“Nothing! You weren’t supposed to hear that,” mumbled Nate. 

“Oh, but I heard it. Next time curse in your mind!” Said Claire. Nate grinned and gave her a salute. 

“So, what have you thought about it? Teach me on weekends,” said Nate. He wasn’t giving up so easily. 

“I’ll think about it,” said Claire. She had no wish to go into anything right now. Her hands were too full. 

“Do you realize that I’ll stay hungry all day till you teach me to cook something?” Asked Nate making Claire give him a horrified look. 

“God! Is it that bad? Fine. Come over tomorrow evening. I’ll teach you while preparing dinner for ourselves. Will that do?” asked Claire, giving him a look. Nate’s face lit up with a victorious look. He never gave up so easily. He was a leech and it wasn’t so easy to get rid of him. 

“Thanks. I'll be indebted to you,” said Nate. Claire blushed a little bit and didn't drag the issue any more.

“Since you can’t survive on your own, why did you leave your family and come here? Did you fight?” asked Claire. She just couldn’t help her curiosity. Nate became a little serious thinking about the lecture that his dad had given him last when he fought with Drake over Alexis. It was true that he fought with his parents and took up the first job that he got. 

“Thanks for the delicious dinner, Claire. I’d get going,” he said getting up to rinse his plate. 

“You can leave that. I’ll do the dishes anyway,” said Claire. 

“I can help,” offered Nate. 

“No no, you have an apartment to sort out. I’ll manage this,” said Claire. Nate nodded and trudged away reluctantly. 

Claire closed the door after him and went back to the kitchen to finish her chores but her mind was filled with thoughts of Nate. For some strange reason she just couldn’t stop thinking about him. She just couldn’t control the urge to see if he needed help. “What’s wrong with you, Claire! What’s so special in him? Haven’t you ever seen a drool worthy guy before? For God’s sake get a grip over yourself!” reasoned her inner mind. She scrubbed the dishes and rinsed them to keep her mind off the hot neighbor next door. However it didn’t work at all. The more she tried to keep her traitorous mind occupied, the more it concentrated upon the noises coming from the opposite apartment. She had never been this harassed and stressed by any guy in her entire twenty-two years of life. 

Finishing every possible work, she walked into her bedroom to retire for the night. She had a busy day ahead of her tomorrow with three big orders coming up for her. With no proper team, the whole responsibility was upon her! A deep sigh escaped her. She was tired of fighting this battle on her own. She wished she could run away from this and start her life afresh! She hated this mad race for survival,  she hated New York. She wanted to live in a lazy small town with a quaint bakery of her own and lots of furry friends and a man who would love her forever! For some crazy reason a pair of light brown eyes came to her mind which strangely filled her heart with warmth and her mind with dreams of warm, sunny days and lots of laughter. Claire was startled out of her wits. Why did she think of Nate's eyes of all guys on earth? He was the last man on earth who would be serious about her! Every pore on his body screamed out to her, attracting her like a nail to a magnet. He was dangerous and lethal and she should stay away from him. 

Shaking her thoughts away, she walked into the shower. Maybe a cold shower would help her. She shook her head, dismayed at herself. At twenty-two, she had  never thought so much about any guy before. They were the least of her priorities and still were. Then what was this new complication in her life? She started the shower and allowed the cold water to cascade down her body. Afterward, drying herself, she wore her pajamas to sleep. 

However, as she lay down on her bed, the movements coming from the opposite apartment was all she could concentrate on. Finally, giving up she got up to take a look to see if he really needed help. “No Claire, don’t! He might misinterpret your concern the wrong way and you'd end up rolling on his bed with him,” warned her mind. Claire sat down with her head in her hands. She would go crazy now! 

A sudden crash made her jump up. It was like Nate had broken some glass object! Images of him getting hurt flitted across her mind and she rushed out of her apartment towards his, forgetting all her resolutions. She opened the unlocked door to Nate’s apartment and rolled her eyes. Did he never lock his door? With the resolve to blast him for his irresponsible behavior, she walked into his apartment. To her surprise, she found Nate picking up pieces of a glass mirror with his bare hands. 

“Stop, are you out of your mind?” She said to warn him. 

“Ugh! See what you’ve done? Now I cut myself because of your yelling!” said Nate, holding onto his bleeding finger. Claire glared at him and whirled around and stomped out of his apartment to hers. Getting the first aid box, she went back to find him sitting and staring at his wound. She rolled her eyes at his weirdness. He looked up on seeing her and grinned with relief. 

“Let me see,” she said, kneeling beside him. Nate stretched his finger towards her. 

“Why are you here, Claire? Can’t sleep without me?” he asked with his eyes filled with amusement. 

Claire dabbed the antiseptic at his wound and he flinched. “Aren’t you creepy? What made you think of that? I heard the crash and came to ensure that you’re intact,” said Claire, applying more and bandaging it well to stop the bleeding. “There, now move away. I’ll clean up this mess,” she said. 

“Thanks now another battle awaits me,” he said, walking off towards his bedroom. Claire had no idea what battle he was talking about so she just shrugged and concentrated upon her cleaning. Done with it at last, she was contemplating upon making a quiet escape when she heard grunts and curses coming from the bedroom. What was the guy up to? Curiosity drove her feet towards his bedroom and she burst into fits of laughter seeing him struggle to pull the new cushion covers on. The bedspread was somehow placed on the bed with the ends not tucked in at all. It was obvious that he sucked at changing the bed linen. 

“Laugh as much as you want to. Mom had been after me for ages but I always escaped it. Now I’m paying the price,” he muttered in a pissed off tone. Claire took pity on him. It was already midnight and he might be tired as well. 

“Here, let me help you with it,” she offered. Nate grinned and immediately handed all the cushions out to her. He then glanced at the bedspread. 

“Can you fix that as well? When I dream of you in my sleep, it will come off,” he told her.

“Can you put a filter to your mouth? If you spew out dirty words, I’ll not help you at all,” said Claire, her cheeks flushing with color. Butterflies danced in her stomach hearing his words. Did he really dream of her? No, impossible! They had just met for God’s sake. He might be saying those lines to every girl he met! He’s an impossible flirt, a danger for her actually. 

“Believe me, my dear, these are very sweet words. You’ve then not heard the real dirty ones. What sort of fiancé do you have?” asked a bewildered Nate. 

“Firstly, I’m not your dear and secondly, you don’t have the right to talk about my personal life,” said  Claire. Nate held up his hands in surrender. He didn’t want to offend her now. Who else would fix his bed then? He stood at the foot of the bed and watched her like a hawk. The neckline of the white top dipped every time she bent over, giving him a full view of her cleavage and the swell of her rounded, creamy brea*ts. It made his organ twitch to life! The tiny shorts weren't helping either. Why did she have to wear such clothes and invade his territory in the middle of the night? He was doing fine after two cold showers! 

He sneezed making Claire look up at him. “Excuse me, please,” said Nate. Smiled and got back to work. 

“There done. Now go off to sleep. It’s already late,” she said, turning to go. 

“Thanks a lot. What would I have done without you?” he said but before she could answer him another sneeze made his head reel. 

“Sorry, excuse me, please,” he said, sniffing.

“Have you caught a cold?” asked Claire with concern. Nate shook his head.

“Nothing serious, I’ll pop a pill,” he brushed her off. 

“What did you do? Let me check if you have a fever,” said Claire. 

“No no. I just took two cold showers. I’ll be fine by tomorrow morning, “ said Nate. Claire’s jaws dropped at his admission. 

“Why did you have to take two cold showers?” she said and then covered her mouth when realization dawned upon her. She too had taken a cold shower a while ago. Was that why Nate had taken two? She blushed crimson and ran out of his apartment. Nate chuckled his heart singing with excitement. 

“See you tomorrow, S.N,” he yelled after her.