Convergence

One

As I walked around the house for the fifth time, I smiled to myself, falling in love with it all over again. "No, I'm not changing anything else" I said firmly. Hayley my decorator was pointing out things she thought could use an update, but I shook my head telling her I was keeping almost everything the way it was. I liked the feel of it, it had character, a history. I loved it, it just needed a little TLC here and there. I had only just signed the contracts, but Tara my realtor who let us in, assured me that her client was away and didn't mind if I went in with my decorator to start getting ideas. "Okay so that's all you want to change? Are you sure?" said Hayley, I nodded, "yes I like the rest the way it is" I said smiling. "What about the kitchen it's a bit outdated, don't you think?" she said frowning. "Nah it's fine, anyway I don't plan on spending too much time in there" I laughed. "Okay, it's your house! I'll get back to you soon with the ideas we've talked about" she said, I walked her to the front door and pressed the button for the automated gate to let her out. Tara had left as well, giving me instructions on how to lock up and set the alarm. I walked back in the house and wandered around. I was moving to LA from New York and was thrilled when she took me to see this house. High up in the Hollywood Hills, it was big but not huge, it had the privacy I wanted, it had everything, it was absolutely perfect. I travelled a lot and I needed a home base. LA made more sense as a lot of my work came from there. As I walked around I spotted a piano. I ran my fingers over the keys, I couldn't play but it felt like it kind of belonged there. Too bad it was going. I walked outside onto the back patio and looked out over the pool, it was a beautiful oasis. There were high fences and all you could see were tree tops. Since we'd arrived it had gotten unbearably hot, I was sweating as the sun beat down on me. The pool had started to look very inviting. I didn't have anything to swim in, or a towel for that matter, but there was no one around. I figured I could just lie in the sun and dry off. The minute the idea came to me I started to undress, kicking off my shoes, then I slipped off my skirt and tank top. I debated whether I should take off my bra, it only took a moment to decide, it came off, the less things that needed to dry off the better. I walked to the edge in my panties and dived into the cool clear water. It was heavenly, I floated around for a little, cooling off, then started to do some half hearted laps.

Fuck!! I really needed to get in shape, I thought wryly as I got to the end again. As I popped up out of the water catching my breath, I became aware of  a shadow over me, my head snapped up and I gasped. There was a man standing there, legs apart, hands on his hips, the sun was shining in my eyes so I couldn't make him out, I quickly covered my breasts with my arm. "Ah, excuse me, what are you doing here?" I said trying to sound brave, but my voice was trembling, I was completely alone and practically naked with a strange man looking down at me. "I should be asking you the same question, as far as I know this is still my house" he said in a low voice, kneeling down in front of me and taking off his sunglasses. My mouth dropped open, it was the current, soon to be old owner, Jared Leto. "I'm so sorry, the realtor said it would be okay to come, my decorator was with me .... it was hot, I uh ..." I stumbled over my words trying to apologize. He suddenly grinned, "it's fine, I knew you were coming, she told me. I thought you'd be gone by now" he raised his eyebrows glancing at my clothes thrown in a heap nearby. I bit my lip, not knowing what to say, I never should have stayed, I was so stupid to be caught like this, shit!! "Do you have a towel?" he asked, I shook my head, "how were you planning on drying off?" he laughed. "I was going to sit in the sun for a bit" I shrugged, now it sounded like a really stupid idea. A sly sexy smile crossed his face, I felt a rush of heat lance straight through me, "what a great idea, I mean it's hot enough, can I help you out?" he said offering me his hand. I quickly shook my head, "uh no it's okay. Actually I'll just, I'll put my clothes on" I said panicking. He grinned "Wait there, I'm sure there are towels in the bungalow" he got up and walked off towards it, coming out a minute later, holding a couple of towels. He walked over to the steps holding them and waited for me to emerge. I got to the steps and stopped, still hidden by the water, "ah, do you mind?" I asked him, he looked confused. I lifted my hand and indicated he should turn and face the other way to give me some privacy. "Oh, of course" he said, putting the towels on the ground in front of him and turning away. I silently said a prayer that I had decided to keep my panties on. I quickly grabbed a towel, ran it over me and wrapped it around my body, using the other one to dry off my hair. "Thank you" I murmured, he turned then and looked at me intently, I shivered slightly under his gaze. Finally he spoke again, "I'm Jared" he said warmly holding out his hand, I took it and he shook it slowly squeezing it gently. "Hi, I'm Charlotte" I said, I was so embarrassed I just wanted to get out of there. "So, you like the house?" he said curiously. "I do love it, it's perfect" I said nodding, he was staring at me intently, his eyes were a stark blue and they stared straight into mine. My heart started beating furiously, I had never really looked at any photos of him, apart from a few concert action shots in magazines. But they didn't do him justice, he was absolutely breathtaking. I bit my lip nervously then spoke, "uh so the realtor said that there was a few things staying..." I said trying to break the awkward silence. It was awkward on my part, he seemed quite comfortable standing there staring. "Oh, sure, whatever she said..." he trailed off. I turned away swiping my clothes off the ground, "well, I'll get out of your hair" I said giving him a tight smile. "Let me give you a tour of the place, I mean I know you've seen it but, there might be a couple of things you hadn't noticed..." he said mysteriously. "Like what?" I asked curiously, he had piqued my interest. He gave me an enigmatic smile and said "come with me" walking off, he turned briefly crooking his finger at me to follow. As soon as we walked into the house I tossed my clothes on a sofa and he began showing me around. He talked animatedly about the various pieces of art dotted around the place, some changes he had made to the architecture. He led me upstairs, giving me a tour of the bedrooms, each one decorated differently, but with a stylish, almost spartan simplicity. I had seen it all a few times already, but I feigned interest so as not to offend him. We finally got to the master bedroom, "like it?" he asked, I nodded. It was beautiful, white pieces of furniture, all fairly plain, but striking. "It's lovely" I said, trying to imagine how it would look with my things in it. He cleared his throat to get my attention, I turned to look at him. "Sorry, I was just trying to imagine how it would look with my own furniture" I explained. "Well I'm sure you would look right at home in my bedroom" he mused, what a fucking flirt! He was staring at me again and I realized I was still wrapped in a towel. I felt a sudden urgency to get dressed and get the hell out of there. "Well, thank you, for showing me around. I'd better get dressed and be off" I said quickly, giving him a tight smile. "There's no rush" he said shrugging "I've got no place to be" he added grinning. "Well I have, where did I leave my clothes?" I said more to myself. I was disappointed, I thought he was going to show me something I'd missed, I was kind of annoyed that he'd wasted my time. "Downstairs in the living area" he murmured. I nodded and turned quickly, ducking out the door. He followed close behind me as I went down the stairs. I spotted my clothes on the sofa and swiftly grabbed them, turning to look for a place to dress. "You can use the office if you like" he pointed to a room down the hall. "Great thanks" I replied. "So, listen Charlotte, I should probably tell you something ..." he said slowly, his tone caught my attention and I looked at him expectantly. "Yes?" I said. "I haven't actually signed the contract of sale" he said slowly. "Wait, why not?" I said sharply, "well, the thing is, I have been having second thoughts for a few days and the truth is, I don't really want to sell ..." he said with a hesitant smile, he looked at me carefully, waiting for my reaction. "But, you agreed, I only came here today because they told me you had signed ..." I said, my anger beginning to rise. "I know, I know. I'm really sorry, I just love the place too much, I can't let it go" he said apologetically. "Then why the fuck would you waste my time giving me a tour?!" I snapped, I stormed off heading in the direction of his office. "Just hear me out" he said, following me and grabbing my arm. I spun around to try and get out of his grip but as I did, my towel came loose and fell to the floor, my clothes falling out of my arms as well. "Oh my God!" I gasped as his eyes fell to my breasts, my cheeks heating up in embarrassment, I gave a small cry of frustration putting my arms over them quickly. He bent down grabbing the towel and handing it to me, I snatched it from him furiously and covered myself. He then picked up my clothes and held them to out me, I took them silently and stalked off. I slammed the door closed and started getting dressed, my hands trembling, fuming silently. I couldn't believe he'd backed out, but that wasn't the worst part. What pissed me off the most was that he had wasted all that time pretending, only to tell me he'd decided not to sell! Who does that?! I stormed out of the office, picking up my purse from the sofa, striding straight past him on my way to the front door, barely glancing at him. "Charlotte, please wait" he pleaded jumping in front of me. As my hand reached for the handle, he put his on the door effectively stopping me. "You're not selling, so I've got nothing more to say to you other than goodbye" I said tersely, waiting for him to move. He didn't. "Please, come to the kitchen have a drink" he said giving me a smile. It was the kind of smile that made you stop in your tracks and stare. It lit up his whole face and blinded you, a pure unadulterated sensual, drop your panties kind of smile. I quickly shook myself, "no thank you, you've wasted enough of my time" I said through gritted teeth. He frowned, disappointment written all over his face, but thankfully he opened the door. "Okay, well, again I'm really sorry" he said. "Whatever ...." I muttered and walked out. I threw open the gate and stepped out onto the street and into my car. I sat there for a minute composing myself before driving off a little too quickly. As I sat there stuck in traffic my phone started to ring, it was Tara, my realtor. "Charlotte I'm sorry, he's just phoned to tell me ..." she said regretfully, "had I known I never would have gone over there!" I said exasperatedly. "I know, I know, he's really sorry, he asked me to apologize" she said. "Screw him and his apology" I said angrily. "Shall I keep looking?" she said, trying to diffuse my anger, I sighed. "I haven't liked anything else, so I don't know where you're going to find something I do like " I said. "Don't worry, something will come up" she said cheerfully. I hung up with a curt goodbye, I didn't want to be a complete bitch. It was hardly her fault he had backed out at the last minute and wasted my time pretending he was selling me the house. What had that been about? I guess I'd never know.