The apartment

   Arthur just couldn’t keep himself from doing a party. He always had to have one. It didn’t matter if it was only him and a few people or with a large crowd. Somehow, he needed that at least twice a week and if holidays happened to be occurring, the number grew considerably. Once, he even drank every single night of one week. The amazing part of it all was that the following week he looked good as new, as if nothing had happened.

 Having him as a roommate was particularly difficult. The parties were one big part of it but also his lack of order and cleanliness. Every time he cooked something, the kitchen seemed to have exploded: every pan and pot was in the wrong cabinet, there was rice all over the floor and even small puddles of water or other liquids on the floor. He would also get ketchup on the walls, and would never, even by an act of kindness, get the trash out to the street.

 Normally, a person like that would have been thrown out of an apartment after a couple of mishaps, but there was an important detail to be considered: the two bedroom apartment, which had a large living room, a balcony, a very big bathroom and comfortable rooms, was owned by Arthur’s father, who also happened to be one of the richest men in his country. The man was very powerful and it wasn’t a surprise he had properties a little bit everywhere.

 Anyhow, that’s how I met Arthur. I remember having arrived to the city, from my country and after a twelve-hour flight. I had browsed online for days until I had finally found a proper place to stay in. The apartment looked incredible and the price was just insane. At first, I thought there had been a mistake but, after I decided to write, they confirmed that the price of the room I wanted was correct. Immediately, I booked the room, excited to have found such a bargain.

 When I arrived, a month later, the first person I met was not Arthur but his father. I had no idea of who he was back then and even now I don’t really now the extent of his power and wealth. After all, Arthur and I are not from the same country and his father is not very well known to me. However, he was very kind, greeting me as I arrived. He made a brief tour of the apartment and then asked to have a chat after signing all the papers.

 He wanted me to understand something: his son was going to leave there too and that’s why the rent of my room was so cheap. I didn’t understand at first but he said I would I due time. He only asked patience of me and swore I would be glad I had decided to live there. At first, I thought he was just exaggerating. I was very wrong!

 Arthur had grown to be a very tall guy. His feet were big and his hands too. His head was a bit smaller compared to the rest of his body and that made him look weird at first. Of course, the first few days were just perfect. The apartment was not only huge and very well located; it was also very modern and had everything one would need, even a maid that would come in every Thursday to clean up. She was a very chatty woman and it was nice to talk to her when she came.

 The first party occurred just after the first month had gone bye. It was a big shock to see at least twenty people, all over the living room, drinking beers and watching some show on the TV screen. Hours later, they would turn the music up and start dancing and jumping and being all crazy. The rooms were separated from the living room by a corridor, which could be closed by a door. And if you also closed the door of your room, the noise wasn’t too bad.

 But the noise factor was only a part of it all. It was much more annoying to be walking to the kitchen the next day and having to avoid stepping on someone that was sleeping on the floor or on food or on the various puddles of beer. Of course, when they all went home, they would never clean anything up. Everything would remain as it was, as if a bomb had gone of in the middle of the living room and also the bathroom. It was just too disgusting.

 I called his father the first time. I was furious, telling him about all the vomit there was on the bathroom floor and about the unconscious bodies on the living room and the smells and the amount of dirty dishes on the kitchen sink. But he just calmed me down by saying he would send Minerva, the maid, to clean up and that everything would be fine. Then, I decided not to day a word because I thought it was a once in a year thing, once every six months at least.

 Minerva came and cleaned everything in less than an hour. It was as if she was magical. And she didn’t say anything about all the disgusting things around. I kept complaining to her but she only nodded and said “Yeah”, which should have been a red flag but I just didn’t see it. When I wanted to comment on the mess with Arthur, he argued he was too busy and would just leave the apartment or get locked in his room.

 I had never been the type to ask fro friendships or to want to have a huge bond with the people I lived with. I just don’t think it’s necessary. But I was willing to try if it meant getting sure that bomb didn’t go off again. However, Arthur didn’t let me. We spoke very few words and that was during my whole stay there, which lasted a full year.

 Arthur seemed like a very private person but then he would bring two buddies to drink beer and watch a game in the living room. And then they would start smoking pot and then some girls would arrive and then more people and suddenly he would have a party on his hands that he even wasn’t around to handle. It was wasn’t uncommon to arrive late at the apartment and finding a party where the person that lived there appeared to be missing. People he invited, of course, didn’t care. But it was stressful not to find him when the mess was going out of control.

 Neighbors didn’t complain for two reasons: the first one was the apartment was actually sound proof. So it didn’t really matter how loud the parties could get, the people on the same floor or on the one below (as it was a penthouse) could only hear a very soft hum. That was it. The other reason was that they know who was the owner of the apartment and it was a general consensus that they didn’t want problem which someone like that.

 So complaining was not a popular thing. And those parties and that mess happened every single week of the year except for two glorious one in March, when Arthur was forced by his dad to visit his family back home. It was the only time Arthur shared a bit of his life, only to complain about it. When he left, the calm in the apartment was almost overwhelming but it was welcomed.

 I could sleep a lot better and could use the TV without him been there. I could keep everything the way I liked it and even Minerva told me that I should leave her more to clean. I enjoy those two weeks thoroughly but was always afraid a party would appear out of nowhere because that’s how it worked. I went out a couple of days and arrived late and it was so strange to get there and seeing no drunk people on the floor and having a clean bathroom to pee in before going to bed.

 Of course, that didn’t last long. Arthur came back and the following months were just as horrible as the rest. I endured because my parents were really glad I didn’t have to spend so much money on a place. I also didn’t want to break the contract, which stated that if I left before the last specified date, I would not get my deposit, which I needed. So I had to endure by going out of that place every day of that summer.

 I went to the beach almost every day. I even made a couple of friends there. But then I would have to go back to the mess. I reminded myself that it was only for a few more months and then it would all be done. I would go back home and I wouldn’t have to care about cleaning floors or doing dishes that hadn’t been used by me.

 The last day, we had a conversation. It was very surreal. He said he was very sorry about how everything had been between us and regarding the apartment. It was obvious his father or someone had talked to him. Or maybe it was him, who had had a revelation. But, honestly, I didn’t care. My luggage was ready at the door and I ordered a taxi on my phone as he spoke. We just shook hands and I forgot all about him, until today.

A Woman

   She knew she looked good. Better than that. She looked perfect, sexy and very attractive in any way possible. She had tried several bikinis earlier to know which one would make her look better in that deck chair she was going to be laying in. She finally went with one with lots of colors that looked kind of small on hair. It was just an optical illusion but it worked just as she had hoped. When she descended to the swimming pool area, at least five men turned their heads towards her. That was the proof she needed.

 She chose a deck chair in the middle of the area and just took off her sandals and purse and lay there for a few minutes. Then, trying to seem distracted or simply too sexy to care, she grabbed her purse and took out a small yellow bottle. She applied that sunscreen all over her body, slowly and touching very single centimeter she could reach. She was sure that man men were looking at her doing what she was doing and she tried not to think of them.

 When she finished, after what appeared to be an eternity, she put the bottle away. However, she grabbed another one from the purse, a brown one that was a special oily solution to get tanned faster. She sprayed it all over and spent even more time with it. She couldn’t really look at all the guy watching her but she knew they were there, almost salivating at the though of her just being there. When she was done, she lay done in a perfect pose and just tried to enjoy the sun.

 Minutes later, a waiter from the bar came to her and told her someone had sent her a drink. She covered her eyes and asked who had sent what. The waiter pointed to a man in the bar area, not far from there. He was very hairy and had only his trunks on. He wasn’t very handsome but he wasn’t an ugly man either. But the thing was, it wasn’t the one she was hoping for. Anyway, she accepted the drink and waived at the man.

 The drink was really delicious, filled with fruit juice and little alcohol. She drank almost half of it because of the sun but then she saw someone else coming her way, and it wasn’t a waiter. It was a very tall individual. He was visibly not from around there, very tall and with a well taken care of body. He was very sexy. But he wasn’t the guy she was hoping for. Not him or the guy in the bar.

 When he got to her, the tall guy complimented her and asked her if she could be invited to a drink and she said that it could happen but that she wasn’t interested in knowing anyone at the moment. The man felt visibly sad when she said that but he ordered another drink for her anyway. It was a piña colada, which she enjoyed a lot. And she enjoyed even more when he walked away, a bit annoyed.

 Apparently her work at the pool wasn’t good enough for the man she wanted. She knew his room had a view towards the pool area and she also knew that he had spent the last few days in that same place, swimming a bit or drinking with some of his buddies. She needed him to look at her for a while and then she would have him under him spell or at least that was the idea.  She decided to sit down on her chair and only cover her face with the hat she had brought from her room.

 Her legs were positioned in such a way; she knew it was too irresistible not to, at least, say something. She had very long logs and very beautiful hair that she had dyed blonde just before arriving at the hotel. She had to do it several times until she was satisfied with the results. She wanted to look as sexy as she could and attention would be guaranteed if she looked different from what men would expect.

 So her skin was pretty tanned but she had a long head of blonde hair arranged in a straight ponytail. She had tried several ways to put her hair and she had decided on the ponytail because it was simply and it had worked for her many times before. She needed to lure that guy into the people, into her hands, and the only way to do it was to use every single asset she had on her body.

 She worked out daily. Sometimes it was running and some other it was lifting light weights and dancing and using all the machines in the gym she went too. She was very dedicated and could focus on her body every single moment she was in there and it showed. No one told her what to do or how to do it, she had learned how to do a good routine by doing stuff every single day since had been the current person she was.

 Taken care of herself was also very interesting. She got to do a series of diets and it was interesting how many things she didn’t know about eating properly or even about what things she could eat besides what she had eaten all of her life. Changing those habits was very important for the new her and she had to be very careful with the things she brought to eat and drink. She had forbid herself from drinking but she had ignored that rule in the pool because she needed to succeed.

 She changed the position of her legs and looked around. No sign of the man and she was getting inpatient. She grabbed her phone and browsed through the pictures there. She had one of the guys she wanted: it had been taken during breakfast the day before. He hadn’t even noticed her right then but it was only because she hadn’t tried her best to look great. But now, things were different. He couldn’t resist.

 When she heard a group of men laughing, she instantly moved her head towards them. They were two guys; two jocks typed playing cards in a table not very far. They were too young to be his buddies. She looked away exactly when she felt they were going to look at her. And when they did, it was almost as if she could feel her eyes on her bodies. It was quite uncomfortable but she just pretended not to have seen them. She had her sunglasses on and that could help her deflect some unwanted attention.

 But apparently, not well enough. One of the young men came towards her and just stood there like a lamp, blocking her sunlight. She knew she couldn’t ignore him so she faked a smile and asked him to move because of the sun. It was obvious he hadn’t even realized what he was doing. He jumped to the side as if he had being burned or something and kept smiling towards her.

 Finally, he told her she was a pretty lady that needed a man to take care of her. She only told him he was sweet but that she was a bit busy with her tanning right now. The jock appeared to understand that it was a very important thing, so he apologized and vowed to come back in a few moments when she would be less busy. He moved away still looking at her, almost tripping into the pool. She would have laughed but not in that moment.

 Because right then, she saw him. He was walking slowly by the other side of the pool. He wasn’t very tall and his skin was very white for a person that had been in that hotel for at least three days. His body wasn’t the best one on the area but that wasn’t what she was after. She regained her best pose and moved her legs and arms as naturally as she cool. Through her sunglasses, she saw him taking a chair across her.

 It was obvious he had noticed her. Their game lasted a few more minutes, with her doing all the poses she knew and him just trying not to look. But he finally did and realized they couldn’t avoid each other anymore. They couldn’t ignore what they knew. So he walked to the other side of the pool, close to her. And she sat down with her legs down in the deck chair, not trying to be sexy anymore.

 The man sat by her and told her the weather was nice. She moved her legs aside, putting them near his legs. She got a bit closer and said: “It could get nicer”. She also said something else to his ear, which made him smile. They both stood up and walked away together from the pool. She had achieved her goal. Agent 37 was closer than ever to her objective and nothing was going to stop her.