Pov Ayanokoji:
"So you like Dostoevsky? Personally, I haven't read much of his work." I looked at my phone and saw Beck's reply message.
I've lost touch with a lot of people I've met throughout my life... at ANHS.
So my cell phone doesn't get used much. However, one of the few people I kept in touch with was Ichinose, who is working at a law firm.
The reason we stayed connected was that... she marked a stage in my life in a certain way that I won't go into detail about. Anyway, she helped me set up an Instagram account. I don't usually expose my life, but sometimes I post a photo of something I'm reading. Luckily, I have eight followers...
Somehow Beck managed to find my Instagram profile, which surprised me.
Ichinose, Ethan, Beck, and other guys I don't know follow me.
I opened the panel to see my followers, and there they were:
@STsombra
@Irving_Fanfics
@Clkdp2020
@ryasamori
@Woozerd
I have no idea who they are, they're not even from New York or Japan. They're probably bots. Anyway, I don't usually talk to many people, but these past few weeks I've talked to and gotten to know Guinevere Beck better.
My years with the women at ANHS taught me several signs that girls give when they're interested in a man, and those are exactly the signs Beck is giving me.
Once, while we were talking, I mentioned that the day I met her, I had picked up a Stephen King book called Pet Sematary, and that it was one of my to-read books. A few moments later, she told me she had it and sent me a photo.
In the photo, the book was on her legs. I have to say that her legs were beautiful; they reminded me of Ichinose's. Anyway, that's not the point. In the photo, her body was wrapped in a bath towel.
I wonder if it was some kind of flirtatious suggestion.
Anyway, she told me I could go pick it up at her apartment. She gave me the address and I set off. All I had to do was go and get the book. She said we could watch a movie while I was there, and although I didn't have much energy for that, I decided to accept. After all, I'm saving a few dollars by not having to pay for a book I want to read. I respond to her kindness with kindness.
After a long battle with my closet, which had almost no clothes to wear, I had decided on black sweatpants and a gray T-shirt. This looked more like a runner's outfit than casual wear. Although, anyway, I usually run to keep myself in shape.
As I was coming around the corner near Bank Street, fifty-one, I saw something that piqued my curiosity.
My boss, Joe, was fastening his seatbelt as he walked down the stairs leading to Beck's apartment door. He turned toward me, and I took a few steps back to avoid meeting his gaze.
I waited a few moments until I somehow got the feeling that he had left. At that very moment, I saw a guy with long blond hair come out of Beck's apartment and get into a black car parked in front.
I waited a few more minutes until the black car left, and then I headed for the apartment. The door was ajar.
"Beck?" I went in without thinking twice.
I called out to see if she was there, and that's when my ears picked up the sound of water running in the shower. I must assume she left the door open for me; after all, we had a meeting today.
I locked the door and walked through the apartment. It was quite small. In her bedroom area, there was only a bed and two nightstands at each end. There were no windows. But in the living room area, I could see two large windows that looked directly out onto the street in front. There was a rather old red apartment building, but it had gray stairs leading up to the door. Being in that spot is perfect for seeing what's going on inside.
I highly doubt that Beck gave Joe his address. After all, he never mentioned it in our cell phone conversations. So, my boss somehow found his apartment. And not only that...
He probably saw you having sex with the guy in the black car. That's why he was in that mood. Is he a voyeur? Is my boss a pervert?
As I continued to think and look out the window, I remembered hearing that Joe had been with a woman named Candace Stone. At the time, I checked the woman's Instagram profile out of curiosity, but Candace hadn't posted anything in over a year. And I doubted she had changed her account. Ethan was quite evasive to my questions at the time. I guess I'll have to investigate on my own.
"Kiyotaka?" I heard Beck's voice behind me, so I stopped looking at the streets through the window and turned to see her.
It was quite a surprise to see her wrapped in a bath towel, the same blue color as the one in the photo she had sent me a few days ago.
"Beck, you left the door open." I was still holding a bag of Chinese food in my right hand.
"Yes, it was for you to come in. I just didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. I'll go get dressed. Make yourself comfortable in my home, wait for me on the sofa. I'll bring the book." She turned around, grabbed a pile of clothes from a chair, and went back into the bathroom.
I wonder if she realized that one of her breasts was exposed.
I think I should leave the food on the table and sit like a good boy and wait for her.
I feel the same kind of danger I felt years ago when I was alone with Ichinose in her room.