The Neighbor

Chapter 4

"Hey there." He said with a smile as I met him at the end of the stairs of the apartment complex. His bright blue eyes pierced into mine. I smiled back. "You ready?" I nodded. We headed to his car; a black BMW. I don't speak car, but it was nice...I guess.

We pulled out of the parking lot and drove towards the nearest coffee place...Starbucks, of course. As he drove, Damien put on his music. I didn't recognize the band, some hard rock...low-key screamo-type music. I will admit, they had a nice beat to them.

"Who're they?" I asked, truly curious. He slowly turned and looked at me with a surprised look on his face. My face turned red and I put my hands up as if to show the music police I had no weapon on me.

He looked back at the road, smirking at my reaction. "They are only the best band ever!" He responded, still a little shocked I had never heard of his favorite band in the whole wide world. I gestured for him to continue. "Breaking Benjamin!" He finally exclaimed.

I nodded. "That's cool. Never heard of them." He was again, acting like he was taken aback. I smiled a little at his dorkiness. I should've known he listened to that kind of music.

"Well I'll forgive you this time." Damien joked as he turned into the Starbucks parking lot.

"So what are you studying to be?" He asked, taking a sip of his iced chai tea latte, light ice, extra chai. For someone who seems so manly, he sure knew how to order a white girl drink.

I took a sip of my coffee then answered. "An elementary school teacher." I replied with a smile. He nodded and smiled.

"Good luck," he replied, "I don't see how people can have the patience for that."

I shrugged. "I've just always wanted to be one, ever since I was a little kid." I responded, taking another sip of my coffee.

The hour went by quickly. I enjoyed learning about him, and I hoped he did the same. Turns out we had so much in common when it came to what we wanted out of life, along with where we grew up for a good part of our life. "Ya, I lived in Paris, Texas until about fourth grade then moved to Blossom with my dad." I nodded in response. I finished my coffee and we just sat there staring at each other for a good straight minute or so. His blue eyes drew me in like a nice warm bath.

"You ready to go?" He ask, snapping me out of the trance, and the thought of last night that started to creep by in to my mind. I smiled and nodded.

"I had a great time." I commented as he walked me to my apartment door. "I would invite you in, but my roommate is crazy." He smiled and chuckled in agreement."

"Another time then." He replied, as he moved a strand of hair away from my face. He gently took my face in his hands and kissed me softly on the lips. A total 180 from last night's kiss. I smiled and told him bye as I grabbed the door handle, not just to get inside the place, but to keep myself steady. He had such an effect on me.

I headed inside, head still spinning from that kiss, and strolled right to the couch, plopping down next to a waiting Marilyn.

"So...how did it go?" She asked with a vibe of impatience surrounding her. I smiled and turned to look right at her. Her eyes filled with excitement.

"I think he's the one..." I trailed off, as I clutched the nearby pillow to my chest. Mari's reply was not what I expected. It was a mixture of being happy for me, but at the same time a look that screamed, "girl, you're being crazy!" I shrugged it off and turned back to stare at the TV, lost in my own little world.

"Don't you think you're moving too fast?" Mari questioned. I redirected my gaze to her. I know I sounded crazy to say that, but this feeling in me was a strong one, and was not going away anytime soon.