Alone (17 page)
“No, not silly,” he murmured, reaching out and rubbing my arm. “You lost someone you love. You’re grieving.”
“Yeah,” I sniffled, wiping under my eyes. Then I chuckled and shook my head. “And now you think you just moved in next to a basket case. Run now, guys.”
We shared a laugh at that one, but I got the feeling they actually understood and weren’t judging me at all which was nice. The odd thing was the fact that I
had
opened up to them about losing my pup. I was normally more tight-lipped about my personal life and feelings than that. They left after that, thanking me for everything and saying they were going to come over after they unloaded and returned the truck to take me up on my offer to use the mower.
I felt lighter after they were gone, in some strange way. I couldn’t explain… Simply lighter. Weird. I also thought about the fact I hadn’t caught their last names. Odd, but then again, I wasn’t the best at names and probably would have forgotten them. Unique first names like theirs I would remember at least.
Sad, but true.
When I took out the last load of my trash, and my lawn crew had come and finished my yard, I set out the sprinkler, careful to make sure it wasn’t in their way to my cans or going to get their stuff wet. Of course I focused on writing and lost track of the time so when I went to move it a third time, it was way later than the half an hour I tried to keep it spaced to.
But it was in a different spot. I blinked around and rolled my eyes. I’d moved it and been so focused on my book again I’d forgotten I’d done it. It wouldn’t have been the first time. I relocated it to the next spot in my rotation and went back to work. When I stepped out on my back porch for smoke, I saw the guys were taking a break from unloading the truck and tossing around a football.
“Want to join us?” Cypress invited, smiling up at me.
“I’d love to, but too much to do,” I chuckled, holding up my notebook. “My to-do list seems to make babies and friends every time I look at it. Besides I’m way out of shape and you guys look like you play a little rough.” I nodded to where Teak just took Aspen down around the waist and they ended up rolling ten feet down our joint hill.
“We do like it a little rough,” Aspen agreed when they came to a halt, the innuendo thick in his tone.
“Then I think I’ll just watch,” I drawled, liking the teasing but letting him know I got the hint.
“Watching’s cool with us too,” Teak informed me, grinning like a loon as he jumped to his feet. I returned the gesture. Well, living next to them was going to be entertaining at least.
Hey, I could use some good kind of spice in my life. That was for sure.
Later the sprinkler was moved again, and I swore that time I hadn’t done it. I did burst out laughing at what I saw though—three grown men hopping through it.
“Sorry, hope you don’t mind,” Cypress panted as he jogged over to me.
“Not at all,” I gasped, leaning over and resting my hands on my knees. “That’s—you guys are—yeah, too funny.”
“We moved it a few times for you when we realized you time it for a half an hour in each spot. Figured it was the least we could do after you’ve been so kind to us.”
I rolled my eyes at him when I stood up straight. “I thought I was going nuts. Yeah, that’s great, thanks.”
“We just moved it here so is this the last spot?” he hedged, glancing at Aspen and Teak who were waving for me to join them. I shook my head and focused on Cypress.
“No, the front of my house and the side, but I have to switch out the sprinkler head for that or I’ll just soak the woods. Just set it on the front lawn when you guys are done playing, and I’ll do the side.” I smiled at him, a real, grateful smile. “Thank you, Cypress. That’s really nice of you guys to have thought of doing that for me.”
“Hey, it’s what friendly neighbors do, right? You saved our bacons with the garbage thing, Cara.
And
the lawn mower. Can we take you up on that in the morning? We decided unloading the truck was enough for today.”
“Yeah, sure. I’m a morning riser, so when I’m up, I’ll open the garage so you know you can come on over. I’m pretty sure I emptied the gas and oil in the fall so just knock on the door and we’ll take a look.”
“You’re the best.” He shot me a smile that actually made me
feel
like the best—which was silly, but it did—before heading back with his friends.
I kinda already adored having them as my neighbors. Crazy, right? Then again, they seemed too good to be true so something had to be wrong with them. Watch, three younger, single guys would have a ton of loud parties that would make me hate them.
Yeah, I was a realist. So sue me?
That night I finally finished up work and made myself a drink, needing to unwind as I recapped the day and figured out what tomorrow would hold. I went out onto the deck with my drink, smokes, my notebook, and pen as the sun was falling behind the trees so there was enough light to see and write, but before the bug invasion from the woods. I plopped down on the resin box I kept out there for storage that had a bench seat on it and stared out into the woods, taking a sip and letting out a huge sigh.
It had been a good day, productive, non-stressful, with a few laughs and one I wouldn’t mind repeating. Hey, I was an easygoing person who really didn’t ask for much in life.
I heard a soft moan and glanced to my left, slightly choking on my drink at what I saw. Namely Teak on his knees in front of Aspen giving the man a blow job—and Aspen staring at me. Catching my drink at the last second before I dropped it over my porch, I cussed under my breath when I spilled some on my lap. I stood, my notebook falling to the deck with a slap, the noise echoing against the quiet. My cheeks flushed as I realized I was fumbling like an idiot as if I’d just walked into their bedroom and done something wrong.
I was on
my
deck after all. I took a slow, deep breath and gathered myself mentally before picking up my notebook. Then I couldn’t help my curiosity—I did write gay erotic romance under two of my pen names after all—and glanced over at their deck. Aspen now had his hands fisted in Teak’s hair and was thrusting hard into the man’s mouth, smiling widely as he focused on me, moaning loudly.
Fuck, he
liked
that I was there.
I didn’t know what to make of that. Part of me wanted to sit back down and watch… A
big
part of me, but it still felt wrong, like I was intruding. I mean, Teak had cracked the joke earlier that watching was okay with them, but had he really meant for things like
this
? Then again, they were doing it on their back porch where the
only
possible person who could have seen them was
me
. No one from the street would have and our houses were surrounded by woods on either side.
Either way, conflicted as I was, the prude in me won out, and I walked back into the house. That doesn’t mean what I’d seen wasn’t what was on my mind when I went to bed that night. Hell, I felt like a dirty bitch, pleasing myself at the whole scene and coming so hard I had to bite my lip to keep in my cries.
But seriously, could anyone blame me? They were hot and I’d walked into an even hotter situation. Wow. They might not be single or straight or just one of them like I’d been hoping but apparently I’d landed some really fun, really interesting neighbors.
I even
dreamed
about them that night—but not a dirty dream crazily enough. No, them simply touching me after they snuck into my room and lifted the covers. Weird, right? Who has a dream that their neighbors throw back the bedding and each touch her leg in different spots? Oh, and then they came back later or it was another dream—I wasn’t clear on that—and they touched the other leg.
What the hell had I
eaten
that day to be dreaming
that
?
Whatever it had been, I wanted to make sure to do it again, because ignoring the weird dreams, I’d slept like a baby. I woke before my alarm, feeling refreshed, stress-free, and ready for the day in a way I hadn’t in a
long
time.
Which oddly enough led me to believe it was going to be a bad day… At least I knew I hadn’t had a lobotomy in my sleep! I still had my normal snarky attitude.
Broken
Available August 14, 2014
Erin is a Midwest girl at heart, born a Chicagoan with the mouth to prove it, a loyal Cubs fan, but still a die-hard Green Bay Packers gal who cheers for her alma mater, the Illini from Omaha, Nebraska, where she lives. She has always been interested in the darker aspects of life and mythologies—especially vampires, shifters, the occult, and anything paranormal.
To date, she has published over 100 paranormal books in different genres with dedicated readers who await each release to her numerous series under any of the three Flynn names she writes under.
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