Neighbor Dearest

What was I supposed to say? I had to let him do it.

Somewhat reluctant, I nodded anyway. “Okay.”

With one hard bend of the disc, Damien snapped it in half before walking over to the trash and discarding it.

He wiped his hands clean exaggeratedly. “What’s next?”

“What do you mean?”

“That shirt you’re wearing. It was his, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Are you wearing a bra?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Turn around.”

Expecting him to try to take the shirt off of me, my heart started to beat profusely. I closed my eyes when I felt Damien bunch up the material at my back and tug on it. The closeness of his body behind me made my skin heat up.

“Stay still,” he said before I felt him cutting through the shirt with what I assumed were my kitchen scissors. A draft of cold air replaced the warmth of the shirt as he ripped it off of me.

“Go put a new shirt on.”

Wrapping my arms around my chest, I disappeared to my room, taking a minute to grab my bearings as I leaned my back against the door. His cutting the shirt off of me ignited an odd mix of emotions. On one hand, it was a symbol of finality. That shirt was the last item of Elec’s in my possession. More than that, I was caught off guard by how much his ripping my shirt off had turned me on.

Forcing myself to remember what I’d even come in here for, I grabbed the perfect shirt for the occasion and returned to the living room.

Damien grinned as he looked down at my chest. “You Bacon Me Crazy. Good choice.”

“Well, it’s true. You drive me crazy sometimes, but in a good way. Thank you for pushing me to do something I really needed to do.” I leaned in and gave him a friendly hug. I refused to allow myself to acknowledge how fast his heart was beating and how fast mine was trying to catch up to it. Or how he smelled so good that I could practically taste him.

Damien was the first to pull away. “Ready for the movie?”

“Yes. What did you bring?”

He smirked as he walked over to the counter and handed me the DVD that was still in plastic packaging. “It’s your autobiography.”

“Firestarter. I should have known.”

“Have you ever seen it?” He smiled.

“Can’t say I have.”

“Neither have I. But it’s about a blonde who starts fires. So, I feel like I know her already.”

“Interesting.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Did you buy it?”

“Ordered it online the night we had pizza. I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to break it out.”

“You would do that.”

“I like messing with you. But it’s all in good fun. You know that, right? I have fun with you, Chelsea.”

“The feeling is mutual…when you’re not scolding me,” I joked.

“Even when I’m scolding you, it’s for your own good.”

“I know.” I smiled.

As we sat down for the movie, Damien made himself comfortable on my couch, kicking his big feet up on the coffee table and laying his head back. I relaxed my body into my own side of the sofa, careful not to get too close.

Even though I’d always heard of this movie, I had no clue what it was about and was surprised to find it starred a young Drew Barrymore. The main character had the ability to start fires with her mind. It wasn’t my type of story at all, so I found myself daydreaming through a lot of it, sneaking glances at Damien as he ate his popcorn. He seemed into it. Was he serious? He appeared to be really enjoying this.

At one point, he turned and noticed me staring at him. “What’s the matter? You’re not into it?”

“This movie is not really my taste.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“You were taking too much pleasure in the whole idea of watching it. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

He lowered the volume. “Want to watch something on Netflix instead? What do you feel like?”

I feel like making out with you.

God, that’s the only thing I feel like doing right now.

“It’s getting too late to start a new movie. It’s fine.”

“Well, I’m not keeping it on if you’re not into it.” He grabbed the remote and pressed stop.

It was suddenly quiet.

“Can I ask you something, Damien?”

“The answer is always yes, so stop prefacing everything with that question.”

“What was it exactly that you invented that allowed you to buy this building?”

“It was a type of headphone technology. Myself and a co-worker sold the patent for ten million.”

Say what?

“That is so amazing.”

“After taxes and divvying it up, it wasn’t that much money. I used my half to buy this building at auction and fix it up.”

“So, you invested all of it here.”

“Yup. And it pays off.”

“You were very smart to do that and not waste it.”

“I love that I can keep a few good people employed. That’s honestly the best part.”