“Stella sent a friend request to me. She even asked me to hang out with her on your birthday last year. She wanted me to ditch our date. She deserved that hashtag. She should be thankful that ‘that’s the only thing I did. If I see her, I’ll pull out all her hair for you.”
“I’m touched. Still, that was too much, Ellen!” I exclaimed while massaging my temples. “Mama would think the worst of me if she read that. She might even visit my apartment only to lecture me again.”
“Fine. I will un-tag her. But I will not remove my post. No way,” Ellen insisted before ending the call.
I pressed my forehead. I have lots of things on my plate right now and Ellen just mercilessly added another problem. She was still as naughty as before.
My neighbor was among the things that I’d been thinking about lately. I rarely see Ingram during the day. But when the night comes, he was often in the balcony. He was either playing a guitar or holding a book. I used to look at him over the window in my living room.
We had never talked again because each time I’d see him, I’d remember the shameful thing I did when I kissed him and gripped his erection. That’s why I tried to satisfy myself with just watching him from my apartment, with hearing him hum and watching as he plucked the strings so freely and so easily. Ingram surprisingly makes beautiful music.
These days, I don’t know why when I think of Kristoff, Ingram’s face would pop in my mind including the kiss that we shared until I’d end up thinking all about him. My world was already a mess but his appearance in my life just made things messier.
Ever since I met Ingram, I no longer had steamy dreams about a stranger who kissed me and held me the way Ingram did. My throat went dry at the thought. “Oh, Ingram…”
I went out of my room when I suddenly felt thirsty. But instead of heading in the kitchen, my feet seemed to move on their own. I headed towards the door and opened it. And there, I saw my neighbor who just opened the door of his apartment, too.
Our eyes locked.
Our apartments were just right next to each other. The village was so protected since there were guards patrolling around night and day so there were no gates in every house. The yellow santan plants became the fence between the houses.
After a while, a seductive smile formed on Ingram’s lips. I gulped especially when I noticed that he was topless. He was only wearing maong shorts that’s why I could see how well-endowed he was. My neighbor had a body to die for. Seeing him like this made me feel thirstier than ever.
In the middle of all these wicked thoughts inside my head, I suddenly remembered Ellen. If she was beside me, I’m sure she wouldn’t ask for water but for rice. Lots of rice. Because the man in front of me right now was more than a sizzling dish.

(Ingram)
I CAME out right away the second I heard Brianna call my name. This was the first time she called me. I just got out of the shower and had forgotten wearing a shirt because I was too excited to see her again. I smiled when I saw her coming out of her door, too.
For the past days, I only get to be near Brianna whenever she was asleep. I crossed the distance between our apartments and walked towards the stairway of her balcony. “Hello, neighbor.”
“W-why are you walking towards me?”
My smile broadened when I saw how her cheeks flush. My feet got the best of me. I wasn’t aware that I was only a few steps away from her now. “Why? Don’t you want me to? Should I leave now?” Brianna didn’t respond. There was a roller coaster of emotions written in her eyes. I sighed. “All right. I’ll leave now. Good night, neighbor.”
No matter how much I wanted to be with Brianna, I didn’t want to scare her. I was about to turn away when I heard her whisper.
“No, please. Stay. There’s something about you. I don’t know what it is but whenever you’re near me, my heart calms down. And I feel at ease.”
I turned towards her. Her face looked puzzled. She was so lovely I couldn’t help but stroke her soft, curly hair. It was chocolate brown, just like the color of her eyes. She had long lashes, a beautiful upturned nose, and dainty-looking pinkish lips. Her slender figure was covered in an oversized Mickey Mouse shirt but she could still take breaths away with her simplicity. Like Levana, Brianna also had a porcelain white skin. And just like before, she looked at me like she had lots of questions she wanted to throw at me.
Brianna looked exactly like Levana as if they were twins. But their face, height, figure, and voice were their only similarities. They were different in so many ways. Levana was shy, fragile, and innocent. Brianna, on the other hand, was bold and rebellious. Her heart was on fire. And that fire can be shown through her novels. There was so much wildness inside her that was only waiting to be unleashed. All the things that she couldn’t say personally were written in her books. She was strikingly wild and uncontrollable as a writer.
“This is the first time that I’ve ever felt something this intense towards the opposite sex. Whenever I look at you, I feel like there’s this darkness somewhere within you that-“
When I could no longer hold back, I cupped her cheeks and kissed her to stop her from enumerating our differences.
Even the taste of Brianna’s lips was different. In the past, every time I kissed Levana, it was like I was kissing an angel. I needed to be gentler and more careful.