His Five Night Stand (4 page)

“Who knows?” he said, grinning at me.

“Right,” I said, smiling back thinking that being alone with Theo was not a horrible thought, not a horrible thought at all.

Billie opened the door and gestured for me to follow.

“I’ll leave you two to your tour then,” Theo said, nodding. “Later neighbor.” He turned and glanced back once with a smile before he walked down the hall.

“Bye,” I said, almost under my breath.

“Theo’s great,” Billie said, walking inside the apartment. “He and Odessa live next door.”

And Boom.

Odessa. Of course.

I allowed myself a momentary pang of disappointment and then let it go. Of course the beautiful man in the black jeans would have a girlfriend. Billie had said mostly women lived here. He was gorgeous and he belonged to someone else which was okay. The last thing I needed was to complicate my life with a fling, or a relationship, right? Right. Good chat.

“So, what do you think?” Billie said, walking across the room to open a window.

Apartment 304 was a large square room with light hardwood floors. There was a tiny tile bathroom off to the right, a small closet, and a tidy kitchen that faced the house next door. “The rooms are big, kitchen and bath are small but it’s a pretty good space for a studio,” Billie said.

I walked across the hardwood and tried to imagine myself living here. The windows were tall and high, walls freshly painted white with a forest green accent. It was so simple, so classic. So different than the black and silver modern lines of Henry’s home, and the floor to ceiling windows that faced downtown.

He had a $1 million view, and this place faced an alley.

His place was his, this could be mine.

I wanted it.

I wanted to live here with beautiful women who smiled and laughed and made out with men in broad daylight, and men who looked like Troy and Theo. Especially Theo. I wanted something different. I wanted this life.

“I’ll take it,” I said without hesitation.

“Great,” Billie grinned. “When can you move in?”

“Today.”

I wrote a check and Billie handed me a set of keys. I had found a place to call home.

“
This seems impulsive,” Cara said, touring my apartment
weaving between the few boxes she’d picked up for me that afternoon. “Did you even think about your commute? The neighborhood? Where will you grocery shop? I thought we agreed no rash decisions.”

“It’s a university crowd,” I said, sitting on a folding chair that I’d picked up at the store. I planned to hit some of the thrift shops on the Ave., since I didn’t want a piece of furniture from Henry. “And I’ve met some of my neighbors, they seem like girls who have fun. I think I could use some of that, fun, you know.” I didn’t mention Theo my extremely hot and unavailable neighbor. The last thing I needed was Cara lecturing me about emotional boundaries or allowing myself time and room to heal.

“I just don’t know why you didn’t rent a place closer to me, I told you there were vacancies next door. We could be within walking distance, meet at the lake for walks.” Cara sat down on the floor, her long legs stretched out in front of her.

“I can still meet you,” I said, not wanting to tell her that even though I loved her I wanted some space. I hadn’t even realized I wanted space until I’d been given the chance.

I took a swig of my micro-brew, my freshly washed hair back in a ponytail. I’d traded in my sweaty work clothes for faux yoga gear and an old t-shirt that Henry hated. Cara had brought me a bag of clothes to get me through the week. I knew I looked like an overtired college student with no money. I wasn’t a college student and I had no money, but at least I was being genuine. I wanted to be comfy and would apologize to no one.

“I know it seems impulsive but this place just felt good to me. I can’t really explain it,” I said. The truth was I could explain it but not in a rational way, so I didn’t even try. This whole place glittered to me, from the lights outside to the people inside. I wanted to live in this shiny new world. Then another emotion moved through me, something closer to pride, but a feeling I couldn’t put my finger on, not yet. “And its mine,” I said, my voice catching.

“Oh honey, I’m sorry.” Cara stood up and wrapped me in a hug. “I’m being selfish. I just wanted you closer to me. You have done more in twenty-four hours than most women could accomplish in weeks. Good for you.”

She picked up her purse and slipped on her sandals. “I should go. You sure you don’t want to sleep at my house tonight? You could skip the camping gear?”

I’d bought a sleeping bag and an inflatable mattress from the dollar bin at the store. I hoped it lasted the night. “Nope, I’m good,” My voice caught again and I coughed to cover it up. I worried if Cara hugged me twice I’d fold. “I’ve got to face the night alone sometime, right?

She kissed my cheek and left.

I was struck by the tremendous silence of my new apartment.

“Shit, I mean shoot,” I whispered, taking another swig of my beer.

I hadn’t realized how much I feared this moment, being alone. I put away the take out boxes and rinsed out the bottles for recycling. I had the surreal feeling of being out of my own body, watching myself go through the motions of a life totally unfamiliar to me.

Where were the crystal martini glasses, the classical music in the background, and the gas fireplace? Henry was so particular about details. I’d gotten used to the way we were together but I found myself wondering how much of what had been us had been me at all. I took another swig from my bottle; a nice beer buzz moving through my body. This was something else Henry and I rarely did, drink too much.

We drank expensive beverages from even more expensive glasses. And we never ever left our beer bottles stacked in a small pyramid in the corner of our kitchen. Never ever. Ever. I took the bottle and sat it next to the other two on the floor. It really wasn’t a pyramid it was more of a line, and since I rarely drank I was smart enough to know that this was my limit or a little over my limit. I wasn’t sure if I cared actually. Henry wasn’t there to give me a disapproving look. I felt warm and happy, I felt good.

Looking at my stack of beer bottles I remembered how Henry always said things tasted better in crystal.

“I think things taste better when you aren’t around!” I shouted to the empty room. “Ha! That’s what I think you smug mother trucker.” I muttered to myself laughing. My laughter came from deep inside fueled by a feeling of coming undone and a rolling beer buzz that was moving through my body at a ferocious rate.

I’d had more alcohol in 24 hours than I’d had in the past six months, and like any good drunk I was amazed at how good it felt to be tipsy and loose. I closed my eyes wishing I had someone to disappear into, a stranger to kiss, something dark and secret. How about Theo, the man with the dark hair who would never be mine? I wondered what went on between Theo and Odessa next door. Were they making love to each other right now? I wondered if Shea and Troy were in bed together. Had they stayed there all day? And Bella, had she found love this afternoon? Had Billie unlocked her bedroom door and invited someone back into her office? Maybe they’d fallen upon that red velvet couch.

Suddenly I heard the sound of thumping as if someone were pounding on my door or a shared wall. My heart raced in response and I had this thought that someone in the building was trying to get my attention. I’d been wondering about things that were not my business and this was a sign I’d been caught, but that was ridiculous. “Hello? Anyone home?” I giggled, looking around the room. I expected the noise to stop but the thumping continued.

Steady. Repetitive.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

I looked out the window thinking the noise was coming from the alley.

I followed the sound past the kitchen door, walking along my wall, one hand tracing the stucco, the other holding my cold beer.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Then I reached the point where the noise was loudest, right next to my closet. I put my hand on the wall and felt the rhythm vibrate beneath my fingertips.

And it struck me all at once. This wasn’t random thumping, this was deliberate. This was intentional. This was a bed. A headboard, banging against my wall. I felt a wave of curiosity moving through me. This was Theo. This was the man next door.

Thump. Thump. Then ever so quietly a moan.

My mouth dry, breath shallow, I leaned in towards the wall and placed my ear against the wall.

“Ahhhh, ahhhhh.” Then ever so softly. “Oh yes, oh yes, yes baby.”

It was a woman’s voice ragged and breathless followed by the low mutterings of her lover. The voice was deep and strong. For a moment I pulled away from the wall, embarrassed. What was wrong with me? I had been thinking about sex from the moment I walked into this building. First I’d stared at a stranger’s crotch and now I was eavesdropping on my nice, extremely hot neighbor.

Thinking about sex was one thing. I couldn’t listen to something this private. But as I deliberated the thumping increased, and the moaning grew louder, more intense. It pulled me forward like a magnet. My breath grew shallow, my legs weakened and I pressed my body closer to the sound leaning into the stucco.

There, there, please baby, like that, just like that . . . she knew what she wanted and he answered.

Like that.

Just like that.

Harder.

Faster.

With every word I felt my body humming with energy, a slow wave of pleasure building as I listened. I could see Theo in my mind. His shirt off, I wondered what he was doing in that bed. His beautiful hands on this woman’s body. I wanted to know. I wanted to feel this.

More.

“More,” I whispered.

Please.

“Please,” I whispered.

Now. Now. Now. The wave inside built as the woman’s voice grew louder, she was commanding him and moaning until her voice turned into a shrieking and wailing so loud I jumped back away from the wall my heart pounding, my bottle dropping with a huge BANG on the floor.

And . . . silence.

My pulse roared in my ears. I felt like a kid caught stealing from a candy dish. Shit. Had they heard me? Did they know I’d been eavesdropping? My cheeks burned. What was wrong with me? I wasn’t some sort of a voyeur, was I? I was a normal woman who had a very normal sex life. I grabbed some paper towels and wiped up the spilled beer, trying to walk quietly.

The room next door grew silent. I slipped off the lights and climbed into my sleeping bag still thinking about sex. Sex. I liked sex. At least I thought I did. Henry and I had sex, we had for years. He’d been my second lover when I was twenty-two years old.

Cara said I was a late bloomer, I didn’t feel late. I just didn’t have a lot of experience having sex with people outside of a relationship, outside of Henry. What had drawn me to Henry anyway? Had it been his confidence, his kindness? I felt foolish and sentimental thinking about those early days. When we’d first started dating, sex had been a little wilder, not really in what we did; in fact, we always did the same things, more in frequency. I remembered one night we’d had sex twice and then again in the morning. I had experience, right? We’d even tried a few different positions, I could think of at least three.

And I came. Henry had pleased me, not all the time, but often enough. I closed my eyes trying to remember the last time we’d been together. Had I come? Had I felt that incredible shaking and shuddering? Why couldn’t I remember the details?

My body rippled with heat remembering the sounds from the bedroom next door. I didn’t need to go through my memory banks to know that I had never ever screamed or called out like that in my whole life.

In fact, I thought back to all the times I’d made love to Henry and I remembered that I was always silent. The thought made me sad and slightly more embarrassed.

What was happening in the apartment next door? What was Theo doing to make a woman scream like that? I wanted to know.