Chapter 3

Jude 

"Are you going to stand there and stare? Are you going to say what you want?"

Unfortunately, when he opens his mouth, I also realize that he's quite an asshole. I even swallowed after that. Then I say:

"Could you turn that down?"

He looks down at his pants and says:

"Unfortunately not."

I swear I'm redder than a ripe tomato right now.

I then say:

"I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the volume of the music."

He laughs mischievously, running his tongue over his lips. I stare at every detail, not understanding why he's so mesmerizing. Then he goes over to the volume and turns it down.

He asks:

"Who are you?"

I say:

"I'm your new neighbor."

I swear he's running his eyes all over my body, analyzing me, and only then do I remember that I'm wearing pajamas with very short shorts. He smiles mischievously once again and says:

"Okay, new neighbor, do you need anything else?"

I realize that this question is my cue to get out of here. So I say:

"No, thank you."

He smiles. I turn to walk back to the house when I hear him turn up the stereo again. When I turn to him, already feeling the rage rising inside me, I see him dancing. I shout at him to turn it down. He says:

"Sorry, I can't hear you. The sound is too loud!"

He laughs, and I realize right away that he's drunk. There's no point arguing with drunk people. I go home. I'm going to have a shitty night. I can see that even more when I go to bed. The noise continues as if it were right next to me in bed.

Does the sound seem even closer?

I don't doubt that he's brought that speaker even closer. I'm not even going to get up to confirm it.

...

I wake up to my phone ringing several times. I see that it's Roger, my agent.

I see it's still six in the morning.

"Why are you calling me so early?"

"I've confirmed a job for you. Get dressed and meet me here in half an hour."

My head feels heavy. I stagger out of bed, happy to have a job. I'm angry at my neighbor for depriving me of a good night's sleep.

...

"Honey, what are those horrible dark circles under your eyes?"

At least I can cover them with make-up. We can do a good photo shoot.

When I get home, I take a nap from four until four-forty-five. After that, I decided to go for a run.

I put on my headphones and walk around the block. It's a quiet place, great for running. My neighbor next door is too noisy.

Maybe. I wonder if that guy has a headache right now. It's terrible to imagine another specific part of his body throbbing at the thought of it. Oh my God, what am I thinking? I rest for a few seconds to catch my breath. When I look back, his car is coming to a stop just a few centimeters from me.

"The street is for vehicles too, not just runners."

I swear I'm closing my eyes now and taking a deep breath.

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