Love Thy Neighbor

Chapter 1

It is two o'clock in the morning on a September Saturday night. I'm up. Not because I am doing anything fun. Nope. I'd had too much Diet Coke with dinner and was now wide awake.

I'd gone to dinner with my only two friends in Toronto. I was new to the city and thankfully knew two girls from college in Quebec who also ended up here. It was a nice night and it felt good to do something outside of my condo. I'd moved in six days ago and had not been out much yet.

So I am sitting at my kitchen island on my laptop looking at wall art to brighten up my new place when I hear a loud THUNK on my door. No lie, it scares me and I jump out of my seat. I then hear several knocking noises, though not really like the sound of knuckles against a door. Maybe it's because it is late or maybe it is because I sometimes act first and think later, but I jump up and open my door.

The door pushes back against me and I instinctively step back to avoid getting clobbered by it. Two people fall into my condo. A bleached blonde falls first and lands hard on my wood floor with a squeal. On top of her falls my neighbor from across the hall.

"What the fuck!" I say, because this really is weird. It's also somewhat funny, and I fight to control my giggles.

I look at the guy. He stands up and is hurriedly buckling his belt. The girl's skirt is up around her hips. It becomes pretty obvious to me what what going on.

He looks at me with an expression mixed with both anger and embarrassment and shouts, "Why the hell did you open your door?!"

Meanwhile, the blonde is pouting on the floor. I bet her ass hurts from that fall.

"Excuse me?" I retort. "YOU were banging on my door. Literally. Why wouldn't I check to see what was going on?"

He almost smiles. Maybe my banging pun amuses him. Or maybe it's the situation. He looks down at his date (if that's what she is) and offers her a hand. She stands and fixes her skirt, never looking my way. Without saying another word, the two of them walk out of my place and go to his door.