Chapter 6: Intimacy
"What's wrong with you? No need to be so surprised, right?" Sarah stood at my door, looking at me with a smug expression. It would have been impolite not to show my surprise when a beautiful woman like her took the initiative to visit my house.
Despite my surprise, I continued to block the door, but Sarah slipped under my arm and walked into the living room. She headed straight for the kitchen, carrying two bags of items. I heard her voice from the kitchen, "My refrigerator is broken, so I need to store these things in yours for a while!"
Sarah was not only beautiful, but her voice was also enchanting—soft, pure, and free of "impurities." The mere sound of it made me feel a little impulsive. I reprimanded myself for getting lost in such thoughts at this moment.
After a few minutes, Sarah came out of the kitchen with a satisfied look and pointed at me. "Don't mess with my stuff. I'm leaving." Before I could react, she was already out the door. As I closed it behind her, I felt an urge to peek at what she had put in the fridge. My voyeuristic desires were unusually strong.
I restrained myself for the moment, but as I freshened up and relaxed on the couch, my curiosity grew. I wondered what exactly Sarah had put in my refrigerator.
"Thirsty. I'll get a drink from the fridge," I told myself, giving myself a legitimate reason to open the refrigerator door. When I opened it, Sarah's items were neatly packed in little bags, and I couldn’t tell what was inside.
"If I reach for a drink and accidentally knock these things over, and then pick them up and repack them, that shouldn’t count as voyeurism, right?" I muttered to myself. But even as I cursed myself for making excuses, I reminded myself that nobody else was around to witness it. Everyone has a bit of voyeuristic desire, and Sarah hadn’t explicitly forbidden me from looking.
Convinced, I opened the plastic bag. To my disappointment, it didn’t contain any food or interesting items, just various cosmetics, stockings, and a stray earring. Why would she put these things in the refrigerator?
The next day, Sarah came again, panting and holding two quilts. "Look, the sun is so nice today. Help me sunbathe these quilts on your balcony. My place has no space." Sunbathing quilts was something only my mom would ask me to do. I never expected a beautiful girl to have such a mundane task.
This time, I grabbed Sarah’s arm as she tried to leave. It was the first time I’d been so close to her when she was sober. "You put something in my place. When are you taking it away?"
"I’ll take it away when my refrigerator is fixed."
"But do you usually need these things?"
"Of course."
"Then we need to talk about my habits. I’m usually asleep before 2:00 p.m., and my most active time is from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. Please use your items during this time. Also, I often go on business trips. I’ll inform you ahead of time when I’ll be away so you can prepare what you need in advance. Do you agree?" Though her beauty was tempting, sleep was equally irresistible to me. Besides, seeing her in a relatively sober state might allow me to gain her favor with my humor and conversation skills.
"Why so troublesome? Just give me a key," Sarah suggested. Her proposal made my heart race with conflicting emotions. Giving her a key seemed like something only a couple would do. Was she hinting at a deeper relationship? I quickly dismissed the thought. I wasn't particularly handsome or charming, and Sarah barely knew me. To her, I was probably just a convenient friend.
"Is it good?" Sarah asked, looking at me with curiosity.
"Ah, okay," I replied, unable to think of a good reason to refuse.
"You're really a good person." Sarah smiled approvingly and left. I was labeled as "a good person," a title that usually meant giving up on romantic pursuits. But that person was definitely not going to be me.
