Paradise City

"He's utterly repulsive."

"I don't know, Cal. He sounds kind of hot."

"James!" I gasped into the phone. "This isn't the time to be gay."

He laughed. "Noted."

It had been nearly a month since I had seen or heard anything from my neighbor. Though, he did leave me a note in my mailbox right before I assume he went out of town; "Don't worry, Kitten. I'll be back before you know it." He even drew a little winky face at the end for added effect.

"He called me Kitten, James. Kitten!"

"I think that's cute."

"I hate this guy." I replied dully.

"You mean you secretly want to bang him?"

I rolled my eyes. "No."

Things in Vegas had been a lot better for me, considering. I had been on the hunt for a job. James had been pressuring me to really get out there. Though, I'd never admit that it was only because I had ran out of TV shows to watch on Netflix. I still hadn't heard back from any of the restaurants that I applied at, sadly. Most of my days were filled with calling different places and asking if they were hiring. If they were, I'd have to do the unthinkable and actually go outside for once, and fill out an application.

I had been keeping in contact with Alisha regularly, after she showed up unexpectedly to talk to me about a noise complaint that she had received. She wouldn't disclose which neighbor it was that filed the complaint, but I had a pretty good idea. I didn't tell her about the trouble I was having with Dean. I didn't want her to think that I was unhappy with the apartment, because I wasn't. I was unhappy with tenant next door.

"So tell me about Alisha. She's your new best friend? You trying to get rid of me already?"

"I wish getting rid of you was that easy. I really do." I replied as I skimmed craigslist for anymore job offerings that I hadn't already applied at. "But no, she's nice. She understands that moving to a new place is scary, she moved here from Alaska. So she's a small town girl like me. We have a lot in common, actually. I'm going to dinner with her tonight."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, we're going to some bar downtown."

"That should be fun. What are you going to wear?"

I looked in my closet. It had been filled with color since my last shopping trip. I frequently hit up Khol's and a few thrift stores in the area to keep myself updated. Alisha was supposed to be coming over to help me find something to wear, "I'm not letting you wear a plain t-shirt. No t-shirts allowed." She had chided me over the phone earlier. I was surprised at how excited she was to actually be hanging out with me.

"I don't know. I was thinking about a pair of jeans, this black top that I got yesterday- it like, has buttons down the front, but it's not a button up. And the straps go across the chest. It's really cute. And then a black cardigan in case it's chilly." I could hear James' discontent on the other side of the phone. "Whatever, Alisha is going to come help me later."

"Hopefully she has more fashion sense than you." He said. "I gotta go back to work. Text me later. Send me a picture or something."

I threw the phone down and fell on the bed backwards. I wasn't good at this kind of stuff. I never had been. I made friends in high school because I was smart, and everyone wanted to be friends with the smart girl because she'd do your homework for you and make you easy-to-read flashcards for the upcoming Physics exam. Also because there wasn't really a lot of kids in my town, we were all just kind of stuck up each other's asses. I went to Gatlinburg Community College, the people there aren't even worth mentioning. I kept my head down, I studied hard, and I left there with a Bachelor's in Business.

And I'm using that degree very wisely right now as I wallow in self pity.

But wasn't I allowed to be sad?

I could hear my dad's voice in the back of my head saying 'no'. Telling me that I had to get up and put my big girl pants on, because I am twenty-two years old and I should have accomplished the world by now. "Get up, Cal. Just because something sad happens doesn't mean that you put your entire life on hold." He told me that when my first boyfriend ever, Jared, broke up with me. He came into my room one night after I refused to come eat dinner; there were blankets hanging over the windows to keep the sunlight from coming in, the lights were off, and Britney Spears' 'From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart' was playing on repeat. I was sixteen years old, what'd he expect?

Alisha showed up a few hours later. I was alphabetizing my DVD's to keep myself occupied while I waited for her. She welcomed me with a warm hug, one that she had to bend down in to because she was already a good five inches taller than me. Her heels didn't help.

"Let me see that closet!" She squealed with excitement as she clapped her hands together.

"I already have something picked o-" She sighed. "Just give it a chance, okay? You might actually like it."

She followed me to the bedroom and sat at the end of my bed as I changed in the bathroom. She thumbed through one of my picture albums of Tennessee as she asked me questions about my home life. We still hadn't really discussed that one topic, but she did know about it at least. Sometimes I felt like maybe that was the only reason she was being so nice to me; pity.

I stepped from behind the bathroom door cautiously.

"I like it!" She beamed.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's cute. It suits you. Not too far from your comfort zone, but far enough. There's only one problem; those have to go." She pointed to my flats.

"What?!" I whined. "No flats?"

Alisha was already digging through my the shoe boxes at the base of my closet. "Yes! These will work!" I heard her muffled voice. She emerged with a pair of black heels that I had bought at Cosmopolitan a few weeks ago. They had studded diamonds on the heels. "Girl, you've got to let me borrow these one day."

I snatched the shoes away from her and huffed, slipping them over my feet before looking at myself in the mirror. They did look better, but I wasn't about to admit that to Miss Fashion Police.

"Now, you need some make up."

"No."

"Yes."

"No, Lish. I hate make up."

"Callie, it's just one night. Dress to impress. You never know who you'll meet out there. Maybe you'll meet your soul mate." She whined as she pulled out her mascara, lip stick, and eye shadow.

I groaned and plopped myself down on the toilet, letting her have her way.

When she was finished she took a good look at me and smiled. "Go look at yourself."

I hadn't worn make up since Homecoming my junior year of high school.

"I hate it." That was a lie. I actually really liked it. My lips were bright red, my eyebrows were penciled in, and I had this smokey effect going on.

"You love it. Come on, let's go."

When we got to the bar it was way too crowded for my taste. If I had known we were going to be meeting a few of Alisha's friends, I probably wouldn't have come, I didn't like feeling like the third wheel. Or in this case the fifth wheel. She introduced me to each of them, and they all seemed nice, until they immersed themselves into their own conversations and I was left with myself and a watered down Jack and Coke.

I indicated that I was going to go grab another drink, but no one was really paying any attention.

"Another Jack and Coke, please." I yelled over the music.

I waited for the bartender to make my drink, and tried to avoid the couple next to me who were practically devouring each other's faces.

"Are you even old enough to be in here?" I heard from behind me. I immediately froze.

When I turned around, I, for the second time, came face-to-chest with none other than my annoying neighbor, Dean. The unexpected closeness made my breath hitch, but I remembered that there was barely any room to stand, and this was the only open spot at the bare where there wasn't a couple playing tonsil hockey. He towered over me, making me feel extremely intimidated. He was tall, but standing mere centimeters apart, he was like a skyscraper.

"Why are you here?" I groaned, turning my back towards him. I could feel our bodies touching slightly, I shivered.

"I live here too, ya know?"

"Hardly. You're in town, what? Once a month?"

"So you noticed?" I could practically see that evil smirk in my mind. Bastard. "Did you get my note?"

"Yeah, please don't leave any more of those. It's harassment."

He scoffed. "What'ya drinkin'?"

"None of your business." The bartender sat the drink down on the bar in front of me. I went to hand him my card, but Dean swatted my hand away and told the man to put it on his tab.

"Stop." I said as I turned back around. I could smell his cologne. It was extremely enticing.

"Stop what?"

"Being annoying."

"Nah, pissing you off is fun."

I brushed past him and made my way back to the group. However, a few moments after I sat down, there was Dean sitting down in the chair across from me. If looks could kill, I would've murdered this man ten times already.

"Callie!" Alisha yelled over the music. "Have you met Dean? He's the neighbor I was telling you about!"

Oh yeah, we've met alright. "No, we haven't met yet!" I said with a fake smile. "I'm Callie. It's so great to meet you!"

He was smirking again. It took everything in me not to slap that chubby, smug face of his. He stuck a hand out to me and I reluctantly took it. "Nice to meet you too, Callie."

A waitress sauntered over to our table with a tray of food on her shoulder. As she walked around me, I discreetly stuck my foot out and tripped her up, sending two baskets of hot wings into Dean's lap. She caught herself before the rest of the food fell, and apologized profusely, saying that she must've caught the leg of my chair.

"Oh my gosh!" I gasped. "Here let me help you!"

As I reached over the table to place a few napkins in my neighbor's lap, I knocked over his drink causing an even bigger mess.

I looked up at him, faking shock, but he just smiled. He nodded his head and smiled, taking in a deep breath.

Alisha rushed over to help him but he stood up calmly and made his way to the bathroom. She looked at me with a 'why did you just do that' look, but I shrugged my shoulders and continued sipping on my drink.

After a while, Dean never returned. I mentally gave myself a pat on the back.

"Hey Lish!" I called. "I think I'm going to head home."

She nodded at me and hugged me goodbye.

I made my way through the crowd and out into the warm Nevada air. I greeted it kindly, taking in a deep breath as soon as I stepped out of the bar. The fresh air was nice. There wasn't a pungent smell of sweaty bodies mixed with strong cologne. When I opened my eyes, I saw someone standing up against the building out of the corner of my eye.

You've got to be kidding me.

He had his eyes on me the whole time. I took another deep breath and hitched the strap of my bag over my shoulder. My plan was to walk right past him and just get to my car.

However, I should've known that wasn't going to happen.

"Callie." He said so nonchalantly, drawing my name out in a taunting way. "You've got balls. You know, a lot of people tend to stay away from me, they don't actively go and piss me off."

"But it's so much fun." I mocked him.

He laughed. "Tread lightly, dear."

"You don't scare me."

For once he was at a loss for words. I smiled at him and continued down the street. I could feel the hole his stare was burning in my back as I walked away, but I ignored it and slid into my car. I looked back briefly, but he was gone.