Dear Neighbor

by River Laurent

  She belonged to me now. Every fucking inch of her was mine.

  51

  Mimi

  It was nearly eight o’clock. After a toe-curling shower, I’d sat in the easy chair with my e-reader and finished one book, then started another.

  Serenity. That was the word for it. A beautiful, serene world full of beautiful people.

  From my window, I could make out the back of the property and the pond just beyond it. Max was out there, somewhere, and a few other boats dotted the water. The sky was deep blue, clear, and it seemed like I could see for miles. And it was all lovely. I wished I could take a picture that would accurately capture it all, but no camera could do that.

  It was enough to sit and breathe it in, to know I was part of it for a little while before going back to the noise and congestion of the city. I loved it, of course, but I was starting to see the value of being able to get away sometimes.

  A couple of hours later, when the thought of coffee was too much to resist, I contemplated going downstairs. After dressing in jeans, a fitted button-down, and cardigan—I’d done my fair share of research before packing, and that seemed to be a popular clothing combination—I went down to the kitchen. There, Millicent and Gretchen sat with their coffee. Fortunately, there was no sign of Lillian.

  “Mimi, sweetheart, help yourself. Cora has the morning off, so we’re sort of pitching in to do things on our own. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” I said.

  Pouring a cup of coffee was hardly a hardship. And of course, it was the best coffee I'd ever tasted, because why wouldn't it be? Everything was perfect there.

  The kitchen was stunning, a chef’s dream come true. Stainless steel appliances, a six-burner gas range, dual ovens, even a wood-fired oven built into the wall. I couldn’t imagine what they baked in there. Pizza? Bread? Either way, I’d happily taste test.

  The ladies sat in what I guessed was the breakfast nook, a sunny spot in the back corner of the room which faced out in the direction my room did. Millicent waved me over. I wondered what Gretchen thought of that. How much did she know about me? If Lillian had told her, she hid it well. Either that or she thought her soon-to-be son-in-law was as big a piece of garbage as he actually was.

  “The boys should be back soon from their little trip,” Millicent chuckled.

  Gretchen’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “I simply can’t understand the allure of fishing.”

  “I reacted the same way when Max told me he was going,” I confided. “I’m not much of an outdoorsy girl, I guess. Though I do like hiking.”

  “Sure. It doesn’t involve slimy fish and worms.” The three of us grinned, and I thought I didn’t hate Gretchen as much as I’d assumed I would.

  Until she opened her mouth again. “So exactly how long have you and Max been together? I heard you were already in another relationship until just recently.”

  My blood turned to ice. Millicent, bless her heart, looked confused. Whether or not she actually was, I had no idea. I felt like a deer about to be run over by a semi with sweet, pretty Gretchen at the wheel. There I was, worrying about people taking Max and me for a fake when I should’ve been coming up with a rebuttal for a question about Josh. Finally, I managed to squeak out, “I wouldn’t call it a relationship. It was all under false pretenses.”

  “Oh, was it?” She leaned her chin on her hand, all innocence.

  “Yes, and I was deeply hurt when I found out the truth.” I stared at her, almost daring her to keep going. I didn’t want to embarrass Millicent by flinging my dirty laundry around, but I’d go there if Gretchen kept pushing.

  She didn’t. Instead of running me down, she sat back in her chair. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “So was I.”

  “How about some cake?” Millicent asked, smiling almost too brightly.

  "None for me, thanks. I think I'll take a little walk."

  I went out without my coat and was glad to find it unseasonably warm outside. I wouldn't have to suffer the cold while I sulked. I couldn't stay in there a minute longer, not with Judgy McJudgepants staring at me over the rim of her coffee cup. I should’ve known she would find some thinly-veiled way of bringing Josh into the conversation. Well, I wasn’t ill-bred enough to tell the whole sordid story, though that would’ve been just what Josh deserved.

  I would never do it anyway. Lillian made my skin crawl and I wouldn’t have minded if she moved to Nepal and never came back, but it wasn’t her fault her boyfriend cheated. She was just a woman, like me.

  I guessed I would’ve freaked out the way she did if the shoe was on the other foot, but I would have dropped Josh like a freaking scalding-hot potato if I’d found out what she did. Good luck to her. She wanted to stand by her man, even when he wasn’t much of a man.

  There was a wooded area beyond the painstakingly manicured lawn, and I walked toward it. Maybe a little time around nature would make me feel less homicidal. Max was bound to come back soon, and nobody would be mean to me when he was around. They wouldn’t dare. He was one of them.

  When I saw a figure emerging from the trees, my heart skipped a beat. It was Max coming to look for me. Too cold for outdoor sex, but it would be nice to walk with him.

  But it wasn’t.

  52

  Mimi

  I looked up at the sky and laughed when I realized it was Josh walking toward me. Was this my punishment for being so happy? What next? A phone call to tell me my apartment had burned to the ground?

  “What are you laughing about?” he asked as he approached.

  We were out of sight of the house, which was at least a relief. I didn’t need anybody spying on us, thinking we were sneaking around together. Like I would sneak around with Josh if he paid me in gold bars and designer shoes.

  “Nothing worth talking about,” I replied with a slight frown. I did not want to encourage him to hang around me out here.

  He glanced back in the direction of the house, probably wondering as I had whether we were out of sight. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” he said, his eyes shifting toward the house every so often as he spoke. Right then, he looked what he was. A slimy creep.

  “There’s nothing I want to talk with you about, Josh. We’ve already said all there is to say.”

  I tried to walk around him, but he stepped in front of me. I went the other way, and he blocked me again. Finally, gathering my courage, I stepped up and laying both my hands on his chest, pushed him away as hard as I could. Instead of backing off, he grabbed me by the arms.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I asked furiously. I tried to wrestle my way out of his grasp, but he was too strong.

  “Would you stop fighting me, damn it? I’m not trying to hurt you. I just wanted to tell you I was wrong. I made a big mistake.”

  “Oh, get off it, Josh. Let me go.”

  “Not until you listen to what I have to say.”

  “Say it, fast, then never touch me again.” I glared at him, ready to spit in his face.

  “You don’t mean that.”

  “Oh, try me. I wish you would.”

  His face fell. “I know you’re angry with me. You can’t be angrier with me than I am.”

  I sighed with exasperation. “Get to the point please.”

  “Don’t you get what I’m trying to tell you? I made the biggest mistake of my life when I let you go. I want you back.”

  I was so stunned, I stopped pulling away. My mouth fell open. Just when I thought I’d heard it all he comes with this. Where does this man get off?

  “Were you dropped on your head when you were a baby?” I gasped when I got my voice and the ability to use it back.

  “What?” His eyes searched my face desperately. “Mimi, I know you’re pissed with me, but you can’t pretend you don’t feel what’s still there between us.”

  “I’m not pretending,” I said through clenched teeth. “There is no ‘us’, Josh. There never was. You were
never honest with me, and if I didn’t have to work with you, I’d happily never see your cheating face again.” I yanked my arms away from him, pushing him again for good measure. “And don’t ever lay your hands on me again. Ever.”

  “I love you, Mimi.”

  I was just about told him to go straight to hell when a tall, dark blur broke into my line of vision and shoved Josh away much more forcefully than I ever could have. I gasped when I saw Max standing in front of me, hands curled into fists.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked in a low, deadly tone. I was actually afraid for Josh just then.

  “This isn’t any of your business. She was my girlfriend first,” Josh spat when he got his balance back.

  Max’s right fist cocked back just a split second before it pistoned out, catching Josh’s mouth. He fell to the ground, hand flying up to the lip Max had just split.

  “Are you insane?” Josh asked, his words muffled.

  Max took a step toward him, making him scramble backward like a terrified little animal. “No. You are if you ever touch her again,” Max replied in that same deadly tone of voice. He pointed up toward the house. “You’re so damn lucky we’re here and not out on the street somewhere—it would be in your best interest to not cross my path again after this weekend. And if you’re smart, you’ll go back indoors and tell them you tripped in the woods and hit your lip on some rocks. Unless you want your in-laws and your boss to find out about you manhandling Mimi and trying to dump your pregnant fiancée. I used to think you weren’t good enough for Mimi. Now I know you’re not even good enough for Lillian.”

  If there was ever a time I wanted to jump the man and promise to have his babies while ripping his clothes off, that was it. He took my hand without saying a word and led me back to the house. I heard him breathing hard and fast through his flared nostrils, like an animal on the verge of attack.

  “Thank you for that,” I breathed.

  “He won’t do it again,” he muttered. “He fucking better not, or I’ll break his damn jaw.”

  “I think he got the message loud and clear,” I said softly.

  “Is your hand okay?” He looked at me with the expression of a man who couldn’t believe he’d heard what he just did, so I guess that meant he was all right.

  It was the like the weekend of things I’d never done. Visiting the Hamptons. Sex in the shower. And now, two men had fought over me. One had even punched the other. Megan would shit a brick when I told her.

  53

  Mimi

  When we got back to the house the first person we met was Lillian. She looked at me suspiciously.

  “Have you seen Josh?”

  “Nope,” I lied without batting an eyelid.

  “I wonder where he is,” she said, still staring at me.

  “He might be out taking a walk. The woods are nice this time of the year,” Max said.

  “It’s too cold to go out walking. I’m not supposed to exert myself. I’ll wait for him in the conservatory.”

  Max nodded. “Mimi and I are going upstairs for a…nap.”

  I flushed to the roots of my hair and Lillian’s head snapped around to me. I stared at her in astonishment. Oh, my God, she was jealous of me. She wanted my man!

  Max tugged my hand and we walked up the grand staircase. He pulled me into the room, kicked the door shut and started to undress me.

  “Whoa,” I said, surprised.

  “I hated seeing him put his hands on you. You belong to me,” he said, his eyes blazing with need.

  His face looked cruel and beautiful as he crashed his lips on mine. Burning heat flowered in my core. All thought ceases to exist. With his mouth fused with mine, he was tearing away my clothes. Until I was standing in front of him naked.

  “I’m going in raw this time,” he said, unbuttoning his jeans and pushing them down his slim hips roughly. His cock was so hard it was sticking out over the waistband of his underwear.

  I looked down as it nodded. I wanted him too. He would be the first man I ever allowed such a thing, but an electric current of pure excitement raced up my spine. There was something completely primal about a man filling you with his seed. It was like an ancient pact; a man who took a woman and marked her with his semen. He turned me around and grabbing my hips with both hands he thrust so deeply into me, I cried out.

  Like a greedy hussy, I pushed back and ground myself into him.

  He grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled my head back. While he fucked me ruthlessly, he growled, “you’re fucking mine.”

  I gasped with pleasure.

  “Say it,” he commanded.

  “I’m yours,” I cried.

  He sucked the side of my neck hard. I knew what he was doing. Like a wild animal, he was leaving his mark. He was telling everyone I was his. I stretched my neck and offered it to him, to lick, to suck, to bite.

  “Play with yourself,” he ordered close to my ear.

  I obeyed immediately, my fingers working furiously, as he pounded me from behind. His cock rammed into me, and his balls slapped against me as my climax began. My knees locked and body began to convulse and clench uncontrollably. I thought I would fall.

  “I’m coming,” I cried.

  He tightened his hold on me and slammed so brutally into me, pain mixed with the pleasure. A loud deep groan rumbled in his chest as he emptied his warm cum into my pussy. The aftershocks of my climax made my thighs tremble. He thrust slowly in and out of me. His grip on my hair loosened. His hand brushed strands of hair away from my face and neck. Then he gently kissed my neck while his hand traveled down to splay over my stomach and tightly hug my body.

  “I loved that,” I whispered, my heart pulsing.

  “You’re the only woman who has ever made my cock ache for her.”

  The air left my lungs in a long sigh of contentment. I don’t know how long we remained in that position, with him just cradling me, until a sound from the outside world intruded.

  “I’ve cleaned all the downstairs bathrooms. I’ll be starting with the Green Room next,” someone called in the corridor outside.

  I turned to look into Max’s eyes. He smiled softly.

  “Of course, Max won’t be winning any angling competitions any time soon,” Alexander teased during dinner.

  Max shrugged good-naturedly, much calmer than he was when we first got back to the house earlier that morning. “I can’t be good at everything.”

  I caught Josh hurling a nasty look his way, but only I saw it. Everybody else was busy laughing.

  “How’s your lip, Josh?” Gretchen looked concerned—and maybe slightly amused? I couldn’t tell. Even if she somehow blamed me for seducing her daughter’s fella, she had to hold him responsible, too. Maybe she enjoyed seeing him hurt a little. A total mama bear.

  He shrugged, looking down at his bowl of soup. He couldn’t handle much more than that, or so he said, since opening his mouth too wide hurt too much. “It’ll be fine,” he mumbled.

  Alexander nodded sagely, his bald dome gleaming in the light from the overhead chandelier. “Gotta be careful in those woods, my boy. You never know what you’ll run into.”

  Max snorted quietly, his head down. I kicked him under the table. He kicked me back, though not as hard. We’d finally been able to laugh about it after a little while. Josh hadn’t hurt me, and it would be a very cold day in Hell before I ever considered being with him again.

  Life was good, I thought with a satisfied smile. I had a man in my life who was willing to fight for me. No matter what happened when we got home, there was no way we could go back to being just friends. I had seen his ‘O’ face. You can’t go back from that no matter how hard you try.

  And I was sitting in a gorgeous dining room in a home I would never have had the chance to visit otherwise. With genuinely nice people, for the most part. Max found my hand, resting on my lap, and squeezed. I squeezed back, wondering what that night would bring. We were both wearing entirely too much clothing, as
far as I was concerned. From the way he released my hand and started stroking my thigh, I could tell he felt the same way.

  “So, Max.” Alexander’s strident voice broke into our little moment. “How are things going at work?”

  “Oh, just fine.” I was intrigued. Max never talked about work. I might finally get to hear about it.

  “And how’s that pesky little troll you’ve been dealing with?”

  To my surprise, Max pales. He becomes white under his tan.

  “You know,” Alexander says with a mocking laugh, “the one who won’t leave her apartment?”

  54

  Mimi

  Max’s hand froze. So did my entire body. Including my heart.

  “What’s this all about?” Peter asked, looking in our direction.

  Alexander jumped in when Max didn’t say anything right away. “He’s been trying for months to get one last tenant out of her apartment so he can finally go ahead with renovating the entire building into luxury apartments. But she won’t budge, the pain in the…well, you know. It’s been a bit of a setback. There’s always gotta be one holdout, doesn’t there?”

  I looked down at my plate, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill over. Max’s hand was still on my thigh, so I picked it up by the wrist and dropped it on his own leg. The entire world was crashing in on me and the rest of the table talked and joked as though nothing was happening. How was that possible? How? I was dying inside. I couldn’t sit there for another moment.

  “What are you going to do with this woman?” Gretchen asked curiously.

  “I suggested he seduce her,” Alexander said with a laugh.

  “Excuse me,” I whispered, pushing my chair back.