Lying in the chair, stretching lazily beneath the summer sun Nikki heard the rowdy voices of her new neighbors. It was just after ten in the morning when the signs of life had started to show next door, and by the sounds of things, the party was in full swing again. Nikki listened. Loud voices talking over the loud music. The phone ringing, someone calling out to another. A young female squealing with laughter, male voices cheering with obvious approval. She had to smile at what she heard. Their whole lives right now centered on having fun. The real world be damned... at least for now. 'To be young and free again,' she thought. Then remembering her own freedom, she gave another cat like stretch, tilted her smiling face to the sun, and let it warm her.
The last 2 years had been tough for her. She thought of all she had lost. Then sitting up and looking at the tiny house, she remembered all that she gained. Inside was barely 1,000 square feet of living space, but it was hers and hers alone. To Nikki it symbolized something more, something Joseph could never understand. It was more than just a home; it was a sign of her coming into her own, a symbol of her freedom. Moreover, it was a clear sign that she would never be dependent on anyone again.
Of course, Joseph, her ex-husband, had gone off the deep-end when he'd heard she bought the small beachfront property. Whether she was dependent on him or not, he wanted the whole world to believe she was. He had phoned her in a frenzy and all but begged her not to do this to him. "Nicole be reasonable... it's tiny. It's run down. It's in a bad neighborhood," he argued. When she refused to listen, Joseph let his true feelings shine through. "Jesus Nicole! What are people going to say?"
Of all the arguments her ex-husband had protesting her new purchase, the latter she felt was the most truthful. What would people say? For goodness sake, the rumors would be terrible. Joseph R. Cronin's pretty ex-wife living in a dumpy little beach house off the strand. Gasp! Surely, one of LA's best attorneys wouldn't allow for such a horror! Nikki's lips curved into a twisted little smile and thought to herself, 'Life is such a bitch, isn't it Joseph?'
Nikki was brought back to the present by a young girl yelling. "God Dammit, Eric! You asshole, knock it off!"
Glancing towards the sound of the commotion, Nikki could see a group of kids standing on the second floor balcony. A pretty little Asian girl was trying to fix her bikini top. Though Nikki didn't see exactly what happened, she had to assume that the dark-haired kid grinning smugly was Eric, and he was the responsible party for exposing the girl's breasts.
From what Nikki had seen yesterday when her temporary neighbors first arrived, they looked to be all of 20 years old. They were just kids, maybe in their first or second year of college, if that, and they were obviously without parental supervision.
Reaching for the oil on the table next to her, Nikki heard a telephone ring. Unsure if it was coming from her house or the one next door she tilted her head and listened again. Realizing it was her phone she muttered, "Dammit!" Jumping from the lounge chair Nikki raced toward the house forgetful of two things - One: she was in a small bikini. And two: regardless of their age, or lack of, they were still male.
Nikki reached the phone just in time to be greeted by a dial tone. "Damn," she said again. She thought of using the call back feature, but decided against it. Whoever it was would call back.
With that, she returned to the backyard, put the phone on the table and reclaimed her place in the sun. Nikki took the oil and began to slather the coconut scented liquid on her already sun kissed legs when she noticed that the sounds from next door had dimmed somewhat. Peeking over the rim of her glasses, she was suddenly aware of the attention she now drew. From their raised vantage point, they had a perfect view into her yard. Why she hadn't thought of this before was beyond her. All of them now gazed down upon her, watching as her hands moved up her legs. The oil glistened on her limbs in the hot sun. One of them began calling out to her. She looked in his direction, smiled politely and turned away, hoping that she conveyed her disinterest to them. But again he called out, and again she turned to look at him. And as young inexperienced men often are, his cheers were unrefined. But Nikki had been semi-amused by his youthful enthusiasm. She chuckled and shook her head.
One of the young men who had been sitting in the shadows had moved forward and now stood leaning against the railing watching Nikki's reaction. His forearms rested on the banister, and he was holding a bottle of beer out in front of him. He looked as though he'd just awoken and threw on whatever was handiest; his ball cap sat backward on his head, and his shirt hung opened. Even from this distance Nikki had a decent view of his young body. Nikki had to admit he was rather cute, but she guessed she was at least ten years his senior.
Though she didn't mean to openly stare, she was intrigued by his silence; he didn't join in the rambunctious antics of his buddies. Instead, he watched her as she absentmindedly smoothed the oil over her brown skin. When a smile touched the corners of his mouth Nikki realized what she had been doing. Immediately Nikki dropped her gaze, embarrassed by not only her ill manners, but she also worried about what signals she was sending.
As her oiled hands passed over her rib cage, the obnoxious kid standing in the center of the pack called out to her again. In the typical grand bravado of young men driven by too much testosterone, and not enough brains he yelled out, "Hey baby... show us your tits!!" Which of course was followed by great laughter and slapping him on the back.
'Oh, such a witty young thing,' Nikki thought dryly to herself. Though he no longer amused Nikki, she didn't let it show. Instead, she leaned back in her chair, and tilted her head down slightly, as if contemplating the suggestion of exposing herself to them. Smiling coyly at them from beneath her lashes, she dragged her hands higher, barley brushing over the swell of her breasts - to which more cheers followed. Nikki looked up at all of them, smiled defiantly and gracefully extended both middle fingers. A huge uproar of laughter erupted.
"Bitch!" the kid yelled, as he returned the gesture and retreated into the house. Nikki saw the flash of anger and humiliation as his friends congratulated him on making such an ass of himself. The young man that had been watching her silently was now howling with laughter.
Nikki donned a set of earphones, pushed her sunglasses up on her nose, and flashed him a brilliantly satisfied smile. With that, she laid back in her chair. She turned up the volume on her IPod and began tapping her fingers to the music and grinning to herself. She felt rather smug; proud of the way she handled that pretentious little shit.
Eventually the smile faded from Nikki's lips as the fingers of sleep were beginning to reach for her. She didn't have any appointments for the rest of the afternoon and the idea of a nap just seemed to envelop her so completely. Even though she knew that falling asleep under the hot sun would be a very bad idea, Nikki just couldn't raise herself from the inviting grayness. But the sudden shadow that was cast in front of her quickly startled her from the verge of sleep. Dazed and afraid, Nikki sat up and used one hand to shield her eyes from the glaring sun. She saw a figure of a man in front of her. He was speaking to her, but she didn't understand him. Realizing that she still wore the headset, she reached up and yanked it from her ears.
"Who the hell are you?" Nikki demanded.
There was such a defensive quality to her movements that the man took a step back, trying to show her he wasn't a threat to her. "I'm... I'm sorry," he stammered. "I really didn't mean to frighten you."
Nikki saw his face, but still had no clear idea of who he was. And though the stubborn tendrils of slumber had let her go, she was still agitated. "What do you want?" she asked brusquely.
"I don't want anything... really." He looked down, suddenly fascinated by his shoes. "I just wanted to come over..." he trailed off.
When the realization of who he was dawned on her Nikki said, "Oh god, you're the kid next door." Immediately she felt a pang of guilt for snapping so rudely at him.
Lifting his eyes to meet hers, he smiled a bit and said, "Yeah." His face seemed to flush with embarrassment and Nikki couldn't help but smile at his boyish manner.
Nikki's whole demeanor changed; her furrowed brow softened, and the annoyed tone of voice was gone. She smiled apologetically and offered, "God, I'm so sorry. But you scared me to death."
