Naked, Jessa danced around her kitchen to the sounds of the local rock station. At twenty-one, she was living completely alone for the first time, and so far she was loving the freedom of not having to deal with her parents or a roommate. If she wanted to stay up till two in the morning watching infomercials, she could. If she wanted to run the shower out of hot water, she could. And if she wanted to dance naked in her kitchen, there was no one to see her.
Or so she thought, until she heard the doorknob turn. Shit! Who would just walk into her apartment? No one had a key; no one had permission. The apartment was a small one; the living room and kitchen were one room, with a separate bedroom and bathroom. Which meant as soon as that door was open, Jessa would be visible to whoever was breaking in. She didn't have time to get to her room; she ducked behind the counter, and hoped for the best.
The door swung open. "Anyone here?" a voice called.
The voice of her landlord, Mr. Ross. "What are you doing here?" Jessa replied, without coming out of hiding.
"Your lease says I can come in to make repairs, and you said one of the pipes under the kitchen sink was leaking, so I came to take a look." He took the few steps toward the kitchen and spotted Jessa. "Why are you hiding there?"
"Um, would you mind stepping back outside for a moment?" Jessa shrank closer to the counter. "I need... I was just about to take a shower."
"It's going to be hard for you to do that if I'm fixing the pipe," Mr. Ross said. "I have to shut off the water if the leak is bad."
"Well, then, would you mind going back out so I can go get dressed?"
Instead of leaving, Mr. Ross came closer, carrying a wrench. He wasn't much taller than Jessa, with stooped shoulders and grey hair. He had to be in his sixties. Jessa shrank back, but part of her wanted to give Mr. Ross a view of what he obviously wanted to see. "Nothing to be ashamed of," he said. "Unless you're totally naked right now."
"I am," Jessa admitted.
"Really? Wouldn't think you'd be naked all by yourself."
"I told you, I was getting ready to take a shower. But since I can't, I'd like to get dressed, please."
"I don't think you need to."
Jessa gulped. What did he mean? "Um, I wouldn't want to distract you from your job."