Was in NYC visiting J's family now that they've moved downtown. We all went shopping at some financial district mall and I kept seeing this incredibly beautiful girl there, redhead, in a vaguely see-through gauzy blouse and skirt. Every time I saw her she made eye contact with me and sort of nodded her head, as if to say "Go for it". But I kept not doing anything because I wasn't sure if I was interpreting her correctly.
Later, we went to dinner at a really grossly exclusive restaurant, where like each dining party has its own little alcove that is screened away from everyone else. Lots of very wealthy business people and royalty types in other alcoves-- as we were leaving, I saw the same redhead girl in one of the alcoves talking to some other people. Even though it was very bad etiquette, I went into their alcove and said, "Is it my imagination or were we giving each other eyes all day today?" She said, "Come to my private penthouse," and pressed an address in my hands.
Then I realized J and her folks had gone on without me and I didn't know where they were. They took the car and left me behind. So I tried to hail a cab but none would pick me up; not even a really cool hovering old-style Jaguar cab.
So I hopped up a couple of blocks and tried to take a sub, vaguely recalling where the folks' new place is. While I was looking for the subway, I heard someone say "Quick! Get in here before it leaves!" and thinking it was the subway I jumped-- onto a city bus.
The guy who had called to me was a typical inner city gang-looking black kid, and though I didn't realize it at the time, when he called to me he was gauging how gullible I was... was I a tourist or a local? Obviously, I was a tourist. Now I was on this bus next to him. I went to snap shut my pockets and noticed that my left pocket had a slit cut through it. I thought at the time it was an accident.
The guy started giving me lots of shit about being lost and stuff. "Where are you going?" he wanted to know, and I started to get suspicious. "I bet your girl is concerned, you should call her-- if only you had a cell phone," he said. I told him I did have a cell phone and reached for it-- but of course it was gone. He held it up in front of me. "Tell you what, I'll sell it back to you." But of course when I checked my wallet was gone, too. He held that up as well, laughing.
Then he started going through the incoming call log on my phone, noting all the calls from J. '"Ain't that just like a bitch to be calling all the time," he said, still acting like he's my friend instead of a guy who's mugging me in front of witnesses, except that the guy kept saying "I'm just teasing, I'll give 'em back, don't worry."
I started getting pissed off, but the moment I kinda moved toward him like that, the whole bus sort of shifted-- as I realized that everyone on the bus was on his side, not mine. I was really fucked. Even the bus driver was just looking the other way.
Then the bus stopped for a moment and my "friend" leapt up "This is my stop!" and jumped off the bus with my wallet and phone! I jumped up to go after him and someone else on the bus tripped me and I fell.... and the bus doors closed and we started rolling, and all my stuff was gone.
Just before I woke up, the bus driver told me, "I just saved your life-- if you got out after him, all his friends were waiting for you outside and you'd have lost more than your stupid phone."