Love Thy Neighbor (4 page)

Lola looks concerned, puts a hand on my
shoulder and asks, “What is it, Nat?”

My mouth waters when I spot Tina’s chocolate
peanut butter cupcakes behind the counter. I grab one, unwrap it
and shove the whole thing in my mouth. I close my eyes in bliss and
moan.

My mouth is full so my response is a little
garbled. “I had a run in with my neighbor last night.”

Mimi smirks. “Already getting into trouble?
Babe, you gotta wait at least a week for that.”

Tina enquires, “What kind of run in?”

Lola’s eyes widen and she whispers loudly,
“Oh, no.” Then she guesses, “Loud sex?”

I swallow my cake, fire imaginary guns at
Lola and utter, “Bingo!”

Tina sympathizes, “Oh, sweetie. You love
sleep! That sucks!”

I scoff and run my hands down my face. “You
have no idea, guys. Three freakin’ times. I was up til three am
before I decided to go over there. So this pretty little woman
answers the door and she looks nice enough. Just as she’s about to
apologize, her man comes along.”

Lola grimaces. “Asshole. He’s an asshole,
right?”

I lower my face and chuckle through my
reply, “You don’t know how right you are. Only we know this
asshole.”

Mimi’s face scrunches in confusion as she
asks, “Who?”

“Yeah, who?” Tina asks.

I take a step back, put my hands out by my
sides and clear my throat. “My new neighbor is Ghost.”

All three women gasp loudly and Lola covers
her mouth with her hands. I nod slowly.

Oh, yeah. That just happened, ladies.

Tina sputters, “Wha- I- He- How?”

Mimi can’t control herself, she bursts out
laughing. Lola’s lips twitch. I narrow my eyes at them and wonder
why I’m friends with these girls.

Tina and Nik found out about Ghost and I by
accidently hearing us in the conference room the night we did it. I
told Mimi and Lola one day at work when they questioned why Ghost
and I never talk anymore. I don’t like secrets. I prefer to be
honest with people. Sometimes, I’ve been told, I can be brutally
honest. But I can’t change who I am.

Lola straightens and says softly, “That
sucks, babe.”

Mimi chuckles. “Yeah. That sucks ass.
Sorry.”

I scowl at Mimi. “You don’t sound sorry,
hag.” She laughs harder and I fight not to smirk. Mimi treats me
like my sisters do. That’s awesome because I miss them, and Mimi
makes me feel at home.

Tina wraps me up in a hug and whispers, “Oh,
honey. I’m sorry. That must be hard for you.”

I lie. “No. It isn’t. It would just be
really great if I never saw him. Avoiding him is best.”

Mimi’s face becomes serious and she asks
quietly, “Why do you need to avoid him if you’re okay with it?”

The girls stare at me for a good thirty
seconds before I respond quietly, “He told her I was no one.”

Mimi frowns, Lola gasps and Tina shakes her
head slowly.

I continue on a whisper, “It hurt. Really
badly. And I may have cried.”

Tina lifts her face and blinks. “But you
never cry.”

I reply an exasperated, “I know, right?! I’m
blaming it on the sleep deprivation.”

Mimi responds softly, “Or maybe you really
do care.” Lola nods in agreement.

I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “I
don’t want to care! God, why does this always happen? Ghost needs
someone like Tina. Someone who is caring and sweet and delicate.
And I need someone like- like- I don’t even know who!”

Frustration eats at me.

“Why not go out on a date with someone? Get
your mind off him?” Lola suggests.

My brows lift. That is not a bad
suggestion.

Do it.

I put one fisted hand under my chin and
pose.

The Thinker.

Tina giggles. “Not every problem is resolved
with a date.”

Mimi adds, “But it can’t hurt either.”

Both good points.

I respond, “It’s been a while since I’ve
been on a date. I think that’s a great idea.” I smile and ask “What
would I do without you guys? Group hug!” They smile and move closer
to me. I wrap them up and squeeze them tight.

I love my girls.

***

Saturday night approaches and I’m
pumped.

I can’t wait to get to the club and find
myself a man!

Tina used to host the festivities before we
went out which would consist of all us girls getting ready and
yakking about anything and everything. But now she has Tatiana, and
she can’t do it anymore. So I offered up my place.

Ghost won’t be there. I know he starts work
at the club around seven.

I check my watch. It’s close to nine.

Perfect!

Mimi and Lola turn up minutes after I check
my watch and we commence getting ready. We’ll meet Tina there.

We take turns using the bathroom mirror. I
decide to save time and do Mimi’s makeup so we can get out of here
earlier. Mimi fixes Lola’s hair and I begin to ready myself by
letting my hair down and ruffling it.

Mimi dresses in a black tube mini dress with
black heels. Her blonde hair is straight and her eye makeup is dark
and smudged. She looks hot.

Lola dresses in skinny black low-rider
jeans, a white tank and strappy sandals. Her long brown hair is
half up and her makeup is minimal. But she still looks amazing. Now
that she and Trick are a sort-of item, she doesn’t dress for anyone
but him anymore. I’ll admit it. It’s kinda sweet.

I wear a bright canary yellow dress. It
comes a little above my knees, has long sleeves and is tight. It
hugs my curves. You would think I’d look like a clown wearing a
yellow dress with bright red hair but, somehow, it works. I can’t
wear underwear under this dress, it shows the lines. So I decide,
for one night, to go without.

I feel bare. And icky.

I finish my look with light yellow strappy
pumps. My makeup is done using a little eyeliner, a lot of mascara
and pale pink lipstick. My hair falls in waves down my back.

I love this dress.

When Tina went on her scouting trip earlier
this year, she sent me a picture of this dress and I knew
immediately I had to have it. I begged and pleaded with her to get
it. Then I demanded, I mean asked, she ordered ten, and within two
weeks on the racks, they were sold.

When we’re ready to go, we hop in the cab I
called for and we’re off.

Toot toot!

I can’t wait! I’m on the prowl tonight!

I guess subconsciously I am peacocking with
my outfit. I mentally pray that I don’t look like an abstract
Picasso.

The cab pulls up to The White Rabbit and we
whoop as we exit. B-Rock, the huge African American bald doorman,
chuckles and shakes his head when he sees us. We approach and he
says, “I thought I recognized that craziness. Damn, you girls are
looking good tonight. Give B-Rock some love.”

I smile big. We do this every weekend.
B-Rock likes to act up a little and we love him so much that we
play along. He looks like a bear, but he’s a total kitten. And he’s
adorable.

We all take turns kissing his cheek and head
on into the club. We’re VIPs at The White Rabbit. We never pay for
a thing and have the largest booth in the VIP section.

This is the only place aside from my
apartment that I can let go and unwind after a rough week.

The White Rabbit is, by far, the most
awesome club I’ve ever been to. The theme is Alice in
Wonderland.

How cool is
that
?

The waitresses all wear short Alice costume
dresses with thigh high white stocking and white pumps. They rock
long white blonde wigs and dramatic pale makeup. The whole club has
a whimsical feel to it. But apart from that, it’s a regular club
with drinks and good music. There are two floors, upstairs is VIP
and downstairs is the regular club area. Downstairs is set in the
shape of the letter U. Booths and tables line the outer area, the
bar is the entire back of the room and the dance floor is lowered
slightly. VIP consists of different shaped booths which are soft
leather and crazy comfortable.

The line for entry is always down the street
and the dance floor is always packed.

I guess you could say Nik does well for
himself.

We hold hands and make our way up the stairs
to the VIP section. The regular Asian Alice greets us. “Hi ladies,
come on through.” We decline her offer to show us to our booth.
We’ve been coming here for over a year. We know where to go.

Most of the staff know us by name. Every
time I’m here I feel like a celebrity.

It’s awesome!

We approach our booth, which seats ten, and
I spot Nik and Tina. Tina sits on Nik’s lap and they talk with
their faces close together. Smiling like idiots. I resist the urge
to roll my eyes. The truth is I’m so happy for them.

I plonk down next to them with a huge smile
and feign annoyance, “God, can’t you guys get a room?”

Tina smiles, leans forward and kisses my
cheek. Nik kisses my other cheek.

We’re a Nat sandwich.

Nik replies with a smile, “If you knew how
little quality time I get with my wife now that Tats is around, you
wouldn’t even go there, sister.”

Tina responds, “Sad but true, honey.” She
smiles. “She’s so worth it though.”

I smile and tell them, “Oh, yeah. If she’s
anything like her favorite Teta Nat, she’s going to be awesome.” We
all laugh.

I feel the seat depress, an arm goes around
my shoulders, and I’m pulled into a hard body. I grin. Lips touch
my ear. “Remind me why we never hooked up?”

I chuckle then straighten before turning to
Max and play-think. I scrunch my face, tilt my head and look up. I
reply, “Because we’re friends?”

Max smirks and says a resigned, “Oh,
yeah.”

I can’t help but chuckle. Max and I flirt
all the time. We both know we’ll never be more than friends but
it’s fun and he’s gorgeous. Max and Nik look alike. Nik is built a
little bigger than Max though, but they both have an olive skin
tone, dark hair, muscular bodies, amber-colored eyes and big white
smiles with a single dimple. Trick also looks like them, being
cousins and all, but he’s a little shorter and has hazel eyes.

Ridiculously hot. All of them.

Trick arrives at the booth and Lola pounces
on him. He chuckles and whispers something into her ear. She takes
his hand and they walk away. I smirk. One guess what they’ll be
doing in half a minute.

I hate my stupid ass for looking out for
Ghost. And just when I give up, I spot him at the VIP bar with a
dark-haired pretty woman.

My chest aches. I absently rub at it.

I stand and tell the others I’m going to the
downstairs bar. Mimi and Tina smile knowingly.

Oh, yeah, babies. On the prowl.

As I walk away, my heel catches and I
stumble. I’m falling.

Oh, crap!

Arms close around my waist and hold me
firmly. The person helps me steady myself and asks, “Are you
alright?”

I brush the hair from out of my face, look
up and almost choke on my tongue. In front of me stands a man. A
tall, built, very good-looking man. He has blue eyes and black
hair.

I stammer, “Ahhh- I- Ye- Uh huh.” He
smiles.

Oh, wow.

What a smile it is. It’s wide and showcases
his perfect white teeth. I like a man with great teeth. His eyes
crinkle in the corners. The smile transforms his face. He’s
gorgeous.

I can’t believe it but I’m blushing.

He chuckles, lets go of me, then offers his
hand. “I’m Cole.”

Hawwwwt.

I’m suddenly a little shy. I put my hand in
his and respond quietly, “I’m Nat.” I avoid his eyes.

Still holding my hand, he lowers his smiling
face to look into mine and asks, “Would you like to get a drink
with me, Nat?”

I bite my lip to stop my smile. He looks at
my bottom lip and stops smiling. I quickly release my lip and reply
softly, “Yes. I’d love that.”

A smile forms on his face as he pulls me
closer and holds my hand as we walk down the stairs together.

That sure didn’t take long!

***

“So, you work at the clothing store across
the street, you’re twenty-eight, you’re of a Croatian background
and you’re very single?”

Sipping on my cosmopolitan, I nod my head.
“Yep. That’s me in a nutshell.”

Cole smiles. “Well,
me
in a nutshell
would be pretty short too. I’m thirty-two, all American. I live
downtown. I’m a personal trainer and I’m also very single.”

Uncomplicated.

Just what I need.

I smile and lift my drink. “To being very
single.” He smiles and touches his drink to mine. We sip and I feel
a hand on my arm.

Still smiling, I look up to see Ghost
looking blankly at me. “I need to talk to you.”

I stare at him in disbelief for a moment
before I hiss, “Now? Right now?”

I look back at Cole and I’m not sure what
happened to the guy I was sitting with a minute ago. Gone is the
friendly smile and in its place is a glower. His brows have
dropped; he looks terrifying. His grip on his glass is so tight I’m
afraid he’ll break it. Cole’s voice is dead calm as he asks, “Is
there a problem here?”

Before Ghost has a chance to answer, I
respond, “No. Ash is my neighbor. He probably just got some of my
mail again?” I look at Ghost with pleading eyes. “Right, Ash?”

Ghost’s face has softened slightly and he
looks me in the eye when he replies, “Yeah. Sure.” He doesn’t sound
convincing so I act up a bit. I put my hand on his arm and smile.
“I’ll come by tomorrow and get it. Say hi to Tasha for me.”

As soon as I mention Tasha, Ghost’s eyes
turn hard and he replies quietly, “Yeah, whatever.”

I watch as he walks away.

What did he need to talk to me about?

Cole breaks my thoughts. “So, he’s your
neighbor?”

Looking up, I see he’s clearly confused. He
toys with his drink and looks absently through his glass.
I smile and exaggerate my reply. “Oh yeah! We’ve known each other a
while now. In fact, just the other night I had to go over there to
tell him and his lady friend to keep the noise down. If you get
what I mean?” I wink and smile.