Amsterdam part 2

Time to cut the cord. I walk to the bar and order a beer. The a-hole kills the bong and walks over.
"Sell me a nickel."
"What..?" ...this is Amsterdam... you can buy a psychedelic shake at McDonald's for Christ sake... "...Uh no."
"No? Come on guy, a nickel."
"Why? Just go to a cafe... they sell it everywhere... you're creeping me out dude...
"Come on... you got a fat pouch, all I want is a nick..."

I give him a hard look. Snakeyes. He backs away but stares a little too long walking out. Free at last. I walk over to the pool table. There's a group of hipsters. White shoes, white belts, bullet belts, black pants, red shirts, spiked hair, white teeth, full stomachs, Spaniards. I work on my suds.

The night air holds secrets, often it's perfection gives chills. I light up and lean against the hostel. The street is made of shadows and echos, the yellow lights paint the stores and bricks. Can it be this simple? This quiet? The streets get busier, crowds of people. There's something about their faces... i feel their breath... i know they're alive. The wildness of Amsterdam would kill me in five years... too much pleasure for sale.

The walkways are bustling now, filled with bodies. Neon signs pour out the windows, selling pizza and tarot readings. Beautiful women in short skirts and sexual eyes seem to drip from the nightlife. I turn the corner and the buildings make way for the sky; a river runs through the street ahead. Trees jut like black hands against the nighttime purple. I step...

...and see a woman in a window framed by red neon. she is tall, her legs spread wide as she leans her breasts against the glass. her skin looks like strawberry milk. her palms are pressed flat, her lips almost touching the pane. her breath forms wet clouds. she's quivering in this room and staring at me... I step...

...and see a blond with black shades, black bra and panties. she's standing sideways, one foot in a chair. black boots to the knees. she traces a finger along the back of her thigh, along the curve of her ass. she's smoldering, all fire and control. she whips her hair back, it flies like a horse's mane. so rockstar. i feel my cock shift in my pants. this place is crazy!.. i step...

and see two women pressed into each other, looking out into the street. They are large, plump. The submissive is kneeling, playing with her mistresses body, her eyes locked onto mine. her eyes are glazed with sex. the dom yanks her ponytail and smacks her face... i step...

...and see a woman in a doorway...
her head tilts up as she looks into me. her body is an idol, a golden calf bathed in neon. i walk to the door, my tongue thick with lust. she smiles and turns, walking up the steps. her ass fills me with hunger... it is a perfect peach, a jewel of flesh and silk...

the night air feels smooth, like a lover's skin. i dip into the shadows and shove my hands in my pockets. an African with scars on his face is on the corner. his presence is like a punch in the gut. he has FORCE.
"Cocaine..." he whispers as i pass.

The hostel's lobby is dead, even the frat boys have clocked out for the night. I go to the back staircase. The lights are out but I see light eeking out around the first bend. I step...

...and see the a-hole. He's standing in the stairwell with icicles in his eyes. this guy is nuts... but there's no going backwards, this is the only way to my room. He has an empty Jack Daniels bottle and he's holding it like a club, never breaking eye contact. i imagine it swinging, glistening in the light before it becomes broken shards, blood and pain.
"Sell me a nick..." he slurs, wobbling on the steps.

I give him snake eyes again and brush past. I see his reflection in the mirror on the wall. He definitely don't like my face...

The room is dark, tranquil. I step out of my shoes and socks and climb into bed with my clothes on. the darkness climbs into my skin, into my mind...

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!... the room explodes with sound! Each kick of the door shakes it to the frame, you can see it jumping in the dark. I freeze in my bunk, my mind racing. it can't be the a-hole... i left him three flights downstairs...

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...


"OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!"
Holy Christ! I think, creeping to the door, it's the a-hole...

(This doesn't surprise me, I've always attracted the crazy, the sick, the criminal...They are drawn to me like light to a black hole, it's an inescapable fact. I must be the most delicious plate of eggs and ham they've ever seen.)

"Sell me a nick." I start to close the door but he's pressing back just as firm.
"What's wrong with you?"
"This is my room."
"Bullshit."
"Seriously, this is my room.!"
"Where's your key?"
"I don't know, I don't have it." He shoves a foot between the door. "Wake up my brother."
"What?"
"My brother... wake him up." There's a guy knocked out on a bunk next to the door. I hadn't noticed him in the dark. How the hell is he still asleep?
"Dude, go get a key from front desk, otherwise your not getting in." I kick his foot out and shut the door.

Sleep is creeping steadily over me like moss on rocks. The door creaks and I see the a-hole standing in the light from the hallway. He looks gleeful, like he just ate a baby. Inescapable. He walks towards me and I think, here we go... he puts his boots on my bunk and leaps up the the bed above me. The mattress sinks in, creaky barbwire twists inches away from my face.


...this really might be the end... tonight i might be murdered...

In the middle of the night he swings his feet over the edge of his bed:

"DON'T ANYBODY TRY ANYTHING! I'M SERIOUS! I'LL KILL ALL YOU MUTHAFUCKS!
"shut up and go to sleep." his brother says from under his pillow.

i see the a-hole three days later. he doesn't recognize me at all, as if i were a complete stranger.