Chapter 2

Ring, ring... The phone rang, interrupting the movie.

"Hello!" she answered listlessly.

"I hope you're getting ready for your date."

"Date?" the girl repeated.

"Oh my goodness, Valery! Your date with the man I told you about!"

"Oh my goodness! The date... I forgot.”

Her sister had set her up with a guy she knew. He didn't look too bad in the photos. She would have the chance to meet him when she saw him. She looked at the clock on the wall and realized that she only had an hour to get ready and leave.

"I have to go. Bye," she said, hanging up without waiting for a goodbye.

In record time, she was ready in forty minutes. Who said women couldn't get ready as fast as men? She turned around three times while examining herself in the mirror. She was satisfied with the results: She wore a floral dress with thin straps and matching sneakers and decided to leave her brown hair down.

She rushed out of the house and took the elevator. She pressed the button for the ground floor, but the damn thing went up instead of down!

"What?! Did someone call the elevator?" she wondered, growing irritated. It reached the fourth floor. "Oh my God!" she muttered, scared and nervous, clutching her purse tightly as the doors opened. "Breathe. It's okay. Don't be an idiot," she told herself.

The doors opened, revealing a unique moment. Awkward? Fabulous? It was him! The new neighbor!

Oh my God! Oh my God!

"Don't let them see how nervous you are," her inner voice told her. But she suspected it was already too late to retract those words.

"Hello," he said with a gallant smile that made Valery's knees weak.

"Hello," the young woman replied with difficulty. Was she melting?

"Third floor, right?" the man asked.

"What?"

“Are you the one on the third floor? Are you going out? A date, huh?" he asked pointedly.

Valery stared at him, unable to form a response. What was happening to her? At that moment, she realized that this man was indeed tall.

"Yes, no... Well, sort of," she replied. "Of course she had a date," he thought. Why was she hiding it?

"I'm Hector," he said, extending his hand. "The new neighbor in the building." He smiled charmingly at her again.

"Valery. Nice to meet you, Hector," she replied with a forced smile.

Finally, the couple reached the ground floor. The brunette was able to breathe again as soon as she stepped out of the elevator.

"It was nice to meet you, Valery." Why did he say her name in that tone? That inner voice echoed in her head. “Good luck with your date.” He looked at her suspiciously, making her hesitate.

"Uh, yes, thank you," she replied, feeling a bit disoriented.

She was tense! On the way to the restaurant, she couldn't stop thinking about her encounter with her neighbor.

Now that she had looked at him more closely, he seemed much more attractive. He had green eyes, a long smile, and a firm chin. Not to mention, his voice was so sensual. She wondered if he knew the effect he had on women.

What was she thinking?

She had a date, yet she was undressing another man in her mind. She shook those lustful thoughts out of her head and continued walking.

"I won't keep thinking about my neighbor. He probably has a girlfriend, and here I am, fantasizing like a fool."