One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.

Virginia Woolf

The black and white neighbor's cat slid into her field of vision and sniffed the pizza box. From below, the sound of an engine starting reached her ear. Otherwise, everything remained silent. The Volvo parked out and drove down the street. Lisa counted slowly to five. The window had not yet closed again. Damn. Cautiously, she turned around.

In the open window, she recognized the silhouette of her neighbor. Mrs. Kramer from across the street had told her he was a famous martial artist named Darrer. Paul Darrer. When she wanted to introduce herself after moving in next door, he had just been at some tournament, and since then the right moment to get to know him had never presented itself. A few times they had nodded politely to each other over the garden fence but hadn't exchanged a word, which was kind of strange since they lived next door to each other.

»Hello,« she murmured, embarrassed. The figure propped himself up on the window sill with both arms, so she could make out his angular face in the glow of the lantern.

Darrer was a tall man who exuded confidence from every pore. Although it should be rather unusual to find strange women on rooftops, he did not make a face. Only his blue eyes twinkled with amusement.

»Should you aspire to a career as a burglar, I would advise you not to wear pink. Perhaps more conventional black.«

Carefully, she tried to sit up, but her hand slipped in the damp leaves. She heard him chuckle softly as he made himself comfortable there. The new position meant he was better illuminated by the streetlight, and the plain wooden window framed his face like a painting

His nose looked as if he had broken it at least once in the past, but his mouth ... she swallowed. A man just shouldn't have a mouth like that. A dimple revealed itself in the left corner of his mouth. His lips were perfect, the lower one slightly fuller than its upper counterpart. While trying to look less like a turtle wriggling helplessly on its back, she eyed him extensively. Up close, he looked more impressive than she would have guessed.

»Neither you should choose employment with a delivery service, in my opinion.« Lisa frowned, and Darrer pointed to the pizza box next to her, which his cat had finally gotten open and was now looting. It took her a while to find her footing on the slippery foliage.

»Hey!« She grabbed the abused cardboard box, flipped it shut, and ferried it out of the robber's reach. Outraged, the cat mewed at her and then jumped down majestically from the carport.

Darrer grinned and Lisa felt her temper stir. A bubble of shame and aggression popped to the surface. She just hated it when someone made fun of her. Especially when she deserved it.

Cautiously, she stood up and sparkled defiantly at him. »You know very well who I am.« From this position, she gets a better view of him. His brown hair appeared to be slightly longer than a man usually wore it. Whereas her police colleagues with the military-short hairstyles were probably not representing the mainstream.

»That's right. Didn't I give you an autograph lately? Above the left breast, if I'm not mistaken? But I have to tell you, stalking just goes too far for me.«

»Mr. Darrer, we are neighbors and you know it.« With a sweeping motion, she pointed to her side of the house. "I'm not stalking you either. And you've never laid a hand on my breasts.«

»Ah, now that you mention it ...« His gaze wandered down her, pausing briefly on her admittedly rather petite bust. »Then what, my dear neighbor, could have possessed you to my carport?«

Oops. She squirmed a bit. »Funny thing, you wouldn't believe it - it's a chain of unfortunate circumstances.« Something wet dripped onto her forehead and she winced briefly. Great, now it was raining, too.

Her neighbor crossed his arms in front of his chest and seemed to have a lot of time.

»Look, Mr. Darrer, I'm sorry, I just ...« she swallowed »... got the carport mixed up?«

At her lame explanation, he only raised an eyebrow. Silently they looked at each other as Lisa grew wetter and wetter.

»A gentleman would give me a helping hand right now!« Attack had always been the best defense.

»Of course!« he replied cheerfully, closing the window. Stunned, Lisa stared into space for a moment.

»Hey!« she exclaimed for the second time. The bizarreness of the situation hit her like a hammer blow and she slipped again in the wet leaves. Why did these things always happen to her? Silently she sighed. Now she should thankfully take advantage of Darrer's absence and quickly disappear before he came back to tease her further.

A door opened below her and someone sauntered toward the carport, whistling. Her new nemesis.

»Hi neighbor!« As she heard him talking Lisa looked down and watched Darrer push the trash can just out of her reach. Then he raised both hands to her. »Go ahead. Jump!«

»I was rather thinking you'd let me in through the window!«

He frowned. »Well, even though you brought the pizza, I've got to tell you, I'm not going to let you get me around that easily. Now come on, don't be a frog.«

She narrowed her eyes and eyed him. »I could have climbed down over the trash can.«

»True. But you wanted my help.«

The rain became annoying. Lisa first handed him the soggy pizza box, which he placed on top of his car. Then she grabbed his shoulders and he pulled her to him. Carefully, he took her in his arms and gently set her on the ground. It was a strange moment. Although Darrer had been acting normally, Lisa was tingling. His scent rose to her nose, he smelled insanely good, like patchouli and wood. Lisa was far too surprised to say anything.

Only Darrer's voice brought her back to reality. »It was just self-protection that I didn't let her in, you know?«

Lisa felt warm and cold at the same time. Hopefully, he hadn't noticed her lapse. Completely unexpectedly, the fire rushed through her veins, burning its way straight to her center without detour. She hadn't moved, still staring at him. Do something! Even though she was not short, even at nearly five feet eight, he towered over her by another head length. Mischief flashed in his eyes and he didn't let go of her right away. His eyes were a truly brilliant blue.

The thought startled her. When had it been the last time a man had upset her like that? He cleared his throat and the moment passed.

»Since you're wet, I couldn't risk letting you in my house. The water stains, you understand, right?«

Lisa felt burning behind her eyelids. This man was playing with her! Anger at this exposure painted red spots on her cheeks. With a furrowed brow, she stamped her right foot, catching him, and Darrer laughed. Again. She must have seemed like a childish psychopath to him. Without saying goodbye, Lisa rushed toward her front door with the elegance of a wet cat.

»You forgot your pizza!« Her pride forbade both a return and a retort. She stormed inside her little cottage, slamming the door behind her with a satisfying bang.

***

Paul was still laughing as he marched into his living room with the pizza under his arm. The meeting with his neighbor had sweetened his evening. Carefully, he opened the pizza box and was pleased to see that Moses had not done much damage. Paul turned on the oven and cut off a tiny nibbled piece. Anything else would be a waste.

After a short time, his scavenged supper was reheated and smelled heavenly. A calzone was somehow a surprise package, he philosophized to himself. You could only tell what made someone tick when you experienced the eating habits of your counterpart. He gleefully cut open his treasure and checked the contents. The cheese was oozing out of the inside and flowing nice and creamy over his plate. He could also make out tomatoes, so Mrs. Neighbor didn't prefer a typical calzone. He tasted a piece and enjoyed the tangy flavor. Gorgonzola. Basil. A few fresh pieces of bell pepper. A good mix, he thought. His neighbor had a taste.