Transfixed Update - New Neighbors

Kenzie Taylor steps out in a tiny bikini, pool at her cramped apartment complex waiting like an old friend. She drops into a chair, cracks a paperback, and pretends she's not tracking the sunshine on her skin. Eva Maxim strolls by, hips draped in turquoise straps. They swap quick hellos. Kenzie forgets every sentence she just read. "Mind if I lose the suit?" Eva asks, all sunlight and innocence. Kenzie's nod rattles her own sunglasses. Eva peels the fabric off like gift wrap. Sun hits bare curves, and Kenzie suddenly has two new problems: breathing and not staring like a cartoon wolf. Patience cracks. Kenzie pads over barefoot, nerves fizzing. Names swap quick and clumsy. Eva lifts one eyebrow, reads the room like a diner menu, and smiles. "Your place or mine?" she asks. Kenzie blinks twice, brain short-circuits, then takes the offered hand. Inside, the door clicks shut on two towels hitting the floor and a whole new temperature spike.