FOUReign Language

This is on purpose, this all post is in English and I decided to published it like this because the short stories I share here were written in English and the first three were shared in Facebook in February last year, and the fourth came to me in a moment, as all stories do, also in English.
I had a blog in English where I thought I would publish content (some original, other translated from this) but I put it offline after a while as it was too ambitious, but now, well, to be different here are four stories in a foreign language...

The light in the alley

As I turn into the narrow alley, I see her standing there, back against the wall, cigarillo in hand, looking around, looking for something or someone. I continue, staring her as if I'm locked in a tractor beam. She notices me and she stares back, watching, waiting. As I pass her she asks "Do you have a lighter or matches?", "No I don't" I reply.
"But you definitely light my fire!".

The fight within

It's the middle of the 10th round in this 12-rounds fight. I started the fight slowly but steady, however lost badly in rounds 4 to 7, even got knocked-down in round 5. I'm hanging there, and have just won the last 2 rounds. But I'm still behind in the scorecards and my corner tells me it will be almost impossible to get enough points to win the fight. I need a knock-out but can I do it? Or will I be the one staring the lights above? My coach told me it's best to just save my strength and energy, let it go, throw the towel and move on to another promotion that offers a better shot at the title. What should I do?

It's the middle of the 10th round, I throw a jab that hits perfectly in his kidneys. He takes a step back and stumbles; I decide to keep fighting.

I move forward; I'm going for the knock-out!

After one step closer I swing, he blocks it and lands a perfect right cross in my face. Lights out, immediate KO.

Game over...

Long time no see

They bumped into each other by the printer corner. "Hey buddy, long time no see", she said while hugging him. He liked, as always, her hug; he felt the warmth from her embrace and her hair always smelled good; "smells of friendship and loving care" he thought to himself. "How are you Matilda?" he asked. "You know, the usual, from meetings to phone calls. And you, how are you holding up?". The last time they talked was when he just heard he had been passed for that promotion he was gunning for quite some time. "Still here, doing my stuff". "We should go out for drinks you and me", she said smiling, "I'm leaving in 30 mins and we can go, can you join me?". He still had a couple of tasks to complete before the end of the day but he looked into her eyes and realised he couldn't say no. "Sure, I'll meet you at the door".

Later in the bar, they are laughing from sharing stories of their past and what brought them both to Amsterdam. He stops for a while, contemplating her. "Why do I fancy her so much? She's not my type, too skinny, too stylish", he thinks. She's looking back at him, straight at him: "What? Do I have something weird on my face?", she asks but not angry just curious. "You know Matilda, I really like you a lot". "Well Brody, I also like you a lot." she replies and moves closer, speaking in a provocative tone "Are you thinking of taking me back to your place and have sex with me?". He is slightly taken by surprise but doubles-down: "That thought crossed my mind, but now I actually want to make love to you".

She closes the distance, plants a small kiss in his lips, grabs his hand and whispers: "Let's get out of here"...

After hours

It was already 6:30 PM. They had started reviewing the final 2 candidates and it was supposed to be a 45 mins, tops, meeting but they again ended up talking about other stuff as usual. It wasn't common for them to have many meetings, as he just recently started interviewing new candidates for the Data Analysis department, so they turned this into one of those coffee corner talks they had every time they bumped into each other. Brad again sang the initial verses of "Unchained melody" since that song always came up to his mind whenever he said her name, like after asking "So how are you going to tell him the bad news, Melody?". She always replied back he should call her Mel like everybody else, but he would stick to his line "I'm not like everybody else. And how else would I get the chance to sing(...)" and cue the song... She looked at her watch and said "We need to finish and I guess we discussed it all, right?". He agreed and they both leaned forward to disconnect their laptops. At that moment their cheeks touched one another and she stopped. Melody was breathing heavily, Brad noticed so he leaned back and looked straight into your deep black eyes. "God, you're beautiful!" he said without hesitation. Melody blushed but took some time, before regaining composure. He went and sat on the sofa, next to the meeting table. She went to the door but instead of opening, locked it. "There shouldn't be many people left in this floor but better safe than sorry" she said, but with a tremor in her voice. She wasn't certain. "Come here" he called while extending his arm to her, inviting her. She sat on his lap, one leg to each side, both hands holding his face. "What am I doing? I shouldn't... We shouldn't". He gently caressed her long hair and smelled her exposed neck. "Yet here we are, in this compromising position". "Yeah" she laughed a bit. "God, you're beautiful!" he repeated.
She let go of the few defenses she was still holding...