The next morning the rain had finally eased. I walked to my car, ready for a big day at work, stopping when the couple who'd moved in next door walked down the path towards their car. I thought I should introduce myself and waited, but they looked the other way and ignored me.
I took a moment to check them out up close and noticed I was right in my earlier assessment of the man. A good ten years older than I, maybe mid-forties, he was quite fit and not bad looking. Not good-looking, but not ugly either. She was much taller than he was, her dark-brown hair greying at the temples, showing a bad dye job, but it was her face that made me suck in my breath. If anybody had ever looked like they were sucking on a sour lemon, it was this woman. Something about the pair of them made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, and annoyance prickled on my skin.
"Well, good morning to you too," I called out, a little bit louder than I'd meant.
I watched as they stopped, looked at each other, and then turned back towards me. Uh-oh. I felt my cheeks heat up with embarrassment. I was usually the quiet one. The woman didn't look impressed at my tone, and I prepared myself for a verbal slapping. Instead, her partner stepped towards me and quietly extended his hand.
"I apologize for our rudeness. I'm Rick."
His voice was very smooth and controlled. I accepted his hand and felt its clamminess as it touched mine. Well, I'd be wiping my hand on my pants in a minute.
"And this is Joy," he said, indicating the woman next to him.
Joy? Seriously? How could anybody have such an inappropriate name?
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Chloe. How are you settling in?" I asked, trying my best to be polite. I was now regretting my decision to stop and talk to them.
"Ah, yes. Very well, thank you," Rick replied. Joy hadn't moved. Hadn't smiled, hadn't lifted an eyebrow. "It seems like a lovely street."
"Yes, it is lovely. Normally, it's very quiet. This week has been a bit different though. So many neighbors moving in and out," I babbled. Babbling was a bad habit of mine when I was nervous.
"Really? Other neighbors have been moving out?" Suddenly Joy had a voice. It matched the rest of her—harsh and scratchy. I watched as she adjusted her sunglasses, pushing them farther up the bridge of her nose.
"Oh…umm," I stammered, a bit shocked by her outburst. "Um…the lady across the road moved out last week. Moved into a nursing home, or retirement village, or something like that." Even though her eyes were hidden, I struggled to get my thoughts together under her stare. I saw Joy look across the road to Betty's house and then to Rick, her thin lips tightening in a line across her face. "Yes, it was a bit sad really. Apparently her family thought it was for the best. She was a good friend, and I miss her, but she did leave one of her treasures with me," I said, thinking of Theo. I smiled, trying to alleviate the sudden tension in the air. I watched Rick's Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed.
"Well, we…we really need to get moving," he stuttered, his previously smooth voice now filled with uncertainty.
Joy turned her back and stomped off towards the car, getting in and slamming the door behind her. Rick followed, got into the passenger side, and struggled with his seatbelt as Joy spun the tires and screeched away from the curb. It appeared they didn't like the idea of elderly neighbors going into nursing homes. Watching their car speed away, I felt a swirl of anxiety as I stepped up to my car and beeped the doors open.
* * *
After work I stopped by the bank to cash my paycheck and, for reasons only the Universe understood, Brody happened to be behind me at the precise moment I embarrassed myself by spilling the contents of my bag on the floor. I felt my cheeks flame as I watched in horror as two stray tampons rolled across the tiles in their little cellophane packets, passing eight other people along their way, before finally coming to a stop against the far wall. My breath caught as Brody let out a snort of laughter.
Sometimes life could be so unfair.
By the time I'd finished cashing my paycheck, Brody stood by the exit waiting for me. He smiled as I approached him, and I felt the butterflies break out of their cocoons in my stomach.
"I've been thinking…," he said.
Why did I think that didn't bode well for me?
"And since you did smash into my car and haven't given me your insurance information yet, you should buy me lunch." He crossed his arms over his chest and smiled.
I took a moment to process what he'd said, my hormones waking up as I did so. "Fair enough. What did you have in mind?" I was quite relieved he'd taken the whole accident thing as easily as he had.
"The Bar and Grill. I feel like a really big steak," he said, pushing away from the wall he leaned against.
"Okay. It's the least I can do," I said breathlessly as Brody put his hand on my back and guided me out the door. I felt the tingling all the way to my toes.
The Bar and Grill wasn't far from the bank. The rain had cleared last night and left everything hot and steamy. Then again, that could just be me. I was only a couple of feet away from Brody. As we walked towards the bar, I noticed how many women looked at him as we passed. There was nothing special about the way he was dressed, just the usual jeans and a T-shirt, but it was the way his clothes molded to his body to perfection that made him desirable.
Thankfully, I had decided to dress slightly better than normal today with my flowy, little skirt and tank top. After the last time I'd seen him, I had some repair work to do.
"What's your story, Chloe?" he asked, his steps falling into pace with mine.
"My story?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, you know, what you do, where you're from—that kind of thing."
"Oh. Not a very exciting story, I'm afraid. I'm thirty years old. I own a dog, a house, and an old SUV. That's about it."
Brody stopped and opened the door to the bar, allowing me to step inside. The air conditioning blasted out the open door as I felt the sweat run down the back of my knees, and I discreetly sniffed my armpits. My deodorant had held. Thank God. Leading me to a booth at the back of the room, Brody sat opposite me and opened the menu.
"What about you?" I asked. "What's your story?"
"About the same as yours," he said, reading the menu as he spoke to me. "I'm thirty-two years old, the proud tenant of the house across the road from you, and I own my own electrical company. Oh…but no pets."
"Girlfriend?" I asked, unable to hide my curiosity. Without answering, Brody put the menu down and studied me. His eyes reminded me of melted chocolate and seemed to have the ability to look right inside me. My pulse accelerated. Feeling self-conscious under his gaze, I picked up my menu and pretended to read it, wishing I'd never opened my mouth.
"What about you? Boyfriend, ex-boyfriend?" So he was putting the conversation back on me then, was he?
"Ex-boyfriend."
"What happened?"
"I don't really want to talk about it, if that's alright." Brody sat forward and folded his arms on the table, studying me even closer. His gaze really unnerved me. I could almost feel the clock ticking off the seconds as he stared. Finally, he seemed happy with my answer.
"Alright," he said, sitting back and picking up his menu.
I spent a very intent five minutes studying my menu. Having lunch with Brody had seemed a good idea when he suggested it, but in reality, being the only other person sitting at this table was breathtaking. All the pressure was on me to come up with witty, spontaneous conversation. That wasn't a strength of mine on a good day, let alone when I sat opposite the sexiest man I'd ever met.
Thankfully, the waitress arrived to take our drink order, giving me a minute to pull myself together. Brody had the same effect on her, but she was much more confident than I was. I watched in awe as she fluttered her eyelashes and flirted with him.
"Do you have that effect on all the ladies?" I asked once she'd left.
"I'm not having it on you." He smiled, and I must say, even though his two front teeth were slightly crooked, it was an amazing smile.
"Yeah, well I'm off men for a while." Liar. If possible, Brody's smile got bigger.
"I met Isaac the other day. He seems like a really nice guy. How long have you two been friends?"
"For about fifteen years," I answered, thankful the conversation had changed direction. "He was in my older brother's year at high school. He came to our house for a party one day, and we became instant friends. I can't imagine life without him, really."
"You're lucky to have a friend like that. What about the other one?" he asked. "Sam, was it?"
"Yes, Sam. He's my younger brother," I said, blushing.
"He's the one you're going to Sexpo with, right?" I could see the cheeky smile he was trying to hide. My blush turned up to full heat.
"It's just a laugh. Sam suggested it, and Isaac and I thought it would be fun. I mean, I don't even have a partner, so I've no need to go."
"I don't know because I've never been, but I'm pretty sure they'll have a lot of 'self-help' products there."
If I thought my face couldn't have gotten any hotter, I was wrong. I'm pretty sure I radiated enough heat to bake Brody to a crisp.
"No…umm…no, no. I'm…umm…not looking for anything like that!" I stuttered.
Brody laughed out loud, a very masculine sound that reminded me how much I missed having a man in my life. Shaking my head to clear those kinds of thoughts, I reminded myself that, while you may get companionship and a warm body to snuggle up to, eventually he would leave you broken-hearted. I looked into Brody's eyes discreetly and noticed the humor mixed with sensuality. There was absolutely no arrogance about him. My heart skipped a beat.
The palpitations kicked up to an anxiety attack when I realized what I had just felt. Brody was a very dangerous man. He had vulnerability mixed with an enormous amount of sex appeal, which was an extremely dangerous combination for a girl who now had a phobia of getting her heart broken.
I suddenly realized this lunch was a very bad idea and decided I should distance myself from him for a while. In fact, I thought forever would be a good amount of time.
I put my menu down and picked up my bag. "I'm sorry, Brody, but I've got to go," I said, standing. I saw confusion replace his laughter.
"I'm sorry, Chloe. I was only joking. I'm sure you're not looking for anything, but a good time. I mean some fun. Not that kind of fun," he stammered. "I'm sorry." He stopped and took a breath. "I didn't mean to embarrass you." He sighed, standing up next to me. This close to him, I had to look a long way up to make eye contact, and when I did, I saw he genuinely meant what he was saying.
"No, it's not that. It's just…well, nothing. It doesn't matter. I promise I'll pay for all the damage to your car, and I really appreciate you being so kind about it." Brody reached out and touched my arm. My anxiety reached the stratosphere.
"It's okay, Chloe. I know you didn't mean it, so stop worrying." He looked down at me and smiled. I felt my resolve to get out of there strengthen. Brody was a heartbreaker, and even though I knew nothing would ever happen between us, he would be far too easy to fall in lust with. "We'll have lunch another day?"
"Yeah, sure," I smiled.
Did you notice I didn't say when?