Chapter 1

The Fence Between Us

I did n't get it on grief could hit this hard.

I was leaning against the fencing in my backyard, speech sound pressed to my ear like it was the last spell of her I had left. `` Come on, Jess ... don't do this. We can fix it. Please. '' My voice cracked, and I hated how dire I sounded. But I couldn't assist it.

Three days together. She was my first everything. Now she was off at some college a thousand miles away, talking like I was a tire phase she'd outgrown. Like I wasn't even worth keeping.

The telephone circuit went dead. Just silence.

I stood there for a piece, staring at the patchy green goddess, the weightiness in my chest heavier than it had been all week. I felt miserable. Nineteen years old, heartbroken over somebody who'd already moved on. I didn't even feel angry. Just… hollow.

That's when I heard her voice, gentle, ardent, and surprisingly close.

'' You okay, sweetheart ? ``

I looked up, startled. Katherine, my next-door neighbor, was standing just on the other side of meat of the wooden fence, a garden hosiery in one deal, sunglasses pushed up on her headspring. She was wearing a black bikini top that hugged her chest just right, cleavage practically spilling over. Her skin had that easy tan glow not bull, not sunburned, just real. Her body was the kind that turns heads at every age, curvy, thick in the skillful ways, with an ass that looked amazing even in shorts.

I tried to dally it off. `` Yeah. Just ... life stuff. ``

She smiled at me, eyes variety. `` Breakups suck. But trust me you'll survive. ``

I laughed awkwardly. `` Is it that obvious ? ``

She nodded with a smirk."You were yelling into your phone like it owed you money."

I rubbed the back of my neck opening."Damn. Sorry about that."

"Don't apologize. I've got a son about your age. I know how rough it gets. Look, if you ever wan na talk, or just hang out, don't be a stranger. We're neighbour now."

I looked at her, really looked and for a s, I forgot how shitty I felt."Thanks. That ... actually means a lot."

She gave me a blink."You'll leaping back. And in the interim, lemonade's always cold over here."

Then she turned around .... and yeah, I absolutely stared. I didn't even try to hide it. That ass. That pass. The niggling bounce. Goddamn.

The next few days blurred together. Mostly late nighttime and mindless scrolling. I tried going for running play, hitting the gym, blasting music too loud anything to drown out the quiet.

But every afternoon, like clockwork, Katherine would come out to the pool.

It was her routine. A towel over the death chair, big sunglass on, and that Lapp bikini ... or sometimes a different one, low even. The fence between our yards wasn't gamey enough to immobilise my view from my bedroom window. Not even close. She must've known. Part of me wondered if she did it on purpose.

She'd lay out, oil up, stint in way of life that had me holding my breather. Sometimes she'd read, one leg draped lazily over the former. Sometimes she'd just close her eyes and tan, her bureau rising and falling slowly, peacefully. And I'd be watching, barely blinking with a rock-hard job in my shorts and the Sami question running through my mind over and over :

What would it feel like to come to her ?

I shouldn't have been thinking it. She was probably twenty old age older than me. Married. My neighbor. But none of that stopped the thoughts or the way my body reacted to her. Every clip she bent over to adapt the puddle umbrella, I swore she was going to break me.

She was a cleaning lady, not a young lady. And somehow, that made everything worse.

One evening, just before sunset, I caught her looking back at my windowpane. Not for long. Just a promptly glimpse. But it happened. My center jumped. Did she know ? Could she tell I'd been watching ?

I ducked away from the screen, suddenly embarrassed, but something in me buzzed with something else too.

Not shame.

Not quite.

Chapter 2 :

Lemonade and bend

It was just after noon when I finally worked up the nerve to take the air over.

I'd seen her lying out again — same bikini as before, maybe even less fabric this time. The top strained to hold those tits in, and her pelvis curved like something out of a pipe dream. The sun made her skin glowing. She was lying on her stomach this time, legs slightly parted, and I'd been staring long enough to forget what day it was.

I didn't plan on saying anything. I was just going to walk past the fence, maybe wafture, maybe say hi. Instead, she turned her head, smiled, and called out to me before I even got the chance to decide.

"Tommy ! You gon na walk past me all summer or you gon na come say hullo ?"

I stopped mid-step, hands in my scoop."Didn't wan na interrupt."

"Interrupt what ?"she said, sliding her sunglass up."I'm literally just lying here trying not to melt. seed keep me company."

I hesitated. My eye was thudding. It wasn't the heat.

"cum on, I don't bite."She grinned."Unless you ask nicely."

That product line hit somewhere low in my stomach. I laughed, hoping she didn't hear the way my vocalization cracked.

I opened the gate and stepped into her backyard. The heat hit harder here — or maybe that was just her. The odor of coconut oil and sun-warmed cutis drifted in the air. I tried not to stare, but she hadn't bothered adjusting her top when she rolled over, and those bosom were half out. My heart didn't stand a chance.

She noticed. I know she did.

"Lemonade ?"she asked, already rising from her chair.

"Yeah. That'd be nice."

"cum in. Too hot to stand out here."She grabbed a towel, draped it loosely around her hip joint, and walked toward the sliding chicken feed doorway. Her ass swayed with every step, towel doing nothing to enshroud it. I followed like a dog chasing a steak.

interior, her house was gorgeous. Open storey plan, spick kitchen, cool air washing over me as I stepped in. She moved like she owned every inch of the space — graceful but unbothered, confident in a way most mass only pretend to be.

"Have a seat,"she said, pouring lemonade into tall glasses."You doing okay these days ?"

"getting there,"I said."Breakups payoff fourth dimension, I guess."

She handed me a glass and leaned against the retort. No charge, no gracelessness — just Katherine being Katherine.

"Well, I meant what I said before. If you ever need anything — even just to volcano — I'm around. My hubby's out of town again, so it's just me rattling around in here."

"Where does he go ?"

"Work stuff. conference, client meetings. He's in Ohio this hebdomad, I think."She sipped her lemonade."Comes with the job. support him busy."

"And you ? Doesn't it get boring ?"

She smiled again — something about it felt different this clip. Like there was a secret tucked behind it.

"Oh, I find ways to bide entertained."

I laughed nervously."I guess being married must help oneself. You know ... always having person there."

She tilted her head."You mean for company, or for sex ?"

My backtalk opened, then closed again."I—uh ... both, I guess."

Katherine laughed — not mocking, just amused."That's an reliable answer. Refreshing."

I shrugged."I don't know. I guess I always thought grown-up relationships just had ... Thomas More of that material figured out."

She walked toward me slowly, still holding her glass, and leaned her hip against the table just a ft from my knee joint. Her Bikini top was still barely containing her. Her fragrance — something diffuse and sweetness — wrapped around me.

"You'd be storm,"she said."A lot of people just go through the movement. Some don't even talk about what they really want."

I swallowed."Like what ?"

Her eyes met mine."Like what turns them on. What they wish they could ask for. What they need."

My brass were burning, but I couldn't looking at away.

She took another sip and smiled."Anyway ... didn't mean value to daunt you off. I just like honest conversations."

I nodded slowly, my throat dry."Yeah. No, I like that too."

She turned, walked back toward the sink, and I caught myself watching the muscular tissue in her back move — the cushy assembly line of her waist dipping into extensive hips. My sentiment were all over the place.

Then she said,"You know what else helps after a breakup ?"

I looked up.

"beingness wanted. Feeling desired again. Reminds you that you 're not the problem."

My philia jumped a trivial. I wasn't sure if she was still talking about me, or if that line was meant for herself. Maybe both.

I didn't reply. I just took a sluggish sip, trying to trifle it cool.

We talked a niggling retentive — about college, about the oestrus, about her flower dying because she forgot to water them. But the whole time, there was this current running under it all. A quiet, electric automobile bombilation that said this wasn't just a friendly visit.

And when I finally stood up to go, she walked me to the door. Hand on my shoulder. A smile that lingered just a indorse too long.

"come by anytime, Tommy. room access's always open."

The whole base on balls back to my firm, I could still finger where her hand had touched me.

The lemonade tasted sweet on my tongue, but not as afters as her voice.

And that towel ? I couldn't stop picturing how easy it'd be for it to fall.

Chapter 2 :

Lemonade and Curves

It was just after noon when I finally worked up the nerve to walk over.

I'd seen her lying out again — same bikini as before, maybe even less cloth this clock time. The top strained to take for those tits in, and her hips curved like something out of a dream. The sunlight made her skin freshness. She was lying on her breadbasket this time, legs slightly parted, and I'd been staring long enough to forget what day it was.

I didn't architectural plan on saying anything. I was just going to walk past the fence, maybe undulation, maybe say hi. Instead, she turned her header, smiled, and called out to me before I even got the chance to decide.

"Tommy ! You gon na walk past me all summer or you gon na come say hi ?"

I stopped mid-step, hands in my pockets."Didn't wan na interrupt."

"Interrupt what ?"she said, sliding her sunglasses up."I'm literally just lying here trying not to dethaw. Come keep me company."

I hesitated. My heart was thudding. It wasn't the heat.

"come on, I don't bite."She grinned."Unless you ask nicely."

That occupation hit somewhere low in my stomach. I laughed, hoping she didn't hear the way my articulation cracked.

I opened the gate and stepped into her backyard. The heat hit harder here — or maybe that was just her. The smell of coconut oil and sun-warmed skin drifted in the air. I tried not to stare, but she hadn't bothered adjusting her top when she rolled over, and those titty were half out. My heart didn't stand a chance.

She noticed. I know she did.

"Lemonade ?"she asked, already rising from her chair.

"Yeah. That'd be nice."

"cum in. Too hot to tolerate out here."She grabbed a towel, draped it loosely around her hip joint, and walked toward the sliding spyglass doorway. Her ass swayed with every whole step, towel doing nothing to hide it. I followed like a dog chasing a steak.

Inside, her house was gorgeous. undetermined floor plan, spotless kitchen, cool air washing over me as I stepped in. She moved like she owned every in of the space — graceful but unbothered, confident in a way most mass only pretend to be.

"Have a seat,"she said, pouring lemonade into grandiloquent glasses."You doing okay these twenty-four hour period ?"

"Getting there,"I said."breakup issue time, I guess."

She handed me a methamphetamine hydrochloride and leaned against the counter. No bang, no awkwardness — just Katherine being Katherine.

"Well, I meant what I said before. If you ever need anything — even just to vent — I'm around. My hubby's out of Town again, so it's just me rattling around in here."

"Where does he go ?"

"Work stuff. Conferences, customer coming together. He's in Ohio this hebdomad, I think."She sipped her lemonade."Comes with the job. Keeps him busy."

"And you ? Doesn't it get boring ?"

She smiled again — something about it felt different this time. Like there was a mystery tucked behind it.

"Oh, I find ways to stay put entertained."

I laughed nervously."I guess being married must help. You know ... always having someone there."

She tilted her pass."You mean for caller, or for sex ?"

My mouth opened, then closed again."I—uh ... both, I guess."

Katherine laughed — not mocking, just amused."That's an reliable answer. Refreshing."

I shrugged."I don't know. I guess I always thought grown-up relationship just had ... to a greater extent of that stuff figured out."

She walked toward me slowly, still holding her meth, and leaned her hip against the table just a foot from my knee. Her Bikini top was still barely containing her. Her odorize — something soft and sugared — wrapped around me.

"You'd be surprise,"she said."A lot of people just go through the motions. Some don't even utter about what they really want."

I swallowed."Like what ?"

Her centre met mine."Like what turns them on. What they wish they could ask for. What they need."

My impertinence were burning, but I couldn't look away.

She took another sip and smiled."Anyway ... didn't mean to scare you off. I just like honorable conversations."

I nodded slowly, my throat dry."Yeah. No, I like that too."

She turned, walked back toward the cesspool, and I caught myself watching the muscularity in her backbone move — the soft line of descent of her waist dipping into wide hips. My thoughts were all over the place.

Then she said,"You know what else helps after a breakup ?"

I looked up.

"Being wanted. Feeling desired again. Reminds you that you 're not the problem."

My affectionateness jumped a little. I wasn't sure if she was still talking about me, or if that line of business was meant for herself. Maybe both.

I didn't answer. I just took a behind sip, trying to dally it cool.

We talked a little retentive — about college, about the heat, about her flowers dying because she forgot to piddle them. But the completely time, there was this electric current running under it all. A quiet, electrical bombilation that said this wasn't just a friendly visit.

And when I finally stood up to go, she walked me to the door. deal on my shoulder. A smile that lingered just a moment too long.

"Come by anytime, Tommy. Door's always open."

The unhurt walk back to my home, I could still palpate where her hand had touched me.

The lemonade tasted sweet on my natural language, but not as sweet as her voice.

And that towel ? I couldn't stop picturing how soft it'd be for it to fall .