Daddy Next Door

by Tina Lee

  Amy looked to David, who took his shirt off and tied it around his neck, and said, “Thank you. I needed this.” David winked at her, and her heart fluttered. Pretty boy with the pretty blue eyes. He took her hand and together they danced. The Botswana flag on his chest was glistening with sweat, below it was his hard, defined abs, and the fact that he did months of hard labor made it all the more sexy. He put his hands around her waist and tamed her wild, moving hips. He pulled her closer and closer until her rear was gyrating on his crotch.

  She felt his manhood growing against her. Chills ran through her spine. Flashes of David’s tattooed, naked body filled her thoughts. She was sinking in the depths of his lust. If she allowed herself to sink any further, she would regret moving too fast of a pace. Amy spun around and put her arms around his neck. This way his stiff manhood wouldn’t be poking at her ass.

  As the concert concluded, the feeling of absolute happiness dispersed and once again she felt guilty for being there. She thought about the things that Brenda had said. She felt conflicted and confused, which seemed to be the theme of her year. It was unfair to her for having to choose between her best friend and the man she loved.

  Amy turned her doorknob to enter her apartment when she heard Josh shout her name. Josh sprinted down the hallway towards Amy with a big smile on his face.

  “Hey little guy,” Amy said as Josh threw himself into her arms.

  “I missed you!” he said.

  “I missed you too. How was your summer program?”

  “Awesome! We went to all these cool places!”

  “Wow. That’s great. You summer was way cooler than mines.”

  “Nah,” Josh giggled. “I know you and dad went out a lot. He told me.”

  “He did?”

  “Yeah, you guys did so many cool stuff.”

  “And where is your dad?”

  “He’s getting ready for gym. Aren’t you going to the gym too?”

  She ruffled Josh’s hair. “Yeah I’ll be there.” The joy on Josh’s face to see her warmed her heart. She meant something to him, and it felt good to be something to someone.

  Inside her apartment was the same as how she left it, silent. Brenda wasn’t home, and even if she was, Amy wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. There was no dinner served, so it was safe to say Brenda was still mad at her.

  She fixed herself something easy. Slices of ham, cheese and bread, and then she headed up to the gym where she would have to face Luke. She respected Luke, and that was why she was going to tell him everything that was happening. When she entered the gym, he was at a corner to himself doing push-ups. It was the same spot where she first saw him working out. They have been distant since lately, and Amy accepted all the blame for that. She hated what they had become. From making love to gym partners. The distance between them was depressing, and it twisted Amy’s insides to know that she was causing it.

  She sat beside him and waited for him to complete his reps before saying anything. “I want to explain why things have been the way they are.” He sat beside her, beads of sweat dripping from his face, and listened. Amy didn’t withhold any information. She explained who David was and why she loved him. She confessed that she was confused and it hurt her to cast a shadow of uncertainty around them.

  Luke’s face remained stoic. He allowed Amy to finish, then said, “It’s true that I have feelings for you, Amy, and there is nothing more I would want than for that feeling to be reciprocated. But I don’t like playing games. Make a choice and stick with it. I will not be at the expense of your confusion.” Luke got up and left. Amy was going to beg him to stay but chose to hold her tongue. He was right. Make a choice and stick with it.

  Soon after her left, Amy decided that she was in no mood to work out. As she stepped into her apartment, Brenda took up her laptop and snacks and went into her room. The tension bothered Amy. It was too much. Even being inside the same apartment as Brenda made her uncomfortable. She grabbed a bottle of wine and went to the janitor’s closet where she could be alone. She sat by the window, held the bottle of wine to her head and looked out the night sky. There were no birds sitting on the rooftop that night. Amy wondered where they could have gone.

  Amy saw David every day for the next following days. She went against her urges and kept their friendship strictly platonic. No kisses and no sex until she had made a choice. Lust would not be the reason for her choice.

  There was nothing negative she could say about David over the last few days. It was an absolute joy to spend time with him. It felt like back in the days when their relationship was in its prime. Every moment was with laughter and affection. “I love you,” David said to her as they sat in the garden of his backyard.

  “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  “It would only complicate things.”

  David nodded, things were beginning to make sense. The reason why she hadn’t kissed him or wanted him to say he loved her. “There is another man, isn’t there?”

  Amy sighed, she could sense the mood was about to be ruined. “Yes.”

  “Do you love him?”

  “No, but I really like him.”

  “That’s fair,” David said then took out a cigarette. “I was gone for six months. You moved on with your life.”

  “I’m not over you and you know that.”

  “So what is it that you are doing? Going out with the both of us?”

  For the first time in her life, Amy was tempted to ask for a cigarette. She felt like she needed one. “I don’t even know what I’m doing. I’m just going through the motion.”

  David took a pull of the cigarette, saw that Amy was looking at it, and offered her one. Amy, remembering what her mother had said a long time ago, refused.

  “I’m not going to tell you what to do. I popped up in your life out of the blues so I’m partly at fault. Just know that I will not be hanging around forever waiting for you to pick me.”

  “And I don’t expect you to.”

  “Now that we’re on the same page,” David took off his shirt and stripped down to his boxer, “wanna jump in the pool?”

  “You go ahead. I’ll stay here and watch you.” She bit her lip and smiled.

  Jack’s apartment building looked like a place everyone would tell you to avoid. There was graffiti on the walls, trash in the passageway and the elevator wasn’t working, so Brenda had to climb five floors of stairs.

  He opened the door on the first knock. Brenda was beginning to perspire from the workout she had just done. “They need to get that elevator fixed.” Brenda bent and placed her hands on her knees and exhaled heavily. “I can’t make that walk again.”

  “Going down is easier than coming up. You’ve already done the hard part,” Jack joked. “Come in.”

  Inside his apartment was very clean—too clean—like he had only done it an hour before her arrival. He didn’t have much; a chair, an old TV, a lamp, table, two burner stove, and a mini-fridge. The lack of furniture made the small apartment spacious. She noticed that he filedl the spaces in the corners with flowerpots but there were no flowers in them.

  The night before Jack had called Brenda and changed the plans regarding their date. This was the ‘pre-date.’ Jack wasn’t going to be paid until next week so he had postponed their real date until then. For now, the pre-date would consist of pizza, five dollar wine and candlelight in Jack’s apartment. Brenda didn’t mind. It was different and…dare she say romantic?

  He was still in his work shirt and boot. Brenda figured he had rushed home to clean his dirty apartment and in doing so he forgot to change out of his work clothes. The sleeves wrapped tight around his meaty arms. She knew Jack was a big man, but the slim fit shirt accentuated his muscles even more so.

  Brenda talked most of the night, which surprised even herself. Jack was so easy to talk to. There was nothing she had to be shy about or any reason to feel insecure. Jack being a slob made her feel less pressure to pretend she
was an educated Asian woman who had her life figured out. No, she didn’t excel at everything she did. No, her GPA wasn’t a 4.0. She felt comfortable being imperfect around Jack, and that meant so much to her.

  Jack’s face was softer in the candlelight. The beast of a man had turned into a gentle observer. He had his hand on his jaw and watched Brenda’s lips as it moved, listening to all she had to say.

  Brenda expressed how hurt she felt. Amy had allowed a man to come between their friendship, and it pained her deeply.

  “Just give her space. Love makes everyone blind. She can’t see what she’s doing.”

  “You think she’ll come around?”

  “I believe she will. Amy loves you.”

  Brenda hoped so. Their friendship meant the world to her and it would break her heart if they ever stop being friends.

  After the pizza box had been discarded and the wine bottle put away, Brenda cuddled in Jack’s arms and watched local television with white grains dancing on the screen. His big arms held her like a mama bear hugging her cubs. Brenda felt his lips on her forehead, her temple, then she felt his hot breath down her neck before she felt his kiss on her lips. She held his prickly face and returned his kiss with ten times the passion. His grizzly hands squeezed her breasts, and if Brenda hadn’t stopped him, he would have torn her blouse with his beastly force. She sat on top of him, topless and full of desire, while slowly undoing his jeans.

  For a moment she paused. This time it wouldn’t be a blur. She was going to make love to him and remember everything.

  Amy leaned over the edge of the pool and kissed David’s wet lips. In one motion put his arms around her and pulled her into the pool.

  “David!” Amy screamed. She splashed water on his face, and quickly it became a water war between the two. David backed her into the corner of the pool and braced himself on her.

  “I won,” he said.

  “I’m going to get you back!” She tried to be angry but could not. David’s wet blond hair and eyes as blue as hers gave her flashbacks on the mornings when they had sex in the shower. “You’re such a jerk,” she said.

  “I’m your jerk,” he said with a devilishly charming smile.

  All of Amy had gone weak. All of her senses were transfixed on David. Oh, what a beautiful man. “If we do this, it can’t be like the last time.” Their nose touch. “We have to be better this time.”

  “We will be better. I promise,” he said, then kissed her.

  Chapter 14

  A my sat

  in the back of the Uber and cried. The driver’s music was loud enough to drown her whimpering. She liked it that way.

  It was nine pm and she had just left David’s house after spending the day kissing him. “Stay,” David said as she walked out the door. Though tempting, she didn’t feel it was right. He hadn’t earned it. She kissed his lips once more and went into the back of the Uber.

  She felt safe to cry here. The Uber driver wasn’t going to bother her with pesky questions as to why she was crying, but if the driver was to ask, the answer was; she missed Brenda. They slept in the same apartment every night and yet they had never been further apart. They said not one word to each other and they made sure to never be in the same room at the same time. Amy knew that having both Brenda and David in her life would create conflict. She hoped that one day Brenda would grow to accept him. That would never happen.

  It was time to apologize, she thought. She needed her best friend back. If only Brenda could see it all from my perspective.

  Instead of going home, she instructed her Uber driver, Tanya, to stop at a bar and invited her to have a drink. Tanya saw her red eyes and puffy cheeks and thought, why not. At first, they didn’t know what they should say to each other. The more they sipped their beer was the more they blabbered about what was on their mind. They both had a long day and they wished to share why.

  Speaking to someone she barely knew made it easy to unload all that was heavy on her mind. She spoke of David, Luke, Brenda, and Josh. She explained her frustration, depression, and exhaustion.

  Tanya, who was not much older than Amy, shared the wisdom as her young years had allowed her. Her advice to Amy was to do what the heart wants. Amy thought it was a useless advice and the type you would find in a fortune cookie. She appreciated it, nonetheless.

  Tanya didn’t offer much useful advice, but her company meant a lot to Amy. She took the driver’s number and promised they would continue the conversation next week. On the drive home, Amy felt better. Her eyes weren’t red anymore nor was her cheeks puffy. She pulled the door of her apartment, ready to apologize to Brenda and make things right again, but what Amy met was a quiet, dark home.

  Amy grabbed a bottle of wine and dropped on the couch. She would like to drink herself to sleep. This way, there would be no pain to experience, just a nice long sleep.

  She tried, but slumber wasn’t her friend tonight. Her mind was all over the place, never settling for a nano-second. Amy took the bottle of wine to the Janitors closet and looked out the window into the midnight sky. While there, she went through pictures of David she had snapped on her phone, and when she continued swiping through her gallery, images of Luke and Josh displayed on her screen. She swiped back and forth between the pictures of Luke and David, undecided, like a small child who cannot decide on what ice-cream to get.

  She was sure that David loved her, and she was sure Luke could grow to love her. And what about her? Who did she love? Well, she loved David, as sure as the sun will shine. But that wasn’t the whole story. She felt like a different woman when she was around Luke. A woman with strength and courage to face her fears, and a woman who was ready for what the world had to offer.

  After the bottle was finished, she closed the janitor’s closet and headed to her apartment. On the way, she saw Luke going into his apartment.

  He was digging for his keys then stopped when he saw Amy dragging her feet through the hallway with an empty wine bottle in her hand. “You okay?” he asked. She didn’t respond.

  She walked slowly into his arms. “No, I’m not,” she finally replied then buried her face in his chest.

  Luke took the wine bottle from her hand and asked what was wrong. “Everything,” she cried. “I always screw up everything. Everyone always leaves me in the end.” The rest of Amy’s words were slurred and incomprehensible. Her knees wobbled as Luke tried to walk her to her apartment, so instead, he lifted Amy and carried her inside her room.

  “Brenda?” Amy murmured.

  “No. It’s me, Luke. I’m putting you to bed.”

  Once on the bed, Amy curled into the fetal position and dragged the sheet over her.

  “I miss spending time with you, Luke.” She was under the covers and her eyes lids shut, balancing on the edge of sleep, between reality and make-believe.

  “I miss spending time with you too.” Luke turned off the lights and she heard him shut the doors behind him.

  “Luke, stay with me,” Amy said, but Luke was already gone.

  She drifted off into the blackness.

  The sun shined on her face and welcomed her to a new day. Amy rolled out of bed and ran to the toilet where she released all of last night’s wine.

  Something was off but she couldn’t put her finger on it. It was when she entered the kitchen and smelled no cooking did she realized how dependent she was on Brenda for breakfast.

  Bing. It was a message from Brenda telling her that she wouldn’t be coming home until later. Amy sighed.

  Initially, Amy was nervous about apologizing to Brenda, but at this point, she just wanted to get it over with.

  Small footsteps sprinted down the hall way. Amy, already knowing who it was, flung opened her door and shouted, “Josh!” She ran to hug him and held him tight. “I missed you.”

  “I was only gone for a couple days.”

  “Well, it felt likes years to me.” Amy brushed the boy’s hair from his face and took a long look at him. He seemed to have grown in t
he last days that she had seen him.

  “What?” Josh blushed.

  She pinched his cheek. “Nothing.” Around his neck was his towel and on his hand was his superhero gloves. “Saving the world again?”

  “Yeah, always. This city needs me.” The boy smiled.

  Amy placed her hands on her hips. “Okay superboy, I need your help!”

  Josh tighten the towel around his neck and slicked back his hair. “How can I help?”

  “I want to make dinner for Brenda today. I’ll need help with the groceries and you can help me cook if you want.”

  “Happy to help!”

  They went to the grocery store and walked through the aisles while Amy googled the recipe for sweet potato, shrimp and kale skillet. According to Buzzfeed, it was an easy enough meal, and Amy was aiming for something easy. Simple, yet pleasing to the eyes.

  She sent Josh on a dangerous mission to get the pack of shrimps. Who knows what peril Superboy would have to face.

  While Amy searched for the other ingredients such as onions, peppers, sweet potatoes, etc, she thought about Luke, trying to remember what exactly happened last night. She didn’t remember Luke carrying her to bed, but she remembered wanting him to stay the night with her. She remembered the desired that filled her heart as he left the room, and how it pained her.

  “Got it!” Josh appeared with the bag of fresh shrimps in his hand.

  “I hope the mission wasn’t too difficult.”

  “Nothing is too difficult for Superboy.”

  Amy smiled. “Okay Superboy, now we have to look for the Kale leaves. We have to be careful. There are huge Venus fly traps guarding the Kale plants. Just a touch and the Venus flytraps will snap, trapping and digesting its victim.” Amy said in her spookiest voice.

  Josh smirked. “Let’s do this!”

  In the evening Amy and Josh watched Youtube videos on how to prepare the meal and followed the steps closely. In thirty minutes their meal was done! It looked delicious, and the smell of the onions, crushed red peppers and shrimp was mouth watering.