The Neighborhood Series (The Neighborhoood)

by Tarrah Anders

  Before I can say anything else, she’s walking away and out the door. Just as the front bar door begins to close, Noah walks through and smiles.

  “I got your text, looks like I have perfect timing.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “Well, the chick that just left had a really big smile on her face, and I’m going to go out on a limb here and think that smile was because of you.”

  “My office, not here,” I say turning.

  Moments later, Noah and I are sitting on the couch facing one another and I’m nervously wringing my hands.

  “Okay, so you know my deepest and darkest secret,” I begin, “well, so does that woman that was walking out as you came in.”

  “Is that a good thing or is that a bad thing?” he asks.

  “I’m not sure yet. I think it’s a mixture of both, but you know how private I am, I don’t want what I am into, to come out and be town gossip.”

  “I’m not following, how would it be town gossip?”

  I lean forward with my elbows on my knees. “Well, if I choose to date Carol, the question of ‘how did you two meet’ is always one that people ask, even in small towns. I can’t give the answer, ‘well, we met at Lancaster’s View, you know the sex club in the city,’ now can I?

  Noah laughs, then leans back into the seat of the couch.

  “Well, you could, that would be an excellent fun fact, if you and she date, like really date, you can make up something boring, like you’re neighbors,” he winks, “or you know what, fuck ‘em, it’s no one’s business. But I sincerely doubt that anyone knows about Lancaster’s here. Most folks barely leave town, and if they know of the place, it’s not like they would openly talk about it.”

  “Everything is everyone’s business in Mercy.” I reply dryly.

  “Listen, the fact here is that you guys really are neighbors, and that’s a perfect answer to how you both met. There are some things that people in this town don’t need to know. Shit, I didn’t know that Miles was my brother until earlier this year, and that’s a huge secret.” Noah replies looking like he’s thinking back to when he found out that Miles, the guy we hired to be another bartender here, is actually his half brother. The bastard son, that was a huge secret.

  “I guess you’re right. There’s another thing though,” I start.

  Noah places his hands behind his head, “lay it on me?”

  “Carol and I had an agreement.”

  “This is interesting, what kind of agreement?”

  “It was more pertaining about having other partners at the club, limits and the like.”

  “Okay, so what about it?”

  “Do I need one if I’m not seeing her at the club?”

  “Have you ever had a normal relationship?” Noah asks.

  “It’s been awhile.”

  “I can tell. But seriously, are you and she going to participate back in the city at the club?”

  “I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it, and besides when I brought up another agreement, she basically freaked out, and said that she cannot do another one. Obviously, I don’t know how to navigate a normal relationship.”

  “Do you want to see her, romantically?” Noah asks.

  “I do, she knows me, and I know her. I’ve tried to go back to the club since our final night together, and it’s just not the same anymore.”

  “That’s because she isn’t there,” Noah points out.

  Is it?

  Chapter Ninety-Six

  I’m standing outside of Carol’s front door, waiting for her to answer and when she does, cotton fills my mouth and I have no idea what to say. She steps aside to allow me to walk in, and I hear my stupid brother shout and whistle just as the door closes.

  We sit at her dining table, seated across from one another. Our body language is tense and I can tell that she is unsure of what this visit entails.

  “I’m sorry about the other night. I shouldn’t have come onto you so strongly without a discussion first, you know that is how I standardly work and I think due to our past, I just resumed the normalcy and assumed that everything was okay, when in fact the change in scenery here, warranted a full conversation. So, for that, I apologize. You shouldn’t be the one to do so.”

  I watch her shoulders visibly relax and a slow smile spreads on her beautiful face.

  “I don’t want to be our alter egos, I would much rather get to know Micah, and for you to get to know Carol. It’s undeniable that there is something, a curiosity, an attraction or whatever here between one another. Would that be something that you would be interested in?” she asks.

  “I want to be completely upfront and honest with you. Outside of the club, I haven’t had a relationship in years. Agreements are what I know, I guess those are as close to a relationship as I’ve had in quite some time.”

  “How many agreements have you had?” she asks after a moment.

  “You were my third.”

  “And why did those agreements end?” she questions.

  “The first fell in love with a Dom from the club, she wanted something rougher than I was willing to give, so she went out of the agreement. The second woman’s husband found out about her coming to the club and her activities, so that ended in a blaze of fury. Then there is you.”

  “Did you ever have real feelings for these other women?”

  “To an extent yes, I’m not a complete monster. But I compartmentalize my city proclivities and my life here in Mercy. They never overlap, at least until now.”

  “Do you think that is fate knocking on our door?”

  “Could be, but I’m not sure that I believe solely on fate.”

  “I work in a field where I can work anywhere. I was living in Hollybrooke just fine. I joined Lancaster’s View on a whim, and you were my first. I became enamored with our scenes and eventually with you. I left because I began to catch feelings. I moved to Mercy, because if I lived in Hollybrooke and knew you were frequenting the club so close to my home that I would be tempted. I didn’t want to go through that obsession. So then I decided to move to a small town, to Mercy, and there you were. So close to me again. If that’s not fate, then I don’t know what is.”

  “Sounds like it could be a series of coincidences.” I say quietly pondering her explanation.

  “Do you feel anything for me? You said you cannot live next door to me and not have me, what does that mean to you?” she asks repeating what I said to her at her door the other night.

  “I haven’t stopped thinking about you since our last night. I’m not sure what it is, but I can’t stop. I’ve gone back to the club in search of a release and the other night with you was the closest that I’ve came to getting one. There are unexpected feelings and I’m not sure how to navigate through them. But I was not lying, I do want you, I just don’t know how to do it without an agreement,” I admit.

  “What if this agreement was something that wasn’t written down and physically signed? What if the agreement was a verbal agreement? Would you be able to do that?” she asks.

  “We can give it a try,” I reply after a few moments of silence.

  “Good. Okay, so verbally, I would say that we would agree to not see anyone else?” she starts.

  “Deal. Another would be that we only speak about how we met by being neighbors, no mention of the club?”

  “I can agree to that, no need telling the old lady across the street that fun bit, that would likely give her a heart attack.”

  “She’s had two already, I’m convinced that she’s bionic.”

  Carol laughs, and the sound alone makes me smile.

  “Same hard limits as before,” Carol says.

  “Deal. Should we set a time limit?” I ask.

  “No, we let it work on its own time. Can you deal with no club activities?”

  My heart begins to beat and I’m not sure how to answer the question with full honesty. But I know that I should try, besides the last few times I’ve gone to the club,
hasn’t been as pleasurable as before, when I knew I would be there to meet with her.

  “I think that can be managed. I think a good one would be that we use our real names, no alter egos. No use in explaining who Mic and Clarisse are to others.”

  “Deal. Anything else that we want to add?” She asks.

  “Yes, one more thing,” I pause for dramatic effect. “If we’re going to do this, which I believe is basically date, then we will do it properly. And I want you to be honest with me and tell me when and if I fuck up. But we’re going to leave our respective houses, we will go out and be out in public.”

  “I think that’s a reasonable ask,” she smiles.

  “Good. So, tomorrow night, I’ll pick you up and we’ll go on our first real date,” I declare.

  “Deal.” she holds out her hand to me and I shake it.

  Chapter Ninety-Seven

  My palms are sweaty and I’m not sure if I washed my body in the shower or put deodorant on. But I’m standing in front of Carol’s door with a bouquet of flowers from the market and I’m ready to jump out of my skin in nerves.

  Until she opens the door and I get a full view of what she’s wearing, and my mouth goes dry.

  Her long hair is wavy with the ends cascading over her shoulders. She’s wearing a maroon tank top and a short jean skirt that hugs her delicious curves.

  She’s wearing flats, since we’re the same height and I’m grateful for that detail she thought about. She smiles when I hand her the flowers and places them just inside her front door before stepping out onto the porch and threading her arm through the crook of mine.

  We look to one another and smile.

  “So, where does one go for a night out here in Mercy?” she asks.

  “Well, normally folks go to the bar, but since I work there and don’t want to be a chump and take you there, I’m taking you to the diner for dinner and then I thought that we could go for a walk and I can give you an insider tour of Mercy,” I reply.

  “That sounds great. I had breakfast at the diner the other day and it was pretty good.”

  “Well, get ready to have your mind blown,” I say sarcastically.

  We settle into a booth at the diner and make the standard awkward small talk people do during first dates. After dinner, since we are on foot, I take her hand and lead her through the streets of the town. I explain to her how we didn’t have a doctor’s office here in town until this year. I tell her about all the new people who have come to this town, coupled up, and have added to the livelihood of Mercy. We walk up and down streets, I point out houses of folks that I am friends with from the bar and tell the stories, thinking of how interesting it is that each person that worked at The Neighborhood Bar was previously single, and now are in committed relationships.

  We stop in front of a park and have a seat on a bench underneath a streetlight.

  “So, now that you’ve seen Mercy just a little bit more on your own personal tour, what do you think?” I ask putting my arm around the back of the bench.

  She gives my question some thought and then places her hand on my thigh as she responds.

  “I think it’s a cute town, and I’m glad that I chose it.”

  “Why did you choose Mercy, of all places?” I ask curiously.

  “It was still close to the city should I have wanted to visit friends there, but just far enough from the city to get out of the hustle and bustle. I can work from anywhere, so it’s not like I have a need to go into work on a daily basis. I have a lot of virtual meetings and whatnot, so I just need to be presentable from the waist up.”

  “So, what is it that you do exactly? Other than take meetings pant-less.”

  “I am the CEO for an online store. We do not have any brick and mortar shops, so it’s nice to be able to do my work from anywhere.”

  “What kind of online store?”

  “You promise that you won’t judge?” she asks.

  “If you’re not dealing with anything gross or ceramic dolls, then I’m pretty sure that you’re in the clear,” I promise.

  “Sex toys,” she’s looking closely at me, for a reaction.

  I raise my eyebrows, give a low whistle and nod my head. “So, what you’re saying is, those toys that we’ve used back in the city, you may have already had the pleasure of using?” I say emphasizing ‘pleasure’.

  “My company supplies them for Lancaster’s View. We are the top toy distributer for this part of the region,” she replies proudly.

  “Impressive, do you have a local warehouse where shipments go out of? Wait, is your garage jam-packed full of toys?” I ask her jokingly.

  “My distribution warehouse is located just outside of Hollybrooke,” she replies. “I have to go there in a few days, you’re more than welcome to come along.”

  I shrug my shoulders indifferently, not entirely shocked that she’s got this sort of business, after all she was always up for using toys in our scenes, but I am definitely more curious about her, and also more attracted to her.

  We talk more while sitting on the bench about families and some of my past. When we begin walking again, we’re holding hands all the way back to the house. We stand between our two homes on the sidewalk.

  “Would you like to come in for a nightcap?” she asks.

  I look up to my place and see that both Nydia and Cooper are there, I can see their heads on the couch in the living room through the front window as they watch something on the television.

  “Sure, I would love too. I’d invite you inside my place, but it wouldn’t just be us,” I explain angling my head to the window.

  She pulls me by the hand up her driveway and I stand stoically as she unlocks the door.

  “Beer or liquor?” she asks removing her shoes and walking through the house with me on her heels.

  “I’ll take whatever you’re having,” I answer.

  “Good call,” she calls with her head inside the fridge and her ass perking my interest. From the entryway of the kitchen, the view she’s giving me, whether on purpose or not, my cock is stiffening at the glimpse of her asscheeks and the blue laced thong that’s slips between them.

  I adjust myself just as she turns, and she must sense my arousal as her eyes focus on my movement with a smirk on her face.

  “You okay there?” she asks.

  I say nothing, but nod as she sets the beers down on the counter beside me and approaches to stand in front of me. She places her hands on my sides and leans in close on her tippy toes and next to my ear.

  “Want to skip the drinks and go do something else?”

  “More than you can imagine,” I reply to her honestly.

  Chapter Ninety-Eight

  She straddles me while we kiss on her bed. Her hair is wrapped around my hand out of habit, directing our kiss like one would a symphony as she moans into the kiss and moves her hips in circular motions on my lap, grinding against my cock.

  “I want you,” she whispers against my lips then she pulls away and begins to unbuckle my belt.

  I don’t stop her, instead I release her hair and caress her breasts then pull her closer again to not go without contact between our lips for long after my pants are off.

  There is nothing rushed or kinky about the way we are kissing right now. When before, at the club, our interactions involved her on her knees with a blindfold over her eyes and waiting for my directions. The interaction is unfolding completely different than how we’ve interacted before, she’s taking initiative, she’s on top of me and she’s leading the entire show.

  I’m enjoying the reversal of roles and once my cock is in her hand, I stop thinking. Once she moves down my body, strokes my cock, and licks the crown, my eyes roll back into my head, and I’m at her complete mercy. I am putty in her hands.

  In any of our previous interactions, I went down on her several times over the past several months, but not once did I allow her to go down on me. The pleasure was all about her, with my only release being when I would come on
her breasts.

  Now, with my cock in her luscious mouth, I regret those several months of refusing myself this pleasure from her. Her mouth and tongue mold perfectly around my shaft as she adds the perfect amount of friction and suction while she moves up and down on me. We’re entering this new realm of perhaps a real relationship and I’m going to come with her pussy wrapped around me instead. I have to pull her off before I blow my load, but it’s hard to do. All I know is that tonight, I’m not going to come on her breasts like I normally have.

  “Condom?” I groan.

  She lifts off of me and moves to the side of her bed, leans across the bed and opens a drawer at her beside table and rummages through until her hand comes up with an unopened box of condoms. She holds it up with her body hanging off the bed, but in victory before pulling herself up.

  I look at her and pull her hand up to my nose to smell her fingers and my intuition was right. She was priming herself ready for me as she sucked me off. I put her fingers in my mouth and lick them, despite already being dry, salivating at the faint taste of her deliciousness.

  “Will you ride me?” I ask her.

  “What? You mean–” she stutters.

  “We’re doing things differently, right? Why not include the sex being different? Remember, we’re Carol and Micah here,” I remind her.

  She has a devilish grin on her face and I’m not sure whether or not I should be afraid. This isn’t the woman that I know from the club, the shy and submissive woman who want’s nothing but to please me and get off. No, this is a take charge fierce and independent woman, who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to take it and also wants to give.

  She leans up on her knees and sheathes my throbbing cock, moves to hover over me and without any additional warning, impales herself on me. My cock is buried to the hilt and she’s sliding up and down on me with her hands on my chest. From below, I pump my hips up as wild sounds echo through the room. After minutes of pleasure, she stills then grinds on me with our pubic bones against one another as she bites her lip to stifle the outcry of her pleasure as she repeatedly moves to seek her orgasm.