Vincent stood nervously as Catherine unlocked the front door to her apartment. The hallway was too dim for his liking and made him nervous. There was no doorman to the building and there were no cameras anywhere. Anyone could come and go as they pleased and he could be taken any moment. He looked around with awareness and listened for any suspicious sounds but the only thing he heard was the rhythmic sound of her heartbeat.
"Here we go. Home sweet home," Catherine said as she opened the door to a darkened apartment. "Come in," she smiled at him as she reached out for his hand. "It might be a bit messy. My roommate and I have been busy with studying and working and haven't had much time to clean."
Vincent grabbed her hand and quickly followed her into the apartment.."It's probably more tidy and cleaner than my place," he closed the door behind them as Catherine turned on the light in the entry way.
"It's pretty small. Kitchen is to the right and the living room ahead," Catherine pointed to each room that was visible from where they stood. "Bathroom and bedrooms are in the hallway," she pointed to an archway on the left of the living room. "And that concludes the tour," she laughed to herself. It was a tour she'd given a hundred times before and each time it just became more funny just how small the apartment really was.
"Now I understand why you go to the library to study," he said as he looked around the apartment though there wasn't much to see. It was the usual college apartment and was furnished with the basic necessities.
"It also has very thin walls. My neighbors love to throw parties over the weekend and sometimes it's nonstop. After a shift at the bar all I want is some peace and quiet but that usually always never happens," and right on cue there was a loud banging on the wall accompanied by moaning and screaming. "And sometimes it's just a party of two," Catherine cringed and shook her head. "There's beer in the fridge or hard liquor in the cabinet if you prefer," she tried to drown out the sound coming from her neighbors apartment but it only got louder. "I'm just going to put my stuff away in my room then we can head out," she said as she grabbed her bag from him and pointed towards the hallway where her bedroom was.
"Out? I thought that we were staying in."
"We were but do you really want to stay here with all that noise," she turned her head towards the wall where all the banging was coming from.
"It doesn't really matter to me where we go as long as we're together. Where do you have in mind?"
"The rooftop is nice and quiet at this time. Tenants have been banned from throwing parties up there. So I go there from time to time to get some fresh air and some time alone from all the partying and noise. We can go up there unless you'd rather go somewhere else."
"Roof is fine," he answered. "Where would you like me to put the food?"
"Fridge. Just don't forget yours later when you leave. I'll just be a minute."
Vincent watched as Catherine disappeared into the hallway when something caught his eye. The sliver of moonlight that entered between the curtains highlighted a picture frame on the wall beside the archway. He walked towards the collage of pictures and took a quick glance at it. On top of the collage was the title in bright letters, 'Chandler Sisters.' He smiled when he recognized one of the girls in the picture. It was a very young Catherine in all her glory as she ran through a sprinkler. The others were with her younger sister, from their childhood to now.
"Oh crap. Heather's collage," Catherine said with embarrassment. "I need to move that into my room."
"It's cute."
"It was a gift from my sister when I moved out of the house. It's a bit embarrassing."
"There's nothing wrong with it," Vincent smiled as he stared at the one picture that first caught his attention.
"Not until everyone tells you that they've seen you naked," she said while blushing. "But in my defense I was only about three or four years old then and didn't know any better. It was a hot day and I needed to cool off."
"You're right. Maybe you should move it to your room. I hate to admit this but I am the jealous type. I don't want another guy seeing you naked," his eyes sparked with jealousy as he looked into hers.
"I'll, uhm, I'll put it in my room."
"Good," Vincent simply answered. "I'm not sorry for admitting it but I do hope you know why."
"Why is that?" she whispered.
"Because I like you too much, more than I could ever admit to myself. Until tonight I never thought that I would be able to get this close to anyone without, uh," he paused. "How do I put this into words? What I am, sometimes, I can get carried away. And the last thing I ever want to do is hurt you, Catherine."
"Is that why you stayed away? Because you didn't want to hurt me?"
Vincent nodded with regret in his eyes. "I don't ever want to hurt you. You're the only one who understand me. With you I've never felt more, uh, me. I'm not sure if I'm making sense but you see me when I don't want anyone to see me."
"The only thing I see is a handsome and kind-hearted man. A man I'm liking more and more," Catherine smiled shyly at her own admission. "I never thought I'd be saying that out loud and especially not to you," she laughed nervously and bit her bottom lip as she blushed underneath his golden gaze.
"So, where do we go from where?" his voice was deep and guttural.
"Rooftop," was her only answer.
Vincent nodded. "I got distracted while you were in your room but I'll get the drinks while you put the picture away."
"Now?"
"Yes. Now. Is that a problem?"
"No," she shook her head. "It's just, there's no one to be jealous of. It's not like I have guys swarming all over me. And besides, there's only one guy I'm very interested in."
"Hmm, very interested in?"
"Yes."
His eyes sparked brightly as he stared into hers. "It's not the others I'm worried about. I'm afraid that once you see the other side of me that you won't like what you see and you'll hate me. I'm afraid of losing you, Catherine. So please, for me, put the picture away. Okay?" he pleaded as his fingertips gently stroked her cheeks. "For me."
"Okay," Catherine nodded. "But I think you're wrong. I could never hate you, Vincent."
"I don't want to find out either way."
"I understand. I'll put it in my room."
"Thank you. I won't ever let you down. I promise," Vincent softly traced her lips with his fingers.
"I'll be back, again," Catherine giggled.
"And I'll do what I was suppose to do earlier," he laughed. "Beer, okay?"
"Yeah, beer is fine. Pick whatever you want. Fridge is full of them."
BATB
Vincent opened the refrigerator and found it packed with a variety of beer brands from all over the country and the world. He chose a few bottles that he knew and removed it from the refrigerator then stuffed the bag of food from the diner next to other to go boxes. The apartment definitely belonged to college students and he remembered his time as medical student as if it was just yesterday when he started his journey into becoming a doctor. During his first day in college he was a total nervous wreck and accidentally bumped into someone while he was in a rush to get to his class. Little did they know that they would end up engaged but only to be torn apart by war.
It was a few years ago when Vincent was in his first year of residency. Suddenly his plans were altered by a terrorist attack that killed both of his older brothers. Since then nothing was ever the same, not even himself. It took everything in him to return to a city he once called home and live a life as normal as possible but he knew that he was only fooling himself, for who could ever accept someone, something, like him? He shook his head and quickly tried to forget the memories that were far out of his reach. The days of being a doctor were long gone along with his heroic firefighter brothers, who gave up their life to save others. He was now a day laborer for a shipping company who paid less than he was worth but they were willing to look the other way about his lack of papers and identification.
He was instantly drawn out of his reverie when soft fingertips traced his scar and was met with concerned jade eyes. "Catherine," he whispered her name.
"Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine now," his smile was effortless as he placed his hands on her hips to keep her close. "Why don't we go to the rooftop and continue this date?"
"Of course. But if you ever want to talk, I am a good listener."
"There's nothing to talk about. All that matters is here and now. Me. You. Us spending a romantic night on the rooftop underneath the stars. Is there any other way to end a perfect date?"
