Love Thy Neighbor

by Kimberly Smith

  “No. I haven't seen him since I got here. D., I know that you like Jesse, but that's a part of my past now. I am seeing someone though.” she moved around her kitchen fixing a bowl of cereal.

  “Seeing who?” He asked with some disbelief.

  “His name is Daniel Shore,” she said adding milk to her cereal.

  “So, tell me about this guy.” D said sounding sad.

  “Come on D. I know in your head you thought I would move up here and Jesse and I would see each other and fall in love all over again, but that's not going to happen. Now if you really want to know about Danny, I'll tell you.” She said tucking the phone between her shoulder and chin and hopping up on the counter. She grabbed her bowl and spoon and started eating her Apple Jacks.

  “Tell me about him.”

  While she ate, she told them of seeing him for the first time in the grocery store. “He was checking out the tomatoes and he had been standing there for a few moments before I walked up to him. From where I was I could tell he was handsome. Wavy black hair, lightly tanned skin, broad shoulders, muscular arms...,” she said.

  “Okay, Okay I get it. He's your kind of fine.” D said not wanted to hear the rest.

  “Anyway. He was so into making sure the tomatoes were ripe. I cleared my throat and basically told him he should be arrested for molesting them.” Kayla giggled and so did D.

  “You are an expert at flirting, you know that right?” D said when he stopped laughing.

  “Yea well, I went on with my shopping and you know that feeling you get when you're being watched. When your hair stands on end?'' D agreed and she continued. “I turned down the chip isle and stopped and who comes around the corner right behind me? Danny. After I got him to admit to following me we talked a bit and that's when I found out that he lived next door.”

  “Your new beau lives next door?”

  “Yup. That night the neighbors came to welcome me and he was there. I thought this blond chick was his girlfriend, but it turns out she's a neighbor too. She has a thing for him though.” Kayla continued telling him about their first night out. She brought him all the way to the present. She even told him about Danny saying he loved her.

  “Whoa.” He said

  “Yeah he said it in his sleep a few days ago, but he said it non the less.”

  “Doesn't count then.”

  “What the hell, it does count.” Kayla said putting her bowl down.

  “He said it after sex, doesn't count.” Darren said dismissing it.

  “He was asleep and people say what they really feel when asleep.” Kayla said kind of tickled that they had fallen into their old habit of arguing.

  “Don't freak out over this. You are too afraid of someone melting that stone cold heart of yours.”

  “Look, I do not have a stone cold heart. I just have too much to deal with to get too serious with anyone right now.” she said with a pout.

  “It's never going to be a good time. Love and life happens when it happens. Stop trying to control it. It's never going to be perfect like in the movies. Get to know him on a personal level. Find out what makes him, well him and let him know you and if he says he loves you, when it does count. Accept it. That's it.”

  “My little brother all grown up.” She said mocking him. “How did you get to be wiser than me?”

  “I've always been the people person in our relationship, you are better with the technical things. Alright, so I will text you my flight info and see you Friday night.”

  “Bye bucket head.” Kayla said ending the call.

  “Bye butt munch.”

  *****

  Stanley sat looking at the wall screen of the vision Kayla had of the Corvette. He was thrilled. She had found all the parts necessary to fix the car and gave him an option of to colors for the body. The original color was a powder blue, which Petunia had loved, but Kayla could match the color perfectly or her second choice was to punch it up and make it more of an electric blue. He sat looking at the dual image on the screen, not sure which would be the right choice.

  “You don't have to decide right now.” Kayla told him. “I need to know by Wednesday morning though. We need to give it a day to completely dry and put the chrome items on before your party on Saturday.”

  “Okay. I'll let you know soon.” He said wiping his hands along his pants. “Have you taken a look at my resume?”

  “Yes I have. Stan I'd like to try this. You running the business would allow me to do what I do best. Lee is a great assistant and you would use my office, but I don't want this to be a problem for you and Petunia.” she told him. Stanley assured her that there would be no problems from Petunia. They discussed compensation and came to an agreement.

  She announced it to the crew, had Lee type an offer letter, and he handled the human resources portion of the deal. She got back to work while Lee made sure that Stan hand the security codes and a set of keys to the building.

  Kayla was very happy that she did not need to have the engine for the Corvette rebuilt. With the replacement of some parts and a good cleaning she was saving a tone of time. She was nearly done with the reassemble of the engine block when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She stopped what she was doing, wiped her hands and checked the text message.

  Free for lunch today? It was from Danny.

  Sure. She responded.

  Where shall I pick you up?

  Kayla couldn't have him pick her up here. She couldn't take the chance of him finding out about the Corvette. She sent back. I'll meet you, just tell me where and what time.

  Meet me a Klyde Warren Park. 1pm

  Kayla had enough time to clean some of the oil and dirt off before she left to meet Danny.

  She went to the bathroom and soaped up to her elbows with the Lava bar. She was nearly finished when someone knocked on the door. “I'm almost done,” she said.

  “I'm ordering lunch from Jason's Deli, What do you want?” Lee said through the door.

  “I'm going out.” She said rinsing her hands and arms. She dried herself and then checked her face. She only had a few smudges. She cleaned those off and then examined her clothes. They were dirty, but she didn't have anything else to change into, beside Danny knew that she was a mechanic. He shouldn't be surprised at her having oil and dirt on her clothes.

  She opened the door to find Lee leaning against the door jam. “You're going out? For Lunch?”

  When she passed him and headed to her truck he added. “Tell Dan the hot, hunky man I said hello.” Lee was on a fishing expedition and she was not taking the bait.

  *****

  Daniel

  Daniel's smile brightened as she approached him. She was wearing light blue overalls with a yellow shirt and blue sneakers. He'd never thought of overalls as sexy, but on her they were. He reached out and pulled on her braid when she stopped in front of him. “I like these.” Kayla smiled and leaned forward tilting her face up. He met her half way with a quick kiss. “Hungry?”

  “Oh yeah.” she said suggestively.

  He laughed and grabbed her hand. “Then lets satisfy your hunger for food.” He said leading her to the line of food trucks parked on the street.

  They decided on Ruthie's Rolling Cafe. Kayla got a Kickin' Chicken, a chicken sandwich with jalapenos, honey mustard and sharp cheddar on sourdough bread while Daniel got The Boss, a BBQ brisket with sharp cheddar on sourdough sandwich. They walked around the park while eating. “Can I ask you a question?” Daniel said after a few moments.

  “Sure.” Kayla said turner her face to him.

  “Why won't you talk about your job with me?” He stopped facing her and biting his sandwich.

  She swallowed, “You don't talk about your job with me.” She said trying to keep from answering.

  “My job is accounting. It's boring and I know what you're doing. You don't want to answer the question.” He said smiling at her.

  Kayla rolled her eyes at him and sighed. “You're right, I don't want to answer the question.
Or I should say I can't. At least, not right now.” Daniel looked a little confused. “I need you to trust me for just a little while longer. I will tell you exactly what I do and where I work. I just need some time to handle a few things.” She reached out putting her hand on his chest.

  Daniel looked in her eyes and realized that he did trust her and that he could wait. “Okay.” He said and he kissed her tasting the spicy hotness of her sandwich. “Spicy.”

  “You have no idea.” She said teasing before kissing him again.

  *****

  Kayla

  Before she left Daniel to return to work they made a dinner date. He knew she would be home late, but he wanted to cook for her. He said he liked watching her eat and he had never seen anyone enjoy food the way she did. He told her he would make a special meal just for her including dessert.

  By the time Kayla returned to the garage clouds had covered the sun and she could hear thunder in the distance. She loved this time of the year. Thunderstorms and raining days were great for being indoors in her case putting cars together or taking them apart, but even at home it was just nice to snuggle up under a blanket and watch movies, read a book or listen to music.

  She got back to work and finished assembling the engine for the Corvette. According to Lee, Stanley had gone over the records they had been keeping and had a few suggestions to streamline some of the processes they had in place. He had more to go over, but had told Lee that they had done a good job. He also believed that he could get them a better insurance policy for the garage.

  *****

  Kayla rang the bell and waited a few minutes before the door swung open. Daniel stood there with a huge smile on his face, green eyes twinkling. He was wearing an apron that said You're gonna love my meat, holding a dishtowel. “Hello beautiful. Come on in.” he said to her. He closed the door behind her locking it. Then he grabbed her arm as she was walking away, pulling her in to his arms and he kissed her slowly.

  Kayla's arms found their way to his shoulders. She felt a little lightheaded. “Wow.” she said as he pulled away to look at her.

  “I hope you're hungry.” he said with a quick peck on the lips.

  “Yea, I want to try your meat,” she said laughing and pointing to his apron.

  She could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen and hungry she was, but right now it wasn't for food. He grabbed her hand and led her into the kitchen. “You can try my meat anytime you like. Have a seat at the table.” He said pouring her a glass of wine before he went back to the stove. Kayla watched as he prepared two plates and brought them to the table.

  “That smells so good and looks delicious.” She said as he placed her plate before her. Before he sat to join her, he undid his apron and tossed it on the counter. “Thanks. It's beef bourguignon. I hope you like it.”

  “You, cooked this?” She asked. He nodded. “By yourself?” She added.

  “Yes. I cooked this all by myself.” He smiled brightly at her befuddled look.

  “Wow, now I see why Vanna is out to get you.” She said spreading her napkin in her lap.

  “You think she's after me for my cooking skills?” He winked at her. Kayla laughed. They both knew that Vanna was after him for a lot more than what he could do in the kitchen. She wondered, “had he done the nasty with her?” Maybe that's why she was not getting the hint that he wasn't into her. Kayla didn't like the thought that he could have been with Vanna.

  Before they ate Kayla grabbed his left hand with her right and said a quick prayer. “Lord thank you for the many blessings in our lives, bless this meal and the hands that prepared them. In the name of Jesus. Amen.”

  “Amen” Daniel said smiling at her again surprised by Kayla. She let go of his hand and took a bite of her meal. He watched her as her eyes rolled back in her head and she made delicate moaning sounds.

  Kayla was in heaven, the food was spectacular. He watched her while she ate, she tried not to make too much of a fuss, but she loved flavorful food and could not help herself she started humming some tune in her head as she ate. She'd always done that even as a kid. She was on her third bite when she looked up and found him watching her grinning. “What?” she asked.

  “You are adorable.” He said as he leaned over and kissed her quick on the lips.

  “I'm sorry, I tend to hum and dance when I eat, well when the food is really good. I have food-gasms.”

  “Don't apologize, I like that I can give you any kind of “gasm” that you want.” He said.

  *****

  Daniel

  Daniel woke to find himself wrapped in her mocha limbs. He smiled realizing that she had stayed the whole night with him. Her thigh thrown over his legs and her arm curled around his waist. Her head oh his shoulder. He kissed her forehead and eased himself out of the bed. He went to the bathroom and dressed. He came back and wrote a note that he left by the bed and went for his morning run.

  When he returned he half expected Kayla to be gone, but to his surprise she was in the kitchen in his shirt making pancakes singing and dancing to the radio. “I was wondering if you could actually cook,” he said as he got closer to her.

  “I do alright. Speaking of which where did you learn to cook such extravagant meals?” She asked flipping the batter in the pan.

  Daniel sat at the kitchen table and continued to watch with joy as she swung her hips and cooked in his kitchen. “My mother taught me the basics, but I have always liked cooking and baking. I wanted to have my own restaurant when I was younger, but I decided to be an accountant.”

  Kayla piled a plate with pancakes and placed it in front of him. “Why accounting.”

  “My father was an accountant. It made him happy that I followed in his footsteps. He wanted me to have a career that would guarantee me a steady income.” Daniel said as he poured syrup on his pancakes.

  Kayla fixed a plate for herself and sat down with him. “But you could make a decent living as a chef.” she said.

  “Yeah, well my parents had me when they were older. My mom had been told that she would probably never get pregnant and she was nearly fifty when she found out that she was pregnant. My father was older than her by six years, so they come from a different time and they were right. Starting a restaurant is not an easy thing. They just wanted me to be secure financially.” He told her as he ate.

  “But are you happy, as an accountant?” She asked touching his hand.

  “I guess.” He said. He hadn't really thought about it much. He was good at what he did, but was he happy? Then he realized this was his chance to learn about her. “What about you? Are you happy?” He trailed off waiting for her to finish.

  Kayla smiled at him. “I am very happy.” She said. “I love working on cars.”

  Daniel stopped eating and stared at her. “Really?”

  Kayla giggled. “Yes, I used to work out of my father's garage in San Antonio. Now I work here.” She had almost said that she had her own garage, but caught herself. When Daniel still sat staring at her, she stopped eating. “What?”

  Daniel's smile grew, “You are unlike any woman I've ever met. That's all.”

  “That's part of the reason, I can only cook simple things. I've spent my life in a garage with tools and car parts.”

  She talked about her brothers and her father a lot. He noticed that she didn't mention her mother at all so he asked. “What about your mom? Where was she?”

  They had finished eating and Kayla was washing the dishes by hand while he was drying them. She sighed and handed him the last dish. Taking her hands out of the soaping water with a heavy sigh. “My mother died when I was six.” She dried her hands and left the kitchen.

  Daniel put the dish away and followed her up to the bedroom. She was putting her shorts on when he entered the room. “Hey, I'm sorry...” He started to say.

  “It's okay, Danny.” she said putting her hand on his chest, looking up to meet his gaze. “I'm going home. I know you have to get to work.”

  Da
niel wrapped his arms around her. “It's okay. I shouldn't have asked.” Kayla didn't say anything; she just kissed him and left. Daniel mentally kicked himself over and over for the next few hours. He showered and repeatedly told himself that it would be okay. She had said it was okay and she kissed him.

  Chapter 10

  Kayla

  After Kayla showered she sat in her living room looking out the window. It was a raining again.

  She shouldn't have freaked out on Danny like that. She just wasn't ready to talk about her mother. She hadn't known her long, but Kayla had gotten very close to her and all these years later still had not come to terms with her passing. She put on a brave face for her family, but she knew in her heart that she hadn't dealt with it.