Page 46 of Tempt Thy Neighbor

He chuckles again as he closes the door, and for the first time since he moved in, I find myself wishing he hadn’t left.

I waited up.

It wasn’t intentional, I told myself.

I wasn’t waiting up to see if he brought someone home, I said.

It meant nothing, I vowed.

It was nearly eleven thirty when he slipped into the apartment.

As I lie on the couch with Artemis curled against my feet andSchitt’s Creekplaying on the TV, the key slips into the door and I slam my eyes closed, pretending to be asleep.

Sutton tiptoes quietly through the apartment, and I swear I smell beer and cookies.

My mind instantly drifts to what they did on their date.

Did they go to a bar? Did they dance, letting their bodies writhe together on the dance floor? Did they grab ice cream on their walk home? Did Sutton pull her close as he kissed her goodnight?

He moves around the apartment, trying not to make any noise, but I still hear him.

Just when I think he’s for sure gone back to his bedroom, I feel it.

His eyes are on me.

I will myself to stay calm, to keep my breathing even. Beg my body to not react as his gaze caresses me from head to toe.

I have no idea how long he stared. No idea how long I lay there pretending to sleep before I actually drifted off.

When I wake up, there’s a blanket wrapped around me…and a sleeping Sutton in the chair.

10

Sutton

Holland was jealous.

There is no doubt in my mind that she didn’t like the idea of me going on a date.

And I don’t know why, but I liked seeing her all riled up over it.

In fact, I thought about it all night.

I wonder if she’d be relieved to know it wasn’t the kind of date she was thinking of.

Alma called while I was at the gym and asked if I wanted to have “a wild night out with an old broad.”

I couldn’t turn her down.

Imagine my surprise when she had me drive her to bingo and then begged me to stop for drinks at a gay bar afterward so she could spend more time with her friends.

I’ll never tell her this, but it was one of the most fun nights of my life.

When I woke up this morning, Holland was gone, and I was relieved because I had no idea how I was going to explain to her that I’d fallen asleep watching her sleep.

I didn’t mean to do it.

Hell, I don’t even know why I sat down and watched her in the first place.

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