Where Sky Meets Sea

4: "You look like you own the place"

The week passed as usual, and Win didn't hear from his new neighbor after that first meeting. He wondered if he should send over baked lasagna as a welcome gesture but a work emergency happened and all thought about the Red Beanie girl vanished as he and his team worked for two nights straight to settle things.

That Friday evening, he went home early and was in the lift, still on a conference call with both Mike and Mix to close out the last item of the day. "So I just got home and plan to potato until I feel human again, don't text me unless we're tanking or you need my urgent help to hide a dead body. You're on your own now". He was so engrossed in the call that he didn't realise there was someone else sharing the lift until he saw a figure in the peripherals of his vision. He jumped and swore. "Fuck! You scared me!" He said, clutching at his chest. "Hahahaha. You should've seen your face!" It was Red Beanie girl. She was laughing hard, almost in tears and clutching desperately at her belly. Win saw the humour in the situation and chuckled with her. "How are you settling in? I'm Win, I didn't catch your name the other day," he extended his hand. She took it in a surprisingly firm grip, "I'm Ame, but I don't live here. I did keep your coffee though".

Win tilted his head to the side, "But you said you were moving in". Ame side-eyed him, "No, I said I was sorting out the apartment. I'm a personal assistant and I was helping my boss move his crap in because he was at an emergency meeting the other night." He nodded and told her he nearly baked her lasagna, to which she cooed delightedly, "THAT IS SOOOO SWEET." She then had a strange look on her face and said, "I think you should do it anyway and bring it over when it's ready. My boss would appreciate it, he doesn't eat enough homecooked meals these days."

Win rolled his eyes and laughed. Somehow this petite but larger than life character charmed him into cooking a meal that isn't even for her. "Ok, if you're still around I'll pop by in about an hour. It won't take too long to whip it up, it's my signature dish." Ame enthusiastically hugged his middle (the top of her beanie barely reached his ears) and called out goodbye as she once again ran down the hallway.

-One hour later-

As promised, Win knocked on his new neighbour's door with his freshly baked lasagna and waited as he heard Ame's voice calling out inside. "Coming, Win, hold on!" She opened the door and he stepped into the hallway. He looked around and noted that while the layout was the same as his place, the similarities stopped there. He preferred a simpler aesthetic; his apartment was sparsely furnished but every piece of furniture he had was picked with comfort and quality in mind. There were no houseplants and vivid paintings hanging from the walls like this place. There was a colourful rug spanning across the floor and there were bookshelves and vintage film posters lined up on the wall, giving an eclectic feel to the place.

Ame took the lasagna from Win and scurried off to the kitchen. She told him to go on in and make himself at home. "You look like you own the place, Ame", Win laughed. He stopped short when he got to the living room because it was like being in a retro music store. There was a baby grand in the corner, painted a sky blue and several acoustic guitars in a rack. A record player was set up along the wall, next to the flatscreen and there was one very comfy looking couch draped with a terracotta coloured cashmere throw. A big, leather armchair sat in a corner of the room with what looked like an antique art nouveau floor lamp strategically positioned next to it.

Ame sauntered into the room and said, "With the amount of time I spend here looking after things I might as well. But my boss should be coming back soon...speak of the devil". The front door clicked open and a voice called out, "What's that smell Ame? Please don't tell me you tried to cook, you know what happened the last time you did that. But this smells actually really good though". Ame called out, "That's not me, I asked your neighbor to come over with some homecooked food since it's your first week here and you should get to know some people on this floor."

Win froze, eyes wide, mouth comically agape. It was Bright. Also similarly shocked, although this time he looked like he stepped out of a Wall Street magazine. His hair was slicked back neatly and he was in the middle of loosening his tie when he walked in. Win inadvertently scanned him from head to toe and realised his mouth was suddenly very dry.

After what felt like a very long moment, Ame looked between the two and excused herself to the kitchen. Bright finally regained his composure and his face lit up, "Win!"