Her Big Neighbor

Julia shrugs, and I notice that she’s looking at the floor. “It just wasn’t for me. Not business school anyway. It was a boys’ club, and it just wasn’t what I imagined. I have the associates, so after I finish helping Mom with the house and the gala, I’ll get a job and figure out what the hell I’m actually supposed to be doing.”

I’d never thought about it that way, but business school is mostly men. I guess I didn’t notice because I’m a man, which is embarrassing. “Is there anything you liked about it?” If I can keep her talking about what she likes, maybe I can help her find what she wants.

“I liked the more creative parts of it,” she says, stretching her arms above her head and teasing me with that little strip of skin. “Really I never considered myself to be a creative person, but I liked those parts of it better than the dry parts of the statistics.”

“So marketing?”

“Yeah, and product development. I don’t know if that’s what I want to do, but those were definitely my favorite classes.”

I’ll have to give that some thought. With the number of clients that Werlin Venture has, I’m sure that I can find a place for Julia, in almost any field that she wants to try. “You’ve still got time to figure everything out.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t always feel that way. You have it all figured out.”

I half-smile. “Well, I’m weird. I’ve known what I wanted forever. I think most people don’t have their shit figured out. Besides, I don’t know everything.”

Julia snickers. “Like what?”

“I don’t know what your face looked like last night when I told you what I wanted.” Glancing down at her, I see the blush staining her cheeks.

“Pretty much like this,” she says. “But you never finished.”

Stepping off the ladder, I pull her to her feet and slowly back her against the wall. We’re not touching, but I’m close enough to feel her breath and the way that she’s quaking. “What do you want to know?” I ask softly.

She licks her lips, eyes locked on mine. “Everything,” she breathes.

“Everything? I was thinking about what you said, and climbing to your window. I can do more than just fill in the gaps. I want to undress you and taste your skin. See the way you blush as I touch every piece of you. I want to taste you. Lick you until you’re screaming and you come on my tongue.” Julia’s breath has gone shallow, lips parted, and her eyes keep darting to my mouth like she’s thinking about kissing me. I’m thinking about kissing her and more. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and if she looks down she’s going to see that I’m so hard that I’m straining through my pants.

“I want to learn what makes you moan and spend hours listening to that sound. To let you ride me until you’ve had your fill of my cock. And after we’ve done that, I want to lay with you and talk. Figure out the mind inside that gorgeous head.”

Her body inches towards mine, and it would be so easy to close that distance. Julia’s eyes have drifted half-closed. She’s so fucking tempting. But I don’t close the inches between us. I pull back, and climb the ladder and start to cover the ceiling with plaster.

“Fuck,” she says under her breathe.

“See what I mean?” I ask cheerfully. “If I had said any of that to you last night, I don’t think I could have resisted coming over here.”

Julia laughs. “If you had said any of that to me, I would have been at your door for the second time.” We’re silent for a moment, no sound but the scraping of me smoothing everything down. “What did you mean when you said years? You haven’t actually wanted me for years, have you?”

“The summer you left,” I say. “It was like I suddenly saw you for the first time. If you’d known how many times I thought about you in that bikini you used to wear, I don’t know if you’d be happy about it.”

“I thought about you too,” she says quietly. “I always had a crush on you. You know, the older hot boy who lives next door. Always untouchable.”

I smile down at her. “I like to think that I’m very touchable.”

She tries not to smile and fails. “Damn you.”

“I would prefer ‘fuck you.’”

Her laugh rings out in the foyer, echoing off the walls. It’s a beautiful sound, and I want to hear more of it. I think this is the first time I’ve seen her be that open and happy since she’s been home. At least while I’ve been able to see her.

“Come take a look,” I say, as I finish smoothing everything down. “What do you think?”