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Apartment 127, like all apartments in this complex, has a red door and the apartment number is posted above the peephole in brass numbers.


Alex's apartment is different from the others in some aspects. The door opens up to a living room in which there is a fairly generously sized TV that rests in front of a big caramel colored suede couch. The couch is pushed up against a wall that made completely of glass, which, on one end, opens up to the pool. Privacy is ensured by vertical blinds that run the whole length of the massive window. A door in the living room leads to a guest bathroom; it has no shower, just a comode and sink. Another door leads to Alex's bedroom.

Adjacent to the living room is the dining area. In the middle of this space is a table big enough to seat eight. The four legs of the table dig into a beige rug with contemporary designs of shapes and colors. Next to the dining area is the kitchen with a black and white motif.

Along the same wall as the massive window, Alex's bedroom window lies. Her room shares a wall with the living room. It has the same view of the pool, but provides more privacy for Alex. A door in her bedroom leads to the bathroom.

[In the pic of the pool, the room on the lowest floor, with the big window, on the left side, is Apartment 127]

It was definately turning out to be a cold night as it wore on. Dante was glad, in her infinate wisdom that she had brought the sweatshirt (though she would have been far more happy if she'd brought her keys) with her, for she was sure with the wet swimsuit on and the cold night air she would have been more than a little perky.

Flipflop clad feet made soft scratching noises across the pavement as she came to a stop outside Alex's door. She knew it was the right place, since the door said "Manager" across the front. True, she had an office, but this was where she lived.

Once, Dante had considered taking a job as an apartment manager. It meant free room, sure, but the times that she would have had to be available cut into the times she needed to be practicing or teaching.

One hand reached up, rapping sharply on the door to announce her presence. Shorts in one hand and her arms crossed over her chest, Dante desperately wished she could have made a better impression on the manager. For one thing, Alex was pretty, and the dancer had idiotically confirmed her name twice, unable to make any better conversation. Resisting the urge to chew on her lower lip, Dante just waited at the door, hoping Alex had not gone to bed just yet.

As the bathrobed Alex opened the door, Dante felt her stomach and heart exchange places, and couldn't quite bring herself to answer. Struck dumb temporarily, she walked into the manager's apartment. She'd completely forgotten her reason for coming where in that moment, soaking up Alex's dishevled appearance as quickly as she could.

She looked... perfect. Even her hair, as mussed as it was, only made her seem all the more real and desirable in Dante's mind. The rushed speach completely went over the dancer's head, and she barely heard her anyway. Just in that brief glance, she'd been able to tell that Alex had just stepped out of the shower, she was too wet for it to have still been from the pool. Afterall, Dante looked dryer than Alex, and Dante had gotten out later than she.

"Oh uh.." Obviously Alex had asked her a question, and though the distracted Dante could guess what it was, she still hadn't remembered just what the answer was. Why had she come over? A blush sprang to her cheeks as she remembered, and she toyed with the zipper of her sweatshirt. "I feel really silly, but I managed to lock myself out of my apartment. I just really wanted to get a swim in tonight, I doubt it'll be this warm again at night until next year."

"Oh, well I don't blame you on the locksmith thing. I'd say we can break in through a window or something... but that might be something to attempt during the day when we're not going to have the cops called on us." Dante laughed easily as she came to the realization that her landlord was just as human as she was. "I don't really mind crashing on the couch as long as you don't mind. Um.. I probably need to borrow the shower too, or my hair will be green by morning."

Dante followed, slowly, Alex into the kitchen. She looked around as she walked, naturally curious about how someone else had arranged a similar apartment floor plan.

"Oh umm... do you have any tea?" She smiled, wondering if she'd be lucky enough to be able to borrow some clothing too, otherwise she would still reek of chlorine come morning.

"Lovely. Autumn and Winter are the best time for tea." Dante smiled warmly, unzipping her sweatshirt and pulling it off. It was warm enough in the aparment she was going to be very warm very soon if she kept it on.

Dante was lean, now that Alex could get a good look at her not distorted by the water. Her breasts were far from full, but there was enough. Her swim suit was on the cold side, if their pert appearance was any indication. The black material of the suit clung to her form, outlining in sillouhette a flat tummy and baring slender shoulders. Had they not been covered by the towel, she had long legs, not an ounce too much of fat on them, lean muscle moving easily.

She plunked herself down onto a second chair, glancing over toward Alex before trying to make small conversation. "So... have you got a boyfriend?"

"Mmm thanks. I'm not picky about my tea unless I'm at my own place. But the caffiene could keep me up late." A soft smile as she plunked a teabag into her hot water, letting to steep.

A boyfriend? Now there was a complicated matter. How was she supposed to explain that?

"Well... no I'm single. I don't really date men, but that's a complication in and of itself. See.. I used to work at a club. I'm a dancer, and I've done ballet since I was little. But my parents died, and my last year of highschool I had trouble paying bills...?" Nervous suddenly, those vivid blue eyes turned down to look into her tea, using a spoon to stir the bag around in the cup slowly.

"I was too young for that line of work. Legally and emotionally. I don't do that anymore but... I ran into trouble. First it was just a couple of guys that really liked my show, they'd try to talk to me after work, but the bouncers set them straight and made sure I always got to my bike okay. After a while they gave up. But somehow one of them figured out where I lived. It-it never got so bad that I had to go to the police or anything. But that's why I moved here. It's a nicer area, I hoped maybe no one would look for me here."

Her cheeks were pink, from the warmth versus the cold of the outside and the steam on her cheeks. Luckily she could blame the steam as she sniffed once, looking up at Alex, expecting the look most people gave her. Disgust, that she would have been a stripper before she was even eighteen, or pity that she'd been supporting herself that long, or even fear that she'd had a stalker. She didn't want any of those emotions.

"Now..? I teach ankle-biters to dance." Katie smiled though, thinking about all the future dancers that were under her care. They were so honest in their efforts. Or the lack of effort as the case might be.

Swirling the contents of her glass with the spoon, she took a sip of her tea, thinking for a moment. How could she explain that it wasn't the only thing she did. Dante was constantly looking for something else, for actual performances to be in, troupes that might take her. It had seemed there were so any options for her when she was just a dancer. Now, as soon as it came up she had once danced exotically...

"Someday I'll be in a troupe, and see the world. I havn't had a lot of opportunity to perform lately. Not for an audience at least."

It worked like a charm. Dante looked up with a shy sort of smile, putting her tea on the table in front of her. "Maybe we can figure something out. It all depends on the sort of performance you're looking for, if it's public or private." The shy smile was replaced by a playful grin, and Dante got to her feet.

"Now, before my hair dries, where can I find a shower?" She picked up a git of her pale blonde hair, looking at the half-dry ends of it.