As a treat for reaching the 8K milestone, I decided to upload two chapters this weekend. By the end of Chapter 5, we have 11,857 words!!! Hope you'll enjoy this crazy chapter. I had fun with Stacy on this. :)

Also uploaded 2 chaps on My Beautiful Liar if you want to check out my other story! First 5 chapters of those are reminiscent of college life. Enjoy! :)

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Him

     I was busy cooking in the kitchen when I accidentally glanced at her in the living room. She was absorbed typing something on her MacBook while it's sitting on her lap. She placed both her feet in my new ottoman chair. She looks comfortable with her position. I can't help but stare at her. I shook my head instantly and reminded myself to get rid of this crazy infatuation.

I told myself that it's okay to still care about her, but not in a romantic way. I could be like an older brother to her and protect her from now on. She might like that since she grew up without a real family. All she had was her mother and we would forever be grateful to her for raising such an amazing daughter. Carla is beautiful inside and out.

"Okay Mademoiselle! Dinner is ready! Welcome to Chef Santi's French Bistro!" I said in a French accent. I also know how to speak a little French because of my Mommy Lucy. She's Half French and she speaks French fluently.

I pulled the chair for her while she had an amused look on her face.

"Okay Chef! You're telling me I'm in a French bistro but you're serving me spaghetti which is Italian." She smirked.

Gosh, nothing escapes her intelligent mind! I'm just trying to lighten the atmosphere and here she is mocking me. When will this woman ever learn to tone down her sarcasm?

I shrugged my shoulders and just let her sit down on her chair. I brushed off her comment and served her freshly cooked pasta and fried chicken.

"I'm just making you laugh when I did that French accent. I thought you would like it. But anyway, what's the verdict? Do you like my home style cooking?" I waited until I saw her taste the spaghetti and had a couple of bites of the crispy fried chicken.

"In fairness, the spaghetti tastes okay. But you're right, the fried chicken recipe of your mom is to die for. You pass, Chef Santi." She said while wiping the spaghetti sauce on the side of her lips. I can't help but stare at those lips. I cocked my head on the side trying to shake away those feelings again. I smiled at her and acknowledged her compliment.

"So, I'm curious about your name, is it just Santi? Is it short for something else? Maybe Santiago?" She asked while continuing to enjoy the dinner I prepared. I also poured a glass of Pinot Noir for her.

"No, it's just plain Santi. Actually, I get asked that a lot. My real name is Santi Antonio Ramirez. How about you? Is Carla your real name or do you have a second name?" I pretended that I didn't know anything about her.

"It's Carla Maria Reyes but I don't use my second name. I just go by plain Carla. Straight. Simple." She replied to which I nodded.

"By the way, how did you like the music? I can't wait to hear your menacing comment. I'm pretty sure you're going to bash my friend, Chris." I said teasing her, trying to start a conversation.

"Hmmm, not bad. I like the song "You Should Probably Leave." It has a nice tune. So, is it just country music that you listen to?" She asked curiously.

"No, of course not. I love any type of music, country, rock, pop, jazz. Anything that sounds good to my ears. Not a fan of heavy metal though. Actually, I have a confession to make. It's only Chris Stapleton that I listen to among country music artists. He's the only one that caught my ears." I grinned.

"So, you're a fraud. All along I thought you're a country boy by heart." She teased me. Then, continued asking me while enjoying another bite of her fried chicken.

"But do you mind if I switch topics? I'm just wondering, what brought you here in the city? Is it work?" I could tell her curiosity is starting to set in. Now, I don't know if this is the right time to tell her.

"Let's say I have a task to do." I replied without giving her more information. I'm still testing the waters between us. I could see in her eyes that she's starting to trust me.

"Hmmm. Mysterious. Are you an undercover agent? Or probably an alien disguised as a human, and you're supposed to destroy the whole city!" I laughed at her crazy imagination. I like this playful side of her.

"You're so interested in me, huh! So, I think it's time to switch gears and ask you the same question. What brought you here in the city? Have you been here long enough?" I asked her even though partly, I already know the answers to my question. However, I want to hear it coming from her. My best guess of course is that she wanted to start fresh and forget about all the bad memories after her mother passed away.

"Well, let's say I want to leave the past behind me, that's why I came here. There were certain things that happened in my life that I wanted to forget. And I thought back then, where else to start anew but the city that never sleeps? So, I packed all my bags and had my fresh beginnings here. It's the best decision that I made, and I would never regret it. Now, I'm living a simple, ordinary life. Enjoying every minute of my existence in this amazing city." She said this with joy in her eyes. She sounds so carefree, and I envy that about her.

Now, I'm wondering if I suddenly give her a scenario similar to what she's about to discover. Shake her belief that she's just living an ordinary life. Let her think for a second that she may have another life that's more than what she expected. I want to test and see her reaction.

"Nicely said. I like that. But what if I give you a different scenario? What if there's something else behind that past? What if the past that you left behind may not be the past that you knew all along? Would you still have left?" I asked her seriously, trying to elicit a reaction from her. She looked confused with what I just said.

"What do you mean? Now, you're freaking me out! Are you an undercover agent? Are you a private investigator trying to dig my past? I'm telling you, there's nothing exciting about me. I'm not a clone nor an alien." She chuckled.

"No, I'm serious. What if you knew there's something, or probably someone that would have held you back from leaving that time? Tell me about that past that you wanted to forget so I can make a better hypothetical scenario."

"Excuse me. We're not that close. I don't want to divulge any of my personal stuff to you." She retorted. I grinned. Clever girl.

"Fine by me. Sorry, I asked. I didn't mean to be nosy. I just like making hypothetical scenarios." By this time, we're done with dinner and we're just enjoying our wine while having a nice conversation.

By this time, I also realized that this may not be the right time for her to know about her identity. Suddenly, we heard a soft knock on my door. I wondered who that was.

"Are you expecting somebody? You know what, this was a great dinner. Thank you. I don't want you to think I "eat and run," but...."

"Wait, hold that thought. Let me check who's that. I'm not expecting anybody tonight. Maybe a package or something." I stood up and headed to open the door.

Carla remained seated while finishing her glass of wine. As soon as I opened the door, I was surprised to see who it was. It was the girl from last night that came with Carla to ask me to stop playing my music.

"Hi Neighbor! I just dropped by to say hi. I want to introduce myself. I'm Stacy. I live across from you. I brought you a housewarming gift." She said smiling sweetly while carrying a box of cake.

"Thank you, that's so nice of you. I'm Santi, by the way. Do you want to come in?" I asked hoping she would say no. I didn't want to be rude and not invite her inside after her kind gesture.

"Oh, I would love that! Nice name by the way." She said excitedly and let herself in. As soon as she stepped inside, she saw Carla sitting on the dining table. She immediately approached Carla who was shocked to see Stacy. I could tell she didn't like her unannounced visit.

"Wow! I'm surprised to see you here, Carla. From what I recalled, you were so mad at him last night. You were about to rip Santi apart because of his loud music. Now, you guys are suddenly friends!" She said sarcastically. Carla stood up, seemingly annoyed at Stacy's comment.

"Yes, we've just become acquainted a while ago. We accidentally bumped into each other and cleared things up." Carla replied with a fake smile.

"Oh really! How I wish I bumped into him, too so I would have been invited to come over." Stacy smirked.

"Well, didn't he just invite you over? You're already here inside his place. By the way, I'm also about to leave. I still have a lot of things to do." She then turned around to face me.

"Thanks again for the dinner. I enjoyed it. You're forgiven after playing that loud music last night. You don't owe me anything now." She said while smiling at me. I tried to stop her. I want to enjoy more of her company. We're still having a good conversation and I didn't want it to end abruptly.

"That was short. Stay a little bit more. You haven't had dessert yet. Let's try Stacy's cake. It looks so good." I said while showing her the box of cake that I was carrying. I could see beneath the transparent cover on top that it was chocolate mousse. Suddenly, I heard Stacy's soft giggle.

"Oh yes, Carla. My cake is so good! You will love it. Both of you will love it!" She said naughtily. There was a hidden meaning behind her words. I could tell that she's enjoying this. Carla looked at her in disgust. As for me, I was dumbfounded by her comment. I couldn't help but suppress a chuckle.

"Oh no, Stacy. Thanks for the offer but I really should go. I'll taste your cake some other time. Just let Santi have it for now. I'm sure he'll enjoy it." She replied with sarcasm.

"Oh well, I'm telling you Carla, you're missing out. Why don't you stay a little bit longer? We can have cake body shots, then, probably a threesome afterwards." She was staring sexily at Carla, then, moved her gaze towards me and winked at me. This girl is very straightforward. I didn't like where the conversation was going.

I think Carla needed to go. I'm starting to get uneasy and could feel my body heating up. Males have wild imagination and unfortunately, I'm starting to think dirty things after Stacy said that. All that I could see in my head now is Carla wearing her sheer tank top and lacy panties with cake icing all over her body.

Oh boy! I'm going to hell with these wild fantasies. I cleared my throat. I'm starting to have beads of perspiration in my face.

"Okay Stacy, we should probably let Carla go. She might have something else to do. I'll just save you a piece of cake, Carla. I'll bring it to you tomorrow." By now, I want to shove Carla outside my flat. I didn't even want to look at her, afraid she might see what I'm imagining.

Oh God, please forgive me for my dirty thoughts. I didn't mean it. You shouldn't have let the devil, Stacy, come to my place and made me imagine all these things!

Carla had a sudden amused look on her face while staring at me. She probably found it weird that I just glanced at her for a short second, then focused my gaze again on the box of cake that I was carrying.

"Wow, Santi! You surely are excited to taste Stacy's cake! Don't bother to bring me a piece tomorrow. Like what she said, I can taste it some other time. Okay then, I'll leave you two alone! Enjoy Stacy's cake! Ciao!" She said mockingly, then left.

After she closed the door, I turned around to see Stacy staring flirtatiously at me.

Oh Gosh! How the hell would I get rid of this devil now???