Rayne occasionally snuck glances at her dinner companion. She usually would eat alone with Bubbles staring at her until she would feed him some scraps of her food, but this was the first time she had company. It felt weird but also satisfying.
She was surprised to see him holding her order instead of the delivery rider and even going as far as tipping that person. When she offered to pay Harold back, he refused. She would have persisted, but she did not press on as a part of her was relieved someone else took care of it. She may sound like a cheapskate, but she was happy that she could save some money.
As Rayne was preparing the food, she noticed Harold trying to make friends with Bubbles. It was a pleasant surprise as one, very few people she knew, tried to interact with her cat, and two, Bubbles usually ran away when anyone other than herself was in the apartment. So for Bubbles eyeing Harold like some guard dog was unusual.
Animals have a way of sensing if people are good or not. She wondered if this was the case with the young professor next door. He had been feeding her cheesecake and French vanilla coffee whenever she went to his place to complain about his noisy students. It may be an apologetic gesture, but he did not have to do it whenever she came to him.
As for the scene in the kitchen earlier, she should have been annoyed that her new neighbor's slash acquaintance was inspecting her cupboard as if he lived with her, but she felt slightly exasperated and amused at what he was doing. It reminded her of simpler times with her friends during her younger years. She did not realize how much she missed having people around her. She thought she would be used to being alone when she moved out of her parent's house, but the pandemic had forced her to become more of a hermit.
Having Harold around made things livelier than usual, and she appreciated his presence even if it meant he was criticizing her for being lazy at cooking. He did not say it to be mean but out of concern, and a part of her appreciated it.
Harold looked at her after taking a drink of water. Rayne met his eyes, and she was drawn to their brown depths. He then gave her the same sheepish smile he had given her since she first saw him. It was a smile she was beginning to like.
"I meant to speak to you at a later time, but since I'm already here, can I ask you a favor?" He asked.
Rayne frowned at him. "Depends. Does it involve money?"
"No. I'm just wondering if you could accompany me to the building manager's office."
"The building manager's office? Why? I mean, you don't need me to go with you since you know where it is,"
"It's because I want to make some modifications in my place, and I need to ask permission from the building management if I can do so, and I need you to be my witness."
"Witness?"
"I want to install some audio barriers so that I won't cause you further trouble."
"Ahh, that. Yeah, sure, I'll go with you. Let me know when."
"Okay. Thanks so much."
"You're welcome. Would you need help in installing these barriers?"
"It's fine; I know someone who knows someone who can set it up for me."
"Great. So what do you think of the meal? This restaurant makes great Indian and Middle Eastern food."
"It's delicious."
The rest of dinner proceeded without a hitch, still conversing like old friends.
* * *
Harold and Rayne were inside the building administrator's office, waiting for the building manager to arrive. She did not mind accompanying him, but not without teasing him about being afraid of the building manager.
"I'm not scared of Mrs. Gonzales." Harold protested. "I'm worried that she may not believe me."
"Good grief, she will believe you even if you ask where you can hide a dead body." Rayne joked.
Harold glared at her. "Must you be so morbid?"
Before Rayne could retort, Mrs. Gonzales arrived, and while she gave Rayne a friendly smile, she gave Harold an even warmer smile. She sat behind her desk.
"What can I do for you two?" Mrs. Gonzales asked.
Rayne pointed at Harold. "Him. He wanted to ask something from you."
Harold gave her a dirty look. "I'm planning on renovating my unit. Is that possible, or would it violate the terms in my contract?"
"It's fine, and you own the unit anyway."
Rayne gave him an I-told-you-so look, and Harold pointedly ignored her. He smiled at Mrs. Gonzales, who looked like she had been hit by a ton of bricks, her eyes glazed.
"Thank you, ma'am, at least that clarifies things."
"Just as long as you don't make any major changes, you should be fine."
Harold nodded. "Thank you once again." He said as he got up from his seat.
"What are you planning to do anyway?" Mrs. Gonzales asked.
"A private…mmph!" Whatever Rayne was going to say next was smothered by Harold, who put a hand on her mouth. The building manager stared at her, then at Harold, who looked like he wanted to throw his companion out the window.
Harold was slowly dragging a struggling Rayne out of the office. "Ignore her. I'm just installing some audio barriers as my classes have a tendency to get loud at times."
Mrs. Gonzales frowned, wondering what was going on between these two. She was aware that the hunky-dory young man was an educator and the latest addition to the residence, but of all the people he ended up friends with, it had to be the somewhat hermit virtual worker who had been in the complex for more than five years. Curiosity filled her mind about how they met.
"Well…alright then. An audio barrier sounds like a good idea to lessen the noise and avoid complaints from the neighbors." The older woman said, eyeing the pair with confusion. Her confusion became more evident when Rayne let out a sound between a grunt and a laugh as if she found her remark intensely amusing.
In all the twenty years she worked as a building manager for N Residences, she had never seen two people extremely comfortable with each other. There was a sense of familiarity and even intimacy with how the two were acting.
"Thanks again, ma'am." Harold gave her a heart-melting smile as if he was not holding an annoyed woman in his arms. "You've been a great help."
Good thing Mrs. Gonzales can still talk. "No problem. Let me know if you got any other concerns."
The smile was still on his face when they finally left the building manager's office. Harold did not release Rayne until they were at a considerable distance away from the room. They were near the entrance of the building by the time he let her go.
Rayne let out a loud gasp. "What was that for?!" She snapped.
"What were you trying to say to Mrs. Gonzales?"
"My mother said not to answer a question with a question."
Harold sighed. "Fine. I had a feeling you were going to say something outrageous. Now answer mine."
Rayne rolled her eyes. "Are you that stuffy a professor to not take a joke? I mean, I doubt you would be making a private studio for an OF Club."
"Excuse me?! If I did that, do you think I would still be teaching?!"
"If you have that kind of side gig, would you even broadcast it to the world?"
"People have a way of finding out things."
That made her silent. She ran a hand over her hair and gave him an apologetic smile. "Point taken. Sorry."
"Don't be. I can be quite anal at times."
"Right. Anyway, good for you that your audio barriers have been approved. If you need any help, let me know."
"Okay, thanks for coming with me."
Rayne waved at him and left the building. Harold watched her departing figure and then looked at his hands. They were tingling and radiating heat. He could still feel the softness of her mouth and the thickness of her waist. Hell, Rayne was soft and warm all over. He could hold her the whole day. When he released her, he felt that a part of him felt cold and empty.
However, Harold wondered what possessed him to grab his neighbor and clamp her mouth close. It was not because she was in one of her no-filter jokes modes; contrary to what he had told her earlier, he could take a joke. Why then? Was it because he wanted to touch her? That is insane. He thought.