Now ever since I can remember, I've been poppin' my collar, poppin' poppin' my collar, poppin' poppin' my collar. Ever since I can remember I been working these hoes so they better put my money in my hand.
Tayler groaned and shifted in her plush bed. Although her job at the PR firm calls that she must be woken up early in the morning, she hated to get up early.
Especially on her days off.
The rap lyrics to Three Six Mafia could be heard in her bedroom as it vibrated the walls of her condo. She quickly recognized the song from her days of living in her old neighborhood. She laid there thinking about the big colorful dunks that the local men would ride around in on saturdays, showing off their sound system. The various block parties, playing in the water of the broken fire hydrants. Although she was young when she left, she remembered.
Shaking her head to get the thoughts out of her mind. She groaned getting out of bed. She went over to the bathroom and washed her face and brushed her teeth. She snatched the bonnet off her head and threw her messy bed hair into a high bun.
Although she was mad, she was taught to always look her best no matter where she went. She threw on some fuzzy slippers and darted out the door towards the sound of the loud music.
It was directly next door to her. She sat there puzzled as she could've sworn the condo was vacant. She looked at the door that was slightly ajar and held opened with a sealed box labeled kitchen.
Must be new neighbors, great. She thought
She looked around waiting for someone to appear and even looked into the apartment but she didn't see anyone. Being impatient and wanting to get some sleep, she barged into the place.
Immediately upon entering the walkway, she walked into what she presumed was the living room and saw a man standing there setting down a box.
"Hello, excuse me" she said over the music.
But to no avail as the guy started to open the box and bob his head to the rap song.
After a few more attempts she grew frustrated.
"Hey!" She said rather loudly. She couldn't believe she had did that herself.
The guy quickly stood up and looked over at her.
She couldn't believe her eyes as she seen the most gorgeous man she ever laid eyes on. He wasn't the usual type of guy that was handsome. No, this one was different.
He was beautiful.
His face had been sculpted to the tee. His big dark doe eyes were complimented by his curly lashes. His plump pink lips looked good enough to suck as she watched as he spoke to her but she wasn't listening. Now he wasn't her usual type of guy she met nor was he what she thought she would like. He was slim and lean, with a toned chest and stomach that she could see through the sweat saturated wifebeater.
He waved in front of her to get her attention
His hands. They were big and strong as she admired them. God, she could imagine what type of trouble those hands often got him into as she fantasized about them exploring parts of her body.
"Lady are you ok? Are you deaf or something" he tried to sign.
She blinked several times, realizing what had happened.
She was engrossed in her own thoughts and heard nothing he said.
She must've looked like an idiot.
"No, no, no. I'm so sorry, I got sidetracked"
He smirked, knowing exactly what had her distracted. He was used to women staring at him, coming onto him, and constantly approaching him. He wasn't full of himself or had an ego but he knew exactly how women perceived him. Sometimes he hated it, sometimes he was flattered, and other times it amused him.
"Can I help you? Cause I would like to know why you barged into my condo like you owned the place" he crossed his arms.
She cleared her throat, taken aback by his forwardness.
"I'm sorry mister but you are blasting music at 8 in the morning. I was patiently waiting at the door but I saw no one come up the stairs or in the doorway so I came in"
"Thank you for your concern" he proceeded to cut the music back on.
"Hello! Hello! Hey!" She waved like a maniac.
"Yes" he cut the music off once again .
"Listen, I don't know where you're from but around here we have a code of ethics. You have neighbors and you should be respectful!" She snapped.
"And you should know a code of ethics too, don't come barging into other people's homes"
She folded her arms and scowled at him.
"You could get shot doing that" he added.
She smirked. Little did he know about how she grew up, guns didn't scare her. She hung around real killers and was never scared. She was respected everywhere.
"Also, we have a handbook that states no loud music before 10" she smartly quoted.
"Oh is that why I'm playing music at 10:45 in the morning" he looked at his invisible watch.
He showed her the time on his phone.
She gasped feeling embarrassed. She couldn't believe that it was that late in the morning nor could she believe that she came into this stranger's home complaining. She didn't want to be THAT neighbor, but it was loud.
"I'm so sorry, I'm embarrassed. I apologize for barging in"
"Mmhmm as you should be" the neighbor replied.
She squinted at him as he eyed her with a small smile. As much as she was embarrassed, this stranger was being a bit rude about the situation.
"I apologized, no need to be rude"
"Mmm let me see, you came here where I pay rent to tell me to cut my music off. Accused me of not following the rules and tell me to not be rude. Yup, that causes me to be rude"
"And let me see, you come here blasting music early in the morning when you have neighbors with children or who probably have to work today and me coming here telling you to cut it down or off is me being rude? Let me tell you something I pay bills too and if I have a problem, I'll gladly state it. Just like if you had a problem with me, you'll come over and get to the bottom of it. Now I hope you get settled into your new home and please keep your music down. Have a nice stay and don't bother me" she turned on her heels.
"No worries, I won't even come near you" he smirked.
She sucked her teeth, walking out.
"Nice pajamas" he chuckled at her.
Just as much as she was eyeing him, he was eyeing her. As much as women loved Michael, he loved them too. He liked the femininity of a woman and a woman within her natural state. None of that makeup or ass enhancements or breast augmentation he was often used to due to living in L.A.
He loved the messy hair on her and wanted to run his fingers through it. He admired her pouty lips and definitely liked how sassy she was when she spoke to him, he immediately wanted to devour her lips to shut her up. He liked how her silk night gown clung to the curve of her body and stopped just mid thigh so he could get a good look at her luscious thick legs. Although he kept eye contact, he did get a glimpse at her smooth breast, and saw her nipples as they poked through the thin fabric.
He even giggled to himself at her furry dog slippers. He thought they were cute.
However, as much as Michael thought she was cute and mesmerizing, he could not stand her attitude.
But he knew just the cure to fix that.
He shook the thoughts of her out of his head and proceeded to move into his new place.
He made sure to turn the music back up to annoy his new neighbor.
~
NATALIE'S HOUSE
The girls checked themselves out in the mirror once more. Adding a bit of gloss to their lips and smoothing out their hair.
"I don't know why you insisted on me getting dressed over here. I'm perfectly capable of dressing myself thank you" Tayler complained.
She knew better than to come here. Her friend Natalie is a professional stylist and some times she would bring her work home. This often bugged Tayler who was a bit of a control freak. She hated how Natalie pulled on her clothes and throw clothes all around the room making a mess just to find the one perfect outfit. She hated being her guinea pig.
She was just thankful this time that they were at her house.
However, that didn't stop Natalie from making Tayler bring about 10 different outfits to try on in front of her.
"Can you relax, I just wanted us to have a little pregame before the dinner and make sure you put on something appropriate. We are going bowling" she poured more wine to Tayler's glass.
Tayler scoffed. "Bowling, you can't be serious? What are we in middle school?"
"We thought it would be fun and a different type of date"
"Couldn't you have gone somewhere else fun like sky diving" she said being dramatic.
"Nat I'm not putting my feet in some damn used up, fungus infested bowling shoes. This isn't going to work" she went on.
"I'm just going to go" she added as she proceeded to pack her phone up in her purse.
"Woah, woah. Tay calm down. This is what I was talking about, you do this all the time. You get riled up and don't want to go anymore, this is why I said get ready over here. You have to relax"
Tayler shook her head. She knew her friend was right. Due to her bad experiences with relationships and with just people in general she dreaded the idea of someone new. She did everything she could to sabotage a relationship.
But she would never admit that out loud.
"Now look, you promise to give this a try for me and I want to see you try. You have to relax. We haven't even gotten there yet" Natalie reasoned while fixing her clothes.
"You're right. You're right, I just need to calm down" she picked up her wine glass and sipped.
"Now that's my girl"
"But no bowling Nat, I'm serious"
"Ok no bowling" Natalie repeated.
"Now finish telling me about the new neighbor"
"There isn't much to tell, he's an asshole" Tayler replied.
"I mean you did barge into the man's home and told him what to do. Would you like someone to tell you what to do?"
"No but-"
"Exactly and I thought you said he was fine or something. Baby I wouldn't give a damn what he was blasting, I swear he could blast me off like a rocket the way you spoke about him"
Tayler giggled.
"Hush up, but he was fine. He was...different. I don't know, it's just something about him. He was-he was captivating"
"It's just something about him that I can't put my finger on" Tayler added.
"Damn, look at you. Met the man for what 5 seconds and you speaking all poetic about him" Natalie teased.
"Well if he's that fine, I want a piece" she added.
"Nat don't try it. I'm serious"
"Oh so you like him?" She wiggled her brows.
"What? No. I don't even know the man"
"Then why?" Natalie asked smirking.
She knew her friend and she knew she was a bit taken by this new mystery man.
"Because, I don't want to hear y'all getting it on next door. I had to deal with that shit in college and I won't hear it now"
"That was one time" Nat reasoned.
"Well one time too many"
"Ok, well just remind me to stop because I left that thing over there"
"What thing?" Tayler eyed her.
"You know...the thing in the thing from that one time when we did that one thing"
"I can't freaking stand you" Tayler let out a laugh.
She knew her friend was joking. She just wanted an excuse to get a little glimpse at the new neighbor that drives Tayler crazy.
"That's it. See, this is exactly who I want at the table tonight. None of your shenanigans, none of your boujiness . Boujee"
Boujee. The endearing nickname her family and friends gave her. She could be a bit uptight and have unrealistic standards that could drive her friends crazy.
"I am not! There is nothing wrong with having high set of standards. So if that's being boujee then so be it"
"Yeah, you're in denial. Let's just get going on"
"Are you ready" she asked.
Tayler did a little spin in the mirror and for Natalie. As much as she didn't want to go on this double date, she wanted to look her best.
Not to mention it had been almost nine months since her last descent date and she did want to make an impression. Who knows- this guy could be the one. But she didn't want to admit it. Plus, with Natalie and all her horrible dating experiences, it was no guarantee that this guy would be sane.
"How do I look?" Tayler asked.
"You look beautiful. I thought you didn't care?" Natalie squints her eyes.
"I don't but there's no reason why I can't look gorgeous" she reasoned.
"Yeah sure. Come on before we're late"
"So, lets make them wait. Besides if he's ugly I can get out of there before he sees me"
"What part of being nice don't you get?" Natalie rolls her eyes.
"The nice part" Tayler cheekily said.
"Just come on" Natalie demanded.
The girls grabbed their purses and made their way down the stairs of Natalie's home. They placed their wine glasses in the sink, washed their hands and headed to the designated restaurant.
All the while she pretended to be busy on her phone. She was nervous a bit. Sensing her friend's nervousness she started playing some usual jams from their R&B playlist. The girls sung their little hearts out to SWV weak that even featured some choreography.
Little did they know what type of evening this would be.
~
Upon entering the dimly lit restaurant.
"What are we doing here? They don't even have good service here and their food isn't all that good Nat"
Natalie stopped in mid stride and ran a hand down her face.
"Please don't start. No complaining tonight. You said you'd be nice"
"I said I'd be nice to them but I don't like this place"
"Well right now, it isn't about you" Natalie replied.
Her friend pouted and Natalie immediately felt bad.
"Look Tay, just please get through this evening and I'll take you somewhere nicer"
"You have to do better than that" Tayler crossed her arms.
"Ok. I'll take you shopping and you can get whatever you want, plus a date at a 5 star restaurant. My treat" Natalie smiled.
"That'll do" Tayler nodded giggling.
As soon as they continued their walk to the hostess stand, Natalie and Tayler immediately spotted Keith.
"There he is" Natalie announced.
"Damn girl, he is fine. Thank you" Tayler whispered.
She was absentmindedly biting her lower lip at the time. Admiring Keith's tall lean built. She took in every feature about him, she loved his walk and even the freckles that decorated his high cheekbones.
"I mean, he's skinny but he'll do" she commented.
"Uhhh, he'll have to do because that one is mine" Natalie chuckled.
"I know he's fine right" Natalie nudged her friend.
Keith arrived in front of the ladies.
"You look beautiful as always baby" he planted a sweet forehead kiss on Natalie and embraced her.
Feeling embarrassed and out of place, Tayler idly sat by. She rocked back and forth on her heels watching the couple.
She cleared her throat, not in the mood to be the third wheel.
"I'm so sorry. I'm Keith, and you must be Tayler"
"What gave it away?" She corked a brow.
"Ooww" she groaned after Nat nudged her in the arm to behave.
"I'm only joking Keith. It's nice to finally meet you" she shook his hand not being able to get rid of her professionalism.
"It's finally good to meet. Nat has told me so much about you" Keith smiled.
Becoming impatient and not wanting to experience anymore subtle PDA that Nat and her date was giving, she asked the obvious.
"So if this is your date. Where's mine?"
As luck would have it, he walked right through the doors at the same time. However, Tayler's back was turned and she did not see him come in.
"Oh there goes my boy now. He was just trying to find a parking spot"
"Mike" Keith called over.
She looked up from her phone and her face immediately dropped.
It was no one other than the rude neighbor she saw this morning.
"Mike, meet Natalie. Also, meet Tayler. Natalie's best friend" Keith introduced.
"You" Tayler scoffed.
"Nice to see you again gorgeous" Michael commented.
"You two already met?" Natalie asked still holding onto Keith.
"Yeah, this is the idiot who was blasting the music early this morning"
"And this is the sweet young thing who came into my home unannounced to tell me to cut it off like she pays my bills"
"Oh sweetie I could afford to, do not get it twisted"
They stared at each other as their friends sat by, afraid to speak. The air was intense and thick, a knife couldn't cut it.
"Oh this is the one with the fat as-" Keith exclaimed.
Keith stopped himself mid sentence as everyone glared back at him. Natalie smacked Keith in the chest for his almost rude comment.
"Oh no, I'm out" Tayler walked toward the door.
"Finally, some good news" Michael replied.
"Mike man, come on" Keith sucked this teeth.
Michael was a true ladies man, he was smooth. But he didn't liked being dissed by this woman he didn't know. She had no reason to be upset with him as she was the one being rude this morning.
As much as he wanted to help his friend, he wasn't going to kiss her ass.
This is about to get interesting.
So much for a nice evening.