The Neighbor

A Mysterious Phone Call and Little Black Dress

     I hear Nikayla's snoring beside me, drool forming on the corners of her mouth. I smile, glad to see her look so peaceful.

   "Looks like it's just us." Blade's voice makes me turn my gaze. His signature smirk staring back at me.

I shrug, "Looks like it." My lips curve upward without my consent.

"Finally." He says, putting his arm around my back. I look at it. I laugh quietly and shrug it off. Is he hitting on me?

    "I admire your guts. Going for friends that live right door to next to each other at the same time, very risky." I can't help myself from calling him out. His eyebrows raise in confusion.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asks. I can almost see the wheels in his head turning.

    I shake my head and whisper, "The hottest guys are always the most dangerous." I bring my knees to my chest under my robe and tighten it to my body. His eyes glimmer as he smiles.

    "I'm trying to talk to you, not her." He says flatly. I freeze. This was one of those moments you know you'll never forget. He was telling me he chose me. I heard sincerity in his voice. How could he know so soon? I told myself I would never be one of those girls that falls for the cliché bad boy, but here I was enamored by the heartbreaker in front of me. 

I smile, "Talk?" There is no space in between us.

He smiles back at me, "Talk." He repeats. My mouth drops. What is his game?

Before I can say anything, he adds, "How's your foot?" He points down at my injured foot.

     I move it around a little. "Better, thanks." Then I decide to ask one of the many questions I was dying to ask him. "Where'd you learn how to do that?"

     He looks pained and I feel bad for asking. He leans back, "I was in med school for a while."

    "What happened?" I search his face. I was scared to push him too far and make him run away. I wanted desperately to hear his story. He didn't look angry, just hurt. Before I knew I was moving I leaned in and kissed his cheek. He looked shocked. I moved back slowly, our lips inches from touching. 

    "I was kicked out." He said. He laughed sadly. His eyes were asking me about the cheek kiss. I was happy he didn't say anything aloud. If he'd asked me I wouldn't have known what to say. I wanted to ask him more, but I saw how hard it was for him to talk about it. I would ask him more next time. Next time? "Next time" wasn't something that usually crossed my mind. I sat silently, processing this.

"Are you afraid of me?" He leaned forward, putting his hands on his knees.

I squinted at him, "Are you afraid of me?" I retorted.

"A little." He confessed. This guy was truly unpredictable. I definitely wasn't expecting that response.

"Why" My voice came out quietly.

    He was watching my lips. "You're too smart. I can't trick you like I do everyone else. It's like you already know everything I don't want you to." I tried my best to keep myself composed, but inside I was a hurricane. I bit my lip, thinking. He really made me think. He kept me intrigued in  a way no other man has been able to. 

    "Plus, you're too good of a kisser. It's unbelievable." He smirked. He was playing with me, but I didn't care. I wanted to hear him say these things, again and again.

    "You're not too bad yourself." I wanted him to kiss me again, craved it. A snore brought me out of my dreamland. Nikki was right there. "But Nikayla..." I looked at her. I felt one of his gigantic hands touching my face. Before I knew it, I was looking right into his beautiful yellow eyes.

     He shook his head, "No. I'm not hers. If I want to kiss you I will." He looked flustered. My heart was beating a million miles a minute. His hands were softly tracing my cheek bones. I felt myself leaning in. I watched as he did the same. His lips pressed against mine intensely. The passion from the first kiss was still there. I kissed him back.

   His phone interrupted us. He moved back, sighing. He looked at it and then he looked at me apologetically. "I'm so sorry, this could be really important." 

   "It's okay, you should answer it." It was probably a good thing we were stopped. With Nikki there this was wrong. So why didn't it feel wrong?

   His answered the call, walking to another room. "Hello? Tomorrow, I'll be there tomorrow." His voice droned off as he shut the door behind him. Be where? I asked myself. My phone buzzed to break my train of thought. It was a text asking if I was coming to the boat party. Without thinking I responded yes. I needed to get out of here, break this tension that was killing me. I took a deep breath and stood up. Blade was talking quietly on the phone. I couldn't make out anything he was saying and I didn't want to interrupt, so I decided to just go without telling him. I walked quietly out the door and into my apartment, rummaging through my closet. I settled on a little black dress and some shiny red pumps. I quickly changed and applied only a little bit of makeup, I wouldn't be there long anyway. I picked up my purse and was out the door. I walked quickly through the hallway, typing the address on my phone. I hit into something hard, knocking my phone out of my hands. I hurried to pick it up when a familiar voice asked, "I can't decide if I like this outfit, or the one you were just wearing better." And then I smelt his entrancing cologne.

    "Blade." I said, taking my phone from his hands. "I thought you were on the phone." He backed up, looking at my outfit. I felt self-conscious, so I tried to use my arms to cover me up a little.

"That dress looks amazing on you." He said, ignoring what I said.

"Thank you." I said smiling. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

He moved in. "Did I bore you?" He cocked his head. I was stunned by his words.

   "What? No. It isn't that. I never spend the night, with anyone. Plus, I have this party..." My voice trailed off. He looked at me, considering.

"Never?" He questioned.

I nodded, "Never."

"I'll take that as a challenge." He smirked.

"Blade..." I began.

   "What's going..." Nikayla stood in the doorway, rubbing her eyes. She stopped dead when she looked at me. "Wow." She gasped.

   I was confused for a moment until I saw her eyes looking over my outfit. I walked up to her. "I'm so sorry Nikki, I didn't mean to wake you. I was just heading out. I figured Blade could keep you company tonight." Her eyes flipped over to Blade, he nodded.

    "It's okay, you go have fun!" She said a little too enthusiastically, looking at Blade. He was looking at me. I adjusted my purse on my shoulder and gave her a hug.

"Thanks! I'll see you tomorrow okay?" I backed up. Blade was still watching me.

    "Hey Nikayla, why don't you head in and I'll be right behind you." He said without moving his eyes. She went in and shut the door behind her. Blade and I stood in the hallway.

"Do you want me to pursue her?" He asked, his eyes piercing through me.

    My throat felt tight. "I really like you Blade, but so does she." I struggled to get the words out. He trapped me against the wall, his outstretched arm hovering my shoulder. We stood like that a moment before he lowered his hand.

    The intensity drained from his face and he smirked, "Do I still get to kiss you?" He asked. It was hard to believe that I had only just met this guy. I wanted nothing more than to keep seeing him.

   "Okay, as long as you give Nikayla a chance." I moved away a little, unsure of what to do with myself at the moment. I knew Nikayla wasn't even divorced but if something or someone could give her the courage to walk away from Landon, I wanted that for her. 

   "Let me give you my number." He waited for me with an outstretched hand. I debated. I barely knew this guy. My hand moved faster than my mind though; I handed him my phone. He typed in his number. He reached into his pocket, removing his phone. I stopped him.

"I'll use this for emergencies." I said, putting my phone back into my purse as I walked. I was more than ready for this party.