Love Next Door

by Jerry Cole

  “I needed it, too.” David zipped up his jacket. “We just needed to get out of the house and have some fun. You’re never too old for that.”

  Reese laughed.

  “With your energy, I always feel too old.”

  “You’re not old.” David protested. “You’re fitter than I am.”

  Reese rolled his eyes.

  “It’s very kind of you to lie.”

  David nudged him, Reese returning the nudge. They ended up with David’s arm around Reese’s shoulders as they headed towards his car in amidst the playful shoving. It seemed the most natural thing in the world, and Reese found himself liking it. He had to resist the urge to lean into David, even though it was very tempting. David didn’t remove his arm until they got to Reese’s car, David’s hand brushing against the back of Reese’s neck as he let go. That sent a shiver through Reese, and the touch went straight to his cock. Reese had to pause for a moment to get a grip on himself. He couldn’t get into the car with a hard-on. David would very clearly see it.

  Then again, maybe Reese wanted David to see how aroused he was. Their interaction throughout the evening had been flirtatious, to say the least. Even with the girls trying to catch their attention in the next lane, neither of them stopped. In Reese’s eyes, it was just him and David.

  They were tiptoeing into uncharted waters, and Reese was teetering on the edge, unsure whether to take the plunge or back away before it got out of control.

  The thought of getting out of control with David had his arousal building. He needed to get his thoughts onto more mundane topics before he ended up dragging David into the back seat in the parking lot.

  Reese unlocked the car and opened the door. David was on the other side, but he didn’t move to open the passenger door. He seemed to have frozen, staring back at the bowling alley with a dark scowl.

  “David?”

  “There are times when I wish I wasn’t so respectful to women.”

  Reese looked over his shoulder. Laura was standing by the entrance doors, arms folded as she matched David’s glare with one of her own. Reese sighed.

  “David, leave her be. She may be off duty, but you don’t need the aggravation. She’s not worth it.”

  “But it’s so tempting. After everything she’s done…”

  “She’s trying to provoke you into attacking her so she’s got a reason to have you arrested.” Reese urged. “Don’t give it to her.”

  “I’m surprised any guy would give her anything.” David muttered.

  “Don’t be petty.” Reese gestured at his car. “Come on, get in.”

  David was still grumbling as he got into the car. Reese pulled out of the space and headed towards the exit. In his rearview mirror, he saw Laura watching them go before she disappeared once they turned a corner.

  That woman had far too much time on her hands. David had told Reese earlier about Laura turning up at his workplace to warn him to stay away. It seemed that the paranoia of being cheated on after her actions was catching up to her. Why James was still with her, Reese had no idea. The man seemed to have lost all sense of reasoning. At least with David he could be sure that David was a solid, reliable person to come home to. With Laura, James had to be walking on eggshells and looking over his shoulder in case Laura accused him of cheating again.

  Considering Laura was the other person who had stolen away a married man, the fact she was paranoid herself was somewhat amusing. Served her right, Reese thought, after everything she had put David through.

  If only she would just leave him alone. And James. They were going to put David back in the deep depression he had found himself in after he discovered their cheating. Reese had spent many hours just sitting there while David was curled up in the corner of the couch staring into space. He didn’t want to go through that again.

  David was silent on the journey home, staring out of the window as Reese drove them back to Harrisburg. Reese did contemplate starting a conversation, but David’s body language said he was clearly not in the mood to talk for now.

  It wasn’t until Reese pulled into his driveway that David spoke, waiting until Reese had turned off the engine.

  “I’m sorry, Reese.”

  “What are you sorry about?”

  “I didn’t mean to put a dampener on the evening.”

  Reese reached out and squeezed David’s shoulder.

  “You didn’t. I get it. We put a dampener on the day between us.”

  With his earlier moping around and David’s current mood, they had balanced things out between them. And Reese didn’t mind if David wanted a moment to himself. It wasn’t easy to get your thoughts into order when they were all over the place and the emotions were running high.

  “Have you ever had that awkwardness with a client?” David asked.

  “All the time. You get used to it.”

  “Part of the job, I guess.” David grunted and shook his head. “No wonder you were so patient with me when I came over at one in the morning, drunk and lamenting about how crap my life was after I kicked James out.”

  “I’ve been there, done that, and I’ve got the t-shirt.” Reese’s courage grew and he started stroking David’s neck, brushing his fingers over the soft blond locks. “It’s difficult to move on when the ex keeps coming back uninvited.”

  David was silent. Reese then noticed that David was leaning into his hand, almost nuzzling his palm. His heart stumbled, and Reese almost forgot how to breathe.

  “I should just move on.”

  “What?”

  David sighed, his cheek now nestled in Reese’s palm. His skin was smoother than Reese expected.

  “I should just move, go elsewhere, but...Sioux Falls is my home. It’s my safety net and I have everything here. Just packing up and leaving with nothing more than the clothes on my back because James is still here doesn’t sit well with me.”

  He had considered leaving. Reese could see why he wanted to, but the thought of David leaving had him momentarily panicking. Then he caught himself. Why on earth was he getting worked up about David moving away? He didn’t have a hold on him, and his reaction was ridiculous. Reese needed to rein himself in. He eased his hand back, not trusting himself to keep himself objective if he kept touching David.

  “Maybe you should think about that restraining order. Or a harassment order, as he’s not threatened you with physical violence.”

  “But Laura has.” David said darkly. “I’d love to put a restraining order on her.”

  “Then you’d better organize documenting everything, because you know she’ll fight it the whole way.”

  David nodded grimly. Then he reached for the door and climbed out. Reese got out himself, locking up as David came around the car. It was then Reese hesitated. He should have left David to go in alone and go into his own house, but Reese didn’t want to leave. Not with David now in a low mood. Reese wanted to do something to cheer him but he wasn’t sure what.

  “Fancy coming in?” David asked as he fished his keys out of his pocket. “Then I can really get you drunk.”

  Reese stared.

  “I thought that was your intention all along.”

  “Pretty much.” David managed a slight smile before beckoning Reese to follow him. “Come on. I’ve got that beer you like.”

  Reese would have come over no matter what. He just needed a slight indication that David wanted him there. He grinned and started following David across their adjoining lawn towards the house. And almost bumped into David when he stopped suddenly.

  “What the…?”

  “What is it?”

  David was staring at his car. Then Reese saw it. With the streetlamp right outside David’s house, it was easy to see the smashed windows, the slashed tires and the significant dents in the hood. It was completely obliterated. How had they not noticed that when they came home?

  “Good God.”

  A growl from David had Reese turning. David was staring at what had once been his car, his h
ands clenched into fists as he started breathing heavily. He was angry. Reese hadn’t seen him like this in a while, and David looked like he was about to explode.

  “That bitch!” He snarled. “I’m going to rip her to pieces!”

  Reese stepped between David and the car, giving him a shake by the shoulders.

  “Take it easy, David.”

  “Take it easy?” David shook Reese away. “Laura’s vandalized my car and you’re telling me to take it easy?”

  “We don’t know if it was Laura who did this. But we do need to call the cops.” Reese held up a hand as David started to protest. “Don’t argue with me on this, we need to call them and have this documented. You can’t ignore this.”

  David scowled. He looked like a little boy getting soundly scolded by his father. He subsided a little and looked around. At that time on a Friday, there were some lights on in the surroundings houses, but no indication that there was any activity going on. It was like they lived on a ghost street.

  “I wonder why the neighbors didn’t see anything.” He huffed. “Typical. So many witnesses and nobody heard or saw a thing.”

  Reese had nothing to say to that. He grabbed David and forcibly turned him around, pointing him towards the front door.

  “Inside. Now.”

  ***

  David stood at the window and watched as the police officers walked around the car. One of them had a camera, but not many pictures were being taken. From the look of it, they seemed to be asking more questions than they were doing anything. Reese stood near the car, offering to deal with them so David didn’t have to. David couldn’t see his face, but Reese’s back was ramrod straight. Whatever was being said to him was not taken well at all.

  At least James hadn’t come along to see what was going on. That would have made it worse. David didn’t want a conversation with the man, and James just didn’t seem to get the message. He just wanted to carry on something from three years ago. The police department weren’t all sympathetic. James’ sergeant had been on David’s side and David knew she had warned James several times, but James was clearly not paying attention to the warning.

  Neither was Laura. David was past the point of fed up with the woman. She needed to get her head out of her backside and back away. Sioux Falls police department had failed David by allowing their officers to abuse a civilian, and David was feeling it. Having cops investigating an act of vandalism that was more than likely done by one of their own was not something David was keen on. But Reese was right. They were, in a sense, authority. And they needed to have this documented. If Laura or James were escalating, at least it would be on official record.

  It felt like forever before the two cops retreated, giving Reese looks that said they weren’t entirely objective. Reese watched them as they turned the patrol car around and head out of the street before he came inside. Under the lights from the house and the streetlamp, David could clearly see Reese’s face. He did not look happy at all.

  Reese came into the house and stepped into the lounge, unbuttoning his jacket with jerking hand motions. David peered out at the remains of his beloved car.

  “That took longer than it should have done.” He commented. “They didn’t do much.”

  “I doubt they even did the bare minimum.” Reese grunted, shrugging out of his jacket. “They seemed more interested in our relationship than actually paying attention to the car.”

  David was not surprised. If any of James’ co-workers had picked up on the fact that David was around another guy, they would have been more curious about that than the actual crime. James and Laura had spread a few rumors of David around in the beginning, and they still believed them even now.

  Three years of dealing with their strange looks and snide remarks. David wished he had never considered dating a cop in the first place.

  “That’s why I didn’t want the cops here, Reese.” He turned away from the window. “Once they realized that I was the owner of the car, they would have turned it into a circus. I don’t know what James and Laura said to their pals when James’ divorce came about, but it seems to have been taken as gospel.”

  “You what?” Reese blinked. “Even after all this time.”

  “Even after all this time. Cops stick together, and they remember things you don’t want them to remember.” David said bitterly. “Serves me right for being with a police officer.”

  Reese sighed. Putting his jacket on the back of the couch, he walked over to David, clasping David’s shoulders.

  “You weren’t to know that was going to happen. Hindsight, as you know, makes you realize the warning signs were there, but when you’re in love…”

  “My sister has been saying that to me for years.” David rubbed at his chest. It was painful to think about the past, even now. “I suppose I should have noticed what James was doing. I was sixteen, he was twenty-two. Very young, inexperienced and naive. He must have thought I was perfect pickings to be exploited.”

  “He must have loved you at some point.” Reese pointed out. “You got married.”

  “He did love me. I’m sure of it.” David found himself leaning into Reese as Reese started massaging his shoulders. The digging into his muscles felt really nice. “But monogamy wasn’t in his DNA. One of his ex-girlfriends warned me about it, that she had been a sap to let it go on. If I didn’t watch my back, he would do the same to me, which he did.” He grunted, trying not to let out a satisfied moan. “Chances are he’s done the same to Laura.”

  “Having met Laura, I won’t blame him if he did.”

  It was harsh, petty even, but David was not in the mood to be nice. He felt petty.

  “Neither can I.” David shook his head. “I don’t want her man. Hell, I don’t even know why she wants him.”

  “That’s because she sees James as a prize.” Reese’s hands moved up to David’s neck. “Someone she won from someone else.”

  And that was why David could understand Laura’s paranoia. She had been the one James had cheated with, and now she was beginning to wonder if she was being the one cheated on. David wasn’t one to be mean, but he was half-hoping that James was, and then Laura could take her own medicine.

  It was difficult to concentrate when Reese was touching him like this. David was almost leaning on Reese as Reese’s hands moved about his shoulders, his neck. Now one hand was in David’s hair, gently stroking his scalp. It felt really good. David was sure he would start purring if Reese kept this up.

  Sighing, he straightened up, trying to get back on an even footing. It wasn’t easy with Reese so close.

  “I’m going to call their sergeant in the morning. I refuse to be treated in that way, or have you treated like that.”

  “Don’t worry about me, I can handle it.” Reese’s hands moved back to David’s shoulders, sliding down David’s arms. “My boss Maria knows a lot of people in the police force. Just a word in the right ear, and they will be in the dog house.”

  David didn’t doubt it. He had met Maria a few times and while she was a very attractive, efficient businesswoman with a lovely smile and a warm presence, she could turn into ice if you rubbed her the wrong way. Reese had admitted that it was frightening to witness and he had been on the wrong end of it before. David didn’t want to witness it himself.

  Reese’s hands were now touching David’s. It felt completely natural to take Reese’s hands in his. His palms were rough and warm. Surprisingly warm, considering he had been outside.

  “Thanks for taking care of those bozos.”

  “My pleasure.” Reese glanced out of the window with a shake of his head. “Chances are they would have arrested you had you started getting angry with them. It was best that you stayed inside.”

  “I could have handled them.”

  “Not in the state you were in.”

  He was right. David had still been too wound up when the cops arrived. If he had shown any frustration towards them, they might have seen it as aggressive towards them. David di
dn’t want to get into it with a couple of police officers looking for an excuse to arrest him.

  God, he hated cops.

  “You know something, Reese?”

  “What?”

  “You do too much for me.”

  Reese looked back, a smile tugging at his lips. For a tough man, he had the softest-looking lips David had ever seen.

  “You took me out to cheer me up.”

  “That doesn’t compare.”

  “It was still a favor returned.”

  It didn’t, not in David’s eyes. Reese had gone out of his way to help him out, when he could have gone home and left David to deal with the cops. But Reese was not like any other man. David was beginning to just realize that now.

  They were still holding hands, and Reese had started to draw David closer. David let him, feeling the man’s heat against his front. He licked his lips, trying to concentrate. That wasn’t easy when Reese’s hands had slipped from his and were now touching his waist.

  “Anyone would think you were trying to get points from me.” He stuttered.

  “Is it working?” Reese asked.

  His hands were dancing around David’s waistband. Fingers slipped under David’s shirt and brushed against his skin. David bit back a gasp as electricity shot up his back.

  “You...you’d have to do a little more than that before I consider it working.” He croaked.

  Reese groaned even as he tugged David closer.

  “God, you drive a hard bargain.”

  David was also aware of something else very hard pressing against his crotch. Reese’s erection was very hard, and very big. It twitched as Reese rubbed himself against David’s own erection, his hand cupping David’s backside, his fingers digging into David’s flesh. David felt a twinge of pain, but he didn’t care. He groaned as he grabbed at Reese’s waist.

  “I think I’m softening up to the idea now.”

  “You don’t feel very soft.” Reese’s other hand went between them and cupped David’s cock through his jeans. “You feel hard. Very hard.”

  David groaned and thrust into Reese’s hand. Damn, he was going to go off like a rocket if this was kept up. It had been a very long time since he had touched himself to relieve the tension, and even longer since he had been to bed with any guy. From the way Reese was touching him, his mouth brushing against David’s own teasingly, David knew this would be something that would have him unsatisfied after just one time. He would certainly want more.