Falling for My Neighbor

Chapter 2

The weeks went on, not necessarily harder or easier, it just seemed to float and carry on. Surviving, I suppose, is how I had to manage. Somedays went by with little to no thought of Noah, and those were usually the days Caleb began to visit me. It started with a gentle knock on the door, just to pop his head in and say hello, but then he started with his own ‘honey do’ list. “I noticed the grass needed to be mowed, your hedges should be trimmed.” All the way to “Caleb, do you think you can look at the sink?” Most of the time he did a fantastic job at whatever he set out to do, but there was a lot of fun along the way. On one specific hot evening my brakes needed to be replaced and he worked in the garage on my small car. “Vivian!” He called, I let out a groan as I peeled myself off the couch. The air was cold inside and I wasn’t looking forward to sitting outside in the heat, I opened the door and popped my head out. “Yeah?” I yelled out, his legs jutted out from underneath the lifted car. “When’s the last time you took this car in to the shop?” He prompted quickly, I stepped outside and closed the door behind me, I sat down on the small concrete step. “I don’t know, usually Noah took care of that stuff.” I replied simply, he slid out carefully. 

Caleb was shirtless and covered in beads of sweat and black with grease, he stood up slowly and wiped his hands on a rag. He exhaled heavily, the sight of him made me squeeze my thighs together and I swallowed hard. “Your belt is on it’s last leg, it needs to be replaced.” I blinked at him with a blank stare, partially because I couldn’t careless about what he was saying to me, the other half of me just didn’t understand what he was trying to say. “Okay.” I smiled back and he shook his head at me, “You should get it fixed, as soon as possible.” He informed me, I smiled again up at him, this time he smiled back with an apparent dimple. “You don’t know what I’m talking about do you?” He chuckled and I shook my head at him with a giggle, he tossed the dirty rag at me. “I’ll get it fixed, alright? Don’t have a cow!” I laughed as he snapped his head back at me, “You mean you’ll have me fix it right?” He teased. “Ah, same thing, right?” I asked raising an eyebrow as he shook his head at me. “Beer?” I asked as I got up and went over to the small mini-fridge, he nodded back to me. “Yes, please.” His thick voice filled me with an unwanted tingly sensation in my stomach that made me adjust my stance as fantasies of his of toned body nearing me and whispering into my ear seductively. I grabbed a beer and tossed it to him, he caught it effortlessly and popped it open and drank it quickly. He let out a thankful moan as he did, I fanned myself not from the heat in the garage but because I was flushing over my incessant thoughts of Caleb. He c****d his head to look at me and slowly approached me, he pressed the cold can to the nape of my neck and I instantly jumped. “Caleb, it’s cold!” I whined, and he bit his bottom lip with a smile, “Caleb it’s cold!” He mocked me playfully. I jabbed him in the arm and it sent the beer flying onto his chest and stomach, we both froze for a moment. A playful smile arose on his face, “Oh, is this the game we’re going to play?”

“Please, it was an accident.” I giggled, he gripped the beer in one hand and grabbed my arm with the other, he pulled my closer even as I tried to wiggle out of his grip. “If I have to be wet and sticky, so do you!” He chuckled until he held me still against his body, he long arm wrapped around me. He poured a steady stream onto my chest and when I pulled away it trickled down my back too, I gasped at the feeling on the cold drink meeting my warm body. 

“You’re f*****g dead!” I warned as he released me with a laugh, I wagged my finger at him. “If you wanna play this game, fine by me.” I said softly as I opened the garage door and headed outside, I watched him swallow hard as he set the can down and followed a few steps behind me. “Viv, it was just a joke.” His voice was low and cautious, the sounds of him playing had faded, I shook my head at him. “No you think everything’s a game.” I tried my best to sound upset until he followed me to the side of the house, I could hear him growing more and more concerned until I reached for the hose. “No, that’s too far Vivian, I swear-“ He warned me as I held the nozzle in my hand with a devious smile, Caleb held his index finger out to me but I couldn’t help myself. I laughed as I held down the trigger and sprayed him with the hose. He laughed at first, but then had this awful look on his face, he sucked in his bottom lip and charged towards me. I tried to dodge him but I was still holding the nozzle in my hand, we fought over the hose and the lock triggered and suddenly we were both soaking wet. He finally wrestled it away from me and sprayed me while I danced around trying to get away from the strong stream. He lifted the back of my shirt and sprayed down it while I yelled out at him, it a was mixture of “I’ve had enough, Caleb stop!” And a fit of laughter, when he finally did stop he had his arm wrapped around my waist and that sudden urge to kiss him revamped itself times a thousand. We were both quiet and still as he held me close, my body pressed against his made my insides quiver. I hadn’t been held in what felt like forever, I said to myself, if only he wasn’t Noah’s friend I would have kissed him. Only it was Caleb who had lifted his hand and tipped my chin up towards him, he swallowed hard, his green eyes searched mine for a moment. It was as if he was searching for the perfect words to say, but in all honesty he didn’t have to say anything, I already knew. I think we both knew, from that moment forward, it was if we both knew what was happening, and we really didn’t want it to, but it was something that we fell into. 

The phone rang and we both suddenly pulled away, I dashed back into the garage and picked up the phone. “Hey Bear,” I said unsteadily, I felt as if Noah already knew and caught me. “What are you doing right now, Kitten?” 

“I’m just here, with Caleb. My brakes were squeaking and now he said something else is wrong with the car, I don’t know.” I know my words came out rushed because I was flustered. “Tell him to call me when he gets off the phone with you.” Caleb said softly as he entered into the garage and grabbed his shirt and wiped his body down. “I’m going home!” He called out and I held out my finger to him to wait but he was already walking away and heading for his truck. “Caleb said to call him when you’re off the phone, he just left.” I explained quietly, disappointment evident in my voice. I heard Noah groan into the phone, “I really miss you.” He whined, I smiled softly. “I miss you too, how are you?”

“Mmm,” He responded in a low voice, my stomach turned as I headed inside. “What’s up?” I asked as the door shut behind me. “Since Caleb’s gone, and I’m alone for once… tell me something.” I chewed on my bottom lip nervously, I headed for the bedroom to change. “How have you been since I left?” I thought about his question for a second, I was awful. I missed him, I felt withdrawn, and then I felt all hot and flustered whenever his friend came over. I pulled my wet clothes off of my body and tossed them into the hamper, my naked wet body shivered and my n*****s instantly hardened against the cool breeze from the air conditioner. “I’ve been keeping myself busy.” I said plainly, he let out another soft groan and I instantly got what he was hinting at. “Do you ever miss me a little too much?” His voice was low and sexy, I looked at myself in the mirror as I sat back on the bed. “All the time,” I whispered back.

“Would you ever sleep with someone else while I’m gone?” I closed my eyes as I laid back, I chewed on that question for a moment, honestly the answer would be yes. “I don’t know Noah, I don’t know how I could and not think about you the whole time.” I could feel myself heating up as I thought about Caleb earlier. “I’ve been dying over here, thinking about you. How bad I want to touch you, those lips and the way they look wrapped around my cock.” His words were slow and his breathing grew heavy. “Mmm, I can’t wait until you get back.” I whispered softly, my breathing hitched slightly as my hand roamed my body. “I can’t help but get a little jealous when I think about how much Caleb is hanging around.” My eyes sprung open immediately and I swallowed hard. “What do you mean?” He let out a soft laugh into the phone and then groaned. “Kitten, I need to tell you something.”

“Anything, Noah, you know I love you. You can tell my anything.” The words flew out of my mouth as effortlessly as I was breathless. “I’ve asked Caleb to take care of you.” The conversation went from sexy and teasing to serious, I sat up slowly. “I know, but you’ll be back before we even know it.” He exhaled heavily, “I know, I know, but while I’m gone… As much as it drives me crazy, and makes me jealous, if you were to ever need anything, and I really can’t stress this enough, anything. Let him take care of it.”

“What are you talking about exactly, Noah?” I chewed on my bottom lip nervously as I waited for Noah’s response. “Look, I know it easy for you to be there alone. I know you have needs too, and I’d rather have you with him than some asshole who would hurt you.” I stared blanklessly at the wall as I tried to breathe in a deep breath. “You’re telling me to sleep with Caleb, your best friend?” He sighed into the phone and then I could hear chattering in background. “Look, I told him if anything were to ever happen to me, I’d want him to step up too. The goal is to always come home, but sometimes things change and I can be here for a long time. They say it’s only a year and a half, and in a few months I get to leave and come home for a few weeks, but sometimes we don’t get that lucky. I have to go now, but please, hear me out.” The line went silent and I slammed my phone on the ground, I felt sick to my stomach and angry at the same time. I poured myself a drink, and then another, by the time I stopped to notice, I had finished two bottles of wine.

I wandered around the house in my underwear and I didn’t know what to do with myself. I looked outside and it was dark and stormy, thunder clapped and I jumped back. I picked up my phone off the floor and instinctively dialed Caleb’s number, I nearly hung up when he answered on the second ring. “What’s up?” He groaned, I exhaled pathetically. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ I slurred into the phone, he cleared his throat loudly. “Are you drunk?” He chuckled softly and I smiled with a hiccup. “No, it’s only ten o’clock, how could I- be drunk at so early?” He laughed loudly, “It’s twelve now, and it’s storming out…” I nodded into the phone, and sloshed around in the kitchen. “What are you doing?” He asked quietly. “Having another drink!” I squealed cheerfully. “Need a drinking buddy?” 

“Your place or mine?” I mumbled, I could hear him shuffling around in the background. “I can’t let you go anywhere, I’ll be over in a few.” 

“Will you bring me a bottle opener, I can’t find mine.” I whined, he chuckled in response. “I got you.” He whispered and then I hung up. I lifted my hands to my hips as I stared around the kitchen, I wandered back to the bedroom and pulled on some clothes. I settled on of pair of shorts and a crop top, I ran a brush through my hair and tossed on some makeup. Nothing good ever came out of trying to get ready while you were drunk but it sure was going to make me feel a little better.

As I wandered around the storm seemed to progressively worse and I wondered about Caleb and what could possibly be taking him so long to get here, I applied a few squirts of perfume as I waited, I did another outfit change. This time putting on something sexier, a lacy pair of panties with a matching bra, and a low-cut dress and that flowed out at the bottom. When I was finally content with myself I found myself on the couch flipping through the pages of a book when the door that connected my garage to the house opened and then slammed shut. “Geez, I don’t think it’s ever going to let up.” Caleb smiled as he stopped and leaned back against the door with a smile, “You look nice, did you step out before you got drunk?” I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. “You could’ve taken a little longer, you’re right down the street, my buzz nearly wore off.” 

“Well excuse me, someone’s sassy tonight… May I speak with the nice Vivian I talked to on the phone?” I stood up and walked to the kitchen and pulled out the bottle of wine I struggled with earlier. “I’m sorry,” I apologized as he followed behind me. “I just had a really strange conversation with Noah earlier, speaking of Noah, did he call you?” He took the bottle from my hands and pulled out the requested bottle opener, he peeled away the foil and stuck the screw inside the cork to open it. He nodded his head at the table, ushering me to sit down, reluctantly I sighed and grabbed a seat. “Yeah,” He said finally rubbing his face, he seemed different and upset when I brought up the conversation. “And?”

“And, he told me what you guys talked about.” I raised an eyebrow at him as he worked opening the bottle. After a second the cork came out and he was pouring two hefty glasses, he walked over and handed me one and then sat down with the other in front of him. “No beer tonight?” I asked, confused. “This conversation would grant hard liquor if you had any.” I took a sip and shrugged, “That bad, huh?” He shook his head and took a small sip, “No, I mean… Just a difficult one to have.” Caleb’s voice was always thick but still smooth, it was like he was choking back on something, I casually leaned forward and gripped my glass bringing it closer to my lips.

“Tell me what you know, and I’ll tell you what he told me.” Caleb let out a loud sigh before he made eye contact with me. He let his arm stretch out on the table, his hand fiddled with a loose paper nervously. “Before he left he asked me to take care of you, watch over you and the house, and whatnot, but tonight our conversation is one I didn’t expect.” He glanced between me and the paper, he used a finger to slide it back and forth, my hand suddenly was reaching for his to steady his hand. His eyes lifted back up to mine, “Cabe,” I warned and he nodded back trying to skip to the point. “He in a round about way told me do help you with anything, emphasis on the anything part. Crazy thing is Noah kept talking about how long he might have to be away and that while he doesn’t expect me to spy on you but that he doesn’t want anyone else with you.” I nodded along as I took a sip, “But that if he had to choose someone to like ‘take his place’ it would be me. He made me promise that if anything ever happened to him that I would step up and take care of you…” He trailed off at the end and I took a moment to process everything, I looked back up at Caleb and sighed. “He told me basically the same thing, so what do you think he’s trying to say?” I asked and he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “Is telling us to sleep together, because I asked him that straight out and he beat around the bush about how he didn’t want me to get hurt and wanted someone to treat me right.” His eyes widened and he leaned forward, “Seriously?” I nodded with a laugh, “Oh and he’s jealous of you.” A smile formed on my lips as I nodded to him, he shook his head and sat back with a chuckle. In one swift motion I swallowed the rest of my wine, “Couldn’t say I blame him.” I whispered to myself.