Hermoine's Pov
"Hermoine!" My landlady hurried to me as soon as she saw me leave the elevator. Her face was gleaming with joy and her eyes were large and excited. She reached for my hand and took it into hers. I wondered what was the cause for her happiness. Usually, she was a happy woman but today, it was thrice the joyfulness.
And need I mentioned that even though she was my landlady, she was only a year older than me and had inherited this apartment from her father after his death.
"Good day, Catalina. What's the cause of the celebration?" I adjusted the chain of my purse over my shoulder. I was just closed for work and what I wanted to do badly was take a long shower, slip into my pajamas and binge watch some episodes of Gossip Girls.
"Take a wild guess." She laughed and walked me to my apartment. Out of everyone in our high rise apartment, I could easily pass for Catalina's favorite tenant.
"You finally found your long lost cat?"
"Neh. Although it wouldn't be a terrible idea if I found Sissy." She kept a sad face. Sissy was her lovable cat that had gotten lost when she went grocery shopping one day and forgot to keep her door locked. That was one of Catalina's bad habits. Forgetting to shut her door. Aside from the fact that she was a terrible smoker and disturbed the tenants on her floor with the smell of cigarettes.
"You know how awful I am at guessing. Just tell me the good news, Catalina."
"Well," Her smile returned and she played with the curly strands of her hair. "Remember the apartment next to yours? The one no one wanted to rent because of the fire incident a couple of years ago?"
I nodded. Who would ever forget the apartment? Before I rented my place, I had heard the tale behind the apartment. A newly married couple had rented the place and on their wedding night, there had been a fire outbreak that ended their lives. Ever since, no one wanted to rent the place for fear that it would be hunted due to the gory tale behind it.
"Someone is finally hiring it!" She grabbed my hand tighter and laughed ecstatically. "You are going to have a next door neighbor, Hermoine!'
I blinked and faked a smile.
"Oh, Catalina. I am so happy for you. You are going to be fat in cash."
"Oh, dear." She laughed and waved me off, blushing.
As we neared my apartment, I saw that Catalina was right. The door of the apartment that was shut closed for ages was finally open again and there were some men loading some cushions and electronics into the apartment. The cushions looked expensive and I wondered who it was that was hiring the room? Some president's son?
As if on cue, a masculine voice came from behind us. An oddly familiar one.
"Hello there…, new neighbor."
Nina and I whipped around to face the owner of the voice and we were greeted by the most beautiful set of forest green eyes with some shades of blue when the light hit on it. His physique was strong and his shoulders were broad. Thrice the size of mine. His hair was the colors of salt and pepper and his sharp, perfectly chiseled jaws added some noticeable contrasts to his face.
He was the man from the bus. The pervert. And mind you. He was the most gorgeous man I had ever set eyes on.
But why was he here? And why was he renting the apartment next to mine? Was he stalking me after sneaking a peek inside my dress? Even though a psychotic part of me was thrilled by the idea that a man as hot and gorgeous as a son of Zeus was stalking me, the realistic part of me was disturbed by the thought.
What was his mission? To kill me? Wait. Did he have a thing for brown haired girls? Should I dye my hair blonde? I probably should.
"You?" My mouth fell open and I stared at him like I had just seen a ghost step out of my nightmare.
"Have you met Dexter before?" Catalina looked thrilled and I was sure that in her head, she was already cooking up scenes where I would finally be friends with a neighbor and drop my antisocial personality. Maybe even imagining how she would match-make us. In her dreams.
And even if I was going to make friends with anyone, they most definitely wouldn't be a pervert and a stalker who went the extra length to rent an apartment close to me just to keep an eye on me. How did he even know that I lived here? Was I overthinking things?
"Hi." The corners of his lips lifted in a small smile that almost melted my heart. And was that a dimple I just saw on his cheek?
God! How was it ever possible that a pervert turned stalker would look this breathtaking? If I did not do something fast, this man would be the end of me.
"What are you doing here? Did you follow me?" I crossed my arms over my bosom, settling into my war mode. The excited look on Catalina's face was replaced by a look of confusion. I was sure she didn't expect I would welcome her new tenant with such coldness.
"Follow you?" There was a small spark of amusement in his eyes. However, his cold demeanor remained. It seemed it was a part of him. The cold, intimidating, undeniably sexy aura.
Jeez! Focus, Hermoine, for goodness sake!
"Yes. I saw the dirty look you gave me on the bus. And the way you looked into my skirt when I fell…."
"On my legs, Hermoine. You fell on my legs without my consent. Now, that was some sexual harassment."
I stared into his cold eyes that seemed to search into my soul. My mouth hung halfway in disbelief. Sexual harassment? Was he being serious right now?
"Excuse me, sir?"
"You are excused, Hermoine."
Goodness! How was it possible for someone to pronounce my name with such a honeyed tone? I would literally do anything to hear him call my name again.
"You looked into my dress, obviously saw what you liked and then stalked and followed me there. And what in the world are you even doing in my apartment?"
"First of all, I did not look into your dress, did not see anything that triggered my interest and neither did I stalk you. You must've been seeing things. Hallucinating, perhaps. Secondly, it is not my fault that I coincidentally rented a flat in the same building as yours."
It slightly pissed me how he argued in a calm, composed and unbothered manner. At this point, I felt like tearing my hair apart.
"Your pathological liar." I blew hot at him and Catalina jumped in to calm the situation.
"Hey, hey, hey. That's enough. Whatever must've happened between the both of you is in the past now. Why don't we start again on a good foot? Eh? What do you say?"
I shook my head at Catalina and held my handbag closer to me, ready to walk away.
"That wouldn't be necessary, Catalina. There's no way I am going to accept this annoyingly good looking creep as my neighbor. It would be better for everyone if he just leaves."
And with that, I turned around on my heels and walked to the door of my flat. But as I shoved my key into the keyhole, I cringed at myself and shut my eyes, instantly embarrassed.
How could I let my tongue slip and call him 'good-looking'? Was I out of my senses?
I was right. He'd better leave before I run out of my senses.