AMACon 3: Oikos - Home

Holocene - The Keeper

"Who are you?"

There was this adonis standing in all his half-nakedness glory. Looking smugly at her.

If Maine did not find their situation mildly creepy and weird, she would have laughed out loud.

Maine tried turning her back but she remained glued where she was standing, her eyes glued to the well toned abs and biceps of the adonis in front of her. She can already feel the blush creeping up her cheeks. It's as if the debonair characters she has been writing about just came to life.

The stranger must've noticed this because the surprise in his face slowly turned into a smirk, and Maine would've given anything to wipe that smirk off the devilishly handsome stranger's face.

"I'm Richard. I live here. Who are you?" Adonis knows that she is checking him out and he is playing that to his advantage. He has this playful smile in his lips as if saying, 'I know you're looking at me, and my immaculate abs."

Maine quickly looked at his eyes. They say that eyes are the window to someone's soul and she saw a flicker of some weird emotion in his eyes before it was replaced by an amused glint.

And if only Maine had the time to decipher it then, she would've thought that it was something akin to longing and desire. But she's way past that age of assumption and naivety.

She will not deny though that there is a thick electrifying tension in the room, one can almost feel it. Or at least she can. It was palpable.

She never felt anything like this before. The level of attraction she is feeling for someone she just saw, not even met, for less than a minute is just impossible. Impossible but it is there.

"You live here? But Joseph didn't say anything about the owner being here." She asked in a high pitch voice to distract herself. "Wait, are you the Faulkerson heir?"

Smirking, Richard leaned on the door flexing his muscles and showing it off to Maine. "Oh old Joseph, I just got in today. I haven't seen him yet. Are you the one who is renting out one of the guest rooms for two weeks? The writer?"

"Yes. How did you know?" Maine realized too late that it was a stupid question, of course he would know. He is the owner of the property. He should know everyone who rents it out.

"RFJ" he non-commitally said still wearing that half-smirk, half-smile of his.

And it irritated Maine to no end. But she was not raised by her parents to be rude.

"Oh oh sorry. Where are my manners? I'm Nicomaine by the way you can just call me Maine. Sorry I was just surprise that's someone's here. I was expecting to have the whole house to myself." she extended her hand but Richard only stared at it. "I didn't really mean to come off as rude or something."

Richard only continued to stare at her hand and he never took it. He only looked at her outstretch hand but never made the move to touch it.

Embarassed, Maine lowered her hand and inched her way back to her room. "I uhh, will go now. I uhh am sorry for screaming earlier. And err, erm nice meeting you. Good night!" she hurriedly turned her back and almost run back to her room.

If only Maine looked back she would've seen Richard reaching out to thin air as if trying to catch her hand that he ignored earlier; she would've seen his lingering stare; she would've seen his smirk falling off his face only to be replaced by a sadi smile.

The next morning, Maine woke up extra early and expected to see Richard again but he is nowhere to be found. She first checked in the kitchen but he's not there, she also took peek inside the library but it looked the same as she left it last night.