New Neighbor

Nyra walked up the stairs to her stuido with two heavy canvas bags full of groceries. She skirted a ladder and toolbox as well as a huge metal something to get to her door. She peered up at the workman curiously. "Excuse me sir, I was wondering what you were installing. Is the skylight leaking?" she asked.

The workman did not even look down but continued to drill holes in the roof and attach bent pieces of metal to it.
"Orders are to put a screen over this skylight to keep out the light as needed."

"What?!" Nyra almost choked on her disbelief. "Why would anyone want to cover up a skylight. Thats what it is there for, to let light in!"

"New neighbor ordered it." The workman nodded at the door to 26A. "Had to finish this up after I covered the windows in that unit."

"Cover up the windows?!" Nyra gasped. She quickly set her bags down and knocked on the door to 26A. While window coverings were the neighbor's own business, the skylight was not inside that unit. Hopefully there would be some reasonable way to request this stopped.

Her delicate knuckles rapped on the door loudly to overcome the sound of drilling the workman was making.

Connie 18 years ago
Trying her best not to let the mouthful of food be visible, Connie beamed. "I'd be honored to have you paint me. It would be fun! Though I'd worry that my wobbly bits would be more of a shock to you or a turnoff than anything else." She wiggled her eyebrows at Nyra. "And dessert sounds lovely."

She looked down at her plate. "Because it seems I've devoured the amazin' plate of food."
Nyra 18 years ago
Giggling, Nyra rose and took both plates to the sink. "I am sure things do not wobble near as bad as mine! I feel like the proverbial 'bowl fully of jelly' when I look in the mirror. I dont normally do portraits though. So you are not getting the best McGurn available."

Reaching into the fridge for the bowl of fruit she jostled her sculptures. Swiftly she let go of the fruit bowl and grabbed the cold wax as it tipped over. She listened to the splat of fruit hitting the floor and the tupperware bouncing but paid it no mind. Gently bringing out the piece in her hands she set it on the island and went back for the others, to check for damage. Once all three pieces were on the island she shut the fridge and inspected the works carefully.

There was only a few gouges from her fingers in the one that fell, and two squishes in the others from knocking together. She whipped out a butter knife from a drawer and began righting the damage, completely oblivious to her guest and the fruit on the floor.


((Piece descriptions found in the last post here.))
Connie 18 years ago
Normally pretty fast, Connie was too far away to save any of the sculptures that fell when Nyra knocked them out of the fridge. Instead, when she approached the kitchen, she went about cleaning up the spilled fruit.

"If you want I can send one of the contractors over here to build you a shelf or something. I'd hate to see such lovely works of art accidentally damaged..."

She tried to catch Nyra's eye as the woman stroked the wax forms.

"You're an extremely attractive woman, Nyra. I wasn't jokin' when I said that the boys probably lined up for yer attentions. Even some women wouldn't be averse to spending... quality time with you."

Connie tried to keep a straight face, but she realized she was holding her breath, and let it out quietly.
Nyra 18 years ago
"Thank you so much for your thoughtfullness! Its actually my fault. I should have gone to the foundry today with these rather than paint but I just could not drag myself away."

Blushing at the woman's comments and at having spaced out over correcting her art she cleaned up the last few bits. She smiled at Connie as she put them back into the fridge, towards the back this time.

"Oh dont be silly. No one gives me a second look because I am so heavy. Men want waif's not sturdy women. Of course finding a good one is often the trick! I have contemplated looking for a 'wife' but no one has ever expressed an interest in me so..." she trailed off blushing. What a thing to say to someone you just met 'hi I am undesireable to everyone! Want some fruit? Oh and let me paint you naked too'. Barely restraining herself from banging her head against the fridge door and groaning she brought out the dip to serve with the fruit Connie had saved.

"I hope there is some unsquished fruit to dip with. Though this is so tastey I could eat it with a spoon!"
Connie 18 years ago
"I've always lived by the ten-second rule. If it's on the floor for less than ten seconds, it's usually okay. If it's a wet food, just rinse it." Connie grinned, and picked up a bit of melon between her fingers.

"Not all men want waifs. Then again, not all women want hard bodied studs like Tom Cruise or George Clooney." She dipped the morsel into the dip and held it up, shaking it in the air as if she were pointing her finger at Nyra.

"I hope you don't mind me sayin', but..." Her accent started to come out a bit more as she continued, "I think you're a right beautiful woman, and aside from bein' afraid of messin' up the start of a beautiful friendship, not to mention bein' completely unsure about how you'd react..."

She knew she was laying it on thick as she popped the melon into her mouth, and held it in her cheek to speak though it was slightly garbled, "I don't think I'd turn down the opportunity to bi..." She stopped talking to finish chewing, having realized what she almost said. She swallowed, and sensuously licked clean the little bit of dip that had dripped down her fingers, "Divert your attention with a lil kiss."
Nyra 18 years ago
"Ten second rule? Generally I dont find what I have dropped till well after ten minutes!" Watching Connie eat the fruit in such a decadant way was a new experience for Nyra. She was shocked to be called beautiful or that her friendship was so important.

As the taller woman licked the dip off, Nyra decided to take advantage of this amazing opportunity.
"Oh my. I think I will take you up on that offer on our next date. First dates are restricted to hugs, you know. Its not till the third where you let me paint you nude dappled with the sunshine." Smiling and waggling her finger at Connie, she felt very happy at the prospect of not only a new neighbor but a possible romance as well.

((Edit to erase a spelling error. *scrubs it out with a huge eraser* There all better!))
Connie 18 years ago
Connie's eyes sparkled as she smiled back. "That sounds wonderful. There is one drawback though, you seem like a day person, where I have probly a completely opposin' schedule to you. I don't usually awaken til a bit before sundown. Night work is kind of a drag, you know."

She tilted her head. "Would this be a first date? Or would the next one be the first? Does it even matter?" She started chiding herself quietly, "Of course it matters, Connie, especially since she has the order-of-things already worked out. Which is quite romantic, by the way." This last she said louder so that Nyra would know she was speaking to her.
Nyra 18 years ago
After a few moments thinking "Moonlight then! In Oregon all the Wican's snatch up my moonscapes so they are pretty hot. Or I could use lights to brighten up the place to imitate sun if you prefer." she teased.

"I think this is the first date." laughing and grasping the counter "I talk to myself also, way too much at times when others can hear me. Not sure about romantic but as I said, I dont know WHO gave the impression all artists are easy. I like to know someone is gonna stick around for breakfast before spending the night with them."

With a quizzical face she spoke in low tones. "Maybe its just me being too picky? Course people have always told me how naive I am. I really must pay more attention to others I guess." blushing and laughing, she shrugged at the other woman.

Plucking a rescued strawberry from the bowl she swirlled it through the creamy white dip and offered it up to Connie to nibble or take it from her fingers.
Connie 18 years ago
Connie found herself a bit surprised at the younger woman's forwardness... The simple act of holding the strawberry out for her had been the single most sensual thing she'd done all night... And probably the most arousing thing Connie'd witnessed in a good ten years.

She leaned forward, eyes locked to Nyra's, her tongue slipping from between her lips the closer she got to Nyra's hand. A rivulet of the dip travelled down her finger; she leaned quickly to catch it, her tongue sliding slowly, langurously around the digit as she crested the plump little fruit. She pursed her lips and bit delicately into the tip, leaving a bit of the sweet essence and fruit between Nyra's fingers.

She'd wanted the whole thing, but, as she chewed, forced her fangs to retract. She probably would have bitten the girl's finger, and that would have put a bit of a damper on things.

She wriggled her lips and snaked her tongue back out trying to catch a bit of the juice that dripped from her lower lip.
Nyra 18 years ago
Blushing heartly, from her own naivete and the sensual display Connie made eating the fruit, Nyra was at a loss. Wanting to bonk herself on the head she wondered just what she had been thinking. Of course Connie was going to eat her proffered fruit. Nyra just did not realize how sexy one could be doing so, as a wave of heat washed over her, part embarassment part desire.

She bustled about to hide her embarassment
"I did not even offer you a beverage with dinner, how rude of me! Would you like anything to drink? I have water, sparkling water, several juices and some homemade lemonaide."
Connie 18 years ago
As her eyes stayed locked to Nyra's, Connie couldn't help but detect the dilation of her pupils, let alone the sudden rush of blood to her face... and she imagined a similar rush to other, non-visible places quite like her own.

Nyra's offer of a drink spurred several responses, some more cheesy than the rest, so she simply said,
"Whatever you're having is fine. And no, it's not rude; the wonderful experience of your wonderful company is refreshment enough."

It was out of her mouth before she could stop it. If she'd been alone or reading one of her trashy romances, she'd smack herself in the forehead for such a blatant "guy line".
Nyra 18 years ago
Blushing furiously, she ducked her head and got busy getting them both glasses of sparkling water.

She carefully left it on the counter in front of Connie, lest she be tempted to snatch the woman's hand up into her own. Slow and easy she kept telling herself, not wanting to frighten the other woman off with her forwardness.

Walking over to the beanbags she asked
"Please sit down and lets get to know one another. Please, tell me what do you do that keeps you busy such odd hours?"
Connie 18 years ago
Connie nodded and picked up her drink.

As they walked back to the beanbags, she answered,
"Well, when I lived out west, I was a teacher at night school for an accounting firm. When I moved here, I found that Duibne Industries had an international accounting team, and they needed a new member, so I put in my credentials. Kind of helpful especially when my biological rhythm has been opposin' the world for so long."

Two hundred twenty years...
Nyra 18 years ago
"Ah, I had not realized accounting could required such odd hours! I leave all stuff that to my parents, which is pretty embarassing to admit to at my age!"

She settled gracefully into the chair and put her glass on the floor nearby.

"Its interesting the hours people keep. I am normally up with the sun and deeply asleep about this time. But there are days that I never sleep simply because a project wont let me. I can get very thrown off my schedule by those." Nyra resisted the urge to straighten her skirt or tug on her tunic, primping was not acceptable in front of the other person!

"As you can probably tell, I do art. Its all I have done since I was little, the short stint in college notwithstanding. I dont really have hobbies overmuch outside of cooking. Do you have any hobbies?"
Connie 18 years ago
"Your age?" Connie questioned, a lilt in her voice. "You can't be much more than... twenty seven, twenty eight? And besides, the process of creation can be as draining as exercise or hard labor or even sex." That last part of the analogy had slipped out before Connie could catch it, and she felt herself flushing again.

"Your extended experience with art shows, dear. And cooking by itself can be one of those hobbies you could dedicate your life to, art or no. Myself, I do a lot of reading, visiting art galleries, taking in shows... Visiting museums and the like. I'm very much a history buff."
Nyra 18 years ago
With a very faked sigh "Oh how horrible, you actually guessed my age! I must be ancent compared to you. Barely legal I would say, you are."

"Creating is more like mentally vomiting, sometimes its easy and you can walk away with just a quick brush of the teeth. Other times though it wrings you out and leaves you too weak to even pick up a brush." Covering her face with her hand "That may have been a bit TOO descriptive. My apologies."

"I do love history. Mostly of art of the specific time periods. Perhaps next time we could go view whatever is hanging in the Arch Museum of Art. You could point out where they stashed my paintings."

Leaning back and fiddling with her hair a moment she gathered her thoughts. "I am very pro-enviroment. My car is a hybrid prototype my father made, I recycle, shop second hand stores as well as being vegan. As I said my mother and grandmother are both artists. My father is an inventor, doing very well at it too. I dont even have any skelletons in my closet unless you count my grandfather, but I dislike talking ill of the dead."

"What about you? Family? Soapboxes? Skelletons?" she giggled.
Connie 18 years ago
"Funny," Connie interjected, "When I used to create, I thought of creation more of a brain-gasm... The building up of the words or whatever I was working on, and the completion of the finished piece was, well, an explosive release." Darn girl was dragging out more of the "somewhat sensitive" points of view that Connie harbored, secrets she kept sheltered deep in the recesses of her private mind.

"And 'barely legal'? I'm just slightly older than twenty one, thank you." Which of course was stretching the truth just a little..

"My own family... Two of my sisters died when I was very young. I was taken from home shortly thereafter, and have been in the States ever since."

That seemed easy enough; don't give too much, and maybe there wouldn't be too many more questions.
Nyra 18 years ago
"Interesting. Only in very special pieces have I had the 'brain-gasam' I think." she chuckled "Please do tell me, what did you used to create if you dont mind sharing of course."

Reaching over she gently patted Connie's hand, "I am so very sorry about your family and home. You must be very strong to have weathered something at your young age and come out so kind and beautiful."
Connie 18 years ago
"Oh, I was a potter for quite some time... No relation to Harry, mind you." She chuckled at her little joke.

"Seriously, too, I did some writing, and even a little acting, but never anything too seriously. Couldn't keep myself focused on any one thing, moving around so much."

She stroked her thumb against Nyra's hand, still lying on top of her own as she said, "It's muchly kind of you to say, thank you. Sometimes it hurts a might bit to think of what I've lost, but then I realize how much I've gained without them, or maybe because of them, that it doesn't seem so bad."

Connie's gaze caught Nyra's, and she smiled bashfully. She really was super-easy to talk to. "You know, as an artist, you may not be 'easy', but you sure are 'easy' to talk to." Her brow furrowed briefly beneath her raven bangs as she said, "Though I reserve the right to decide whether you're easy or not, your own opinion of yourself notwithstandin'!"
Nyra 18 years ago
"Quite the Renaissance Woman you are." smiling shyly at the sensual rubbing. "Are you sure you dont do magic though? I think you just may have quite a gift for it."

A flush spread across Nyra's face at the compliments as she sat there transfixed by the other woman. No one had ever been so 'easy' with the compliments as well as being so sensuous. Even if she could not place the accent she was flustered by how steamy it was.