The Good Neighbors

by Kiersten Modglin

  “No, it went really well,” Bryant told his wife over the phone. It was his first day of work. With the school year just beginning, he was already feeling sluggish and worn down after a day of giving lectures to bratty teenagers. But, telling Harper any of that would do nothing to help him. She was stuck at work for the next several hours, and having her feeling bad for him would only make him feel worse. So, he lied. Like he’d gotten so good at doing lately.

  “I’m glad, baby. I’m so proud of you. My sexy little teacher,” she said with a giggle, and he could hear her voice lower as she said the word sexy.

  “I miss you,” he said softly. “I really wish you were off early tonight. I need a drink.”

  “I know,” she whispered. “Maybe I could pretend I’ve come down with something. Collette went home with a stomach virus earlier this week.”

  “No,” he said with a sigh. “It’s okay. I don’t want you to get in trouble. I’m just gonna head home and collapse anyway. I’m exhausted.”

  “Well, I made some spaghetti for dinner. You can just heat it up and relax.”

  “Thanks, babe. How’s your day going so far?”

  “Fine,” she said stiffly. “Speaking of…I’m going to have to go. I’m pulling into work now.”

  “Okay. I love you,” he said, hearing her car shut off through the phone.

  “I love you, too,” she said. “Be careful going home.”

  “Have a good night.” He pulled the phone away from his ear, pressing the red button that would end the call. A knock on his window caused him to jerk forward, and he looked up, shocked to see Tori standing just beyond the glass. She wore a floor-length black gown and a large, white hat as if she were going to attend a derby soon. It was all very extravagant for an afternoon at the high school. He rolled down his window. “Tori?”

  “Hey,” she said casually, resting her arm on the window of his car. “Rough day, stud?”

  He recalled the story of her and Harper in the pool almost instantly. Should he tell her he knew? Would she bring it up? He shook his head. “Not too bad.”

  “You’re a better man than I am. These kids are animals.” As if on cue, a group of teenage boys strolled past, one of them letting out a wolf-whistle as the others laughed and cheered him on. Tori hardly budged, rolling her eyes at them, but not looking away from Bryant.

  “Yeah, you could say that again. What are you so dressed up for?”

  “This old thing?” She waved a hand dismissively, a smirk on her face. “Nah, I was supposed to go to this gala tonight. I partner up with the school every year, do some charity surgery. But, apparently it got canceled, and the secretary here forgot that email was a thing,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “A gala?” he asked. “Well, that’s fancy.”

  “When you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” She bobbed her head up. “Where are you headed?”

  “Home,” he said, resting his hand on the wheel. He surprised himself by feeling less nervous around her than before. Perhaps he was growing used to her overwhelming beauty. It was like being in the presence of a celebrity, but he guessed even celebrities got boring after a while.

  “Home? What? No way. Call Harper. I’ll see what Jay is doing…let’s all go out for a drink and celebrate.”

  “Celebrate?”

  “Today was your first day of work, right?”

  “I don’t know if that’s really a reason to celebrate.”

  She leaned down further in the window, and suddenly he could smell her perfume. It smelled of cinnamon. “Every day has a reason to celebrate if you look hard enough.” She pulled out her cell phone. “Oh, come on. You look like you could use a drink.”

  He nodded, unable to deny that. “Yeah, but Harper’s stuck at work. She’s on seconds this week.”

  “Ah,” she said, staring at her phone screen. “Jay’s got a deadline for one of his articles, too.” She pressed her lips into a fine line, staring at her phone in dismay. After a minute, she slid it back into her white, leather purse. “Oh, well, more for us, right?” She patted his arm. “What do you say? Let me buy you a drink?”

  “Uh, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”

  “Why not?” she challenged. “We’re all friends here, right?”

  He swallowed, thinking of just how good of friends she and Harper were. “Well, yeah, but…”

  “But, nothing. Come on, I’m paying. You drive.” She walked around to the passenger’s side and climbed in without waiting for permission. She looked up at him as she buckled her seatbelt, leaning over so that he had a view straight down her dress for just a second. She looked up, catching him staring seconds before he looked away, but she didn’t say anything.

  “Are you sure Jason’s going to be okay with this?” he asked, his hands off the wheel as if that might stop what was happening.

  She took her hat off, flipping down the mirror to check her hair. “Does he have a reason not to be?” she asked him, her eyes meeting his in the reflection.

  “No, of course not.”

  “Then, drive,” she said, closing the mirror and giving him a wink. “And don’t even think about going slow.”

  “Huh?” he asked, a breath catching in his chest.

  “You heard me,” she told him, sticking her hand out the window. “I’ve been dying to ride you since I saw you move in.”

  He swallowed, and then again, hard. “Excuse me?”

  She turned to look at him finally, an innocent look in her eyes. “I said I’ve been dying to ride with you since I saw you move in. Jason never liked sports cars. He’s all about statistics and facts…and, well, they aren’t the safest. Me, I like a little danger.” She let the word hang on her tongue, their eyes locked together. “All in the name of good fun, right?” She batted her eyelashes at him.

  “Yeah,” he whispered, unable to pull his gaze from her. He couldn’t believe she’d called his car a sports car, though he guessed it technically was. His reliable old Pontiac Solstice had once been a thing of beauty, long before he’d gotten it in high school, but it was up there in years, and there was nothing spectacular about it anymore. After what seemed like an eternity, she looked back out the window.

  “Well, what are you waiting on, Bryant? Are we doing this thing or what?”

  It was a game. A challenge. One he should’ve said no to. One he should’ve asked her to stop playing. Instead, he found himself turning the key in the ignition, wanting to see exactly what they were playing for.

  Twelve

  Bryant

  When they arrived at the restaurant, Bryant’s nerves had all but disappeared. Tori had been normal the rest of the way. She’d joked with him about work, swapping spouse stories, complaining about the heat. It was almost as if they truly could be friends.

  As long as he didn’t look at her.

  As long as she didn’t touch him. At all.

  He held the door open for her as she walked through, and refused to let his eyes go further than her shoulders. Being good was the only option. Behaving. Sure, he knew he should’ve texted Harper to let her know what was up, but what would she say? He hadn’t gotten mad when she’d hung out with Jason, after all. But was that different? They hadn’t actively gone out together. As far as he knew, anyway. Who was he kidding? He knew what he was doing was wrong. The guilty lump sat in the pit of his stomach.

  As he mused about it, he lost control of his eyes, and they somehow ended up on Tori’s ass, watching it sway as she made her way across the floor. She sank into a booth before a waiter could seat them, obviously familiar with this place.

  He picked up a menu from the table, searching for something to eat, but she pulled it from his hands as a waiter came by. “Two scotches. On the rocks with a twist.” She handed the menus back, folding her hands in front of her.

  He cleared his throat. “No food?”

  “I’m sorry, were you hungry?” She cocked her head to the side. “I just assumed you were waiting for Harper
to get home to eat.”

  He lowered his brow. “Yeah, good point. So, scotch, huh?”

  “Shoot. I’m doing it again, aren’t I? I have this tendency to…take control. Jason hates it. Do you want me to order you something else? It’s a bad habit, I know.”

  “No,” he said, reaching up to adjust the blind so the light wouldn’t burn his eyes. “It’s fine. Scotch works.”

  “It’s a celebration,” she said happily, taking the drinks as they appeared moments later.

  He clinked his glass against hers, taking a sip and feeling the unfamiliar burn. He was mostly a beer guy. Hard liquor had never really been his thing, but his ego wasn’t going to let him turn away the drink as Tori downed hers in front of him and ordered another before the waiter had gotten too far out of sight.

  “Wow. Well, you just put me to shame.”

  She laughed. “I’m a doctor, Bry. We drink and we overcharge people for unnecessary medical care.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s what we do.”

  Bry. He hung on her every word, loving the sound of the pet name coming out of her mouth. No one had ever given him a nickname before. Bryant was already short enough. But, somehow this worked.

  He took another drink, the heat filling his body already. It was strong, and on an empty stomach, it would work fast. He needed to pace himself. He set the drink down.

  “So, did Harper tell you what happened at the gym?” she asked, staring up at him from behind her dark lashes.

  He flushed even warmer. “Um…what do you mean?”

  “Please,” she said, kicking her leg out so it hit him under the table. To his surprise, once their legs connected, she didn’t move hers away. “I know she did, or you wouldn’t be that red. Your eyes are doing that ‘deer in the headlights’ thing.”

  He laughed, looking down and running his hand through his hair. “Yeah, she may have mentioned it.”

  “Are you mad at me?” she teased.

  “No,” he said simply, not sure what else to say.

  “Good,” she said, running her leg over his again and pushing his drink further toward him, urging him to indulge more. She held up her glass. “I really want us to all be friends.”

  He picked his up slowly, touching it to hers as she waited for him to drink before she did. “We are friends,” he told her as she licked a bit of her drink off her top lip.

  She nodded. “Awesome. Oh, and I’m sorry about the other day.”

  “The other day?” he asked.

  “You know…when you saw me out by the pool.” Her leg was still on his; there was no way she couldn’t tell it was him and not the table leg that she was rubbing against. “That house has been empty for a long time. I’m used to being able to…lay out without worrying who sees.”

  He sucked down a bit of his drink, inhaling sharply and coughing as he realized what she was talking about. “Shit, Tori, I’m sorry,” he said through his coughs, feeling utterly humiliated.

  “No, don’t be. I’m the one who should be apologizing. I’ll try to be more careful next time.”

  He nodded, swirling his drink and wishing like hell he could’ve gone back in time and left the school’s parking lot a few minutes sooner. Actually, if he was making wishes, he’d rather wish he could go back to that day and never have been watching in the first place.

  “Hey, listen, you didn’t mention that to Harper, did you?” he asked, his voice low.

  She looked serious, her lips parted slightly, and when she spoke, it was a vow. “No. Never, Bryant. I would never tell her. It’s our little secret.”

  Thirteen

  Bryant

  Bryant stopped after two drinks, but judging from the way his skin was buzzing as he dropped her back at her house, he should’ve stopped sooner. She sat in the passenger’s seat, unmoving. In fact, she hadn’t spoken in so long, he was sure she was asleep.

  He put the car in park at the end of her driveway, looking over at her. “Well, thanks for the drinks.”

  She smiled at him in the dark car, only the dash lights illuminating her perfect face. “You’re welcome.”

  He cleared his throat. “Well, I’d better get home.”

  She nodded. “I had a lot of fun tonight.”

  “Yeah, me too. We’ll have to do it again.”

  She seemed to like that idea, her arms suddenly reaching out as she leaned in to give him a hug. “Are you sure you’re okay leaving your car at the school?” he asked. “I can drive Jason up there if he needs to go get it.”

  She shook her head, her face still nuzzled into his neck. “I’ll have him take me to the school in the morning to pick it up.” Her lips grazed his skin, and she pulled away slowly. The entire thing seemed to happen in slow motion. Her eyes met his, their noses touching, and his gaze fell to her lips. He started to open his mouth, to tell her all the reasons why this couldn’t happen, but their mouths were on each other’s, on fire, in an instant. She tasted of scotch and cinnamon gum, her plump lips like little treats for him to devour. She wrapped her hands around his neck, her fingers tugging at his hair. Their mouths explored fervently; he couldn’t taste her quickly enough.

  He licked her neck, his tongue trailing across her skin slowly, sensually. Her moan was electrifying, his body responding instantly. He moved his hands to her breasts, his palm partially on the dress that prevented full access, and partially on her skin. He wanted underneath the dress, inside of her. She seemed to understand, climbing over onto his lap instantly. They were teenagers—wild and animal-like as they groped each other in the car, just praying not to get caught. She pulled her dress off her shoulders, allowing her breasts to fall free, and he scooped them up, running his tongue across the nipples he’d only been able to admire from afar. She pulled her dress up around her waist, sticking her fingers between her legs to pull her panties to the side as he worked to free his erection.

  She put her hands onto the ceiling as he slid into her, his entire body shaking from contact with her skin, with her most private parts. It was intense. He’d never known sex like this. Sex that could light you on fire with just a touch. He lifted her up, letting her skin bounce off of his slowly, trying to hold off the orgasm he could already feel brimming.

  He wanted to please her. He wanted her to finish first. To remember this time with him as an experience that changed her. He wanted her to feel the earth shatter as he pulsed inside of her, but as she looked down, her breasts bouncing and her smoldering eyes begging him for more, he knew he didn’t stand much chance.

  She leaned down, her lips on his ear. “Please don’t stop, Bryant,” she begged, her tongue teasing his ear lobe. She bit down. “Don’t stop until you’ve put a baby in me.”

  He froze.

  He hadn’t worn a condom.

  This had to stop before—

  She pulsed up and down again, giving him one last second before he felt his body release, sending him over the edge.

  Fuck.

  Fourteen

  Bryant

  Bryant showered that night, trying to beat the clock before Harper made it home. He couldn’t believe what he’d done. Already, the stress and guilt of his actions were weighing on him. How could he have been so stupid? How would he ever keep this from Harper? Would Tori tell Jason? They hadn’t talked about it after; he merely pulled up his pants as she adjusted her dress and they walked away, neither even saying goodbye. What they’d done was unspeakable, and so they did not speak. Not of this night. Not ever again.

  But what if he’d actually gotten her pregnant? He pressed his fists into his face, praying he hadn’t. It would destroy his life. It would destroy his marriage. Tori wasn’t who he wanted. Sure, she was gorgeous. But she wasn’t Harper. She couldn’t make him laugh on cue like his wife could. She didn’t know that he preferred vegetable over chicken noodle soup when he was sick. She didn’t know that he’d choose pizza over steak any night of the week. She wasn’t his wife. And he’d made a terrible, terrible mistake.

  He le
t out a loud sob, sinking to his knees. In his weakest moment, he’d become his father—the one man he’d sworn to never be. No, he was worse. Not even a year into their marriage, and he’d done what it had taken his father seven years to do, or at least confess to.

  How would he ever survive this? Harper wouldn’t forgive him. She couldn’t. And could he blame her? Of course not. The worst part was that, even if they could somehow move past this, they’d have Tori next door to them forever. Everyday—this living, breathing reminder of what he’d done.

  “Bryant?” the voice startled him, and he shot up from his knees, slipping on the slick floor—she’d told him they needed a bath mat—and slamming down onto his back. “Oh, god,” she cried, rushing to him and opening the curtain quickly to stare at her broken husband.

  He lay on the floor, tears mixed with water on his face so she couldn’t tell the difference. His back burned from slamming onto the acrylic siding of the tub, but as far as he could tell, nothing was badly hurt. “Babe?”

  “Are you okay?” she asked, holding out a hand to help him up.

  “Yeah,” he said, heaving a breath as he stood slowly. “You’re home early.”

  “I am. I talked the guys into covering for me so I could get an extra hour with you. Why are you showering so late? Did I hear you crying?” She cocked her head to the side, one arm drenched from the water. He shut the faucet off and grabbed a towel from the wall, running it over his face and chest while trying to decide what the hell he was going to tell her.

  Without too much thought, he realized what he had to do. What he’d always known he was going to do. “I came home and crashed,” he explained. “Then I woke up and wanted to get a shower before tomorrow. I was trying to get done before you got home so we could spend some time together.”

  “So, you weren’t crying?” she asked.

  “No,” he said. “Yawning, maybe?” He faked a yawn. “I’m still half asleep, I think. Explains why I forgot how to stand up.”