Tobias
Chapter 1- Getting out of Dodge Tobias reached across her lap to open the door. As gentlemanly as he was, there was something rough and…
Author: T. M. X7
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Chapter 1- Getting out of Dodge Tobias reached across her lap to open the door. As gentlemanly as he was, there was something rough and…
Chapter 1- Getting out of Dodge
Tobias reached across her lap to open the door. As gentlemanly as he was, there was something rough and crude in his behavior. He was thinking about how he wished he could be like his buddies at the warehouse who were uncouth with women; especially women like Nadia who wore their desire. The way she let her hair fall over her shoulders during her lunch break. Maybe because she thought no one was watching her as she tugged at the ponytail holder to release her long, thick jet black mane. Not that Tobias paid her too much attention but when she let her hair fall, he noticed how exotic she looked. With a slight change of hairstyle, her native Moroccan features became more pronounced and alluring. It was easy to forget that Nadia was anything but American but she was not born here he remembered her telling him during an unexpected conversation in the break room. Besides that passing fact, Nadia reminded him very much of every girl he went to high school with not too many years ago. She was more concerned with perfect makeup than being to work on time. When she made an error in her notes, she never admitted to it but rather brushed it off and nearly waited for the other person to apologize. Arrogant. If Tobias had to describe her in one word, it would be arrogant. Her arrogance is the reason she’s even sitting in his beaten up 99 Jeep Wrangler. She left her keys right on her passenger seat, finishing up the last layer of the soft coral-colored lipstick, he bet. Or maybe putting on a dash of the fragrance she had worn since she’d been working as a receptionist. What was that smell anyway? It was like a warm mix of sandalwood and vanilla. Tobias was unaware that he even noticed her scent before but somehow he knew the smell of her as if second nature.
“Here you are,” he quickly remarked as he reached across and pushed open the passenger door. “The Locke Brothers. We’ve got the key. Phil.Los.Sophy!”
Tobias made two air guns as he dryly mocked the company’s jingle that hadn’t changed since he was a kid. Nadia’s face lit up for just as second, he swore he saw a light but just as quickly, it faded away.
“Watch much television do you?” Nadia slyly remarked. Tobias was back on defense now, embarrassed that he attempted to let his guard down.
“Just easing the mood. Anyhow, here’s your stop. Good luck.”
She parted one leg and placed it on the ground outside and started to turn. Tobias was becoming annoyed now at her grand and drawn out exit, mostly because he was still reeling from the embarrassment. He was annoyed that he could have watched her indefinitely. He was under her spell, whatever she did, he would gaze in fascination. Every move she made was a production. Nadia slowly turned back toward Tobias with one leg still stretched out of the Jeep.
“Do you go out, like, at all…ever?” She interrogated him more than questioned. Her words lingered and the two caught eyes before Tobias decided to answer. He thought he regained power by waiting to answer but quickly regressed into self-consciousness when he grappled for an answer.
“I mean, yeah of course. A bar…”
Nadia put on a she-devil grin as she interrupted him, “I’ll pick you up tonight, around 10. We’ll go out. As a thank you. I know a place. Yeah?”
And Tobias was hypnotized by her forwardness but managed to make out a reply. “Ok. Call me.” Victory, he thought. Finally, he said something that wasn’t a complete goof.
His apartment was reminiscent of his boyhood bedroom. Scarce as it was, Tobias felt comfortable in his digs. He had a modest sized flat screen television but he rarely powered it on except for marathons of Doctor Who when he wasn’t working. His sofa was a funky shade of orange right out of a 70’s basement. There wasn’t much to be said of his apartment tucked away in a small residential building just west of downtown Dodge. In fact, everything about Tobias’ life was just ordinary and predictable. He knew every corner of his apartment the same way he knew every corner of the town he grew up in. His sense of familiarity was beginning to smother him now, everything was growing still in his life. He wondered about the unknown now and found himself thinking about adventure in a way he never had. His imagination was starting to become untamed; in some ways, he still felt like a kid. Just then, Tobias grew tired suddenly. Like his days of old, he went to bed relatively early but tonight was the exception as he watched the clock waiting to hear from Nadia. It was nearing 10:30 and still no word from this enchanted, dark-eyed beauty. Yet, somehow this is what he expected from someone as self-centered as Nadia. Or maybe this was just a stunt she conjured up in the moments before leaving his car to seem appreciative. Tobias let his mind run down a list of all the reasons why anything between him and Nadia could never work. He thought she was too brash and he knew himself to be too sensitive of a creature for her. Nadia was a party girl and he was a homebody. And finally, he thought, she’s much too exciting for someone as plain as him. His Levis were worn, his facial hair tattered, and he rarely made trips to the barbershop to control his curly tresses. Whichever way they landed in the morning is how they stayed. Tobias didn’t have to face the public at work and it was evident in his appearance. No, someone as vain as Nadia couldn’t be interested in going out with him. He pulled off his faded t-shirt and fell onto his sofa. Despite his knowledge of Nadia’s unappealing traits, he allowed himself to let the memory of her voice lull him to sleep. He was hoping he could dream about her if she was the last thought on his mind before sleep.
Nadia’s home was clear across town. Which isn’t saying much considering the size of Dodge but really, it was a world apart. She lived in an older house that had seen a lot of life. She lived there with her father Ibrahim who was an aging tomcat. In his older years, he was just as attractive but the illness that had set in his body was conflicting with his charm. Now, he needed his children to tend to him. Nadia’s two older brothers, Yussef and Tarek, were rarely home. They spent a great deal of time operating their clothing store and entertaining women. Her little brother Ahmed was still living in the home and practically took care of himself. Nadia had always thought him alien. He wasn’t like her older brothers who were rambunctious and social. Ahmed was fifteen but easily more mature than any guy twice his age. She loved the kid more than she could ever express but he scared her. So she loved him in her own secret way and tried to avoid him in the home. Ahmed took care of their father when the three older siblings were wrapped up in their own lives which was usually. Tonight he was heating up two Lean Cuisine dinners for him and Ibrahim as Nadia prepared to start her night out. She turned on the radio to 103.1, The X. With no regards to other members of the house, she turned her music to full blast. The fast-talking jockey’s spiel carried throughout the entire house. “You are listening to 103.1, The X. Your official pre-party spot for all the latest in dance and pop. For all you night crawlers out there, don’t forget to take a shot for us. Rock out to this tune as we head into a short break. Meet us back here in 60 seconds for more of the latest and greatest on The X, 103.1.” By this time, Nadia had slipped into a shiny black bodycon dress and bright purple peep-toe pumps. Her hair was now in perfect ringlets and her make-up was comparable to a drag queen’s which is how she liked it. She never stepped out without a wrist full of bangles and a perfect clutch. While she didn’t have to try hard, or even at all, Nadia was determined to be seen. Tonight she was catching a ride to the club with her brothers. She sometimes liked to be seen with them. Her brothers always had expensive cars and everyone knew them on the club circuit. They passed up the line and walked right into VIP. Nadia was their princess still despite needing to age out the phase many years ago. As she walked toward the front door to leave, she passed Ahmed and the siblings shared an awkward encounter.
“Will you be okay here with dad?” Nadia didn’t know what else to say.
Ahmed uncomfortably replied, “Yeah, we’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“Ok, well lock the doors, I’ll be home later.”
Ahmed looked at his sister briefly before answering. “Ok, I will. Bye.”
Nadia walked out the door to the BMW that waited with music so loud it shook the ground. She quickly shook off the previous moment with Ahmed and prepared for a release in the form of a night out.
In the car, Nadia had a rare moment of atonement. Her mind wanted to focus on the night that lay ahead but it kept going back to Tobias. Her confliction was starting to grow. Whether she genuinely felt bad or felt sorry for Tobias is what she couldn’t figure out. Instead of wasting energy on those thoughts she decided to let it go. Not only because of Tobias but for the many reasons that were beginning to pile up in her life.
Dodge was a town of contradictions. Like many medium sized towns, it was shamelessly struggling to be metropolitan within the infrastructure and politics of small town, USA. Unlike major cities, what you saw is not at all what you were seeing. A lot of the buildings doubled in their functions. Nadia and her brothers made a sharp right turn behind North Elementary School. Tonight, the spot was Crawl. Nadia knew this when it was coded into the jockey’s announcement on The X. Not everyone knew how to decipher this but Nadia had been frequenting the clubs in the area since she was 14 and knew what to listen for. She knew what lied behind North Elementary. It was a small, shoddy brick building that housed Crawl and other places as needed. For the safety of the kids, it was gated and locked during school hours, made to look lifeless. Very few people had the key to open the gate, usually people from radio or sometimes a socialite. The key-holder tonight was one of Nadia’s old, in fact her very first, boyfriend. Robbie was the life of any party. Everyone knew and liked him. He wasn’t just well-dressed and ambitious, but he was also well-off. Seven years her senior and secular, Nadia was attracted to him from the start. If it hadn’t been for his influence, Nadia would have never pursued her talent for dance. Robbie was 22 when they met and made it his mission to introduce Nadia as his girlfriend whenever they went out. At that time, he was becoming a more prominent club DJ and Nadia basked in his spotlight waiting for her own notoriety to kick in. It wasn’t long before she started to be noticed and so began a tumultuous affair between the two marked by competition and envy. Their romance primarily consisted of dangerous lows and polar highs that often required intervention of friends and family. On the day of her 17th birthday, she and Robbie took off to Mexico and married, just for the fun of it and despite their lack of commitment to one another. The debacle sent her family into a panic as their only daughter spiraled out of control under the manipulation of an older man. They didn’t see Robbie as a kid though his lack of wisdom and maturity said otherwise.
Chapter 2-
She noticed him almost immediately upon entering Crawl...
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