CHAPTER 29

Lillie

Inmate 29901 is out of prison.

He's written a letter directly to MY HOUSE.

He's serving his parole in MY TOWN.

He asks if it's okay for us to SPEAK.

WHAT THE FUCK!?

My world was spinning with a hundred questions that I couldn't answer. I was still standing at my door with Dimitri's letter clutched tight in my hand. I scanned nervously around my neighborhood, looking right and then left down the street, thinking he might stand there. I shook my paranoia away; I don't even know how the man looks like. But nothing seemed out of place.

I dashed inside the house and locked the door shut. I tossed the letter onto the desk and paced back and forth anxiously in the living room. Not knowing what to do with myself, I ended up in the kitchen. I placed the kettle on and brewed myself some soothing green tea to calm my jittery nerves.

There was no way on earth I would agree to meet up with a criminal straight out of prison, even though I got to know this inmate in depth. But that was in letters only, not face to face. That was a whole other ball game. And how did he know where I lived? That thought freaked me out the most.

He's been to my house; he's seen where I live. Has he seen me? The thought gave me shivers, that made my skin tingle from fear... or something else that brewed with excitement. A thought crept secretly in... did I want to see him?

My head shook the silly thought away. The only thing I could think of was to call Sassi.

I abandoned my tea and dialed her number immediately.

"Hey Lil," Sassi answered.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" I shouted over the phone. I just blurted the words out.

"What the hell are you talking about?... Why are you shouting?" Sassi asked, confused.

"Dimitri wrote me a letter. And this letter was dropped at my house. Oh! And he asked me if we could talk in PERSON!" I said, sarcasm dripped from my voice.

"Shit Lil!" Sassi said.

"Yeah. No shit Sassi," I rolled my eyes.

"How's this my fault?" she said.

"Send a sexy pic... Spray perfume on the letter... Talk dirty to him-" but Sassi interjected my list of faults.

"Okay okay, but this is not my fault." Sassi said guiltily. Just ignore him and if he tries to talk to you again, that's basically stalking. And if he does anything funny, you call the cops."

"Gosh, I'm not getting the cops involved... Dimitri technically didn't do anything wrong." I replied cautiously. "He just asked me to talk."

"Didn't do anything...Yet." Sassi continued.

"Oh, whatever, I'll deal with this my way and make my own decisions." I huffed.

Sassi sighed, "Alright, just be safe and call me if he does anything further."

"Okay. Bye." I hung up.

I thought about what Sassi had said and decided to ignore his letter. Hopefully he'll see I didn't respond and get the message to leave me the hell alone.

***

A full week had passed, and I heard nothing more from Dimitri. My anxiety eased and the nervousness of seeing him faded. I was certain he got the message to leave me alone. I was pleased with this. It took a load off me.

School closed for the summer vacation, thankfully, which meant no teaching for me for some time, besides the occasional staff meetings. I could focus fully on the quartet and the upcoming concert.

I stood in the small music room, wiping the light sweat from my brow. The quartet was done with the intense practice session, and Kenny decided to have a quick meeting. Arthur was standing close to me, butterflies swirling around in my stomach at his nearness. He passed flirty glances and secret sexy smirks throughout the session, making me blush and lose focus each time, at Kenny's disdain, of course. I didn't complain; it was worth it.

"Alright everyone. The pieces sound good so far, but we could polish it up a little more. Please please practice at home as much as possible. The concert is coming up in two months." Kenny said with his hands in prayer.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

When everyone left, Arthur gently grasped my arm before I could leave.

"Hey, would you like us to practice together at my place? We could have dinner too and make a night of it." His voice like silk in my ears.

I smiled and bit my bottom lip.

Arthur continued, "If you're free tomorrow night -"

"Yes, I'm free." I interjected.

The butterflies intensified in my stomach. Tingles pricked at my skin and my body felt warm. I could feel his hot breath on my cheek, and it sizzled me. I'm sure we could practice a lot of things besides making music together. I blushed like crazy at my naughty thoughts. Not the time, Lillie. I scolded myself.

"Sure, I would love that, Arthur." I almost said too quickly.

He lightly chuckled, "Great! I'll see you tomorrow night, Lillie. I'll text you my address."

I nodded. He sweetly kissed me on my cheek and strolled out of the music room, not before giving me a cheeky wink.

I felt like I was walking on sunshine all the way home. I abandoned any chores for the evening; it had to just wait for the weekend. I couldn't think about anything else but my rendezvous with Arthur tomorrow.

Being with Arthur completely occupied my mind.

***

After a good night's rest, the morning couldn't come any quicker. I could not wait for tonight. The day dragged painfully slowly, and I didn't do very much. I got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my body and my freshly washed hair. I used my rose oil scented shampoo, hoping the scent will linger after I blow dried it.

I walked to my drawers and got out my lacey red bra and panties. I threw down my towel and gingerly slipped the lingerie on my body. I sauntered to my closet, deciding what to wear. My fingers touched the garments as I browsed through them.

Pink was my best color, and my favorite one too. I settled on a light pink dress with open heels. I placed my hair in a messy bun, accompanied with a rosy blush tinted cheeks and red lip applied.

I looked at myself in my long length mirror and inhaled a deep breath. I didn't want my insecurities peeking its ugly head. I hope Arthur like what he sees.

I checked my watch; it was almost 7pm. I ran downstairs and grabbed my violin case and placed it under my arm and lifted the lasagna tray I suggested I'll make for dinner. I carefully walked out the house and made it to the car with the lasagna in one piece. I placed the hot tray on the passenger seat and my case on the floor and drove to Arthur's place.

Anticipation and excitement growing all the way there.

Arthur's apartment was in a fashionable area. I looked up, taking in the white pristine building looming over me. Once inside, I took the elevator and pressed the 4th floor. The elevator music was swaying in my head, adding to my nervousness. My heart was beating faster with each passing floor, threatening me to drop the heavy lasagna tray I was holding tight. I walked carefully through the long hallway to door number 41.

Once in front of Arthur's door, my breath hitched. I struggled to knock while balancing the tray and my violin case underneath my arm, but the door swung open, revealing an almost naked Arthur. If my hands were shaky, it totally trembled now. The tray almost dropped out of my arms, but Arthur caught it from toppling over. I tried to avert my eyes from his toned body, but failed horribly.

Arthur had his shirt off, exposing his lean, chiseled chest, abs, and well-defined muscles. He was athletic looking, with his blonde hair in a messy look, which looked in more sexy. My eyes travelled lower. He wore casual jeans that hung low and white sneakers. My eyes were stuck on his bare-naked torso. Arthur was a very good-looking man. Heat rushed to my face. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to place blush on my cheeks, it probably made my face more flushed than usual.

I was not prepared for sexy-ness this soon. I hadn't even stepped inside his apartment yet, and I was unhinged already.

I absolutely knew I would not make it through the evening in one piece.