Page 59 of When the Walls Come Down
“Sounds like you need a friend, Peach?”
“You know of anyone available?”
“I’ve heard you have a pretty rad neighbor.”
I laughed and sank down into the corner closest to where he was hiding on the other side. “Who, the old guy? Sure, he’s hot and all, but he gets drunk and throws stuff onto my balcony. Not even to mention that once he snuck into my apartment and stole my panties. I mean those were two separate events, but both creepy, right?”
“Mmmm,” he hummed. “Maybe he’s just misunderstood. But while we’re on the topic, how hot are we talking?”
“Solid nine. But he’s been letting his stubble grow recently, so we’re inching into nine-point-five territory.”
“What do you think it would take to get him to a ten?”
This. The willingness to do absolutely nothing on a Friday night but sit on the balcony even though he’s terrified of it just because I’m feeling lonely and homesick.
“I don’t know. Maybe some squats.”
“Squats?” he exclaimed. “What the hell, Maggie? I happen to know for a fact that you love my ass.”
I fell over to the side laughing. There it was, the Shane Warren effect in full force.
“I’m kidding. I’m kidding,” I said. “Relax. Your ass is incredible.”
“Damn right it is.”
“One day, there will be sculptures of your beautiful backside in museums.”
“Okay, you know what. You can stop now, smartass.” He started laughing too and it gave me hope that he was catching a little of the Maggie Light effect too. “That was your one joke for the night. No more from you.”
I righted myself and kicked my legs out in front of me. “Fair enough. But I’m in charge of small talk.”
“Deal.”
“So tell me, Shane. How has your life been in the hour since I saw you last?”
“Uhhh,” he drawled. “I walked home. Took a shower…and after that, I would like to plead the Fifth.”
I arched an eyebrow at the brick wall. “Did ya kill somebody?”
“Please. It’s a Friday night. I don’t have time for a homicide right now. Not on a full stomach. I did, however, suffer a catastrophic injury when I skinned my knee crawling out on the balcony to have a chat with my needy neighbor.”
“Should I call an ambulance? Will it need to be amputated?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll keep you updated.” There was movement on his side of the wall and then the song changed to “No Rain” by Blind Melon. “So tell me, Peach. What had you sitting out here listening to Shania the Crossover Queen tonight?”
“Ugh, I don’t know.” I crossed and uncrossed my legs. “There’s a lot of stuff, I guess. The main thing is I miss my family. But then there’s a job. A guy. The possibility of not having a job. The terrifying possibility that the guy might have committed a murder tonight, but more than likely just jerked off in the shower and doesn’t want to tell me about it.”
He coughed. “It was a murder. A terrible, awful murder.”
“Oh, phew. That was about to get weird for a minute there. Masturbation is totally out of the friend zone. Murder though? I’ve got your back.”
His laugh was rich and soothing. “Good to know I can count on you. Just remember: When the cops come calling, you’ve been with me all night.”
“Except for when you were jerking off in the shower. Got it.”
The sound of our laughter echoed from his balcony to mine. Moments like those were what I craved most with Shane. Dating was hard. All the pretending you had to do to impress the other person. Talking just enough but not too much. Having an opinion but not coming on too strong. Don’t order anything with garlic in case he wants to kiss you.
Fuck that noise.
Being with Shane was easy. There were no rules or boundaries. If one of us took the conversation into uncharted waters, we worked so well together it didn’t take more than a few sarcastic comments to put us back on the right track.
Damn if that kind of comfort and freedom was what people spent their entire lives searching for.
And I’d found mine in the guy next door who was trying to get me fired.
Awesome work, Fate. Real fucking fine work there.
When we both sobered, he was quick to fill in the silence. “So, what’s going on with your family? Have you tried FaceTiming them?”
“Yeah, we talk a good bit, but it’s not the same. I was so excited when I moved out here, thinking how incredible it would be to finally escape their craziness. But I’m not going to lie. I miss it. My oldest sister Jenna apparently got into it with Laurie over who was going to host Thanksgiving this year.”
“Uhhh, it’s July.”
“I know. Hence the aforementioned craziness. They got into this big catfight. Heath had to wade in to keep the peace. It was nuts.”
