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VII

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"I am so embarrassed" said Amy, shaking her head and making her way back to bed. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't feel right in her own skin. Amy usually found sex relaxing, but a combination of her unnerved status carrying over from the bar, and Simon's lackluster sexual performance forced her to abandon tossing and turning in vain. She had been microwaving a mug of water for herbal tea when she heard him jingling his keys. She dashed over to see if it was indeed her guest singing neighbor. She could confirm it by his clothes.

Somehow, the second she slid the thin metal plate aside on the door, he heard it. He froze like a deer in the wild, and Amy gasped. He brushed it off, signaling that he knew, and it was ok with a wave. It was the second time he'd caught her trying to sneak a peek, trying to satiate curiosity. As Amy drank the tea, and zoned out on late night infomercials, she reiterated to herself that said curiosity was innocent in nature, and she just wanted to get a better idea as to what kind of person was now living next to her. Nothing more.

"Nothing more, Amy." she whispered, eyes lowered as the TV lit the entire room a brilliant, yet melancholy blue.

-- -- -- -- --

"Thunk". The amp banged against the lobby wall upon which the intercoms were installed.

"Hey! I told you to be careful!" yelled Simon.

"And I told you that these were too heavy for only one person!" replied Amy. She was trying to maneuver the amp into her building. She could only imagine what sort of scheme Simon would insist upon to get the amps up the stairs in time. Simon had some sort of big business trip today, and when he came back, he would immediately be buying better stage equipment. He would sell the old stuff, but he would need a place to hold it until he found a buyer. Until then, they needed to be somewhere safe. SImon talked Amy into it, even though it would have to go in various rooms in her apartment and remain in plain site.

"If you just rock it a little, you don't have to lift over stuff like that." he yelled. He was unloading another from the van. Apparently, Simon wanted the whole neighborhood to be aware of their actions. It was a nice enough day, a bit overcast at 11 in the morning. But Amy couldn't help but groan out loud, frustrated by Simon's bull-headedness. It wasn't that Amy was weak. For a woman, she was quite strong. About 5'8", a former all-state athlete in Track and Field. Amy loved pushing her body to the limits. Part of the reason she'd never gone the conventional route in terms of a career was that she couldn't compromise with a highly demanding schedule that kept her from either music, or exercise. She'd had a wide variety of crappy jobs because of this choice, including an exotic dancer for a while. But she had no regrets in regards to those choices, as she had basically lived the kind of life she's always wanted.

"Son of a bitch" she exclaimed. She'd nicked her toe as she shifted and shimmied the heavy amplifier over the doorway's floor plate. She inspected it quickly, it wasn't bad, it would just sting for a while and be very sensitive.

"C'mon babe, my flight leaves in an hour."

Unlike some people.

"Is everything ok?" asked a familar voice from the top of the stairs. Amy looked up to see her mysterious neighbor.

"Yeah, everything is ok. We'll just be a minute."

"Here, let me." Chino worked his way down, and around. He inspected the amp for a few seconds with his hands, letting them figure out the best places to lift the amp by. This gave Amy her first good look at his face. His brown hair was tied back, and it reached a bit past his shoulders. He had distinguished features. Fairly bushy eyebrows. She decided he was cute.

Simon got close enough to the doorway that he could see them. On one hand, he was glad to have another helper, and he gave a quick thank you to Chino as he began to haul the amp to the stairs. On the other hand, Amy appeared to be sizing him up. Chino lifted the amp quickly, and kept it close to him, that he would maintain leverage. He swiftly carried it up the stairs. By the time Simon got to the top of the first set of two, Chino was on his way to the van with Amy to fetch the rest.

20 minutes later, they had unloaded the last of them.

"Dude, Thanks so much." offered Simon with a handshake, which was heartily accepted. Amy's eyes widened when she saw how scarred his hands and lower arms were. Simon had noticed it, but did a better job of concealing his reaction.

"No problem, man. It's my day off, and I needed a new workout anyway."

"I'm Simon. This is Amy."

"I'm Chino. 3G."

"Ah, 3F."

"Yeah, right. Both of you?"

"No, just me"

"I see. Well, if you ever need a cup of sugar or flour or anything...." Chino thought for a moment "..Well, I don't cook, so I guess that's a pointless offer.

Amy chuckled "I hear ya though, likewise."

"Say, you were that guy in the Pour House that actually stepped up and sang with us, right?" noted Simon

"Yeah, that was me."

"Yeah, that was pretty good man. First time I've seen ya there."

"I moved in like, two weeks ago."

"Cool. Well, I gotta flight to catch. Good meeting ya. Thanks again."

"No problem again."

Simon made his way downstairs. Amy smiled awkwardly at Chino, rolling her eyes. She peeked down to see how far he was, and when it was safe, she would get to know Chino a little better. Chino was confused, and assumed she was done talking, and began to go back inside.

"So, are you from around here?" she asked, halting him in his tracks.

"No. New York City, originally."

"Wow. Cool. Headin' on down to "New New York" and you get a place here? Most people who migrate down get houses and lawns and stuff."

"Yeah. Well, I'm sort of between jobs for a while."

"Oh. Oh jeez, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean..."

"Perfectly fine." he smiled.

"Yeah well, I'm really glad you helped us. Simon is great, but a samaritan, he's not."

Chino chuckled "I'm sure he has his good points that make up for it"

"Yeah" said Amy, unenthused.

"You guys were great, by the way. Really talented. Do you guys have a CD or anything?"

"Just some demo stuff."

"Great. How much is it going for?"

"For you, it fell out of the van."

"No, don't worry about it. I only steal music on the internet."

Amy got a fairly big kick out of that one.

"So you got family around here?" she asked.

"Nope. I'm here because of work."

"Got something lined up, or just trying to find something?"

"Why? You know of any good jobs?" he smirked

"Not really, otherwise I'd take it." they both laughed.

"Yeah, the economy is a real killer these days."

"What do you do?" she asked.

"I do what I can to pay the bills."

"I see" she said, lowering her eyes.

"Ok, ok. Twist my arm." he joked.

"No really, it's ok. Privacy and all that."

"I'm a bounty hunter."

"And you're not comfortable with that?"

Chino shrugged. "People who have experience with us have certain... preconceptions about us." Amy frazzled her brow, not following.

"If I said I was a mortician, you'd go... 'oh, he's like that'. Not quite making a judgment about me. In my experience, most morticians are good people. Fun, even. But it does take a certain breed, you know?"

"I guess."

"Well... I just feel uncomfortable about that. That's why I really try not to let my field of work define me as a person."

"Well you're the first bounty hunter I've ever met, and you're a real cool guy."

"Thanks. You're pretty cool yourself."

"Thanks."

Chino was glad she bought the bounty hunter bit. He hated lying, but when he had to, he went all out. He probably knew enough about bounty hunting that he could take it up should he need to. His love for learning and need for specificity enabled him to pass as a boxer, ultimate fighter, professional wrestler or agent, physical trainer, landscaper or office janitor. But nothing said 'give me my space' like someone who dealt with, and hunted armed felons for a living. Without realizing it, the small talk stretched on for about half an hour, covering nothing in particular. They closed things by agreeing to stop by The Pour House sometime soon and getting Chino acquainted with a few people. Amy continued about her day, trying not to think too much about her neighbor, as she was already in a relationship that was working for her. Chino tried to do about the same, but only because setting down roots was forbidden and dangerous for someone such as himself.