lauren a grin as the oven opened, and a new bread smell permeated the room, mixing with the cream sauce and fish smell that had bowled her over at the front door. Lauren felt entirely seduced.