847 A Little Intrusion
Trailing closely behind Irene, especially with the current way she looked, so utterly, casually promiscuous, was like the final test of absolute willpower as a warm-blooded hormonal member of the opposite gender.
Her house was as much of a blank slate as I remembered the first time entering, so reasonably, my eyes were naturally drawn to the most interesting, riveting thing that they could find.
Really, if anything, it’d be even weirder if I wasn’t ogling at her… especially with that slow sway she had in her stride, from behind? I’ll defy death no problem, but that ass? Let’s not kid ourselves, chivalry can only stretch so far before little bits of depravity begins peeking through at the seams…
And boy, was I definitely peeking…
Still, unforgivable debauched as I was, I did not let my carnal ways lead me astray from the matter at hand, and blinking hard, and breathing even harder, I spoke.
“Don’t even know what I should start asking about first, honestly… got any suggestions?”
“I know. I know you’re dying to know,” Irene said at once. “I know there’s a lot I have to explain, and I will – I’ll get to them, I promise.”
“What did you need Sera for? What’s happening with Ria? Is she – ?”
“I said I’ll get to them, one at a time, alright?” she said a little irritably. “If you don’t mind, first and foremost, I’d like to take a shower before doing anything else. I don’t feel comfortable talking to you like this.”
.....
The narrow hall opened away into the monochrome space of her living room, whites and grays scattered in an empty elegance, and once again, the only thing worthy of admiration was her, still sweating buckets, still a cluttered mess, and absolutely looking all the more better for it.
“I don’t exactly mind you like this.”
“Yeah, of course you wouldn’t,” she said, dripping with as much sarcasm as she was perspiration. “But rather than stay like this for your gratification, I’d prefer to actually just be outright comfortable instead. You don’t mind that either, do you?”
“Your gratification is my gratification,” I answered back. “And besides you’re plenty gratifying to me no matter what you do.”
“Such a charmer,” she deadpanned with a deader smile before trudging off slowly deeper into another hall. “Stay here, take a seat. I’ll try not to take too long. And please, don’t touch anything you shouldn’t, okay? There’s a can of soda in the fridge.”
I nodded and nodded, heeding her orders and knowing well to abide by them… yet even as they did, I couldn’t help but have my focus stray to the secluded little corner at the otherside of the house and the lifeless white that painted the firmly closed door staring back at me.
“Wouldn’t go in there as well if I were you,” Irene’s voice echoed from around a corner as if sensing my intentions. “It’s pretty hot inside, you won’t like it.”
“Is that why you’re sweating like mad here? You were in there with her before I arrived?” impulsively, I took a single step after her, chasing answers, before I managed to stop myself. “Irene, is Ria awake right now?”
Silence down the hall, the fluorescent gray of her lights the only thing that stared at me back… then I heard a click, the sudden sound of rushing water.
“No, she isn’t awake,” she said, and with another click, the water muffled, as did the sound of her voice. “Not yet.”
For the next several minutes, I sat around, wandered around her place, toiling incessantly in discomfort… left with nothing to do but to rummage through Irene’s belongings at a respectable distance in an attempt to kill some time.
Unlike at Amanda’s, I still felt very much out of place in Irene’s home to give myself any sliver of free reign of her place, and so, at most, I perused through her bookshelves, did a lap around her kitchen countertop… all the while the door to where Ria laid asleep still continued to taunt and goad me as much as she used to back in the day.
I gave the place a second browse through and that was when I began to notice a few things amiss amidst the neat and orderly.
A bunch of pots and pans piled high inside her sink, and her rubbish bin was practically overflowing with mashed bits and chunks of food that were either burnt to a crisp or soggier than a wet sponge.
Sat close next to her stove, Irene seemed to have forgotten to take her laptop away… and unfortunately, due to how eyes work, and the nature of human curiosity, I couldn’t help but take more than just a single glance.
The first five tabs in a row were opened up to various articles showcasing many different kinds of home-cooked meals that were easy to prepare, and then the tab after those displayed a confirmation for a dinner delivery that was out twenty minutes to arrival.
A bunch of work-related affairs was up on a separate window, a bunch of endless white pages filled with words that just sent my eyes into a blur. Videos of creepy urban legends and supernatural top tens filled her Youtube recommendations as well as highlights and compilations of airsoft and paintball matches paired alongside them.
She also had another page opened on standby; ‘what to wear on a new years date?’ a question read. The website recommended something nice and red.
Frankly, I agree.
It’s almost like I had a browser to her personal life right here, and I knew I’d be so dead if she knew… and just as I decided to put an end to my illegalities, a notification chimed in.
It was a message from a sender labeled as “Steve (Evidence)” and I knew I shouldn’t, but as a reflex, I was already clicking on the notification before I was even aware of it.
A new window opened up, revealing her entire list of contacts with Steve looming as the most recent at the very top.
<<Your 9 juniors told me you ain’t probably gonna be doing anything for the new year, is that right? The hell, Irene? You need to live every once in a while too, know? Tell what, why don’t I pick up? Cruise around bit? work good you?>>
Right then, I finally got a grip on myself and at just what the hell I was actually doing here. With a swipe, I hovered the cursor over at the big glowing ‘X’, only to freeze in place again as I caught sight of the small excerpts from the rest of her contacts.
Aside from a distinct red, blue, and green highlighted in some profile portraits, all were a bunch of complete strangers to me, all with slight variations of the same exact question that Steve was only the latest in a long line of hundreds to have asked her.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Sure, alright, I get it, Irene had a certain sway on men, and going by the names of her contacts, some women too… but this much of a sway? And this many to boot? Like, it’d be funny, if it weren’t so disconcerting.
In a way, I felt kinda bad for her… no wonder she prefers to keep mostly to herself. Pretty hard to have a platonic relationship with anyone when it was in your exact nature to do the total opposite.
Yet despite the hassle, the mounting distress that comes with a constant life of romance… Irene still chose to be in a relationship with me, and to be quite honestly, I don’t recall if I’ve ever asked her why before…
Looking back at it, this whole thing just sort of happened, didn’t it?
Really though, why?
I blinked, my gaze flicking back to the screen, spotting movement… three little dots… Steve had messaged again.
<<So what do you say? Dinner’s my treat. ;)>>
From nearby, I heard the sound of the shower suddenly fade away. I looked away to check for a second only to find the hall was still deserted… then I glanced back at the screen, catching the slightest of movement… the chat log shifted up a little… and I saw Irene had actually replied back.
Politely and concisely at that.
<<No. >>