Amor Aeternus: Iter

Selene stood in front of the building and stared straight at it. The building was sleek in its design, modern yet simple, and that was something that she liked, as she did not wish to live in something that wasn’t over the top. This would be home for a while, as it was the only one that appealed to her after looking for many months before moving to the new city she found herself in.

She never thought she would move away from the town she grew up in, but the opportunities in the newer city had drawn her in and made her realize she was destined for more. Her construction company had expanded since she started the company after she retired from the military. While the comforts of home had kept her in her hometown, it seemed the next best course of action was to move to a bigger city to expand their business to new heights.

With little left in the town besides her parents, they had encouraged her to move and follow her dreams as they would always be there for her. So she decided to move with her ever-faithful German shepherd, Atlas, by her side as always. Selene had gotten him when he was just a puppy from a friend, and he had remained by her side since the day she got him.

Deciding she had stood in front of the building long enough, she began to make her way into the building. Upon entry, she found that the building was very modern and had an opulent appearance. This was all rather new to her, as she had come from modest means and had never really encountered a luxury of this size. It would seem, however, that she would need to begin to get used to things this grand since moving.

“This is gonna be different for both of us, huh, Atlas?” She spoke quietly to Atlas as she walked forward and pressed the button on the elevator. Atlas grunted softly as if agreeing with his owner as he continued forward at her side, his gaze monitoring his surroundings as if searching for threats.

Selene had created her own construction company, which also did renovations for those who needed the service. It was very profitable in the town she grew up in, but she had dreams of expanding it and taking it to new heights. She had always been a very handy person, due to her father teaching her everything he knew, ensuring that his daughter would be capable of handling herself, regardless of where she was. And she was eternally grateful for her supportive parents who taught her everything she knew.

The ding that informed her that the elevator had arrived broke her out of her thoughts as she entered the confined space. As she entered, she heard the clicking of heels behind her and held the elevator door open for the person behind her.

Upon hearing the small ‘thank you’ as the person entered the elevator, she turned around and now faced the person who entered behind her. She was clad in a fancy business suit that fit her perfectly, and her hair had waves that reached down to the top of her shoulders. She caught a glimpse of her eyes after she had taken her stylish sunglasses off, turned toward Selene, and smiled at her in appreciation. Her eyes had caught Selenes gaze, and they were a pair of the most mesmerizing eyes she had ever seen in her life. At first glance, they appeared green, but the more she looked into her eyes, she noticed they were two different colors, blue and green.

Clearing her throat, Selene pointed towards the numerous buttons in the elevator that indicated the number of floors that were within the building.

“Which floor are you going to?” Selene asked the woman in front of her who had her attention the moment she stepped into the elevator and gazed into her enchanting eyes.

“The 28th floor, please. Thank you.” She smiled at Selene as she pressed the button for the floor, and the doors began to close, encasing the two within the confined space of the elevator until they reached their floor.

As luck would have it, the pair were going to the same floor, which held the most expensive floor as it housed the luxury units within the building. As the elevator began to move, Selene couldn’t help but sneak small glances as she replied with a simple ‘you’re welcome’ in response to the other woman’s ‘thank you’.

She tried to focus on anything but the beautiful woman who stood near her, as she did not want to appear weird in front of her. But she couldn’t help but glance her way occasionally. Rather than appear as someone strange, she turned her attention towards Atlas. Her faithful companion stood at attention, ready to guard her should the need arise.

Being former military, nothing should have rattled her as much as this woman before her was. It probably did not help that she had not had a relationship in three years. Her last serious relationship resulted in her partner cheating on her, since she was deployed constantly during her ten years in the military, which was out of her control. Yet that did not stop her from searching for someone new to love and cherish in her life. She had gotten Atlas not long after their breakup, and he had been a much-needed companion in her life. He grounded her and kept her from doing some stupid things. He stayed with her parents while she was deployed, but when she got injured during her last deployment, she knew it was time to come home, for good.

She thought back to her injury and how her leg still affected her after the incident. While the pain was still there, she was still able to function and pushed herself every day to not let the pain take hold of her life and control what she does. She was taught never to be afraid of anything, and nothing would change that now.

‘Just focus on Atlas and breathe.’ She thought to herself as she needed something to ground her in that moment, as memories began to seep into her mind that she did not wish to revisit while in public.

As the elevator continued its journey with only light music playing in the background, the silence within was rather comfortable. The silence didn’t cause her brain to wreak havoc on itself and simply allowed her to be in the present and not somewhere else. With the mysterious woman ahead of her, she had to refrain from shamelessly looking at the woman before her, as she knew she needed to avoid reaching a new status level of creepy. She briefly looked down at Atlas to ensure that he was okay, once again, as she wanted to ensure that he was comfortable in his new environment.

“So you are my new neighbor, I assume, given we are going to the same floor.” The mysterious woman before her had spoken and had her full attention without trying. As the woman turned to face Selene, she stood in the corner of the elevator, leaning against the wall.

Selene chuckled and replied, “Yes, it seems so. My name is Selene. I just moved here.”

“My name is Lena. It is a pleasure to meet you, Selene.” She replied with a smile, and Selene couldn’t help but notice the movement of her eyes travel down her body.

She subtly smiled as she caught Lena doing the same as she had done to her not moments ago, before she turned around. While Selene wasn’t dressed to the nines as Lena was, she was styled simply casually in black jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket, as she had just driven into the city a mere hour before.

‘Lena. A beautiful name for a stunning woman.’ Selene thought and then shifted her attention back to Lena and began to speak.

“Oh, believe me, the pleasure is mine.” She replied with a smirk as she noticed Lena blush slightly as she looked away briefly. ‘So I affect her as much as Lena had on me,’ Selene thought as Lena shifted her attention towards Atlas, who now stared at the woman, almost analyzing her.

Lena smiled at Atlas and extended her hand outward toward him, allowing him to sniff her hand. “What’s his name?” Lena asked, her lips forming a smile, as Atlas began to lick her hand, allowing her to pet him. Selene smiled down at the two of them as Atlas loved the attention he was receiving.

“His name is Atlas. He just turned three not long ago.” She smiled as Lena looked up and nodded in response.

“He is such a good dog. Who’s a good boy?” And Atlas, who never lost his playful nature regardless of his training, preened at the attention and praise and seemed to take a liking to Lena as he smiled and barked in response to her praise. ’That makes two of us, bud.’

As the elevator came to a slow stop, the two realized that their journey to the top floor had come to an end, and they slowly prepared to exit the confined space.

“I look forward to seeing you around, Selene. If you need any help, feel free to come by anytime. I’m just down the hall. It was a pleasure meeting you.” Spoke Lena with a smile on her face as she stood up and began to make her exit out of the elevator as the doors began to open.

“Thank you, Lena, I appreciate the offer. But believe me, the pleasure is mine.” Selene spoke with a smirk as Lena slowly made her way to her door.

As she reached into her pocket to grab the keys, she couldn’t help but glance over at Lena as she continued her way down their shared hallway toward her door. The sway of her hips was subtle yet enchanting to the woman that she had caught herself staring at. Atlas broke her from her stupor by nudging his nose against her leg. She chuckled, then looked down at Atlas and gave a gentle pat on his head.

“Let’s check out the new place, bud, then we will figure out dinner, yeah?” As the pair finally made it inside, she thought to herself that perhaps this move wasn’t such a bad idea after all, and one thing stuck out to her as she realized that she could not wait to encounter the gorgeous brunette once more.

As she entered her new apartment, she felt a sense of ease wash over her as the space was cozy. There was enough space for everything that would be delivered within the next ten minutes, and she would be busy unpacking once her things arrived. Moving around the space before her, she caught sight of Atlas trotting his way through the place, inspecting each room before he returned to her side once again.

“Well, this is home for now, Atlas. Let’s make the best of this bud.” She crouched down and began to pet Atlas and scratched him behind the ear in the spot she knew he loved.

The ten minutes seemed to pass with ease, and the movers were filtering in through the door with all of her belongings. The furniture she had brought was placed first, and then slowly, the boxes began to make their way inside. She had lost track of time on how long it took for all her things to be brought in, which wasn’t much, if she was being honest. Once the movers left, she turned toward the organized chaos and began to work toward unpacking everything.

The first thing to come out of the box was Atlas’s bed. Once it was placed down on the ground, he quickly made his way over and plopped down onto it, releasing a pleasant sigh in the process.

“You relax for a bit, Atlas, guess I’ll continue working, and then we will figure out dinner. Sound good?” Selene spoke towards Atlas, she received a bark in response from her ever faithful companion. Taking off her jacket, she placed it on the back of the couch and made her way to her room, where her duffle bag was. She grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top to change into something more comfortable. Once she was changed, she then began to unpack the boxes that held the kitchen items, as she knew she would need those first thing.

Through the windows, she could see the sun begin to set and knew that it was time to begin thinking of what to eat. She began to look at one of the many food delivery apps that were on her phone and looked at the options that were available to her. However, before she could truly look at what the city had to offer, she heard a gentle knock on her door. Atlas’s ears perked up, and he turned his head towards the door, watching and waiting to see if he was needed. However, the dog knew that his owner could handle things herself.

Selene glanced at Atlas and saw that he was alert but not on guard, so there was no immediate threat at the door, according to him. She then got up, locked her phone, and then placed it into her pocket, and made her way towards the door.