New Neighbor
Nyra walked up the stairs to her stuido with two heavy canvas bags full of groceries. She skirted a ladder and toolbox as well as a huge metal something to get to her door. She peered up at the workman curiously. "Excuse me sir, I was wondering what you were installing. Is the skylight leaking?" she asked.
The workman did not even look down but continued to drill holes in the roof and attach bent pieces of metal to it. "Orders are to put a screen over this skylight to keep out the light as needed."
"What?!" Nyra almost choked on her disbelief. "Why would anyone want to cover up a skylight. Thats what it is there for, to let light in!"
"New neighbor ordered it." The workman nodded at the door to 26A. "Had to finish this up after I covered the windows in that unit."
"Cover up the windows?!" Nyra gasped. She quickly set her bags down and knocked on the door to 26A. While window coverings were the neighbor's own business, the skylight was not inside that unit. Hopefully there would be some reasonable way to request this stopped.
Her delicate knuckles rapped on the door loudly to overcome the sound of drilling the workman was making.

Nyra's hand heated on hers; Connie sensed the remainder of the woman's body heat up, and knew a similar furnace burned inside her. She didn't stop rubbing, though, it was the first real contact she'd had with a woman in quite some time.
She decided to give this girl a chance...
"Well, Nyra McGurn, I think I've taken up enough of your hospitality tonigh'. It has been most wonderful to meet you, and you are an amazing chef, and artist, and I really do like your soft hands."
She gave the silky-soft hand touching hers a gentle squeeze, then slowed her ministrations. "Since you live right next door, you're more than welcome to stop by whenever you like, and if you think you'd need it, I could even give you my cell number... Or if you want, tomorrow, dinner's on me, and since my kitchen's not quite ready yet, we could avail ourselves of the restaurant and hospitality at the Grand Piazza. I've a room there til the majority of the construction's finished."

At the counter she pulled a card out of the drawer that was from the gallery that was hosting her show and swiftly jotted down her cell number. "I will look forward to tomorrow, I havent eaten at the Grand Piazza yet. Thank you."
Shyly gesturing to the stacks of canvas on the wall. "Before you go, can you tell me which painting you like the best?"

Connie took the proffered card, and asked for another so that she could jot down her information, too. As she handed it to Nyra, the shorter woman surprised her by asking which painting Connie liked best.
Wide-eyed, Connie stood with her mouth open slight. "Well I don' know, hon. They're all so amazin' and it'd be difficult to pick jus' one..."
She turned back to the piles of paintings and stared at them for a while, remembering the ones she'd seen. "I kind of like the one with the sandy beach, and the sun and the moon on opposite sides... It displays an interesting duality, night and day..."
"Not unlike myself," she thought. She shrugged helplessly, then turned to Nyra with a smile. "They're all so amazin', and I know my single descriptor of 'amazin' is probly gettin' old, but it's somethin' that your work is nothin' short of."

"Think about the painting because if I paint you, I will be keeping it. So I think I will owe you one in return." With a shy smile "I dont mind if you call it amazing all the time."

"What you're wearin' now - or something similar - would be lovely. I'll probly be in a button-up blouse and slacks, myself, it's usually what I wear to work, and I 'dressed down' today so I could do some housework. Do you want me to meet you in the Lobby, or have the table ready and wine waiting for you?"

"I would greatly appreciate meeting you in the lobby. I dont drink, it goes hand in hand with that skelleton I mentioned earlier."
Biting her lip in shy indecision "It was wonderful meeting you, I had a delightful evening Connie."


"I look forward to tomorrow." she whispered as close to Connie's ear as possible before stepping back, blushing. "Goodnight."

After the women seperated, Connie tilted her head curiously. "Good night, Nyra, and you're just as huggable as I'd imagined."
With a soft smile, she turned and made her way to the door. Most of the construction noise had ceased, she noticed, as she slid the large, metallic panel aside. As she was about to step through, she turned back towards Nyra, stepped backwards through the door, and slid it closed. Just before the portal would have sealed, breaking their contact, Connie spontaneously blew a kiss to her new friend, neighbor, and (dare she label Nyra as such, so early?) girlfriend.
(( Connie out. ))

It had been nearly half a dozen years since anyone had expressed an interest in dating her. She was excited about tomorrow's dinner. Hopefully she had something pretty that was clean and appropriate to wear. Hugging herself tightly and kicking her legs up and down gently she whisped "I have a date!!"
Date #2 meant good night kisses for sure.
((Nyra out))