Charmaine buzzed the doorbell and waited patiently for Selena to open the door. Only it wasn’t Selena but Bosco who let her in. Charmaine winked at him and teased, “You guys are moving kinda fast.”

Bosco smiled shyly, his face flushed with embarrassment, “She invited me over for dinner and since she’s cooking she’s unable to answer the door.”

Charmaine smiled, “No need to explain.” Without giving Bosco a chance to retort she went into the kitchen. She looked at the plates of food that lined the countertops, “That’s a lot of food. Did you invite the entire building?”

Selena looked over her shoulder as she stirred at a pot in front of the stove, “Kenneth is also coming and you know what a big eater he is.”

Charmaine picked a cherry tomato off a plate and popped it in , “Still. Even with him we won’t be able to finish all this.”

Selena continued stirring at the pot and said, “Bosco’s friend Raymond is also coming.”

Charmaine froze hearing that name. She could feel the quickening of her heartbeat. She can’t afford to keep running into him like this. She was still trying to recover from their last encounter. It had left her emotionally drained. If this continues, she would never be able to get him out of her system. Why did he have to come back? Why did he have to be friends with Bosco? There was only one thing for her to do. She picked up her bag and said, “Selena, I just remembered there’s something I have to do right now.”

Selena heard the urgency in Charmaine’s voice and looked at her, “What is it? Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine,” Charmaine reassured knowing that Selena have a bad habit of jumping to the wrong conclusions. “I just remembered I have to do something and if I don’t do it now I’ll forget again.”

Selena was visibly disappointment with Charmaine’s sudden excuse. She placed her spatula down and clasped Charmaine’s arms, “You’ve been acting kind of weird lately,” she stated as she searched her face. “What’s bothering you?”

“Nothing is bothering me,” Charmaine said. “I just need to run an errand. It’s as simple as that.”

Selena looked at her suspiciously then said with authority, “Whatever it is can wait till after dinner. I put in a lot of effort on dinner and I want you here.”

Charmine felt bad for what she was doing but she was set on leaving, “I’m sorry.” She turned and headed for the door. As she threw open the door she found Raymond standing on the other side.

The smile on Raymond’s face vanished when he saw who it was and was replaced by a stony expression. “Leaving already?” he asked smoothly.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Bosco approach. She made herself sound normal and said, “Uh yes. I have an errand to run.”

Selena came out of the kitchen, “Charmaine, can’t you do it after dinner? What’s so important?”

Charmaine knew she was trapped. Her eyes darted to Raymond and the hardness on his face made her cringe. She thought he looked angry and annoyed by her presence. She must be mistaken. There was no reason for him to have any enmity towards her. She turned back to Selena, “I really have to go. Sorry about missing out on dinner.”

“In that case,” Raymond said softly as he took her elbow, “I’ll walk you downstairs.” Without another word he guided her towards the elevator banks. He didn’t say a word as they waited for the elevator.

Charmaine stole a peek at him and noticed his set jaw. Just then, Raymond glanced down at her and their eyes met. She quickly looked away, flushed with embarrassment.

When they were in the elevator, Raymond stood very close to her and hissed, “You can drop the act now.”

Charmaine was baffled, “Act?”

Raymond laughed harshly, “I have to say you’re an extremely good actress. I fell for it twice!”

Charmaine looked up at him, not comprehending his words, “What are you talking about?”

“This innocent act of yours is not fooling me,” Raymond sneered. He grabbed her arm and pulled her forward so that their noses were almost touching, “You already wrecked my life once and I’m not going to stand back and let you do it again.”

Charmaine stared at the open hatred on his face. With a racing heart she struggled to pull her arm away, “You’re crazy! Let go of me!”

Raymond looked at her with disgust and warned, “Don’t push me any more or you’ll regret it.”

Charmaine was now furious by his behavior. She clawed at his hand, “Let me go!” she screamed.

Abruptly, Raymond pushed her away. The sudden force caused Charmaine to slam her elbow hard against the metal rail. She cried out in pain as she clutched her injured arm. Tears of pain and frustration gathered in her eyes. She lifted them to look at Raymond with disbelief as if finally seeing what he was for the first time. In a low voice, she said, “Don’t you ever come near me again!” Just then the elevator doors opened at the lobby and she ran out.

Raymond remained in the elevator feeling ashamed for what he had just done. He had never gotten physically rough with anyone. He didn’t know what overcame him. When he saw the tears in her eyes he felt like a cad. But what got to him most was the look on her face. It was disbelief, anger and if he didn’t know better, he would have thought he saw disappointment