With Her Completely (5 page)

Across the street
from her perfectly painted apartment building with an immaculate manicured
lawn, stood row after row of matchbox houses all painted in a rainbow of pastel
colors. The entire
Valleydale
neighborhood was like
something that had fallen out of a 1960’s suburban real estate handbook
complete with the smiling housewives who brought Tupperware containers filled
with cookies to their fellow neighbors.

Elle did her very
best not to become part of the idyllic scene that was
Valleydale
.
She was content to sit at her desk by the window, safely locked inside her
apartment, observing. As a writer, the people of
Valleydale
made for interesting character foundations and besides, staying locked inside
her apartment meant that she never found herself designated as ‘block captain’
for the next neighborhood ‘event.’

It wasn't that she
was anti-social. Given the choice between the 1960’s PTA scene and the confines
of her one bedroom,
two bathroom
apartment, Elle would
rather face the judgment of her eight year old terrier than the robotic
perfection that faced her outside.

When the moving
truck pulled up to the front of the building Elle watched the painted faces of
fit and flare dress wearing housewives peer out from behind their floral
pattern curtains. Not one of them could resist knowing the ‘scoop’ behind every
move in the neighborhood and Elle began the mental countdown before the first
of the faces made an appearance at the moving truck door.

“They have no
shame Diana, no shame at all.” Elle turned to face the mangy looking terrier
who looked up from the arm of the sofa briefly, grumbled and laid her head back
down. Elle leaned forward in her chair and pulled one of the slats of the
blinds down to get a better look.

“I know what
you’re thinking, but I'm watching them watching someone else…it's totally not
the same thing.”

She squinted
against the midday sun as she watched Margie, the self-appointed head of the
‘neighborhood watch’, walking over to the moving van with a tray topped with
bottles of water that wobbled as she walked.

“Di, what does she
look like? The worse fucking waitress ever, that’s what.” Elle stood up, almost
pressing her face to the glass to be able to see the interaction between Margie
and whoever was in the van. She could barely make out audible voices, Margie’s
annoying nasally
whine
and a low male voice.

 
“Hmmm, looks like mommy might have a new
neighbor worth getting to know…” Elle slunk back in to her seat disappointed
that she could neither see nor hear the events taking place curbside.

“WELL EXCUSE ME!”
It was Margie’s voice and this time it was loud enough for Elle to hear through
the window, she leaned forward again in time to see Margie storming across the
street in a dramatic exit, still trying to balance the bottles of water on her
tray.

“Guess she didn't
get the welcome she expected…” Elle laughed quietly to herself and walked over
to the sofa, picking up Diana. The small terrier struggled in protest but soon
ran out of energy and settled against Elle’s vintage Pink Floyd t-shirt. Elle
walked with her over to the front door and listened for the sound of the key in
the lock signaling the arrival of her new neighbor. It felt as though she was
waiting forever as she stood with her ear pressed to the door and Diana
clutched to her chest. She ran her fingers through Diana’s wiry black fur as
she listened for footsteps and when they finally came she opened the door and
stepped out in to the hall.

“Oh, I guess I'm
your new neighbor…” His accent was thick and southern and it took Elle twice as
long to decode what he had said as it did for her to hear it. She shot him a
quick smile.

“Looks that way.”
Shoving Diana to one side she reached out one hand, “I'm Elle.” He shook her
hand, his grip was firm and his hand was so large that it engulfed her own.

“I'm Austin.” He
smiled, revealing the whitest teeth Elle had ever seen, so white that she felt
compelled to laugh but managed to compose herself before the first squeak of
laughter escaped her lips.

“If
y’all’ll
excuse me,
I
 
gotta
get
movin
’” he nodded slightly and winked a chestnut brown eye.

“Sure, I need to
take her out anyway…” Elle smiled back before slipping past Austin and down the
hallway towards the stairwell.

When she got
downstairs Elle set Diana on a small patch of grass close enough to be able to
peek inside the back of the moving truck without looking like she was actually
trying. The dog buried her nose in the grass reading every calling card left by
the dogs who’d come before her.

Elle checked to
make sure Austin wasn't watching her before glancing in to the back of the
truck. There wasn't much to be seen in terms of incriminating evidence, just a
bed frame, a mattress and the arm of some sort of living room sofa or
love-seat. From the appearance of what she could see inside the truck, he was
definitely a bachelor or else he had a serious kink for black leather. Diana
tugged the leash pulling Elle in the direction of the designated dog area of
the complex and just as she turned to leave she heard Austin’s voice from the
stairwell.

“Diana, what the
hell? You’re supposed to help me get guys not cock block me!” Diana continued
on in the direction of the dog area despite Elle’s protestations.

It was close to
midnight when Elle heard the first bang. It sounded very much like the sound of
someone or something falling heavily into the wall and it made her living room
rattle. She listened for a minute for any follow up noises that might help
distinguish what it was that had made the noise. Instead, she heard another
similar sound and this time it was followed by an angry voice with a southern drawl.

“For fuck sake!”
Elle walked to the shared wall and standing beside the TV she pushed her ear
against the cool plaster.

“Ouch! Fuck!”

Elle pressed her
lips together, stifling a laugh and decided to offer her new neighbor a hand.

No light shined from
under his front door, but she knew that someone had to be awake so she rapped
lightly on the door with her knuckles.

"Hello?"
She kept her voice low. There was movement inside the apartment, she could hear
it and she could hear a few more expletives and a few
more
clumsy
collisions before the door opened. Austin peered out from
complete darkness blinking slowly as his eyes adjusted to the light outside his
apartment.

“Umm…sorry to
disturb you but…is everything ok in there?” Elle bit the corner of her bottom
lip after asking what she perceived as a particularly nosy question. Austin
gave a mischievous half grin.

“Well…that might
just depend on who you were
askin
’” he looked back in
to the apartment and back to Elle. She smiled expectantly.

“I seem to have
blown a fuse or two only since the place is full of boxes I've done near put
myself through the wall more than once
tryin
’ ‘a find
the box with a flashlight…
assumin
’ I had one before I
moved…”

“Wait there, I
should have one you can use.” Elle quickly ran and fetched a flashlight from
her bedroom.

 
“Your
fusebox
should
be in the utility room.” She said as she handed him the light.
 
He took the it and jerked his head in the
direction of the apartment.

“Uh
uh
, you
ain't
leavin
’
me to do this on my own, ‘Man found electrocuted weeks after moving in to new
apartment’ isn’t going to be a headline.” Elle snickered.

“Don't tell me
you've never tripped a fuse before?”

Austin hesitated,
“Sure I have, it just sounds a lot better than
sayin
’
I’m afraid of the dark.” He walked in to the apartment wielding the flashlight,
Elle followed him, closing the door behind her.

The apartment
itself was foreign to her as she stumbled through a maze of boxes following
Austin to the utility room, but adding the darkness only made it much more
complicated to navigate.

“This kind of
thing happen often?” Austin pushed a large box out of the way and pulled open
the front of the fuse box.

“Fuses popping?
Not really,” Elle tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness by squinting, “mine
have never gone out and I've been here…” She calculated the years out loud,
“three years this November.”

“
Ahh
, so it’s just my luck then?” The flashlight waved
around clumsily in his left hand as he flicked the popped fuses back on with
his right. The sudden burst of light combined with being in such close
proximity to a man who took such obvious pride in his physical condition left
Elle feeling startled. “You okay there?” He reached his hand out to steady her.

“Yeah…” She
blinked slowly and held on to the door frame to catch her balance.

“Come
here..
He put the flashlight between his teeth and leaning
down slightly he wrapped his arms underneath her ass and lifted her.
Effortlessly he turned around and sat her on top of the washing machine. “Sit
tight, I’ll get
ya
a bottle of water.” He flashed a
smile after setting the small flashlight on a shelf behind him.

When Austin
returned with the bottle of water Elle was feeling much better but she took the
water anyway and gulped it down thankfully.

"Better?” She
smiled.

“Much, thank you.
I just got a little disoriented that’s all. Kind of like when you were a kid
playing hide and seek in the dark?” As soon as she said it Elle kicked herself
for talking too much, it was a habit that seemed only to kick in when she was
in the company of a good looking man. He smiled and leaned against the dryer.

“Can't say I
played that one much.” Elle raised an eyebrow. “I told you, I’m afraid of the
dark.” She smiled tentatively. He shrugged.

“What did you play?”

"Hmm?” He
propped his head up on his hand and stared at her softly.

“If you didn't
play hide and seek, what did you play?” She didn't know why she asked, she
didn't really care but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

“Well now…” He
slid one arm across her lap and placed either hand at her sides, trapping her
between his arms. “I'd much prefer to talk about games I like to play now…” As
he spoke he leaned forward, his face coming closer to the low neckline of her
vintage t-shirt. Her breath began to quicken and she could feel butterflies
beginning to spin in her stomach. What kind of naughty neighbor did she just
get?

“Oh?” She begged
herself to stay calm as her eyes slid over his body, down to his perfectly
shaped ass cupped in his blue jeans. He breathed in deeply as he lifted his
head, his face coming within inches of her neck, his breath making her whole
body shiver as he came closer without touching.

He let out a low
hum, as if he were smelling a delicious meal. The way his voice hummed, the way
his warmth radiated against her as he brought his eyes level with hers made her
heart jitter. Those dark brown chestnut eyes glimmered as he looked down to her
lips and then back to her eyes, teasing her.

“What kind of
games would those be?” Her voice came as barely a whisper and he smiled at how
timid she had become, at the power he held over her.

“I'm not so sure
you should ask…” His voice was raspy as he pressed his mouth to her ear, only
this time as he spoke he slid his hands to her naked thighs. His fingers were
warm and gripped her bare skin firmly as his slid his hands firmly under the
soft cotton of her shorts.

“Because when you
ask questions…” He hooked his fingers under the top of her panties and shorts,
“you get answers…” She didn’t stop him.

He tugged hard and
Elle put her hands down to steady herself as he ripped off her shorts and
panties in one fast movement. He threw her shorts and panties to the floor and
stood back looking hungrily at her shaved pussy. His tongue ran slowly over his
bottom lip followed by his top teeth as he contemplated his next move.