6. A Welcome Gift

"So, you liked the neighborhood?" Carlos asks casually not looking at her face.

Candace is surprised by his question but she knows that the people in this country are warm hearted. "Um, yeah."

"I hope you'll like the neighbors, too." This time he looks at her and smiles. Candace realizes how charming his smile is just now. Her mind is still not here completely and she can't get why he is asking it. She could be a day trip tourist here.

"The neighbors?"

He chuckles at her surprised face. "Sorry. Actually, I have seen you before." Then he continues to fill the paper bag.

Her heart starts pounding at the maximum rage. He had seen her with him? It would be horrible if he says...Oh, I had seen you after my colleague fucked your brains out.

"When...exactly?" She asks with a confused voice.

"We are neighbors in the same building." He explains before she produces alternative scenarios, which makes her relieved.

"Are we?" She asks surprisedly.

"We are." Carlos repeats as looking at her face again. "You were, uh..exiting the building when I was..in the balcony." His eyes examine her features intently, his voice is sensual. "You had a golden dress which made me realize you, walking down the street shining brightly."

Candace feels her cheeks get red under that oh-so-talkative-man's intense gaze. She tries to look away but can't, the warmth of his caramel irises keeps her unmoving. She takes a shaky breath between her parted lips, the gesture distracts him and his eyes drop on her lips. Candace licks them slowly, wants to tease him a little.

Clearly it works and his jaw clenches suddenly. His pupils widen and the caramel rings in his eyes get darker. Candace loves seeing that shadow in men's eyes, she can always be certain that the man in front of her desires her badly.

The jingling sound of the wind bell shakes them out of their stupor and the new customer gets on the line behind Candace.

Carlos shakes his head and clears his throat. "You are Lulu's homemate, right?" He asks and puts the tongs to the side.

"Oh, you know Lulu?" She asks with a smile now. He uses her besty's nickname, so they must be close.

"Yes, we are friends for a while." He smiles genuinely as arranging the paper bag.

Candace and Lucrezia talk on the phone oftenly, but she can't remember the mention of a neighbor like him. To be honest, he deserves to be mentioned with that handsome face and well shaped body. Maybe they are not that close at all, but Candace still feels the need to say something. "She is coming home today."

"Nice to hear that." He answers back by curling the opening of the paper bag. "Her absence is noticed every time."

Oh, interesting. There is no way Lulu hadn't talked about this handsome man. Him mentioning Lulu this way makes Candace wonder about what kind of relationship they have. "So, you two are that close?"

Carlos didn't get what she implies and answers casually. "Well, I am her guinea pig."

So you are her regular fuckbuddy who tries crazy fantasies with her?

Candace really likes the idea and suddenly an image comes to her mind. He wears that apron, only that apron. His muscled chest is covered with sweat. He had bent the woman over the counter and took her from behind mercilessly. His muscled arms contract with every thrust. His brownish curly hair is humid from the effort. The woman trembles in ecstasy and her hands clench on the counter. Then he suddenly fists her hair and pulls on it firmly. She crushes onto his chest and Candace sees her flushed face-

What the hell!

She shouldn't imagine herself with her best friend's fuckbuddy, even if he eye-fucked her two minutes ago. Being besties means something and this is not okay. 

I am not okay. 

Candace thinks that she really needs a touch of a man. She takes a deep breath to rearrange her breathing which had got faster during her daydream. She can also feel her face is flushed and she tosses her hair over her shoulder to cool off.

Carlos hands her the paper bag at the same time. "There.." He stops suddenly, examines her face. As her hand is still in mid air, his eyes travel on her reddened cheeks and parted lips. Then he smiles with a knowing gaze. "..it is."

Candace tries to pretend everything is okay and reaches to the bag. Their fingers meet as she takes it and she realizes he did it purposely.

"How much do I owe you?" Candace asks slowly. She has never been embarrassed by men who notice her attention, she even likes making them aware of it. But she isn't certain about him being just a friend for Lulu.

"It is in the house."

She immediately refuses. "I can't accept-"

"Consider it as a 'welcome' gift." He winked at her. Well, maybe he and Lulu are just neighbors at all.

"Okay then, thank you." Candace smiles at him sincerely. She is about to turn around as Carlos extends his hand to her. She hesitantly complies and reaches to shake it. When their skins touch, a shiver travels through her arm till her spine and that makes her feel guilty.

"Nice to meet you, Candace." He says, his thumb caresses the back of her hand. Okay, that's it. They really must be just neighbors with Lulu or this man is kind of a naughty one.

"Nice to..." She stops, how does he know her name?

Apparently they had talked about her with Lulu before. He realizes her amazement and his smile gets broader. He is doing this on purpose, isn't he? Not that she doesn't like his style but...

"...meet you, too." Candace answers back and adds after squeezing his hand delicately. "Carlos."

She sees how his pupils widen after she says his name in a sensual way. She bites her bottom lip to suppress her smile, his eyes drop on her lips again and his thumb stops to caress. Candace decides it is enough to torture him for the first day and retreats her hand.

Before he answers back, she turns around and leaves the shop.

On her way to the supermarket, Candace thinks about her day. She had gone to the candy shop to see her mind-blowing sex partner again, but destiny had other plans for her.

She has no idea what kind of relationship the man has with Carlos. But if he won't be around, her attention can shift to another one.

And maybe, she wants her attention to shift.