I am nervous as I walk up the stairwell. The sound of my shoes scuffing each stair reflects off the dingy once-white walls of the narrow hallway like an insistent warning, telling me to turn around and walk away with every step. Yet I continue, pursuing my chosen course with the same timid determination that has carried me through this day. Ever since I came out to my car and found the note tucked underneath my wiper blade.
The hallway is empty of people, but still I hear voices, dim and muffled, reminders that I am not alone. They come from doors that I pass hesitantly, echoing from floors above and below. They are the voices of people quarrelling, laughing, children playing, televisions blaring. I know the building is full of life, full of assistance should I require it. It steadies the fear inside me, keeps my legs trudging forward.
I reach the door of your apartment. I glance once at my watch. I pause and do not knock.
My mouth feels utterly dry, my tongue impossibly swollen. Every muscle in my body stands tense. A growing ball of tension fills my stomach. I can practically feel my legs trembling beneath me. Yet I stand there, alone outside the apartment door, afraid to move. I am totally unready for what is to come. I stand with my eyes closed, my imagination burning a hundred images at once across my mind.
And still I do not knock.
Unfolding the note I have crumpled in my palm, I read it once more. The tone and the text fill me with dread. The message speaks clearly of your intentions. The grammar lends itself to other suggestions. The images in my brain coalesce.
Turning the note over, I read the words scribbled on the back, confirming that I know what I am doing. I know who u are. That single sentence frightens me to the core. The date and the time and the address that follow send the same chill down my spine that I felt at 7 am this morning. I open my eyes and stare at the number on the door.
I raise my hand to knock.
Like the falling of a gavel, my knuckles rap once against the door. The sound is obnoxiously loud to my own ears, but I sense it is not enough. Mustering resolve, I knock several times, then stand and await the outcome of such boldness. My heart pounds fitfully in my chest, and I begin to count the beats in an effort to calm my pulse. With every number that tumbles through my head I want to turn and rush away, but my feet are frozen now. I can only wait and hope and wonder.
I close my eyes once more. The sounds of the building fill my ears, yet I imagine footsteps approaching. When the door rattles, the bundle of nerves in my belly drops lower. My heart stops briefly. The door opens at the same time as my eyes. For the first time I see you.
You are not what I expected. You are taller than I might have thought, and lean. A shirtless chest reveals your youth and athleticism. Though not overtly handsome by any means, you are likewise in no way ugly. A subtle attractiveness emerges along with your smile. Your eyes scan my body, appraise me without a word, and in the flicker of your grin I sense approval at what stands before you.
You say my name, and I shudder. How you know me, I cannot imagine. You step back and invite me in, the door held wide. I notice your jeans, and your absence of shoes or socks as an afterthought. My eyes scan the interior behind you instead. There the room is dim, the curtains on the windows closed to the afternoon sun. The furniture is eclectic, probably garnered from curbsides or ex-roommates along the way. Some clothes and papers and books are strewn about on the chairs and end tables. I notice a candle and smell some incense burning in the background. The sound of a radio filters in from an adjoining room.
I hear a door open in a hallway above. The door closes. Footsteps and voices filter down the stairwell at the end of the hall. Your eyes are piercing me, your body anxious with energy as you keep the door propped wide with your shoulder. My own nerves are frenetic, and the voices somehow urge me towards action. I feel ashamed and afraid, stupid and silly. I am foolish to just stand there, foolhardy to step forward. Yet I make my move, surprising even myself with my decision.
I almost leap across the threshold, stepping into an unknown place with an unknown person for an unknown eventuality. I am excited by my own daring, terrified by my rashness. I have no idea what your intentions are, but the piece of paper gripped in my sweating palm sends an electric current through all my nerves. My body actually tingles with anticipation and fear.
When the door closes behind me, I feel one of us should say something. My mouth opens to speak, but my voice is lost momentarily in a dry throat. I hear you bolt the door, slide the security chain into place, and I have to swallow. My tongue feels bloated and useless.
Through an archway I see the short hall that leads to other rooms--a kitchen, bathroom, and most likely a bedroom beyond. The pumping sound of techno rushes through the empty space like a subtle wind. Finally I gain some control. I turn to speak. But I am stopped by your eyes.
You rub your chin with one hand and gesture me to silence with the other. You tell me you're surprised I came. I shrug uncomfortably. You ask to take my jacket, and I manage to say something at last. I don't know why I'm here. It is the truth after all. But you tell me you do. I stand quizzically while you hold out a hand for my jacket. You ask me if I have the note, and I nod. You ask me to read it. Out loud.
But first, you insist on my jacket. It is a minor thing, so I acquiesce. I slip my arms out as you stand closer and help to take it off me. I watch as you toss it lazily over one of the chairs. I am wearing jeans myself, a black shirt over a white tee. I at least have sneakers and socks. But without my jacket now, I feel all the more exposed, as if I just gave in to something I should not have. I shudder, trying hard to conceal my anxiety by stepping farther into the room, further from you and the door.