Chapter 5

• Claire
• I spent the next few days waiting for that prick to show up, but all I got was air. I was already pacing my living room, having examined his entire house. His home was so different from mine. I’d chosen a modern place that had clean lines and simplistic furniture, while his was full of colorful abstract paintings and had retro furniture. Even from this distance, I could tell he’d spent a fortune on it, but that didn’t stop me from imagining kicking every item I saw inside. I was just a hair away from barging into his home and destroying it. Fuck the consequences and all my savings. He was going to get me broke, but at least my pride was going to be avenged. It was all worth it, wasn’t it?
• I was getting my pride and confidence trampled on daily, and I didn’t need to have that at home too. So, this was a victory I needed. I craved it. It was like my personal redemption. My proof that I wasn’t the failure I’d started feeling like lately.
• Ugh, I hated my life.
• I halted mid-step and shook my head. Clear the despair out of your system, Claire! I was better than this, and I was going to prove it.
• My jaw tensed, and I flipped my gaze from my floor to the voyeur’s kitchen. All brown cabinets, a huge island, even fruits on it! I hadn’t put fruits on my island in months because all they did was gather flies. I clenched my fists, and spit filled my mouth. Llama Claire was here! All I needed was to get the windows away. Curse this man for showing up.
• When a figure appeared from the inside of his house, my stomach expanded, and a bright grin illuminated my face. It was time! my pride was getting its shot.
• I stomped closer to the window and caught his attention. Damn that guy, he was so good looking. His face was chiseled and— No, that wasn’t the point. I wasn’t getting distracted by his deliciousness. But I did wonder what his mini version would look like.
• I coughed, but when I saw him lifting a brow, I fumed. Even without talking once to him, I already knew he was the cockiest man alive. He could even rival Stone. I pointed two of my fingers to my eyes and turned them to him. I was going to deal with this asshat like the pro I was.
• It seemed like he chuckled because his muscular chest shook and his entertained face became even more amused.
• And then… he shrugged at me! That looney rabbit shrugged at me! My temper reached a new high, and tension conquered my body. I exhaled and shook off my incoming explosion. I’d never been good at meditating, but I knew well when a fight was useless. This fight was going down in a different way. A smirk pulled at my lips as I stared at my neighbor, and my eyes traveled up his body. He stilled in apprehension.
• My feet were finally free from the heels they had been stuck in for the whole day, and I felt like dancing. A wave of excitement filled me, and I humphed. In the blink of an eye, I swung around and grabbed the remote control from the island. It was lying next to the empty cup of morning coffee I had abandoned there, but it was a detail I didn’t care about.
• I turned the TV on and put it on a random music channel. This was it. My limbs started moving on their own, and I was twisting to the rhythm of the song. I raised my hands and slid them up my torso. Confidence was something I was craving, and dancing helped me reach that high and reminded me I was a piece of work. My chest swelled at my thoughts. Perhaps, that was why I enjoyed my neighbor’s mesmerized look.
• I slid my fingers through my hair and lifted it in the air, letting it fly around my shoulders. The gentle slap was satisfying. It made me feel alive. Humming under my breath, I swayed my legs towards the couch and approached the window. My neighbor was still there, as frozen as a crashed video.
• My hands trembled, giddy, as I put them over the collar of my shirt and started to unbutton it, but when I slammed them over the curtains and pulled them closed, I exploded into crazed laughter. A part of me was dying to see his shocked expression, but my gesture said more than enough. I had to teach him a lesson.
• When I fixed my eyes on the room around me, my amusement dropped. It totally crashed and burned. The apartment was as dark as a dungeon. I hated it. Nothing could make me live in darkness and stop the only natural light my living room got. I needed it like air. Shit…
• The highlight of this apartment was fading. My privacy was ruined, and now, I had to stay in the dark? Nuh-uh. This wasn’t going to work.
• I shoved the curtains open and saw the man was sitting on his desk and staring at his monitors. He seemed unabashed by what happened, and here I was, fuming. He noticed my presence and looked at me, and a slightly surprised expression appeared on his face.
• I gritted my teeth and lifted my finger, signaling for him to wait for a bit. Stomping to my bedroom, I grabbed a few white sheets of paper and took a pen out of the desk.
• I returned to the window and noticed the guy was sitting turned towards me. Great, I got his attention. He wasn’t going to intimidate me. He wasn’t my boss. I’d also learned karate as a kid. I could handle him very well and kick his ass if it came to it.
• Writing on the sheets of paper, I turned them over and plastered my hands over them, holding them on the windows.
• My neighbor’s eyes squinted, and he leaned forward. I could see his eyes moving as he read my message. And now I could tell they were a beautiful hazel color. His throat bobbed, and he leaned back, opening his mouth and laughing out loud.
• I knew my words ‘you also do it’ could have too many meanings and could sound a bit too... funny, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to have something on him and not feel so anxious because of his presence all the time. He had been here for a bit over a week, and I couldn’t relax. My mind kept swirling thoughts that he could be watching me. I wondered if I’d feel the same if my neighbor had turned out to be an old lady, not such a hot dude. But this was the current situation, and I didn’t care about anything else. I wanted to get even with him.
• I ground my teeth and pounded my fist on the glass. My neighbor stopped laughing and folded his arms over his chest. A lazy smile colored his face, and he gave me a once over. I hit the window again and bared my teeth. He didn’t seem fazed by it. He just shrugged and tilted his head a bit. Just like a puppy. No! A stupid dog, not a puppy!
• I shook my head and wrote something on the other side of the papers. Turning them around, I waited for him to read. He frowned, and when I realized, he couldn’t see my words this time, I turned around and fixed my attention on my TV.
• In less than a second, I was next to it, pulling it out of the plug and sliding the small TV stand it was on towards the window. My neighbor’s eyes widened, and his body leaned forward with curiosity. When I reached the window, I took my lamp out of the electrical contact and plugged the TV in. I grinned and turned on my laptop that was put behind it. Its screen flashed on the sixty inches.
• My neighbor looked astounded. His lips parted, and he said something that I couldn’t read. I wasn’t good at stuff like that. I pulled a chair next to the TV stand and sat on it. Then I started writing. My manicured nails were clicking on the keyboard I’d plugged into the laptop with speed many would envy.
• When I finished putting my thought on the screen, I edited a bit and made the font big enough that he would be able to see it. A smirk took over my face, and I waited. I was sure he read my words as his brows knitted.
• He shook his head and twisted on the chair to face his computer. His fingers seemed as fast as mine while writing. He turned one of the monitors to the window, and I stared.
• “You’re crazy!” was the first thing I read. Well, that didn’t correspond to anything I wrote to him. I had given him three options. One—move out, two—apologize and show me his dick (which I doubted would ever happen), or three—keep his curtains closed while I was home. It probably sounded selfish, but I refused to live in the dark. It reminded me of the lonely nights I spent in my childhood house without my parents while they were on business trips or just away, fighting. And that happened a lot. I wondered how they were still even married.
• The next thing I read made my jaw fall open and almost hit the floor.
• “You learn new things every day. I hadn’t seen anybody else masturbate in person before. Though, gagging is not my thing.”
• That douchebag!
• Typing on the keyboard again, I growled and pointed at the screen when I finished my lecture.
• “That’s invading my privacy! You should’ve pulled your fucking curtains, not touch your disgusting dick and look at me!”
• He lifted his eyebrows, a bit annoyed.
• “YOU should pull your curtains. Your privacy is wide open and on display.”
• He pointed at me, and I gasped as I realized I had opened my legs wider than necessary and was sitting right across from him. Damn him and the small distance between our houses!
• I snarled and typed again.
• “You fucking jerk! You owe me a show!”
• That bastard smirked.
• “You want a show or a touch?” he teased, and I blushed so deeply I bet I looked like a tomato.
• “Dream on, asshole!” I showed him my middle finger and stood up from my seat, heading to the bedroom.