The Harlequin - 2. Chapter 2

The box weighed on Adam Potter’s arms as he took his last trip from the moving van, back to the three-story building. A piano store closed for the day - occupied the ground level. Two offices reside on the second floor one vacant and the other Adam claimed his own. The third was an attached apartment to his office that he used as his residence.

At the age of thirty, Adam traded in his police badge to become a private investigator. His agency, his clientele and his rules. Adam used his life savings and wise investments to take ownership of the building. The rent for the shop below paid the mortgage allowing Adam to live and work there rent free.

He climbed onto the elevator that had an iron gate he needed to close so the heavier door could shut. The grind and screams of the motor and bouncing of the box sounded as if it was on its last leg as it carried him upward.

He’ll need to get a repairman in to make sure the elevator was running flawless before he received any clients. The door opened on his floor, and he struggled with the gate, rattling it to catch and release him.

He looked over his hallway that still bore peeling burgundy and gold wallpaper from forty years ago. Adam’s office was to the right towards the back of the building and access to his apartment on the third floor where the vacant office to his left overlooked the front of the building.

He would have to clean it up so not to discourage anyone from coming up. But that was a job needed to pass on for now. Exhaustion moved through his sore body and he wanted to put the box he cradled down. He entered the room would be his reception area with a frosted glass window that made everything distorted from one side. The adjoining room with the same door and glass would become his office.

He walked into his workplace, the room where he would consider taking or passing on a case, and gazed around at the largeness of the space. High windows overlooked the alley below, but he didn’t mind because a painted mural was on the wall with a serene view of a vast forest. The store next door sold art supplies and may explain who painted the wall. Adam would have to ask one day.

In the middle of the portrait, were two identical windows like the ones he was looking out of. They had long purple curtains that gave them privacy. He glanced up to his window’s framework and saw hooks and braces the last owner left and thought of his privacy.

Adam moved to touch the wall just behind his desk revealing a door that seem to blend into it; a conceal latch that with a slight press released the hold, popping open the door quietly. Adam swung it open and climbed up the polish, dark oak narrow steps towards his apartment. No door at the top, a wide open loft studio that with its finished hardwood floors and modern appeal made Adam’s decision to buy easier.

Tall double windows danced around the studio as Adam sat his last box marked books near a built in bookcase. His bed frame leaned against the wall; the mattress rested on top of the box spring on the floor. He was too tired to sort through the mess the movers delivered. He was hungry and wanted a shower.

The bathroom with a standup shower was a nice size and also had a window that had a vertical spiral fire escape with a ladder retracted up. His window also overlooked another window across the alleyway.

This time Adam saw the inside of someone’s bathroom and knew he needed privacy sooner rather than later. He remembered he brought a short screen his dad gave him for his last place years ago, but never found any use for it until now.

He found it resting against a wall in what would be his living room that had little signs of being livable with the boxes occupying the area. He returned to the bathroom placing the screen on the window’s ledge, when movement in his neighbor’s bathroom caught his eye.

Across the alley, Adam watched as a young man walked into his neighbor’s bathroom stopping at the mirror checking his face. He touched the sensitive spot under his eye and trailed his finger across it. His fingers weaved through his hair. His brown curly locks crossed over his eyes. He puckered his lips as if he was blowing a kiss, then in a circular motion he licked his soft rims with the tip of his tongue.

Adam was transfixed holding the screen tightly as he held his breath. The young male stepped away from his reflection and fixed his shirt collar that slipped under his black crop designer jacket that draped just above his firm ass that was being hugged by his painted on slacks.

“Where the hell was he keeping his ID?” He wondered, staring hard at his conquest package and not noticing him now glaring back. Adam’s eyes scanned the well-stacked torso and locked eyes with his and stood in awe as his own heart quickened in his chest at the sight of the person he wanted.

Adam remembered he was looking in someone’s bathroom. The screen slipped from his fingers as he backed away, but something stopped him. The other male was unaffected by the invasion of privacy, as Adam’s jaw dropped when he flashed a grin and waved. Adam responded with a wave of his own. The younger male turned and walked out of the room leaving Adam with a boner that screamed for contact.