Catch Me If You Can (pilot part I)

Above me lives a hot, witty pilot. Equal parts Ryan Reynolds and Catch Me If You Can. I had lived in the building for the better part of a year before we met. He held the door open for me as I carted in an ambitious armful of freshly folded laundry.

It was a good while before I ran into said neighbor a second time. I'd just come home fresh off the heels of a 'lets (just) be friends talk' with my bff/crush and was venting via my cell phone to my pal Steve. Clad in my best 'I presented at Goldman Sachs today' boring suit/glasses/bun I was fighting the lock to the door of my apartment when I heard a familiar, 'hello.' Door now open, I asked Steve to hold, turned, leaned into the door jam, took down my hair and echoed my best nonchalant, 'hello' back.

My 'new' neighbor walked over to my door, asked how my day was and offered his phone number. Pointing to the phone I said something to the effect of how I couldn't take his number as I was on a call. I also added that I was sure I'd run into him another time. Stepping into the doorway he asked, 'Gotta pen?'

After jotting down his number and intentionally 'forgetting' and asking his first name to scribble next to it, I said goodbye and closed the door giggling. It was at about this point that I heard a distinct 'hellllllll-llllllllo?!' from my phone and realized I'd left Steve hanging.

In the following weeks, I joined neighbor for a football game, invited him to a bbq, stopped by with leftovers from said bbq and watched half of Season 4 of The Office on his couch. I made jokes about his stomping and he made jokes about my piles of newspapers. He introduced me to the locals and I introduced him to my pals. He made a big deal out of bringing down a shiny and newly washed casserole dish (from aforementioned bbq) and I 'accidentally' locked myself out so he could lead me down the fire-escape. That night we spent some time getting to know each other better on my couch... that is until he freaked out having just realized that we were neighbors and that anything serious was probably unadvisable.

The next two weeks were touch and go and it was clear he was fading out. It was during this time that I locked myself out, for real. I buzzed his apt. He came down. I invited him to my Halloween party the following week as I followed him up to his apartment. He insisted he climb down the fire escape for me. He let me in to his apartment, introduced me to his parents - yes parents- and jumped out the window. Literally.

There I was, shaking his parents hands. Introducing myself as the neighbor downstairs while his mother exclaimed 'Oh! You're casserole girl. He was so proud of how he washed that casserole dish,' and his father inquired 'Why did our son just jump out of the window?'

Light years later he was back upstairs and I was out the door. A week later, after next to radio silence, I got a txt apologizing for his having gone MIA. It seemed he was out of the country and was now back... back and working on his Halloween costume.... back and working on his Halloween costume and waiting on his girlfriend.

Apparently letting me know that he was waiting on his girlfriend was his way of letting me know that he had gotten back together with a girl he'd mentioned once.... when he was telling me how they split up because she was the jealous type. He let me know that he could have sworn he'd introduced us.  I let him know that I thought he was 'a passive dick.'

- To Be Continued -