Falling flat on my face was not the greatest way to start off the evening but there you have it. I was unpacking taped cardboard boxes in my newly rented apartment. Such a hassle.
"How's it going?"
Someone had stepped inside. I forgot I had left the front door open. He was a very big man, somewhere around 6'2 wearing all leather. Quite intimidating actually but he was smiling and seemed friendly.
"You must be the new neighbor." He had a deep husky voice.
"Yeah, I started moving in today." My voice was much softer.
"That's quite a lot of stuff you got there." He said as he walked in and closed the door behind him. Red flags went up and I began to feel a bit nervous. I wasn't very tough at all. Never experienced a fist fight in my life. Plus, I was only 5'7 with a very slender body. No more than 130.
"Need any help with anything?" He asked me.
"Oh, no. I'll be just fine." I answered with a nervous, dimpled smile.
He kind of chuckled a bit. "Tell ya what. I'm gonna be ordering a large pizza later tonight. Why don't you come on over and have a few slices with me?" There was something strange about the look in his eyes as he glared at me. Like I better not say no.
"Sure. I, I guess that would be ok."
"7 O'clock. Don't be late."
"That sounds fine." I answered.
He took a few steps towards me. "That should be 'Yes Sir' Don't you agree?"
Red flags went up again but I was so nervous and intimidated I just blurted it out. "Yes, Sir."
He stepped back and smiled. "Now doesn't that feel better?"
I felt much more comfortable with him smiling so I just repeated myself without thinking. "Yes, Sir."
"7 O'clock. Right?"
"Yes." I replied.
He stepped towards me again with that glare in his eyes.
I quickly corrected myself. "Yes, Sir."
"Apartment 4D, don't be late." And with that, he left.
Well, that was awkward. But still, I had to admit it would be nice to have a few new friends in the area. I didn't know anyone around here. I continued unpacking for the next few hours. At 6:30 I took a shower and got dressed casually in jeans, a T shirt and sneakers. All this work built up quite an appetite and pizza sure did sound good right now. I stepped into the hallway, locked my door and walked down toward his apartment. "Let's see. 6D, 5D, here we go, 4D." I knocked on the door. There was some sort of metallic symbol bolted above the peep hole with the engraving 'Powerhouse Conversions' which I was admiring when the door suddenly swung open.
Once again he stood there towering over me. "Right on time. Come on in." He said with a beer in his hand.
The nervousness reappeared but I stepped past him and entered the main room. I heard the sound of several dead bolts click behind me.
"Have a seat." He pointed at a large flat pillow on the floor right in front of a large leather chair. He gently but firmly pushed me forward a bit. "The pillow is soft and warm."
The television was on and the smell of Italian food swirled in the air. I guess he was like a hippy or something with the whole pillow thing so why not. I sat down indian style facing the TV which had a football game in already in progress.
"Hey." He said in a stern voice. "Face the chair so we can have a conversation."
I looked up at him standing over me and could see the seriousness in his face. Red flags went up again but I remembered the dead bolts being locked. Slowly I turned and faced the chair.
He smiled and became relaxed again. "Good boy." He sat down in the chair with his legs spread wide. "I guess it's time to eat. Why don't you grab me a couple slices of pie and I got a small salad for you."
"A salad?" I was starving. A small salad would do nothing for me.
"Well, you want to keep that slender body looking good don't you?"