I pulled out a wad of cash from my pocket and stuffed it into her purse alongside of the gun. She immediately bristled, "I'm not that kind of girl!"
"I'm well aware of that! This is a gift with a purpose! Taxi to work and taxi back home from work! Got it?"
She brushed some tendrils of hair away from her eyes and nodded slowly with a shocked looking expression across her features as she looked at me. I gave her purse back to her and she opened her door and partially stepped inside. She turned back to me and I could see some of her humor was back.
"You don't make a very good stalker. I think we should move you from stalker status right up to boyfriend."
She stepped close and swept a hand around the back of my neck and pressed her lips to mine in a quick kiss before stepping back a little breathlessly saying, "Goodnight, honey."
I stood there staring at the closed door not at all my usual self. I brought myself under some semblance of control and knocked on the door.
The instant, "Yes?" From the other side gave proof to the fact that she hadn't moved away yet either.
"You forgot to lock your door."
"Oh yes, thank you! Good night."
"Goodnight." I said hearing the dead bolt close shut with a click.
It had been a long time since I'd said that to anyone. In fact it would have been my mother who was the last to hear such words, but that had been a long time ago and in a different language. I walked down the dimly lit hall not liking the place my girl was staying in.
Whoa! When had that special classification status of 'my girl' happened? I guess the answer to that was, when I had been promoted to 'boyfriend status' a couple of moments ago. No one who knew me would believe any of this!
On a hunch I stepped into a darkened doorway at the end of the hall and waited. About five minutes passed and I was just about to go, when Anna opened her door and stepped out into the hall. She didn't have a coat or purse with her so I guessed that she was staying on the premises. In fact all she did was step across the hall and knock on the door. It opened after a moment and I saw the vague outline of an older woman standing there. Nothing nefarious in that so far.
Anna handed her a wad of cash, which was no doubt the taxi money, I thought as I felt my jaw tighten. Things must be threadbare thin for her to value her own skin so little. A boy stepped out into the hall and sort of listlessly stepped across the hall to enter Anna's apartment.