Jake was coming home from work one day and heading up to his apartment to see his wife Anna. It had been a long day and he was tired and just couldn't wait to walk in and see her smiling face like he did every day. She always had her hair a mess after a long day but it really just added to her charm.
Jake and Anna had been married for almost ten years. They had lived in this apartment building a few miles outside the city for that whole time. They both worked in town and it was taking a toll on them both and even though Anna would say she wasn't stressed out but he could see it despite how she would keep getting promotions and such making it even harder to leave and start over somewhere else but Jake didn't really care where they lived as long as they were together.
As he approached his door he stopped as he saw some guys bringing boxes on two-wheelers into the apartment across from theirs which had been empty ever since the elderly woman Mrs. Brown died there a year ago. He was curious as to who his new neighbor was going to be as he walked by and peeked inside but couldn't see much.
"Can I help you?" A woman's voice said right behind him making Jake jump a little as he didn't see or hear anyone approach.
"Oh crap, I'm sorry, you startled me," he said looking at the woman with dark hair standing in front of him.
"My apologies," she said with a slight grin before putting her hand out. "I am Venessa, I just moved in."
"Well hello Venessa, I'm Jake, I live right over here," he said looking at his door while shaking her hand. "So we will probably see you quite a bit."
"Hm, I hope so," she said almost teasingly before glancing down at his other hand for a moment. "You're married I take it?"
"Oh, yes, almost ten years now," he said showing his ring.
"Congratulations, Well, I would very much like to meet your wife," she said and a way that almost made Jake feel uncomfortable yet he wasn't sure why.
"Oh, um, of course, Anna would love to meet you, she always gets along with the neighbors. If you want, maybe we can stop over once you are settled?"
"I would like that very much, come by this evening, I insist, I really want to get to know the people in the building," she said before finally letting go of his hand and walking past him. She looked back at him once inside and said: "please, around 7:00 perhaps, I look forward to it.
Jake watched her walk into the apartment as she was wearing a long black coat and high heeled boots that made a lot of noise when she walked. He wondered how he didn't hear her coming in those boots but didn't think much of it before continuing to his home a few feet down the hall.
As he unlocked the door and walked in he saw Anna sitting at the kitchen counter on her computer and on her phone. She was wearing her reading glass and had her hair up in a bun with a pen sticking out of it. A few strands of her dirty blonde hair hanging down in her face as he heard her arguing with one of her employees about a report not getting done.
Jake stood there admiring her in her current state. She would say she looked like a mess but he loved her looking like this. She was a beautiful woman and for some reason even like this with her appearance toned down by work stress and other factors it just made her look even better in his eyes.
"Just get it done okay? Thank you!" She said before hanging up the phone. "Hey Honey."
"Busy day?" He asked putting down his work bag.
"I work with a bunch of idiots, gonna give me gray hairs."
"I don't see any, you look as beautiful as ever."
"Thanks but I am a fucking mess right now," she said as Jake chuckled as he knew that is what she would say.
"Did you know someone was moving into Mrs. Brown's place?"
"No, but that's good."
"Yeah, her name is Venessa, asked me to come by with you later because she wanted to meet some people in the building."
"Oh, okay, should we bring something?"
"I can go grab some wine maybe," he said unsure of how to answer.
"I think we have an unopened bottle in the cabinet."
Jake went over and looked seeing the bottle. "Ah yes, I'll throw it in the fridge to chill it a bit," he said pulling it out.
"Perfect, oh crap, what should I wear, maybe I should jump in the shower."
"Maybe I'll join you," he said with a grin.
"Not now, we want to make a good first impression, if she is gonna live right next to us we want to get along with her don't we?"
"Honey, calm down, it's just a neighbor, you aren't meeting the president."
"Right, but anyway I should at least change," she said as she ran to the bedroom and began digging through the closet.
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Later that night Anna had cleaned herself up and put on a casual dress. She had fixed her hair before putting back up in a bun and was still wearing her glasses but grabbed the bottle out of the fridge and was ready to go meet their new neighbor.
"Anna, you're still wearing your glasses."
"Huh, oh, I guess I am," she said feeling a little embarrassed.
"You need to see Doctor Ericson, think it might be time to get permanent glasses."
"I know, just hard to find the time, but anyway, let's go meet our new neighbor," she said heading for the door with Jake in tow.
They approached the door and Jake gave it a few knocks. They waited a few moments before it opened up and Venessa was standing there with her hair around her shoulders wearing a very tight and revealing black dress. Anna looked at Jake for a second before she turned back to Venessa.
"Hi, I believe you met my husband earlier, I'm Anna, and welcome to the neighborhood," she said with a smile before handing her the bottle of wine.
"My my, Jake you did not tell me your wife was such a beautiful woman."
"Oh, stop, work stress really brings out my eye's," Anna said jokingly.
"Nonsense, please come in, make yourself comfortable," Venessa said letting them enter before shutting the door behind her.
"Wow, this place already looks amazing," Jake said seeing how everything already seemed unpacked and set up.
"Thank you, spared no expense on the moving company, please make yourselves comfortable," she said showing them the living room while she went into the kitchen with the bottle.
"You didn't tell me she was a stone cold fox," Anna whispered as she and Jake sat down on the couch.
"Why would I say that, you want me to walk in and say hey honey we have a new hot neighbor?"
"Well no, but Jesus, she is gorgeous."
"So are you, stop thinking about it," he said as they heard footsteps.
