peppermint (her favorite), the endorphins from the exercise or the image of the hunky owner of the Turkish Coffee shop, all had their contribution to some degree to her feelings of bliss. To her surprise the door was again unlocked and this time ajar. The lights were on and there was a book dropped by the door. When she leaned to pick it up she noticed fresh feet marks on the floor and she felt her body stiffen with horror.
As she quickly turned to run for the safety, prepared to shout out if necessary (survival skills learned from grandma), she bumped straight into a wall that she later identified as warm and scented masculine body. For some reason her brain refused to launch the flight and fight emergency program, she thought.
Rose felt paralyzed with unidentified emotions. Her brain searching for explanations and archived and useful ways to deal with this kind of an emergency. Nothing on file, I guess! Everything lasted only seconds but seemed an eternity and then she heard a smiling voice whispering: ‘Gottcha. ’
As she managed to free her face from his black T-shirt, automatically checking and reshaping her nose that suffered from the direct collision, with one hand, she raised her chin to discover with some annoyance combined with relief that the sudden obstacle in front of her was the handsome James.
‘Your goose is cooked, ’ he said smiling. He was still holding her in a tight embrace not sure if to prevent her from running or falling down after the sudden contact with his body. Rose felt that her nose was throbbing with pain and then she could also sense the beginning of a headache.
‘Is my nose bleeding? ’ Rose managed to ask.
‘Nope, ’ he said bending over her face. She could feel his steady breathing and she thought: Not like a thief running away. Then she noticed that his body felt very hot and managed to free herself and move away.
‘A better woman never stood in two shoes, ’ he said slowly letting her free. This man is really too confident she told herself and he is trespassing. If I’m not careful I’ll be conned. ‘What are you doing in my house? ’ Rose chose the defensive approach.
‘Aren’t you are bit rough round the edges? ’ he shot back immediately. She stepped back from him pushing him away and took her iPhone out.
‘Then I’ll have to call the Police, ’ she said.
‘Let’s talk first, ’ he said and grabbed her right hand. His grip was very firm and a bit painful and in combination with his fast move got out of her an involuntary shriek.
‘Ouch. Let me go, you brute, ’ Rose grunted slapping him with her other hand that was holding the phone. The phone crashed to the floor and they ended up entangled again. In the middle of wrestling Rose noticed that he was nuzzling her neck and smelling her.
‘What the heck is happening? ’ she said to him. ‘Are you trying to assault me or seduce? ’She was struggling to make herself heard as she was again pressed into his fine pectorals and abs and exposed to his body odor. No complain about the latter. This man certainly spent some time taking care of his body, she realized.
He said nothing but Rose felt his grip on her relax and felt his lips brushing her neck. She lost herself again for a moment and then she heard herself asking with a voice she did not recognized:
‘What do you do for a crust, mate? ’It was one of the shocking phrases used by the lawyers when Rose arrived here. It stayed with her for some reason and now it seems that her brain was putting it to good use as a default mechanism perhaps. But it worked. They were now 2 feet apart and staring at each other. They both seemed to be in need to catch up with their lungs’ needs and to find the right software to use in the current situation. Before either of them was able to say anything else there was a noise outside and a Police car with the flashing lights was at Rose’s front door. They looked at each other suspiciously and then at Rose’s cell phone lying on the floor.
‘It wasn’t me, ’ Rose said to James while bending to pick up her phone and check it out. It was still working. He looked at her with questioning eyes. ‘Let me talk to them, ’ Rose said, pushing his hand aside slowly but firmly, as he was trying to gather himself and say something. ‘You stay here, ’ she decided. He seemed to relax and Rose kind of worried about her decision.
‘Good evening officer, ’ she said getting out. ‘What happened? ’
‘That was my question for you, ma’am’ the officer replied without hesitation.
‘I did not call you, officer, ’ Rose said firmly and stood her ground.
‘Have you been assaulted ma’am? ’ he asked, looking at her chest. Rose followed his gaze and with embarrassment she discovered that her wonderful red velvet soft cup bra was visible and her pretty laced crop top was partially unbuttoned. Aha, she thought, James was busy trying to undress me. Was this a matter of burglary that was about to escalate to rape? she wondered. Should she leave this matter to the Police to handle? While sorting quietly through her options the police officer approached her and added: ‘Ma’am we recorded a struggle at this address and we had to intervene, ’ he explained.
‘Recorded? ’ Rose repeated puzzled.
‘Well, from the camera placed at your front door, ’ he pointed towards a place up there above her head. Rose looked up and could not see anything. He looked at her incredulously waiting for her to reply.
‘Ma’am? ’ he said to attract my attention. Her eyes were moving from him to the spot for the camera that she could not see and probably reflected her growing confusion.
‘Ma’am, were you aware that you had a camera planted up there? ’ he finally said.
‘I don’t think so, ’ she finally admitted with some hesitation.
‘Ma’am can I see your ID, ’ the officer then said. Luckily he did not take out the gun, Rose thought with embarrassment. They went back into the house to get her handbag and James was gone from the hall. They settled into the open plan living room and Rose offered him a chair.
Despite the fact that the rest of the 3 bedroom house was crowded and neglected the living room was sparkling clean, a place where Rose could safely entertain her guests and show off. One of her family rules. Living room has to be always ready for the guests.
As the officer was taking a seat and Rose was on a mission to locate her ID card, she managed to button up her blouse and to gather her wits. Then she remembered her hostess skills so she offered him a coffee. He declined but Rose was barely holding herself together, so to speak and she needed something to comfort her. She is against using alcohol as a crutch but she was identifying herself now with those people who do. One scotch would have been wonderful in such challenging times, Rose thought with a barely perceptible sigh. But a coffee might do as well.
As Rose handed the officer, Curt, her ID card and she was explaining in short her relationship with the house he said to her: ‘Hold on ma’am, don’t go off like a bucket of prawns in the sun on me. ’ Rose looked at him with horror and he realized that she was not sure what he meant.
‘Pardon me, ma’am, I forgot that you are new to this part of the world, ’ he said softly to her. ‘What I mean is that I’m sure everything will be just fine, just let me ask you are few questions, ma’am, ’ he said encouragingly. She sat down and just nodded. ‘Do you read much the local rag? ’ he asked her with both of his eye brows raised and she did not know how to read his expression.
‘News papers, yes? ’ Rose replied tentatively.
‘Good. So you saw that recently we had an increase in the number of breakings in this area, ’ he explained to her with a relaxed voice.
‘I don’t read that section, ’ Rose said to him.
‘Fair dinkum, ’ he replied almost smiling.
‘What has that to do with the recording device at my door? ’ Rose said irritated. ‘I have not approved that surveillance device, ’ she said.
‘I see your concern ma’am and I’ll try to give you an explanation in a minute, ’ he added. ‘Are you putting a complaint for assault? I assure you we have a good recording of what happened and will support your request
for a restraining order, ’ he continued eyeing her with some compassion.
‘No, ’ Rose said firmly. He looked at her and Rose thought that he was about to give her a lecture about the domestic violence but he said nothing. ‘I don’t want to talk about it, ’ Rose said firmly. He made a quick call to someone after checking her ID card and Rose went to make a coffee for herself. When he finished talking on the phone she approached him again.
‘Ma’am, ’ he said. ‘That camera was approved by Mr. Popovici, the owner of this house, about 4 years ago. Everything is legal, ’ he added.
‘Aha, ’ Rose said. ‘Is there any other camera in the house? I live here these days, you know, I think I am entitled to know, ’ Rose explained.
‘Another one at the back of the house, ’ he said.
‘How long do you keep the recordings for? ’ Rose asked.
‘Only 24 hours, ’ he replied with a shrug.
‘Well, thank you officer, ’ Rose said trying to shorten the conversation. There was the other matter that she had to attend to now.
‘Call us if you change your mind, ’ he said while he was leaving, and he gave her a direct phone number. Rose closed the door behind him and turned to her coffee wondering if James was still around. She was happy with the explanations about the cameras but she still had the unresolved issue of James that was buggering her.
As Rose was