Preached By My Neighbor (LGBT/18+)

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Dexter Evans

When I reach the city of Brooklyn, my arms and legs and back are cramped. They are numb. I have been driving for God knows how long already, but when I see the city, when the city was emerging from the horizon, my tiredness had gone off. It's like they vanished into the thin air when I saw the city – and it's not because of the city itself, but because of the hope that I'd see Wesley Bennett again.

By the time I reach the hotel where I'm going to stay, I'm knackered. I let myself fall into the bed, into the warmth the mattress and the duvet are offering. I let out a sigh, a relief one. As I was about to go here, I have already googled the address, and found out on the Google Map that the Gold Street is just near the hotel where I'm staying right now. I can't believe this. We're going to see each other again. It's going to be the best.

When we see each other, I'm not going to waste any more time – I will hug him tight, smother his face with my lips, and tell him 'I love you' over and over again until he gets tired of hearing it from me. I'll pour out my love for him, my emotions and everything, and I will tell him that he's mine and only mine.

I may be crazy, but I'm serious – I have never felt such strong love for someone. My love for Wes is so strong that I feel like I'm going insane.

Deciding that I should take a couple of hours of nap, I crawl until my head is resting on one of the pillows. I grab the other pillow and wrap my arms tightly, imaging that it's Wesley Bennett. A smile immediately forms into my lips – I miss him so much.

Missing him is like there's an empty hole in my heart that cannot be filled with anything but his love. I take a deep breath, telling myself that once we see each other again, everything will be alright. I'm going to tell him that he doesn't need to leave anymore, that I'm in love with him, that he's the only person I love and will only love. I'm so excited that even when I'm already resting, I can't help but squeal as if I'm a little girl seeing her crush for the very first time.

"Just you wait, Wesley Bennett; I'll come and get you, sweep you right off your feet," I tell, wishing the wind would carry and pass the message to him. By the time the moon is rising up, I shut my eyes and feel myself relax – driving for hours was tough. I only stopped when I needed to pee, or needed to buy a drink or food.

The warmth of the sun seeps right into my skin, waking me up. I stretch my arms out, hoisting myself up and a yawn escapes my lips as I squint my eyes, adjusting to the brightness of the room. The curtains are widely opened, letting all the shine and light of the sun pass through the floor-length windows of the unit. I feel myself smile, despite the ache I'm feeling inside me. In any hours from now, I will be seeing the love of my life again – Wesley Bennett. Oh how much I'm craving for him, I can't even tell.

All I know is that I want him, want the smell of him, want to touch him, want everything about him.

So when I swing my feet off the bed, I hastily head to the bathroom and do my stuff – I make sure my teeth are as white as white Crayola, that I'm clean, and that I smell good. Good thing I've brought my clean and neat outfits – I decide to wear a black button-up shirt, getting a pair of black pants and a leather brown shoes. I also put style in my hair, gelling it up a bit. I have to admit, I look like a teenager again, and I really look good. I grin to myself before getting my phone that is overcharged on the nightstand. I put the phone inside my pocket, fix the bed, and put the baggage in the corner of the room before heading out of the hotel.

My hands are getting clammy and my heart is beating, pounding against my rib cage rapidly. Nobody can tell how excited I am to see him. Blood rushes through my veins, pumping up my heart. I'm getting nervous. I gulp when I reach my car and then I climb in. Firstly, I look myself in the rear mirror, checking to see if I look good enough to present myself. The dark bags underneath my eyes are still there, but it's much better than the previous days. This time, I've had a good sleep. I pull out of the parking lot, then head to the Gold Street, where Wesley Bennett is living.

It doesn't take a lot of my time for me to reach the street. There's a white post, and there's a blue sign, written on it, in white bold letters, Gold St.

Few cars are parked on the side; buildings are made of bricks; two buildings sat on each side of the street. From the looks of it, the buildings are ancient. Black lines, and dark smudges are visible, plastered across the bricks. Across the building on the right side, there are two groceries store. The place is really quiet, and a few people are only walking – one woman is jogging, earphones plugged into her ears, her blonde hair is pulled back, bouncing as she jogs, and there's one guy who is currently walking with his black pajamas still on, wearing a thick hoodie that covers most of his face.

The guy, who is wearing a black thick hoodie, chooses the path that leads to the building. The trees are kind of scary – they are just pure branches with no leaves at all. I park on the side and call for the man heading to the building. He turns around and looks for someone who called him. He sees me and walks towards my direction.

"Hey, um, sorry for disturbing you, but do you live there?" I ask lamely. The man looks at the building, furrowing his brows, then he just looks back at me, as if he's thinking whether to tell the truth or not. The man nods slowly, keeping his sealed. Based from his expression, I know that I've disturbed him. He seems almost annoyed at me. "Um, do you know a person named Wesley Bennett? He's just new here and, um, he invited me over, but he's not responding to any of my messages, so I'm just asking whether you know him or not. He just moved in, by the way." Lies roll off my mouth easily.

The guy thinks about it – the moment he tips his head up, I catch a glimpse of his baby blue eyes. His brows are thick, and the color of it matches the color his thick and curly locks, which is dark brown.

"There's a new guy who just moved in yesterday. He might be your friend." He says to me.

I risk to ask more, "Could you describe him to me? Just want to make sure."

"The guy has a cropped black hair, and nearly my height," my heart is racing faster now as he describes the man who has just moved into the building yesterday. "And he's bulky, looks like he's always going to gym to work out, and um, his bangs. Um, he always blows his bangs, I think?" That's definitely Wesley Bennett. He always blows his bangs.

"Thank you, thank you," I say, smiling brightly. "I'm sure he's my best friend."

The guy nods at me, turns around, and heads inside the building while I climb out of my car, follow the man, and decide that I'm just going to go to the reception area and ask there if there's a person named Wesley Bennett who has just moved in.

Even the interior of the building looks old but it looks good.

There's a lady in the reception area, wearing a white uniform, her black hair is pulled up. Her eyebrows are fixed, making her look fierce. Her lips are painted with a dark red color, which doesn't really suit her. She gives me a warm smile as she sees me approaching.

"How may I help you?" Her voice is sweet; she's obviously flirting with me. Had I been straight at all, I would have asked her out already since, I think, she's the type of girl who flaunts her beauty and lets any man take over her. She leans down, giving me a view of her cleavage, exposing her collarbones more, which I don't truly find attractive at all.

I decide to play along. "I would just like to ask if there's a Wesley Bennett here,"

"Hmm, let me look that up for you," she smiles at me, attempting to look seductive. My eyes twitch; there's this urge to roll my eyes for you. She takes a seat, checks her computer, and types rapidly on the keyboard before turning, looking up at me. "There is. He's living on the 13th floor." She gives me the information without validating whether I'm a friend or not.

"Thank you for your help," I wink, even though all I want to do is gag, but resist the urge to do so.

Turning around, I head into the direction of the elevators, which is just around the corner of the lobby, then punch the 13th floor, the highest. I smile to myself. In any seconds, Wes and I are going to meet again.