Creative impulse
Creative Impulse
The elevator doors, having stopped on my floor, smoothly slid apart. Nodding habitually to the young woman inside the cabin, I entered. I had seen her a couple of times but hadn't paid much attention, just like I didn't pay much attention to the other neighbors living in our high-rise. The elevator cabin smoothly began to slide down and suddenly stopped. What the hell?
My fellow passenger sighed loudly and began pressing buttons chaotically. Only now did I get a good look at her. Hair the color of red copper, slightly highlighted, was gathered into a neat hairstyle with short bangs, from under which, in the dim light of the cabin, green cat-like eyes sparkled. A neat
straight nose, rather full lips covered with pink gloss, gave the impression of a strict businesswoman. A short fur jacket with an arctic fox collar hugged her slender figure, a bright pink scarf cascaded in an airy wave from her neck onto her prominent chest."What should we do? Are we just going to sit here?" A short remark tore me away from my contemplation.
I shrugged. I wasn't in any particular hurry, so without much zeal, I pressed the button for the intercom. There was no response to the call to the dispatcher.
"One of us is unlucky," the woman sighed.
"If you think it's me, that still won't help us," I tried to joke.
"It's most likely me," the redhead sighed again. "Scratched my car yesterday, got stuck in an elevator today, tomorrow..."
"Don't get so upset," I tried to reassure her, noting to myself that she was quite something. "Maybe our captivity won't last long. By the way, my name is Alexander," I introduced myself. "We live in the same building but don't know each other."
"Karina," she nodded her red head.
"Very nice," I replied, not lying in the slightest. "What about the car? Badly dented?"
"Not too bad. A scratch on the left door and the fender," Karina smirked, "but it's still unpleasant."
"It happens," I sighed along with her, lowering my eyes.
Below the waist, my "fellow captive" was also top-notch. Slender legs, encased in tight-fitting jeans, looked good. Elegant high-heeled shoes made her look even slimmer. Suddenly, something cracked, crunched, the elevator cabin swayed and smoothly began moving down.
"Thank God," escaped from my companion's lips. "Now I won't be late."
"Strict boss?" I asked an innocent question.
"That's an understatement," Karina confirmed my guess.
The elevator stopped. Slightly stepping aside, I let her go ahead. The sharp heels tapped rapidly on the steps. Now I could see my neighbor from behind. What I saw was no less impressive than the front view of the young woman. Her round, nut-like buttocks rolled resiliently with plump halves as she walked. The sight wasn't for the faint of heart. She hurried towards a car parked a little distance away, pulling the key from her purse on the go. I went around the building because my car was parked there. They say we don't live well. It was rare to park near your own entrance due to the abundance of vehicles, and not the cheapest brands at that.
After warming up the car a bit, I pulled out from around the corner and almost crashed into a Nissan standing around the bend. Sticking out from under the open hood of a car parked near the neighboring entrance was that same amazing butt of my neighbor. Its owner was fiddling inside, trying to fix something. I slowed down.
"Won't start?" I asked, slightly opening the window.
Karina turned around, recognized me, raised her eyebrows.
"I told you, today's not my day. Don't know what else to pull," she sighed, adding a sharp little word.
At that moment, flushed, with tousled bangs, she seemed so good to me that I couldn't take my eyes off her. I wasn't very knowledgeable about cars myself, so I didn't even get out. But another idea came to mind.
"I can give you a ride," escaped my lips involuntarily.
Karina looked at me, then at the miniature watch on her wrist, and slammed the hood shut. Finally, she kicked the innocent tire.
"You'd really help me out if you gave me a ride," she said, settling in next to me.
It had been a while since I'd driven such a pretty girl. The car briskly started, pulling out onto the road. Karina pressed herself into the seat, a sigh of admiration escaping her chest. For a couple of minutes, until we reached Shevchenko Boulevard, we drove in silence.
"Where to now?" I asked, not having received a specific address.
"Oh! Sorry, I'm all frazzled," the girl smiled. "I need to get to the 700th Anniversary Square, and I can run from there."
"Will do," I grunted, turning right. "We'll be there in a flash."
"I'm so grateful to you," she started thanking me again, "I don't know what I would have done."
About ten minutes later, I smoothly braked near the curb at the entrance to the square. Karina grabbed her purse and prepared to get out.
"Wait a minute," I stopped her, noticing a dark spot on her rosy cheek. "You probably got dirty when you were looking under the hood."
She reached into her purse, took out a handkerchief, but I was quicker. Fishing mine out of my pocket, I carefully touched her delicate skin, wiping away the unfortunate spot, more of a smudge really. She froze, squeezed her eyes shut, and at that moment, it was like I was hit by an electric shock—I so wanted to pull her close, to sink into her full lips with a hot kiss... But...
"Thank you so much," she babbled, giving me a more attentive look. "I owe you one," she added, leaning forward and examining her face in the mirror above the windshield.
"It was no trouble for me," I smiled, admiring my neighbor. "I can pick you up from work too."
Her eyes widened in surprise. Of course, looking at me, she probably couldn't even imagine that I would try to flirt with her. Karina looked about twenty-five, maybe even younger. I was all of fifty, though many gave me less. I myself didn't know what possessed me, I just liked her so much. But, as they say: A word is not a sparrow, once it flies out, you can't catch it. Karina got out of the car, but for some reason wasn't in a hurry to close the door, then leaned in and whispered in a sweet little voice:
"I finish at five. If you're serious..."
"I'll be here at five, in the same spot," my voice rang with excitement.
She nodded, slammed the door, and hurried towards a large administrative building. I sat for another couple of minutes, coming to my senses and admiring the slender figure of my departing neighbor. What could come of all this, I didn't know, but looking at her, I wanted to remember my youth, and from not very righteous thoughts, blood began to surge through my body, I even felt hot. My desire and thoughts were clear, but what she thought remained a mystery. That was the mystery I had to solve this very evening.
I had absolutely nothing to do. A retired military man, a pensioner, though I didn't even like to call myself that, but what can you do. I killed half a day visiting an art salon where several of my paintings were exhibited. The thing is, even in my youth, I tried painting pictures, with oils, and it turned out not bad, but I never had enough time for it. And in retirement, there's time to spare, especially since I liked doing it. Having bought the missing paints and a couple of brushes, I went home. There was still time before five, and I tried to sketch Karina's portrait from memory. First on paper, it seemed to work out, but something was missing, some special spark. Grabbing the sketch, I called my wife at work, said I'd be late, and went to the date, if you could call it that.
I arrived exactly at five, but had to wait a few more minutes. Finally, she appeared. Tapping her heels rapidly, she crossed the street and plopped down on the seat next to me.
"I thought you were joking," Karina said, catching her breath, and smiled.
"Military men don't like to joke," I blurted out, starting the engine. "Home?" I added, secretly hoping she would suggest something else.
"I need to stop by one more place," she mumbled with a guilty smile, meeting my expectations. "Pick up my son from kindergarten."
"Just what we needed, a little son," I thought to myself, but outwardly I didn't show that I was a bit disappointed.
"It's on the way," Karina explained, still as if apologizing. "My husband dropped him off in the morning and then dashed off to Kyiv, on a business trip," she added for some reason.
I mentally perked up. She was in the kindergarten for about ten minutes and soon burst out of the gates, leading a chubby little boy of four or five by the hand.
"Get in, Vityusha, the uncle will give us a ride home," she explained, climbing into the back seat after her son.
"I don't want to go home," the offspring immediately whined. "I don't want to..."
"Vitya, don't be capricious," his mother tried to reason with him. "The uncle doesn't have time to drive you around."
"I have time," I blurted out. "Where do you want to go?"
"I want to go to the park, on the carousel," the little boy rejoiced. "I want to ride."
Karina shrugged, not knowing how to behave.
"Don't worry, I really do have time," I encouraged her. "We can go to the 50th Anniversary Park, you can sit in the car while he rides."
"Well, if you don't mind," she drawled, shrugging, "let's go. Just not for long, or else dad will come home and we won't be there," she added, now for her son.
I turned onto Sumgait Street and merged into the traffic. I simply enjoyed being near such a woman, especially since I really did have free time.
"Don't touch, Vitya, the uncle will get angry," came a voice from the back seat.
I turned around. The little boy had reached my work folder, where I sometimes kept sketches. Small hands opened it, pulling out the latest ones.
"Oh! That's me!" came an enthusiastic exclamation. "Did you draw me? How cool!"
"It's just a doodle," I smiled. "Sketched it from memory this morning."
"Cool! You're a real artist," Karina praised.
We drove up to the park. Not far from the amusement area, a free spot was found, and I parked. Karina got out of the car with her son and, throwing me a slightly guilty look, headed towards the swings. No, she really was good in those jeans hugging her round butt. I would have just...
Vityusha sure loved entertainment. For a good hour, he swung, spun, tumbled on all sorts of amusement rides, but finally, he got tired and agreed to return to the car. During that time, I managed to smoke three cigarettes. When they finally got into the car, suddenly a phone rang. Karina rummaged in her purse, extracting her mobile. After listening to the message, she seemed, in my opinion, even happy.
"I knew it," she said into the receiver, hanging up. "Your dad won't be back today," she now informed her son. "I'm so tired of these business trips of his," she drawled, sighing. "I can't take it anymore."
I don't know why, but my mood improved too. Fifteen minutes later, we were at the house. Parking the car in its usual spot, I got out and helped Karina.
"Maybe I can treat you to a cup of coffee?" she asked as we all rode up together in the elevator. "I have good, real Brazilian."
Why not. I glanced at my watch. Seven in the evening, my wife was, of course, already home, but she was used to me being late on business. I nodded, accepting the invitation. Karina smiled, clearly pleased with the answer.
She lived on the eighth floor in a two-room apartment. Vityusha, right from the doorway, rushed into his room and turned on the computer. The hostess seated me on a large sofa in the living room, turned on the TV, and disappeared into the kitchen. For about ten minutes, I sat, clicking the remote, flipping through channels. From the kitchen came the clinking of dishes, the slamming of cabinet doors. What was she fussing about? I got up and headed there.
"Can I help with anything?" I asked, stepping over the threshold.
"Oh no, no! Don't. I'll do it all myself," she waved me off, adjusting her bangs.
At that moment, she seemed even more beautiful and seductive to me. Without thinking about the consequences, I stepped forward, hugged her from behind by the shoulders, turning her towards me. My lips themselves reached for her mouth, which had opened slightly in surprise. However, I immediately pulled myself together, but still touched the soft, warm lips that were just begging for a kiss.
"Sorry, couldn't help myself," I mumbled, shaking my head in embarrassment, stepping back. "I should probably go..."
"What about the coffee? I made it," Karina whispered, also for some reason flustered. "Here's some cookies too."
I really did feel awkward. We just met today, and here I am with my calf-like tenderness. What will she think of me? The devil tempted me. I should leave before it's too late. But Karina didn't even seem to notice my embarrassment. She placed two cups of steaming drink on the table, a bowl of jam, and a plate of cookies.
"Sit here," she called me, nodding towards the seat in the soft kitchen nook. "Maybe add a little cognac?" she immediately asked and, without waiting for an answer, took a bottle of cognac from the cabinet.
It wasn't full and was probably intended for just such occasions. Unscrewing the cap, Karina splashed amber liquid first into her cup, then into mine. "You're not planning to drive anymore today, are you?" she suddenly remembered.
"No, of course not," I replied, sitting down at the table.
She sat down next to me, took a sip from her cup.
"Drink, why aren't you drinking?" she asked, licking her lips.
I felt a surge of adrenaline in my blood again. She was so sweet and wasn't offended at all. Or maybe... I also took a sip from my cup and put it back.
"It's hot," I explained. "I don't like it too hot."
Karina looked at me attentively, and something in her gaze changed. As if a spark flashed. She stood up, opened the top hanging cabinet, and took out two crystal, pot-bellied glasses. Silently, she poured cognac into them, about a hundred grams each, no less, and pushed one towards me.
"Let's drink to our acquaintance," she suggested. "Don't mind?"
Of course not, I didn't mind. Taking the glass, I