As buildings went, this was certainly the best place Caitlin had ever lived. Just out of college and new to New York, she was still amazed every time she walked out of the subway and saw the brownstone that was now her home.
It was three stories of beautiful red brick, with large bay windows, and ornate wrought iron fences out front. She lived on the second floor, above a lovely older lesbian couple, with their two dogs and their fancy dinner parties. Upstairs there was a nice, if a bit mysterious, business man in his thirties named Gerard.
The one thing she did know about the man upstairs is that he certainly had a lot of lady friends. There was nothing wrong with that, Caitlin supposed, but she didn't really understand it. He was fairly good looking, but nothing special. Plus, what kind of woman would go out with someone so promiscuous? It seemed like he had a new one every week.
She wondered if those women had any self respect at all. It's not that Caitlin was a prude or anything, but she had left her days of meaningless fondling and exploration back in Ohio. She'd come to the city for work and hopefully one day for love. She promised herself she wouldn't give herself to a man until she found one that she was truly in love with.
Most days after work she'd shop for fresh things for dinner. She'd buy flowers for her small kitchen table. She'd sit in the little nook in front of her huge window and read; breathing in the fresh air and thanking god she was out of the small town she grew up in.
Sometime Lena and Margo, the women downstairs, would invite her over for dinner. They always made something new and unusual like Indian curry or Moroccan rice. Plus they were vegetarians! Caitlin wasn't very adventurous with food, but she always made a point of giving their concoctions a try. Though honestly more then once she'd poured a bit of it into a napkin and fed it to their labrador retrievers.
One night about six months after she'd moved in there was a big storm that hit the East coast. Lena and Margot had gone out west to stay with some friends and couldn't get home because all of the airports were closed. Caitlin was looking after the dogs and when the storm hit she was worried. After a few hours of listening to the wind howl, the power went out, which was her worst fear.
She considered going out into the windy streets and trying to find a store that was still open. She needed candles or a flashlight and other provisions. She wasn't sure she could find a store since it was already dark out and there were no street lights.
Just as she was starting to really get worried, she heard the front door of the brownstone open. Rushing to the door she opened it to find Gerard in the hallway picking up his mail.
"Oh, Gerard! I'm glad you're home. The power is out. Do you think you might have an extra flashlight or something?"
Gerard, as always, sort of looked her over. It made her a little uncomfortable, but he wasn't really being crude. He just took his time talking. He seemed to pay attention to everything. It made her feel very self conscious.
"Sure, don't worry about it. I have candles, flashlights, all kinds of stuff. Why don't you come up and you can pack a box of anything you think you'll need."
She smiled thankfully and closed the door behind her and followed the strangely imposing man up the stairs to the third floor.
Gerard's apartment was set up very differently than hers, with beautiful art on the walls, an elaborate kitchen filled with stainless steel appliances and German minimalist design. It all looked like something out of a catalog or a move set.
Gerard pulled off his leather gloves and hung up his jacket.
"I have some candles and flashlights in this closet. There's plenty of bottled of water in the pantry. Canned food and so on as well. I don't think the blackout will last too long. Feel free to take whatever you need," he said showing her the pantry and the utility closet as he spoke.
Caitlin stood near the door and watched as he gave her a little tour. She knew he was probably a nice person, but there was something a little too aggressive about the way he walked around. There was something strange in his eyes when he passed over her, like he was smirking or something; maybe like he was making fun of her. It made her feel very much like a stupid small town girl.
"Are you alright? Sorry, I know the storm is a rough one. Do they have weather like this back in Ohio?" he ask, sitting on his leather couch and folding his hands in his lap.
She walked into the living room, convincing herself he was a normal guy and that she was being both rude and paranoid.
"Oh, in Ohio? They have all kinds of weather I suppose; even tornados."
He nodded, but she noticed he was staring at her intently. Specifically at her body, sort of evaluating her.
Caitlin was fit. She'd gained a little weight in college, though she'd been told that she wore it well since it was mostly in her butt and hips and breasts. She was medium height, pretty dark brown hair, pale skin and the thing most people commented on were her huge and vividly blue eyes. They made her look like a cartoon character sometimes.
Normally she was proud of her figure, but his eyes made her embarrassed. She realize how thin her pink t-shirt was and that the white bra under it was probably visible. She realized that her shorts were probably too short. They were the shorts she wore inside when it was warm. She wouldn't go out wearing them. Plus the t-shirt was very low cut. She probably looked like a tramp. A messy tramp with frizzy and out of control hair.
She was so wrapped up in embarrassment that she didn't notice at first, but Gerard was sitting on the couch watching her and laughing.
"What- what's so funny?" she asked meekly.
He let out one last chuckle and waved away her question. "Nothing, nothing, just remembering a joke I heard the other day. Why don't you have a seat? I can heat up some dinner. A friend of mine was over the other night and made a huge pot of seafood risotto. There is enough for about a week's worth of meals."
She didn't sit down, she just looked at her feet as he stood up and looked her over again.
"No, no thank you. I don't really eat seafood. I should get back to the dogs. Have you met them? Tippi and Topper?"
He laughed again and she felt like an idiot. She didn't know why he made her feel that way. There was just something about his smug smile and his expensive glasses and his suit.
"I don't talk to the girls downstairs much. I get the feeling they don't like me," he said with a laugh.
She swallowed and looked back at the door.
"Oh? That's too bad. They're super nice. I- oh- if you don't talk to them how did you know I'm from Ohio?" she asked before she could stop herself. She was suddenly very nervous. She felt cold, but she couldn't quite gather the strength to turn around and leave.
"Ohio? Hah. You're smarter than you look, hm? You caught me," he said laughing again and then reaching into his pocket and taking something out.
A small silver box. He flicked his fingers and a flame came out. She sighed; it was only a lighter. She then watched as he lit candles on the table in front of him.
