Jeff yawned as he took the steps leading to his apartment floor in turn. They seemed particularly endless tonight and he could feel the stiffening fatigue spreading from his legs into his arms, his fingers drooping towards the carpet like lead weights. His ears filled with the hollow echo of his footfalls, pausing only for a moment as he reached the top, glancing around the empty corridor and the lone lamp that swung from it's ceiling.

  It was miles to his apartment, a rough hike through thick shag and a permanently smoky atmosphere. He turned a far corner and saw the plain and wide expanse of his front door. The bland brown was punctuated with a sharp addition, a white spot that was resting near the knob. As Jeff stepped closer, he realized it was a piece of paper; that it was a note. The end of it tore slightly as he pulled it away, the masking tape clinging tenaciously to it's prize. He carefully pried it loose with a fingernail stained with donated blood, opening it up and blinking as the sweet scent of perfume melted into his senses. His eyes cleared and he read the elaborate script that decorated the page.

"Dinner will be served at 9:00. I await you with baited breath Mon' Capitan.

  -Julia"

  Jeff looked up to the door across the hall from his, his mouth an 'O' of surprise. The watch strapped on his wrist read 8:55 behind the deep scratches. He hoped he had remembered to reset it after finding it was a number of minutes slow.

  She wanted to spend the evening together. She wanted to have a quiet dinner with him. Julia was finally giving him the chance he had strived so hard to attain.

  The floorboards creaked beneath the carpet as he took a step towards his neighbor's door, a sound that snapped him back away from his fantasies as he realized how he was dressed. Jeff did a double take, his eyes darting over his filthy clothing and grimy skin. His keys flipped nervously in his trembling fingers as he scrambled to unlock his apartment. He didn't remember closing his door or dropping his things on the dining room table; all he knew was that his closet had a clean set of clothes and his bathroom had a washrag that was fast and efficient.

  The next few minutes were a frenzied blur, an excited rush to make sure everything was in perfect order for a moment he had planned on for the past few months. His clothes were clean, if not freshly pressed. His arms were scrubbed, thank you surgical assist. His hair was combed and the bottle of wine was of a good year. The scratched face of his watch read 9:01 as he closed his door. It wasn't until he heard the door click that he realized he had locked himself out, his keys still lying on the table. It was too late and definitely not the time to be worrying about such a trivial matter anyway; there were more important things to consider at the moment.

  Jeff paused as he gazed upon Julia's door. Memories of her past transgressions came flitting through his mind. All of the times she teased him with idle conversation. All of the broken broken dates they had made before. He shrugged; to be close to her, even with the prospect of the rug being pulled from beneath him once again, felt worth it. He knocked.

  The solid clapping of hard footwear against wooden flooring echoed through the door as Julia approached. Jeff held his breath as he heard her fumble with the locking chain, turning the knob as she slowly opened the door. The soft light from inside her apartment bathed her silhouette as his eyes focused on the image that dawned before him.

  He saw her smiling face, the high cheek bones and tanned skin with exotic eyes. Her toned body was clad in a thin layer of black satin. It hugged her voluptuous curves with a smooth love that covered her shoulders and upper arms in dark and curious night. It slid down, ending somewhere around her graceful knees where the thick boots began. The leather was tight, a thick and accentuating skin that held her four inches above the floor with broad heels.

  Jeff trailed his eyes back up the length of her body, pausing to note the faint line of her panties as they wrapped around her upper thigh and up over the toned curve of her backside. Her brunette mane was lustrous, falling over her shoulders as she continued to smile.

  "Hello Jeff."

  "Hey there ... Julia. You look lovely. I, uh ... I brought some wine."

  She turned waving to the inside of her tidy and manicured apartment. He stepped inside and glanced at the wicker and rugs that adorned the walls. Incense was burning, filling the air with a musky perfume that tickled his nose. Faint candlelight flickered over the dining table, illuminating the porcelain dinnerware and crystal glasses. A salad with crumbled feta cheese rested in it's center, next to a basket of fresh, steaming bread.

  Jeff jumped slightly as he felt her nimble fingers slide over his shoulders, tugging at the line of his jacket as she pulled it away from his body. He let his arms go slack, allowing her to take his garment and he heard her set it in a closet nearby. He just stood, waiting for her signal to do anything. He felt her brush by him, the wind turning warm as she walked past his side, her sweet breath dancing over the skin of his neck as she turned to face him with a raised eyebrow and high cheek bones.

  "Shall we begin?"

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  The meal was delicious.

  The spinach salad was mixed with toasted pecans, and a tangy vinegarette dressing that Julia had made herself. She followed it with a warm soup of scallops and ham that she garnished with genial conversation of their childhood pasts. She told him of her life in the Mediterranean as a child, growing up in a small town with her grandmother who was a local herbalist making teas and potions for their friends and family. He told her of his climb through medical school, trying to please his father's desire to see progeny succeed where the elder generation had failed. The main course was a lemon broiled salmon, light and tasty with a crispy, sweet skin that went well with his wine.

  They were laughing with one another, sipping the last draughts from their glasses as Julia suddenly cocked her head in thought. She set down her crystal and slowly stood, letting her large endowments press their way forward against the bodice of her tight dress as she rose above him. Her face smiled down as it was crowned by the soft light of the nearby chandelier.

  "Please, make yourself comfortable Jeff. I'll be right back."

  Jeff watched her move past him, sensuously walking away to a distant room, the gentle sway of her trim hips with each toned cheek lifting in turn with her steps, the light bounce of her perfect breasts as they moved in rhythm with the curls of her hair. He turned forward and closed his eyes as he listened to the hollow clop of her boots; he heard the click of a doorknob as she opened and stepped into her room, leaving Jeff to his thoughts of her figure and the movement of her graceful limbs. He sighed, picking up his long stemmed glass of dark red wine and sipped from it as the fruity aroma played over his senses.

  He downed the last of it in one quick gulp and set the empty goblet down in between the beats of the ticking grandfather clock that stood dark and foreboding against the wall of the living room. Jeff stood up, stretching for a moment before walking over to examine it's varnished finish. He watched the distorted reflection of his legs in the golden pendulum as it swung back and forth, wasting the seconds away. He closed his eyes and remembered Julia's thick accent, reciting poetic rhyme to the simple meter of the ticks and the tocks.

  Where is she? Jeff opened his eyes and glanced down the hallway. He couldn't see much past the dark corner except for a small doors leading to storage closets. She had gone further down, towards her bedroom and untold wonders. He fidgeted. I guess ... it probably wouldn't hurt to see if she's all right.

  The plush carpeting made the slightest squish beneath his shoes as he tried to step lightly. The clock seemed to be ticking with increasing volume as Jeff tried to force his twinges of guilt out of mind. For a moment, the slightest instant, he thought he heard someone gasp, a high toned shriek of excitement. He ignored it and continued forward, the darkness of the hallway surrounding him as the faint scent of the salad dressing dropped behind him. He passed the linen closets and saw the soft light of Julia's bedroom. Jeff glanced around the hallway, knowing he wouldn't find anybody watching him, and then peered inside.

  Julia's room was quiet, a door in the far wall closed with a light shining through the surrounding cracks. It was beautifully decorated, dark shades with a Greek motif that matched her personal style. Wooden shelves were covered with jars of oils and scented candles. The walls had numerous rugs with exotic prints he found pleasing to the eye. Jeff nodded, preparing to turn away and move back into the living room when something on her bed caught his eye.

  He stared at it for moment, trying to identify it from his hidden spot behind the entry door, but decided to step inside for a closer look. It was a torn piece of white cloth, thin cotton that was stretched and ripped in several places. He held it up to the light, expecting it to be a dirtied rag used to wipe dust off of the trinkets adorning the desk and dressers, but he found it to be clean and bright. As he turned it, he realized that it was the tattered remains of a shirt; it seemed like it was brand new, but somehow ruined.

  There was something beneath it, another piece of torn clothing. It was a black pair of sweat shorts. The seams had been pulled apart up both legs, ripped apart by some unknown force that had the power to rend thick clothing without the aid of scissors or a blade.

  Jeff felt his foot bump into something else. He glanced down, past the torn shorts, and saw a pair of leather sandals lying side by side. The hide smelled new and fresh as if they had never been worn save for the obligatory trial at the department store, but the straps and base told a different story.

  A few of the lattice strips across the top, including the thick one around the base of the heel, had been pulled loose. The normally strong and set leather had been stretched to the point of tearing. Some of the threads that held them locked to the base had snapped and the frayed ends dangled limply into the air. The base themselves appeared to be in a more interesting state. Where the indentations for a small foot would typically be, the entire foundation had been flattened, grated down by an incredible force that smoothed out the toe and heel grooves. Jeff spun the mangled footwear in his fingers for a few moments, trying to contemplate what could have done such a thing to such fine and strong leather with an anxious expression.

  Somewhere in the background a woman gasped quietly, a hushed sigh that Jeff was too busy to hear. It came from behind the door of the adjoining bathroom and was the last of a building string of pleasurable cries.

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