I first met Scarlett four years ago, early in the morning on a late summer's day. I had just moved in to my new flat, situated above the busy high street. The door to access my flat sat squeezed in between two shops, one a generic high street store offering an assortment of newspapers and snacks, the other a quaint yet sophisticated jewellery store. I was just leaving my front door, closing it up behind me, when the metal security doors of the jewellery store began to whine open, and I glanced over.
A beautiful black woman stood with her key in the mechanism, tapping a booted foot impatiently as the door pulled itself up at an agonising pace. Nearly as tall as me, she captured my attention immediately. Her long dark hair was relaxed and straightened, shimmering with rich brown tone in the early morning sunlight. Her features were refined, almost intimidating in their attractiveness, as though conveying a form of superiority over everyone else through nothing other than their perfect form. My gaze took in her dress, black, tight and form-fitting, revealing her sumptuous curves. Her chest was generous, the dress tight enough to show the lines of her bra through the fabric, and her hips and waist cut a dramatic figure, the lines of her body swooping in and tailoring back out into a ridiculously thick behind. Abruptly, I realised I had been staring, fingers idly on the knob of my front door, and she was now looking back at me, one eyebrow raised in...amusement? Or was she offended?
I spun around fully to her, stammering.
"G-good morning! I...believe I am your new neighbour; my name is Tim!" My voice was pitched high, and I hoped she took it for general excitement rather than the guilt of having been caught checking her out. She offered me a small smirk as the security doors finished retracting and she began unlocking the front door of her store. I struggled to force myself to admire her side profile only through my peripheral vision, as even through that vague blur it was too tempting a visage. When she jiggled her keys in the lock, my eyes betrayed me anyway, darting to the brief bounce of her chest before returning to her eyes.
"Hi Tim. My name is Scarlett." And then she had disappeared inside the door, the swish of her hair all I had to remember her by as I went about my day.
I've never been someone to obsess, or dwell over interactions. While Scarlett had made one hell of a first impression on me, I felt I had probably let myself down a bit in our first interaction, and so I put it behind me. For the next couple years, we would exchange cordial greetings but nothing more when we ran into each other, usually on those early mornings as she came and I went. That's not to say I didn't think about her, or lust after her. Every time I saw her, she was dressed to kill, always emphasising her curves and her height. I fantasised about her. I thought about going into her store, striking up conversation, attempting to rewrite whatever impression I made on her that first day, but I never did. Maybe it was my own pride, refusing to take any action that might be interpreted as an acknowledgement of my checking her out that first meeting. Maybe I was just scared.
The years passed, and I found other women to spend my time with. Sometimes I would run into Scarlett while out with them, and I always got the sense that she was sizing up my partners, comparing them to me. I wondered if she judged them for being with me. One of my girlfriends that I had through the years, Sadie, grew close with Scarlett, often going into the jewellery store to chat with her. I think that is what gave me the push I needed to actually start going into Scarlett's store, as I either had the choice of sitting alone waiting like an idiot for my girlfriend to finish up her conversation, or actually go in like a mature adult human being and join in. So I did.
The moment of me pushing open Scarlett's shop door felt a lot more momentous than it actually was. A bell above the door chimed as it swung open, and I saw Sadie and Scarlett leaning over opposite sides of the glass counter, glancing to see who came in. Sadie rushed over to me.
"Babe! I'm so glad you actually stopped by!" As Sadie threw herself at me for a hug, I couldn't help but look at Scarlett over her shoulder. She met my eye with a wry look on her face, one that I found hard to judge.
Sadie twisted her neck round while in my arms so she could speak to Scarlett.
"I've been trying to get this big lump to come check out your displays for ages! He's been so awkward about it!" My face begin to burn as one of Scarlett's eyebrows rose, and this time there was no doubting the mocking expression on her face.
"I think he checked them out way before you entered the picture Sadie, and found my wares out of his league. Poor Tim probably just felt awkward because of that." I burst into a fit of coughing, Sadie turning to thump me on the back out of concern.
"Aw babe, are you okay? You've gone bright red, you need to step outside?"
What about Scarlett made me turn into such a buffoon? She thought she was better than me, that much was clear, but why did I have to go about proving her correct so effectively? My coughing slowly morphed into bitter laughing, because what else could I do? Eventually I managed to collect myself as Sadie looked on, full of concern, and Scarlett stared at me with something like a challenge to her gaze. Fucking hell, she was intense.
"Sorry about that, I don't know what came over me. Thanks babe. Hi Scarlett, busy day huh?" I couldn't resist getting a bit of a dig in to try to wrestle back some measure of dignity. The store being this empty of paying customers very much seemed to be the norm from what I had seen. Glancing around at the price tags of various pieces on display, it made sense why it was never busy. Hardly anyone around here could afford such exorbitant prices. It really did not surprise me that Scarlett demanded so much for her selection of goods. Everything about her screamed "I'm better than you, and you should know that." The prices were just another way for her to stamp down her authority.
"Oh you know, I'm getting by okay. You aren't in work today?" Something about the way she said it rubbed me the wrong way, as though she were one upping me. Maybe she thought I didn't have a job at the moment. I tried not to sound smug as I replied.
"Oh no, I took the day off to spend with Sadie. We've got lots of fun planned." I wriggled my eyebrows at Sadie as I tacked on the last bit, causing her to blush and burst out an incredulous "Baaaaaaaabe!" I didn't try to hide the smirk on my face. Scarlett's features had darkened slightly, and I delighted in being able to annoy her so easily.
From that day on, I made it a point to stop by Scarlett's store now and then to trade barbs and back-handed compliments. I wanted to prove to her that I wouldn't be intimidated. I think for her, at first, it was as simple as letting me know my place. It became a game of sorts between us, a back-and-forth of wit, and over time it even felt like respect entered the equation. I noticed that Scarlett would pull her punches a bit if I ran into her after a long day, and I sometimes repaid the favour by taking it easy on her.
My relationship with Sadie deepened, and grew more serious, and after about a year I decided to get her something nice for Valentines Day. Where else would I look for something extravagant than in Scarlett's store?
It was a dark, gloomy day, wind whipping around freezing rain, when I entered the shop. The bell chimed, but no one stood behind the counter. I shivered as the door swung shut behind me, and rubbed my arms to try to get some warmth back into them as I began to examine the glass display cases lining the store.
"I'll be out in one moment!" Scarlett's voice echoed out from the back of the store. I took the time to look through the various necklaces, earrings, and rings on offer. Part of me couldn't believe I was about to spend this much at once, yet...I wanted to show Sadie that I cared, that I would not only take care of her, but I would treat her and surprise her.
I opted not to get a ring after spending a few moments looking them over. It wasn't that there weren't any that caught my eye, more that I didn't want to mislead Sadie into thinking I was proposing. I was pondering the necklaces when Scarlett emerged from the back.
"Oh. It's you."
