We’re Just Neighbors

by J. P. Comeau

  “That’s amazing, Annie. Tell me about all of the products in this lifestyle line.”

  Richard seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say, which suppressed some of my insecurities. But he still seemed a little off.

  “I played around with some ingredients and developed several protein bars. They don’t taste chalky, though, which is a big problem with protein bars. Crystal enjoys the chocolate covered strawberry one, and I’m partial to the pizza flavor.”

  Richard put his fork and knife down, then looked straight at me.

  “Wait a minute,” Richard said. “You made a pizza-flavored protein bar?”

  I nodded with a smile, proud of myself for creating the flavor.

  “Wellness is my calling in life, but I’m still a human. Even vegetarians love the taste of a cheeseburger.” Richard laughed and waited for me to continue. “In addition to protein bars, I’ve also developed lotions, candles, yoga pants, and body oils.”

  “Body oils sound nice,” he said.

  I looked into his eyes and wanted to melt.

  “I used some after I got out of the shower tonight,” I said, but Richard went back to staring at his food. “It’s lavender and vanilla scented. If you get close enough to me, I’m sure you could smell it. You don’t need perfume when you wear this oil, either.”

  Richard nodded, then took a sip of his wine. We sat in silence for the next several minutes, and I was starting to freak out.

  “How’s your food?”

  “The food is great,” I whispered, “but you seem out of it. Are you sure that you’re okay?”

  He nodded but didn’t speak for the rest of the meal.

  After we finished eating, he cleared the plates and invited me into his second living room. It overlooked his backyard and had long, floor to ceiling windows. In the right corner was a fireplace, which he turned on via an app on his phone.

  “Would you care for some more wine?”

  I nodded and took a glass, eager to drink the insecurities away. As he sat down next to me on the couch, I instinctively curled into his body and rested my head on his chest. His muscles moved up and down with every breath, and he eventually put his hand on my lower back.

  “I care about you, Annie,” he said.

  “I care about you too,” I said.

  Richard’s hand moved up and down along my spine, and I desperately wanted it to move south. At that point, sex seemed necessary. All of that awkward silence was driving me crazy, and if I hadn’t drunk so much, I’d have left by that point.

  “I think about you all the time,” he whispered.

  I put my arm around his waist and smiled, feeling his erection pressing against his pants. Not wanting to ruin the moment with any more talk, I looked up and kissed him on the lips. All I wanted was to feel at least some pressure back, even if it didn’t lead to sex. I needed to know that what he had said wasn’t all talk and that he genuinely wanted to be with me.

  Not only did he kiss me back, but he pushed me onto the couch and ran his hands up my legs.

  “Someone’s not wearing any panties tonight,” he said, finding my moist pussy.

  I breathed heavily into his mouth as he put his finger inside, then used his thumb to massage my hard clitoris. He used his other hand to push the couch back, turning it into a massive bed for us.

  I rolled over so that he was on his back, climbing on top of him and taking off my dress. His hands reached up and ripped off my bra, actually causing it to tear. As I kissed him passionately, I felt his hands unzipping his pants and sliding them down.

  They never made it off the couch.

  As soon as they were low enough, I climbed on top and slid him inside of me.

  “Oh God,” I moaned, instinctively rocking my hips back and forth.

  My hands lifted his shirt off, pulling it over his head and flinging it onto the floor. With every thrust from my hips, he met it with equal force. I bounced up and down on his cock, his hands cupping my breasts the entire time.

  Once exhaustion started to creep over me, I turned over onto all fours, and he positioned himself behind me. I leaned back and found him hard as a rock, and once again, I was thrusting against his body.

  “Wicked woman,” he moaned.

  I loved feeling his balls slap against me, and with every thrust, they were growing in size.

  “Harder,” I moaned, holding onto the arm of the couch. “Harder!”

  The springs on the couch began to squeak loudly, as though it couldn’t take much more pressure. That was the kind of sex that I needed. Even though I was in love with him, that night was an intense sexual release between two people with loads of built-up stress. Richard even spanked my ass a few times, which I surprisingly enjoyed.

  I flipped onto my back, spread my legs apart, and encouraged him to enter. He had a surprise for me, though.

  Sinking down, he buried his face into my pussy licking and sucking as I wrapped my legs around him. I didn’t want to climax yet, though. I tried to make the session last as long as possible, but it was virtually impossible. He had the best tongue I’d ever encountered.

  I sat up and pushed him onto his back, then ground my swollen folds against his mouth.

  “Give it to me,” he grunted in between licks.

  My hips moved back and forth until I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Richard!” I yelled his name as I released my orgasm into his mouth, my hips moving back and forth long after it was over. He just felt so good inside of me.

  “My turn,” he said, putting me onto my back.

  Richard got on top of me, placed his hard cock back inside of my throbbing walls and smirked at me with mischievous eyes. He put one hand behind my neck and the other on my left breast. I reached up to kiss him, but he shook his head.

  “Why?”

  He smiled as he continued thrusting into me.

  “I want to see you when it happens.”

  His pounding got harder and more forceful, as though he were marking his territory. As he got closer, I found myself getting close too.

  “Richard, oh God,” I whimpered.

  His hand on the back of my neck gripped harder, pushing me closer to his face.

  “Annie!”

  As I felt him release his juices inside of me, another orgasm washed over my body, and I trembled wildly. At no point did we stop looking into each other's eyes.

  When it was all over, he rolled onto his back, and we laid there, breathing hard. Then Richard pulled me closer, my breasts pressing into his chest, and my arm draped across his stomach.

  At some point, we both fell asleep, and I was no longer worried about our future. I was in love.

  16

  Richard

  Two Weeks Later

  Those prior two weeks had been pretty hectic. While Annie and I were doing quite well, seeing each other regularly and having fantastic sex, it was still like pulling teeth when it came to seeing Addison. Heather insisted on always being there, even though it was evident that Addison didn’t care for her own mother.

  I also had a growing suspicion that Heather was keeping tabs on me.

  None of my security cameras had caught her car anywhere near my property. Still, I had a distinct feeling that someone was following me. On my last date with Annie, which consisted of dinner and a movie, a black SUV kept showing up. Whenever I looked in the rearview mirror to get a glimpse of the license plate, it quickly sped away.

  I had spotted the same SUV behind me on several other occasions, too. Almost every time that I went to my lawyer's office, the black SUV was nearby. I also saw it near my parent's mansion a few times. Its only distinguishing mark was a large white scratch along the back, which I noticed every time it sped away. On one occasion, I was able to get Z, L, and number six on the license plate.

  Danielle wrote down the information and tried determining who the SUV belonged to, but nothing came up.

  It was my day to spend with Addison, and all I wanted to do was tak
e her out for ice cream. There was a new ice cream parlor called Sprinkles, and I knew that Addison would have so much fun. Her favorite ice cream flavor was cotton candy, and I was aching for a father-daughter moment. I held my breath and called Heather.

  “Yes?”

  “Good afternoon to you too, Heather.” She let out a sigh, and I could just see her rolling her eyes. “Today’s my day, and I’d like to take Addison out to Sprinkles for ice cream. What time can I pick her up?”

  “I’ve made it clear, Richard, that I am to be with her at all times.” I heard Addison say something, but Heather quickly shushed her.

  “Why are you making this so hard, Heather? You might not like me, but I've done nothing to suggest that I'm a bad father."

  “The judge hasn’t said that I need to let you have one on one time with her yet, so you’re the one who’s making this hard.”

  “You know damn well that I’m a good father, Heather. You only insist on being there to try and put the heat on me. How stupid do you think I am?”

  Our attorneys were still going back and forth over how much I was to pay her. Danielle was doing everything that she could to avoid a large payment plus back child support, and Heather wasn’t backing down.

  “It’s not my fault that you’re cheap,” she hissed into the phone.

  I knew Addison was near Heather, and I didn’t want her to overhear anything that I was saying.

  “All I’m asking is one session without you, Heather. That’s it. You chose to keep her from me all of these years, and then out of the blue, you show up. You’re demanding an excessive amount of money, but let’s keep that between our lawyers, okay? Please. Just one day with Addison.”

  There was a long pause on her end, but I refused to back down. After everything she put me through, she owed me at least one visit with Addison on my own.

  “Not today, Richard. We’ll meet you at Sprinkles at noon.”

  I hung up the phone and then chucked it onto my bed out of anger. I needed to cool off.

  As I got into the shower, I thought about when I should tell Annie about Addison. I had wanted to do so at dinner two weeks before. There were several opportunities that night to do so, and she could sense something was wrong with me. My thoughts kept racing and distracting me from our conversation that night, and every time I looked at her, I had lost the nerve to tell her about my love child. I was worried about how she would take the news.

  Annie had moved forward with her lifestyle brand and had a second virtual meeting with the investor in a few days. Both of us were working incredibly long days. Sometimes she worked longer ones than I did. I was proud of her, though. Whenever both of us had time to spend together, be it dinner at a restaurant or a movie in bed, I didn’t want to put the pressure and stress on her, not knowing when I would see her next. I wanted it to just be about us.

  The legal work over the custody of Addison was getting messier, though. Heather wasn’t making it easy, and I was worried that it’d scare Annie away. My worst nightmare would be Heather confronting Annie and screaming at her. Even after all of it was said and done, Heather would always be in my life because of Addison.

  Annie was a completely different person than Heather, too. Unlike Heather, she was down to earth and wasn't concerned with material possessions. Most of her clothes came from vintage stores, and not the kind that Heather frequented. She didn’t deserve to be around someone so nasty and cynical, yet that would be the case if we stayed together. I could see Heather calling her offensive names, even in front of Addison too.

  I let out a sigh as I dried myself off, then made my way to my clothes closet. As I was buttoning my jeans, Danielle called my cellphone.

  “Did you get the paternity test results yet?" I immediately regretted being so forward since my parents had raised me to be polite.

  “Yes, Richard. They are conclusive. You are the father.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief, even though it was clear that I was Addison’s dad.

  “I’m setting up a meeting with her attorney and Heather for negotiations. I’ll get back to you with the date as soon as I know, okay?”

  “Thank you so much, Danielle.” I hung up the phone and sat down on my bed.

  I wondered whether or not I should tell Heather at the ice cream shop that day, but decided not to. She'd be upset that I was even questioning it, plus that time was for Addison and me.

  Whenever Heather even looked at her, Addison would just roll her eyes and look away, especially when Heather was on her cellphone. That was all she did during those supervised visits, too. She’d just sit there, scrolling through her phone while Addison and I got to know each other. Occasionally Heather would let out a disgusted sigh, and Addison would look right at her.

  She might be young, but she was incredibly intuitive.

  I went downstairs and grabbed a cup of coffee, then sat down to read through some legal documents Danielle had sent over. They were options for child support and visitation rights. Money wasn’t an issue, but I would need proof that every penny was going toward Addison.

  There was no way in hell that I’d let any of it go toward Heather’s obvious expensive shopping habits.

  “What a nightmare,” I said to myself, flipping through the pages.

  My head jolted up as soon as I heard a knock at the door.

  As I walked closer, I could tell that it was Annie through the side windows. She was breathtaking as usual, wearing a black tank top and cutoff denim shorts. Her long, black hair looked like satin, and her ruby red lips pulled the whole outfit together.

  “Good morning, handsome.”

  I picked her up and brought her inside, allowing her to wrap her legs around my waist.

  “Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” I said after kissing her on her lips.

  I set her down near the couch, and she quickly took a seat. “I’d say that I was in the neighborhood, but you and I both know that’s not true.”

  She looked so beautiful sitting on the couch, and I instantly knew that I had to tell her about Addison. “Annie, we need to talk.”

  She immediately stopped smiling, which broke my heart, but I carried on.

  “I’m sure you’ve noticed that something’s been a bit off these past few weeks, and it’s time you find out why. Do you remember Heather, my ex-girlfriend?”

  Annie nodded, and all of the colors had drained from her face.

  I put up my hand, knowing exactly what she was thinking. “No, we’re not back together. God, no. It’s just, well, I have a daughter that I just found out about, with her.”

  “Are you serious? Richard, that’s wonderful. But why did she wait so long to tell you? You two broke up years ago."

  I let out a sigh of relief that she wasn't upset but still knew, no matter how hard it would be, I had to cool things off with her. “Who knows, but unfortunately, this does impact our relationship.”

  She tilted her head a bit as I sat down next to her on the couch. “Why would you having a kid affect our relationship?”

  As I ran my hands through her hair, I struggled to find the right words. “Because that’s not what you signed up for, Annie. You wanted to be with me, not me, and a surprise child.”

  Annie started smiling again. “Did you honestly think this would be a deal-breaker, Richard? I don’t mind that you have a kid. You’ve seen me with Caley, right?”

  I nodded and smiled, too. Annie had been amazing with Caley all of those years, treating her as though she were her own daughter.

  “That’s true. I didn’t think of that part. But still, you’re starting your lifestyle brand. The fact that I’m taking more projects at work, the legal work that’s involved in all of this with Heather, and normal life is a lot. Are you sure that it’s not too much for you?”

  “I’d love nothing more than to meet your daughter, Richard. What’s her name?”

  I spent the next hour telling Annie all about Addison. How old she was, what grade she was in, some of her hob
bies, and I also mentioned the boarding school plan from Heather. Annie agreed with me, though. Boarding school wasn’t always the best idea for a young child.

  “And she’s not a fan of her mother, either.”

  “From what I can remember about Heather,” Annie said, “she wasn’t always the nicest person. Kind of snobby, too.”

  I nodded, then told her about the expensive outfit she was wearing along with the rock on her hand.

  “I remember you telling me about how she had scoffed at a gift you once had given her. Didn’t you say the set of earrings were from Tiffany’s, and she made some comment about how there weren’t enough karats.”

  “Yeah, that’s Heather. She’s the same one who wanted me to stop working for my father and branch out on my own.”

  “But you love working for your father,” she said.

  I leaned in and kissed Annie on the cheek. “That’s why I like you so much, Annie. You’d never try to change me, would you?”

  She shook her head, flipping her silky black hair into my face.

  “Not even that sexy grey hair of yours,” she said while running her hands through it.

  "Let me talk to Heather today and see if I can get some alone time with Addison; then you two can meet. Actually, let me show you her picture.” I pulled out my phone and showed her some pictures.

  “Richard, she’s the spitting image of you. Look at her eyes, her thick hair, even her nose! Did you still take a paternity test?”

  I shrugged my shoulders while putting my phone away. “Only because my attorney said that I should, just to be on the safe side.”

  "She was right. But yeah, I could see how you wouldn't have much of a doubt. She's beautiful. She really is."

  "Thanks," I replied, smiling.

  "Well, I just stopped by for a second," she said. "I gotta get to work. Don't let me be part of what stresses you. I'm here. For both of you."

  Annie stood up, and I walked her to the door, wrapping my arms around her and kissing her before she left.