Content warning: non-consent, coercion, and feminization.
***
The walls of my apartment had been rumbling for the past hour and I was about to lose it. The guy in the corner apartment next door was loud, but he wasn't usually this loud. I'd been trying to get to sleep when the music came on, but quickly gave up on that idea and started watching TV. Now it was almost 11pm and I was supposed to be meeting a recruiter at 8am tomorrow. This was the last thing I wanted to deal with at the moment, but life seemed to be intent on piling it on ever since I was let go three months ago.
I briefly considered calling someone to lodge a noise complaint but figured that I'd get a quicker solution if I just confronted the guy myself. I wasn't exactly a 'people person', so knocking on a stranger's door in the middle of the night was far from being a bucket list item for me, but at this point I was annoyed enough to do anything to shut him up.
I grabbed a pair of sweatpants and did my usual dance to pull them up over my frustratingly fat ass. Being a short white guy with a bubble butt was a constant source of teasing throughout high school -- not a day went by without some jerk calling me a 'PAWG' or a 'whooty'. I guess it made sense why my confidence around girls was always limited when everyone laughed about how I looked like one. I also wasn't doing myself any favors by growing my hair out, but I figured that they'd tease me regardless of how long it was.
I figured this wouldn't take very long, so I didn't bother putting on shoes. I grabbed my phone and keys and headed for the front door. The music next door was still pumping as I opened the door -- fuck, I couldn't wait to give this asshole a piece of my mind.
The three sharp knocks I delivered to the door of apartment 38 stung on my knuckles as I heard the music die down. A few seconds passed before the locks of the door clicked and the door swung open, revealing a dark-skinned giant standing before me, looking down. He seemed to be in his mid-40s, stood at least a foot taller than my petite 5'4 frame and appeared heavy enough to topple me over with the poke of a finger.
"What's up?" he grinned. "Can I help you, kid?"
His disarming smile and considerable size took the wind out of my sails almost immediately. It took me a few seconds to resummon the courage to confront him about the volume of his music.
"I- I- I was trying to sleep, b- but your music..." I stammered.
The anger I'd felt before had fizzled out and was replaced by an anxiousness I hadn't felt since I was around the dickhead jocks who used to bully me in high school and college. As cruel as they were to me, I had always wanted to be one of them -- how sweet it would've been to be able to be so popular, to fuck all those girls, to be the one dishing out the torture rather than be on the receiving end of it.
"Oh yeah, sorry about that! I can get a bit carried away sometimes. Didn't mean to keep you up, bud. I'm guessing you live in 37? Bet your walls were shaking!" he laughed. "I'm Anthony, by the way," he stuck his palm out for a handshake.
"I- I'm Elliott," I said as I let my hand be enveloped by his. I grimaced at the pain of his firm grip and was surprised the hand I got back wasn't a mangled mess.
"I've seen you around a few times -- sorry that I've never introduced myself! Not very neighborly of me!" Anthony chuckled again.
This guy didn't seem too bad -- I probably should have asked him to keep the volume down months ago, rather than suffer through the noise as I had.
"Don't worry about it, I tend to keep to myself anyway," I replied.
I was about to bid him a good night and head back to my door when he spoke up again.
"Hey, how about I make it up to you? I feel bad about all the noise, and I should have invited you over ages ago, seeing as you're my neighbor and all."
"Oh, I, uh... I should really get to bed now..."
"Ah, come on -- let me treat you to a whiskey. Consider it a nightcap!"
As much as I wanted to decline his offer and go to sleep, his friendly nature made it hard to reject him.
I marveled at the size of his place as he led me through the door -- not only was his apartment quite a bit more spacious than mine, but it also looked like it had received professional treatment from an interior decorator.
I heard his keys jangle as he locked the door behind me and I sat myself down on his big leather couch.
"So, Elliott, what do you do for work?" he asked as he poured two glasses of an expensive-looking whiskey.
"I'm, uhhh, kinda between jobs right now. I was working in finance before I got laid off a few months ago."
He walked over and gave me a sympathetic look as he passed one of the glasses over to me.
"I'm real sorry to hear that, kid. I've worked in finance before -- it's a real cutthroat industry. By the look of you, I'm guessing it was your first job out of college?"
I coughed a bit as I sipped at the whiskey. I wasn't used to straight spirits -- I tended to avoid them considering how much of a lightweight I was.
"Yeah, I graduated last year. Didn't even make it six months before they dropped me. Apparently I wasn't keeping up as fast as the others. I'd give anything to get that job back. My coworkers there were some of the only friends I've ever had, you know?"
"I feel you kid, that's rough. You got any other friends or family around? Girlfriend maybe?" he grinned.
Anthony was pretty direct with his questions, and I couldn't help but give him honest answers as the alcohol started going to my head.
"Nah, none of that really. There was this one girl I liked at work -- Kayla -- but I never worked up the guts to ask her out, even when we all went out for drinks on Fridays."
"Don't worry bud, you'll get a new job and find someone sooner or later, then everything will work itself out," Anthony smiled warmly. Maybe I'd made the right choice knocking on his door tonight -- it seemed as though I'd made a new friend with enough life experience to be supportive during these tough times.
"You must have some money saved up if you can still afford to pay rent for your place next door -- I know from experience that this area ain't cheap."
My head was really swimming from the whiskey now. I finished the last of it as I tried to think of a way to answer his question without sounding completely pathetic.
"Uhh, yeah, I- I have a little saved up but it's running out pretty quick, which is why I'm getting kinda desperate for a job," I laughed sheepishly, realizing how much I'd failed at not sounding like a loser.
Anthony remained silent as he sat casually on the other end of the couch, pouring himself another glass. I wondered how many glasses of that whiskey he could drink, because I would probably pass out if I had another. Given his size, the answer was probably a lot.