“Don’t apologize. I came over with a little hangover cure because I knew you’d be on death’s door this morning.” I groan at her words, and I try to search my brain for what I did last night, but it's all so fuzzy.
“Shit, I didn’t do anything embarrassing did I?” My words are muffled, but she hears me.
“Well…” She laughs, and I moan. Shit. What a first impression.
I pull back and grab the washcloth that she’s holding out to me. “Thanks. I’m not usually like this.”
“Think you can make it back to the bedroom.” She is so kind, and I can’t believe that I'm giving her such a terrible impression of me.
I nod, and she helps me up. It isn’t until I’m back in my room that I realize I’m practically naked. “Holy shit, I’m so sorry.” I scrounge around my bed looking for a shirt.
“Don’t cover up on my account. You’ve got a great body.” She winks and I pause looking at her. I’m sure my mouth fell open because I wouldn’t expect her to say anything like that, and to wink. Is she hitting on me? Crap, what is wrong with me. My neighbor is here helping me, and all I can do is make assumptions about her.
“Um, thanks, I think.” Slipping the shirt over my head, I wring my hands in my lap nervously.
She sits down next to me, and I look at her with shock in my eyes. “So are you going to help me unpack or what?”
I laugh. “Yes. I’m beginning to feel a little more human. I’ll just jump in the shower and be right over. And I definitely need to brush my teeth.” I suddenly cover my mouth realizing how close I am to her, embarrassed by my morning hangover vomit breath. She laughs at my actions but doesn’t move away.
“Great! I’ll leave the hangover cure downstairs, and I’ll see you in half hour?”
“Sounds good.”
She kisses my cheek catching me off guard and bounces out of my room. I sit staring at the now closed door. What the fuck just happened?
Getting out of the shower, I rub away the condensation from the mirror, and I’m horrified at how I look. I really look like shit, and no amount of makeup will begin to help fix my face. Why on earth did I drink so much? Oh yeah, because my husband was being an asshole. I quickly get dressed and head downstairs, I see she left me the hair of the dog on the kitchen table next to the kettle. I laugh and drink it, when it hits my stomach it makes it churn but it quickly settles. I pick up my keys and start heading over to her house. As I’m about to reach the front door, I read the note that is tacked onto it.
I figured you wouldn’t be feeling well, so I took the kids fishing for the day. I’ll feed them and be home later in the evening.
Justin
Grabbing the note off the door and crumbling it into a ball, I throw it in the trashcan outside as I walk past, trying not to let my anger build again. I love how he thinks he’s doing me some kind gesture by leaving me in a silent house; I wouldn’t have this hangover if it weren’t because of him. Walking across the lawn, I reach Hayley’s house, and I’m surprised to see the front door wide open. I can hear some music playing, and I'm pretty sure she won’t hear me knock, so I just walk in. I feel like I’ve taken a trip back into the seventies when I hear Our House by Crosby, Nash, Still, and Young singing through the speakers.
Walking around the house I have to wonder why I’m even here. It’s seems that they already have everything unpacked. The living room has all the furniture in place with pictures and light fixtures already hanging up. I look around, and I'm a little shocked by their style. The décor would suggest that they are a bunch of hippies, but they didn’t come across that way. I continue to look for Hayley, determined not to judge them before knowing them. The song ends, and I hear laughter coming from the backyard before Bennie & The Jets starts playing through the speakers. Walking over to the glass sliding doors that lead out back, I see Hayley in a cover up sitting with her feet in the pool talking on her cell. I walk over removing my flip flops and sit down next to her dipping my feet into the pool catching her attention.
“Hey,” she covers the phone with her hand. “Just give me one minute.” Removing her hand she continues her call. “Hey, Hun, I have to run. Katrina just got here, and she’s going to help unpack.” She throws her head back laughing at something. “I’m always on my best behavior. I’ll see you tonight. I love you.” She places the phone on the ground. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. I would have knocked, but the door was left open.” I kick my legs around in the water, enjoying the coolness on my legs.
“There’s such a beautiful breeze today, so I figured I’d leave it open and let it air out the house a little. Besides, I knew you would be coming over soon and with the music playing I wasn’t sure if I’d hear you knock or not.” She smiles, and her lips pull my attention again. I can’t help but wonder if they are natural, they seem too perfect.
“Well, it seems like you don’t have much to unpack. Your living room looks great, and I love the style you have going on.” Lifting her legs out of the pool, she grabs a hold of my hand helping me stand with her.
“Thank you, but you haven’t seen my upstairs. It looks like a bomb went off. There’s stuff everywhere.” Walking over to the kitchen, she grabs two bottles of water and hands me one.
“How did you manage to get the downstairs unpacked so fast?” Opening the water, I take a sip. I think it would have taken me a week to get this organized.
“Klaus had to go down to the club early this morning and get it all sorted out. I figured since I couldn’t sleep I might as well unpack.” She says it as though I should know what she's talking about.
“Club?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.
“Yeah, we own a club downtown, that’s part of the reason we moved here. We found a new location, which is much bigger, so we decided to expand. The commute would have been a bitch since it’s an hour from our old house.”
“I never met anyone who owns a nightclub before.” I'm a little in awe of them that they have such an exciting life. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to own a club.
She gives a little chuckle. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’ve never met anyone with a club like ours. Anyway, come on, let’s head upstairs and see if we can get everything unpacked before the day is over.”
I give her a curious glance before following her. Something I said was funny, and I'm not sure what. We walk up the stairs, and I admire all the beautiful artwork hanging on the walls. Some are of nature, and others are, well a little more on the risqué side, with naked bodies. Even with the nudity they don’t look like porn to me. In fact, they are very tasteful, and the shots are simply stunning. Reaching the top of the stairs, I’m in awe of the layout of the entire house. The people who used to live here weren’t social, so I’ve never actually seen the inside of this house. The open railing that overlooks the downstairs has me slightly jealous. There is a great view of the sky through the window that’s above the front door.
“Okay, where should I start?” Looking around trying to see what needs to be done, there are so many doors I don’t even know how many bedrooms there are.
“Let’s start with my bedroom. It will be easier to get ready for the day when I know where my clothes are. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind living in a bathing suit but I don’t think people will appreciate me grocery shopping in a two-piece.” I laugh in agreement.
“Okay, bedroom it is.” I walk towards what looks to be the biggest room in the house. It faces the front of the house, and that’s usually where the master bedroom is.
“Oh, not that one.” She stops me with her words and I turn to look at her.
“Sorry, I just took it that was the master bedroom.” I point to the door and wonder where their room is.
“It is, but we prefer to use it as our theater room. Besides, this room right here,” she opens the door to the bedroom before the master, “is almost the same size and has a tub and shower as well so there’s really no difference.”
“We don’t have any kids.” I turn and look at her, feeling a blush on my cheeks.
“Oh, I’m sorry I just assumed since you have such a big house.”
“You’re adorable.” She laughs. “It’s okay. I mean kids aren’t completely off the table, we just haven’t decided on when we want to have them. We have a great marriage, and when we met, we were fine either way when it came to kids. If it happens, it happens.” She shrugs.
“How many bedrooms do you have, and what do you use them for? I’m sorry, that’s kind of personal, you don’t have to answer that.” I walk over to one of the large boxes sitting on the floor to try and hide my embarrassment.
“No need to apologize. We use them when we host parties, and people can’t drive home or when family comes to visit. We don’t plan on moving again, so we wanted to make sure that we had enough room if down the line we did end up with little ones. And to answer your question, there are five bedrooms.” My cheeks redden even more with the honest answers to my intrusive questions. It’s none of my business how many bedrooms she has or what she does with them. My phone goes off, saving me from my embarrassment and I pull it out of my pocket, seeing it’s a text from Justin.
Justin: Gabby wants to spend the night at Pops, and Alexander wants to spend the weekend with Anthony camping. I just wanted to run it past you and make sure you didn’t have anything planned.
Me: That’s fine. I’ll have their bags packed and run them out to you so you can just drop them off.
Justin: Thanks. We shouldn’t be too much longer. I’ll call you when we are on our way.
Sighing, I place my phone back into my pocket. Looking up I see Hayley eyeing me as she opens a box. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I have to run back to my house for a minute. The kids want to spend the weekend away, and so I have to get them packed.” I give her my best ‘I'm sorry’ look. I haven’t even done anything yet, and I need to leave for a bit.
“Go ahead. I’ll be okay here.”
“Oh no, I have time. It’s only going to take a couple minutes.” I open the box next to me looking to see what’s inside.
“I don’t mean to pry, but it seemed like you guys might have been having a fight yesterday. Is there anything I can do?” She pretends that she's sorting out another box, but I can tell that she's just trying to give me space.
“Was it that obvious?” I sit on her huge king size bed sighing in defeat. Walking over, she grabs a hold of my hand.
“You don’t have to tell me anything. But if you ever need to talk I’m here.” She squeezes my hand, and I smile at her.
“Maybe it will help talking to someone who doesn’t know us.” I can’t believe I'm about to tell someone who I’ve only known for a day all my problems. I'm not a hugely private person, but normally I keep all this for my friends.
“It can’t hurt to try.” She gives me a little smile as she sits patiently and waits for me to talk.
“Justin and I almost got divorced a few years back; it was bad. I thought we worked through our issues and were moving past them. Then he started school and completely checked out of the marriage and family. Things came to a head last night when… well, let's just say I definitely have more of a sex drive than he does.” I blush with what I'm actually telling her.
“Maybe you just need to try spicing things up a bit.” Hayley doesn’t seem fazed by what I'm telling her and I'm thankful for that.
“I’ve tried. I bought all new toys and new lingerie. I just don’t know what else to do at this point.” I realize how pathetic I sound, I can't even get my husband to want me.
“We’ve all been there, Hun. You just have to find what works for the both of you and go with it.” She sounds so sure of herself. I can’t believe she's ever had a problem making Klaus want her.
“Ugh, look at me. I’m supposed to be helping you, not the other way around.” I stand and go back to the box I was working on, laughing at how pathetic I'm being.
“Well, I’m not going anywhere, so you’re stuck with me. So whenever you need help, you know where I live.” She winks getting up from the bed.
“Let’s see what we can get done here before I have to leave. So how do you want to do this?” I ask having no clue as to where anything goes in their house.
“Oh easy, if it’s clothes just hang them. Klaus’s side of the closet is to the left and mine is to the right. Same goes for the shoes. If you come across anything else, top two drawers are mine and bottom two are his.”
We start unpacking, and I love the energy Hayley has in her. She is so bouncy and fun to be with. She’s singing and dancing around each room as we unpack, even picking up hair brushes using them as microphones as she’s working in the bathroom. I find myself laughing until her positivity rubs off on me, and before I know it, I’m singing and dancing around with her. I have to say her taste in music is fantastic. It ranges from the seventies all the way to today, and she doesn’t discriminate against any genre. She is someone I can see myself becoming great friends with.
We sing and dance our way from room to room, and as we are about to reach what she likes to call her theater room, she lets out a squeal. “You weren’t supposed to be home till later.” Hayley says, and I turn around to see Klaus holding Hayley in his arms singing and dancing to Still The One putting a smile on my face.
“I wanted to surprise you. Work can wait, I missed you.” He says before dipping her, placing a kiss on her lips. I can see how much they love each other as they dance together. He gives her one last twirl before calling me over with a crook of his finger. I shake my head no and hold my hands up, but he doesn’t take no for an answer. He moves towards me, and before I know it, he’s swinging me around and singing to me. Hayley is standing behind us, dancing herself and laughing at the two of us. My phone starts to vibrate in my pocket, and I pull it out.
“Excuse me one minute,” Hayley jumps in, taking my spot in Klaus’ arms. “Hello?” I cover my ear trying to hear through the music.
“Katrina? Where are you? I can barely hear you?” Justin says down the other end of the phone.
“Hang on.” I walk over to Hayley and Klaus, hating to interrupt them. “It’s Justin. I have to go home and pack for the kids.”
“Thank you for all your help today.” Hayley hugs me, swaying slightly as she does.
“Yes, thank you. You saved me from a lot of hard labor.” Klaus jokes.
“Hey, since you and Justin don’t have the kids why don’t you come down and check out Klaus’s club tonight?” She suggests and Klaus looks at her with a raised eyebrow.
“I don’t want to impose.” I don’t want her to feel she has to invite us out; I don’t want to be those neighbors.
“It would be our pleasure to have you.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to Justin and see what he says.” I wave to them, and as I turn to walk down the stairs, Klaus says, “I love this song,” as Cheerleader plays throughout the house, and he grabs his wife, dancing to the music. I admire the love that shines between them and how effortless their marriage looks. Hoping to one day get that back with Justin, I take one last glance, saving the sight in my mind in hopes one day that I will have what they have. I sing a little as I head home. Hearing Justin’s voice saying hello over and over again reminds me that he’s on the phone.
“Shit, I’m sorry Justin. I was at the neighbors helping them unpack, and I forgot you were on the phone as I was saying goodbye.”
“It sounds more like you guys are having a party over there.” He sounds pissed, and I want to remind him he was the one who left today, but I stay quiet.
“Nope. Just unpacking. They did invite us to their nightclub tonight, though. And I figured since the kids won’t be home it will be something fun to do. You know, get out
and unwind a little?”
His hesitation makes me feel like he’s going to say no. We haven’t been out together in forever, and I’m starting to think this is going to add to the list of things lost between us. “I think that sounds great actually. I say let’s do it. You’re right. It has been a while since we’ve gone out and why not get to know the neighbors and check out their bar.”
“Nightclub.” I correct him.
“Right. Okay then, I’ll see you in a little while.” Realizing I don’t have Hayley’s number, I turn around and head back into their house. As I walk up the stairs to where I left her, I immediately regret not knocking. Klaus is sitting on the bed, his pants down to his ankles, and Hayley’s mouth is full of cock. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry.”
Klaus laughs, and Hayley wipes the side of her mouth. “It’s quite alright. Did you forget something?” She laughs.
I’m really trying not to stare; there are just some things you shouldn’t see but know I’m not doing a good job at it. No one would blame me though, since they don’t seem too concerned about covering themselves. Turning my head, I talk into the doorframe. “Well, I didn’t have your number, and I spoke with Justin. Anyway, he said he’d love to go tonight.”
“Perfect,” Hayley gets up, pulling her top up as she walks over to me. I look to the floor as she grabs my phone out of my hands, “Now you have my number. We can all drive together. Can you be ready by eight?”
“Eight sounds good I’ll see you then.”
I practically sprint out of their house so humiliated that I walked in on Hayley giving her husband a blowjob. I am a little jealous that she’s getting more action than I am but maybe after tonight, if I’m lucky enough, I’ll be the one on my knees.
Chapter 5
It’s been such a long time since I’ve gone out to a club that I don’t even know what to wear. As I look through my closet, I keep coming up empty handed. Sure, I have nice clothes but I don’t want to look like I’m showing up to a business meeting and most of my clothes make me look just like that. Guys have it so easy. They can just throw on a pair of jeans and a shirt, and blend right in. A woman, on the other hand, she will always be judged by what she’s wearing. I pick up my phone as I stand helplessly in my closet and send Hayley a text.
Levels (The Swingtown Series Book 1) Page 4
