Alex arrived at the address she was given. It was a nicer neighbourhood than the one she was in before. A girl was waiting there for her.
"Are you Alex?" the girl asked her.
"Yes. Are you Annie?"
The girl smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you. Come on, let me show you to your room."
Alex followed Annie into the building and up four flights of stairs. She felt winded after two floors. By the third floor, she was panting hard and sweating.
Annie looked back at her and smiled sympathetically. "You'll get used to it after a while. Come on, just one more floor," Annie said to her encouragingly.
Alex took a deep breath and muster all her remaining energy to get up the last flight of stairs. When she reached the landing, she dropped her bag to the floor and leaned up against the wall with her eyes shut. She could hear the pounding of her heart in her ears. She took a few deep breaths and let them out slowly through her mouth.
"That's it, just breathe," Annie coaxed her.
Alex opened her eyes and said to Annie, "Are you sure there's no room on the ground floor?"
Annie chuckled and shook her head. Then she gestured with her head. "Come on, we're down here."
Shaking her head, Alex picked up her bag from the floor and followed Annie. Annie stopped in front of unit 4A and she unlocked the door. She smiled at Alex and said, "Welcome to your new home."
They walked into the apartment and the first thing that caught Alex's eyes were the large floor to ceiling glass window. There was so much natural light coming into the living room and kitchen space.
"So this is the common area," Annie explained. "Living room, balcony, kitchen, laundry. The fridge is always stocked with food. Eat whatever you want. Hot food are delivered for every meal."
Then Alex followed Annie down the hallway off the kitchen. She pointed at the opposite hallway and said, "That wing is for male models, this wing is for female. There are two bathrooms at each wing. If the ladies are taking too long, you can use the male ones, it's fine."
She opened the door at the end of the hallway and Alex followed her inside. "So this is your room. Use it to sleep, or whatever you want."
Annie took out a pager from her bag, checked that it was working, then handed it to Alex. "You will be paged when there's a job. Just call in and the person on the line will tell you where to go."
"So, you have any questions for me?" Annie asked expectantly.
"Is there a landline here? Because I don't own a phone," Alex explained.
"There's a phone in the kitchen but we really need to get you a phone soon. I'll see what I can do," Annie promised her. Then she bid her farewell and left, closing the door behind her.
Alex looked around the room and sighed. The room was old but it was so much bigger than her room in Brooklyn. She had her own closet, vanity, a lounge chair and a bigger single bed. Alex sat down on the thick mattress. It's a comfortable bed. She pulled her legs up and laid sideways. She looked around the room.
Her mind suddenly went to Lola and how her life had ended tragically. She felt sadness overwhelming her and tears started to flow down her cheeks. She closed her eyes and silently cried herself to sleep.
*****
Alex opened her eyes to darkness. The only lights were coming in through the window from the streetlights. She slowly pulled herself up and looked around, wondering what time it was.
She got up and went to the bathroom to answer nature's call. She splashed some cold water on her face to freshen up. Then she headed to the kitchen. The big clock above the flat screen TV showed that it was nine at night.
Alex looked for food in the kitchen. There were many pizza boxes on the counter but it was all empty. She must have missed the dinner rush. She grabbed a banana instead and peeled the skin. The sliding doors to the balcony was wide open, letting in the night breeze. Alex stepped out to the balcony and looked up at the clear sky. She ate her banana while leaning on the railings.
"Hi," someone greeted her unexpectedly.
She turned towards the voice. It was coming from the far end of the balcony, hidden in shadows. She could see the silhouette of a person and the fiery tip of his cigarette. Slowly, he stepped out from the shadow into the light.
He turned out to be a very good looking black man, with buzz cut and scruffy beard. The cigarette turned out to be a blunt. He was wearing a sexy smirk on his face. "You must be the new girl."
"Alex," she introduced herself, offering her hand.
The man shook it and introduced himself. "Jesse. So that's something we have in common."
"What?"
"Unisex names," Jesse said and grinned wider.
Alex chuckled and turned back to watching the sky. Jesse took a long pull from the blunt then let out the smoke upwards. He offered the blunt to Alex.
She looked at it apprehensively. "I've never had one."
"Well then, tonight's the night," Jesse said, offering it to her again. He smiled and said, "Just try it once."
Alex sighed and accepted the blunt. Jesse took the banana from her and took a bite. She took a breath in and started coughing.
Jesse chuckled as he chewed. "One more, take a deep breath, then release."
Alex followed his direction and puffed out the smoke. The blunt smells terrible. She handed it back to Jesse and he gave her back the banana.
"So how long have you been here?" Alex asked him.
"A year," Jesse said, puffing out more smoke.
"Is it hard?" she asked him.
Jesse looked at her with that sexy smirk on his face again. "Very hard," he admitted, "But with a lot of rewards. You just need to stick with it."
Alex sighed thoughtfully and bite into the banana. Jesse chuckled and she turned to him wonderingly.
"Didn't anybody tell you not to eat a banana in front of a guy?" he said with a grin.
"Why not?" she asked, taking another bite.
"Because it's so damn sexy."
Alex paused chewing and met Jesse's gaze. He was eyeing her lips with a hungry look on his face. She snorted and shook her head, looking away.
"What?" Jesse asked.
Alex sighed and asked him, "Was that really necessary?"
"What do you mean?"
Alex looked at him. "I thought only ugly people flirt, beautiful people don't."
Jesse flashed her a wide grin. "So you never flirt?"
Alex looked away from him but she couldn't hide her smile. He's good. She had finished her banana. She took the blunt from his hand and took another hit. "So where's everyone?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.
"Out," Jesse said simply.
Alex nodded and looked up at the sky again. She's trying to avoid looking at Jesse because every time she does, she felt a current running through her. She couldn't tell the colour of his eyes in the low light, but every time she met his gaze, she could feel them piercing into hers.
She started to walk away and Jesse asked her, "Where are you going?" He was putting out the blunt in the flower pot.
"To bed," Alex replied, walking back inside.
Jesse followed her. "It's still early," he commented. Then he chuckled and said, "Unless you don't want to be alone with me."
Alex turned to look at him and crossed her arms. "I didn't say that," she said defensively.
Jesse grinned. He walked slowly towards her, his tongue was running against his inner cheeks, his hands deep inside his jeans pocket. He paused about a feet away from her.
He stood at half a feet taller, so their eyes were almost at the same level. Alex could see them clearly now. They were as blue as the sky on the clearest day.
"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper.
Alex was drawn to him. She felt her breath catching in her throat. Her heart was pounding.
She couldn't stop herself. She leaned forward and kissed him.