Right Next Door

Chapter 2

Brian slowly opened his eyes and gazed around the room, trying to clear his fog ridden mind. A glance at the clock told him it was just after five. By the darkness coming through his windows, he knew that it was morning. He’d gone to bed at three o’clock the afternoon before and somehow managed to sleep for fourteen hours. Considering that he rarely slept more than five hours a night, this information surprised him. He blamed it on jet lag and his fourteen hour flight the day before. He dragged himself out of bed and immediately headed to the bathroom, his bladder protesting his long slumber. After relieving his bladder, he brushed his teeth and took a shower, standing under the hot water in hopes of reviving himself. It didn’t work as well as Brian hoped, but it did give him enough energy to get dressed to go out. He needed to run to the 24 hour grocery store across town and stock up on a few things. He didn’t even have coffee in the house thanks to his eight month absence.

He quickly dressed and grabbed his keys and wallet before heading out to the car. In the faint light from the rising sun, he was able to make out two lone figures walking down the street. One he immediately recognized as his neighbor, the other, the pint sized terror on four legs. Okay, so the puppy wasn’t a terror, but Brian never felt comfortable around dogs. They had a tendency to shed and drool, making a mess everywhere they went. Brian hated messes.

The trip to the store took a little longer than Brian thought and by the time he got home, the house next door was showing signs of life. He paid no attention to his neighbors and started carrying in his bags quickly. As he pulled the last one out of the trunk and slammed the door, he noticed a woman coming out of the house. A very large woman. From his view he could clearly see that she was pregnant.

“Great, another one,” he muttered to himself as he went inside, determined to keep his distance.

He spent twenty minutes putting the groceries away and then started a load of laundry before going down into the basement to begin his morning workout. Another perk of owning a house was that he had the space to set up a small gym, thus making it easier to stay in shape. He’d been neglecting his routine while he was away and promised himself that he would jump right back in as soon as he got home.

An hour later, covered in sweat, he was back in the shower. He was satisfied with his workout and ready to begin his day. He needed to call around and find someone to open the pool, check in at the office, and call his cleaning service to let them know that he was back. During his absence, he arranged for service to be changed from weekly to twice a month. Now they needed to go back to weekly visits. Once those tasks were finished, Brian grabbed his laptop and headed out to the back porch in hopes of getting caught up on some work. Another thing he neglected while he was away. He should’ve known that would be too easy.

“Hey Mister, whatcha doing?”

Brian looked up from his computer screen to see the little girl from the day before standing there looking at him expectantly. “I’m trying to work.” He put an emphasis on trying, but it apparently went over the girls head.

“What do you do?”

“Advertising,” Brian replied as he tried focusing back on the computer.

“What’s that?” she continued.

Brian sighed loudly as he closed the screen. “You know those commercials that you watch on TV? That’s what I do.”

Hailey thought about that for a minute before changing topics, her interest in work already gone. “Do you have any kids?”

“No. Listen, I’m really busy right now. Don’t you have a doll or something you should be playing with?”

“She’s sleeping.”

Brian laughed outright at her seriousness. “Well, I’m sure you can find something to do.”

“How come you don’t like us?” she asked suddenly.

“Huh?”

“Mommy said that you probably just don’t like people. Is that true? How come you don’t like people?”

“I like people…kind of,” Brian replied, wondering why he was defending himself to a child. “Now go on back to…”

He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence before the little boy spotted them and came running over with puppy in tow. Brian tried not to cringe when the puppy jumped up, placing his front paws on Brian’s shins, trying desperately to climb up into his lap.

“Hailey, Mommy said that we weren’t allowed to come over here, remember? She said that he’s mean,” Jared said accusingly.

“He’s not mean. He even kind of likes people. Right Mister?”

“Damn it, would you get off me?” Brian barked, pushing the furry creature off his legs.

“Oooooh…you said a bad word,” Hailey said, giving Brian a look that told him he had committed a crime.

“Yeah, well this is my yard and I’m allowed to say whatever I want.”

“You shouldn’t say things like that in front of kids. We’re impressionable, you know,” Jared pointed out.

“Impressionable? Where did you learn that? Has Sesame Street evolved?”

“I don’t watch Sesame Street?” Jared replied, clearly insulted. “That’s for babies and I’m five.”

“I stand corrected. Now will you two please run along so I can get back to work? And take your mutt with you before he digs up all my flowerbeds,” Brian grumbled as he saw the puppy going to town on his flowers.

“He’s not a mutt. He’s a puppy,” Hailey pointed out. “Don’t you know what a puppy is?”

“Of course I know what a puppy is,” Brian sighed in exasperation. “Look, I’m sure you two have more important things to do that to stand here and bother me.”

Before he could effectively send the kids on their way, Brian’s cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and groaned. Mikey. Like he didn’t already have enough with children for the day.

“What’s up Mikey?”

“Brian, Ted told me that you were home. Why didn’t you call me?” Michael asked.

“Because I was too busy trying to decide where to hide Theodore’s body,” Brian replied, wondering what Ted didn’t understand about don’t tell anyone I’m back. “I just got home yesterday and spent most of the day sleeping off jet lag.”

“Oh good, then you’re up to a trip to Woody’s tonight.”

“I don’t know, Mikey. I’ve got a lot of work to do,” Brian said.

“But Brian, we have to have a welcome home drink. Besides, I want to hear all about your trip. Are the guys of Amsterdam as hot as the guys of Pittsburgh?”

“Hotter, and boy do they know how to give a blow job. Listen Mikey, I really do have things to do. I’ll give you a call later and let you know about tonight,” Brian promised.

“Okay, but I’m not really good at taking no for an answer.”

“I know. I’ve met your mother. Later.”

Brian put down his phone and focused on the two kids in front of him. He’d forgotten they were there. “What are you still doing here?”

“What’s a blow job?” Jared asked in confusion.

“Fu…” Brian started, but caught himself in time. “That’s it. It’s time for you to go home.”

Brian almost shouted for joy when the children’s mother came outside and called for them. After a quick goodbye, all three of them disappeared, leaving Brian alone with his thoughts. Funny, but they started surrounding a certain blond next door instead of the Mighty Mints campaign in front of him. He growled in frustration as he slammed his laptop closed and stormed into the house. So much for getting any work done.

Molly was standing in the kitchen by the sink, drinking water when the kids came running inside, Mocha barking behind them. She had a splitting headache thanks to her inability to sleep through the night. The baby seemed to be very restless in the late hours and was constantly pressing on her bladder and waking her up. Justin was locked up in his studio and she needed to lay down for awhile. She was surprised when she went outside to call the kids and found them over at the neighbor’s house.

“Mommy, I told you Mister wasn’t mean. He even likes people kind of,” Hailey blurted out as soon as she saw her mother. “What’s a blow job?”

It was a good thing that the cup was plastic, because hearing her daughter’s question caused her to lose her grip. She was hardly aware of the water that splashed all over the floor. “Honey, where did you hear that?”

“Mister got a phone call and he told someone named Mikey that he knew people who knew how to give a blow job. What does that mean?”

“Justin!” Molly yelled. “Justin, get in here.”

Justin heard his sister’s cries and immediately rushed out of the studio and into the kitchen. “Mol, what is it? Are you okay? Is it the baby? Come over here and sit down.” He carefully led Molly to the nearest chair. “Jared, go get the mop out of the pantry.”

Molly sank down in the chair and laughed. She blamed it on her exhaustion, but she suddenly couldn’t stop laughing over the entire situation. Seeing Justin look at her like she lost her mind just made her laugh more and soon she had tears running down her cheeks.

“Uncle Jus, what’s wrong with Mommy?” Hailey asked in a small voice. “I didn’t mean to upset her.”

“Pumpkin, it’s okay. I think that Mommy’s just really tired right now and maybe having a bad day,” Justin said, trying to soothe his niece’s conscience. “Mol, what’s going on?”

“I’m sorry,” Molly said as she struggled to regain her composure. “I don’t know what came over me. All of the sudden it just seemed funny.”

“What seemed funny?” Justin asked in confusion.

“The children have apparently been talking to the neighbor again,” she explained before looking at her daughter. “Go ahead, Honey. Ask Uncle Justin the question you asked me.”

Hailey hesitated for a moment. She didn’t want to upset her Mommy again, but when her mother nodded her head encouragingly, she knew she had no choice. “Uncle Justin, what’s a blow job?”

Justin looked at his niece in horror. “Where…what…uh…” he stammered, unsure of how to respond. He turned to Jared, who was standing there with the mop in his hand. “Jared, why don’t you take your sister and go upstairs and play?”

Jared was confused, but agreed. “Come on Hail,” he said as he handed the mop to his uncle and left the kitchen.

Justin waited until he heard the sound of feet climbing the stairs before looking at his sister. “Where the fuck did she hear that from?”

“Well apparently our neighbor knows people who know how to give a blow job,” Molly explained, a small giggle escaping her. “Sorry about scaring you. I guess I was just surprised. I’ve always been so careful about what I say in front of the children and her question kind of threw me. I don’t think it’s a good idea for them to be talking to that man. He’s obviously got some serious issues.”

“You’re right. Here, take this. I’ll be right back.” Justin handed Molly the mop and started for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“To have a little chat with our neighbor,” Justin called over his shoulder as he walked outside.

Brian was sitting in front of the TV, flipping through channel after channel, wondering how he could have 900 channels and nothing decent to watch, when the doorbell rang. He groaned and turned off the TV before heading to the door. He was startled when he saw his blond neighbor standing there looking very unhappy.

“I want you to stay away from the kids,” Justin stated.

“Excuse me? I think you have it backwards. They need to stay away from me. I told you yesterday to keep them out of my yard. I was sitting out on my deck, trying to get some work done, when they showed up here. I tried to get them to go away, but they’re very persistent. Especially the girl.”

“Next time try harder!” Justin exclaimed.

“Why don’t you try harder to keep them in their own yard? It’s not my job to watch over your children. This is my house, my yard, and I don’t have to answer to anyone,” Brian spat.

“Oh, so since it’s your yard it’s okay to talk to innocent children about sex? Molly almost went into premature labor when her five year old daughter asked her what a blow job is.”

Brian couldn’t help it. He laughed at the thought of the little girl asking her mother about sucking cock.

“It’s not funny! How can you laugh over something like this? She’s five years old, for Christ’s sake.” Justin was fuming.

“Okay…look, I’m sorry, alright? It wasn’t like I was talking to her about it. I got a phone call from a friend and she happened to overhear me talking about blow jobs. I had forgotten they were there,” Brian tried to explain.

“Do you make it a habit of talking to your friends about blow jobs?” Justin inquired, hoping that the guy didn’t notice the sudden change in the tone of his voice. The thought of him talking about blow jobs set off a strange tingling in his body, as he suddenly realized how attractive the man was. Really, really attractive. Attractive in that I want to be under you screaming your name kind of way.

“Not normally. I’m more of a less talk, more action kind of guy,” Brian drawled, his gaydar suddenly kicking in and pinging madly. “Don’t you talk to your friends about blow jobs?”

“I…uh…,” Justin stuttered nervously. “No, I don’t…but if I did, I certainly wouldn’t do it in front of a couple of five year olds.”

“That’s too bad,” Brian smiled slightly at the blush on Justin’s face but then turned serious. “But I’ll say it again. Keep your kids in your own yard and there won’t be any problems.”

“You’re the most infuriating man I’ve ever met, you know that? I don’t know why I even bother,” Justin barked as he spun on his heels and stormed off the porch. He was half way to his yard when he heard his neighbor’s voice calling out to him.

“Justin, isn’t it?” Brian recalled from memory. “If you ever want to sit down and discuss blow jobs, you know where to find me.”

Justin ignored him and continued on to the house, refusing to acknowledge the desire that was coursing through him. As he walked into the living room, he saw Molly sleeping on the couch, something that happened frequently. He covered her with a blanket, checked on the kids upstairs, and then went into his studio to continue the work that he’d left behind when Molly had called for him. The only problem was that instead of focusing on the designs in front of him, all he could think about were hazel eyes and a killer smile.

*****

Brian was standing at the bar in Woody’s, still smiling over his confrontation with his neighbor. He could clearly remember the moment Justin went from being pissed off to being somewhat aroused. It was the same moment he realized that Justin wasn’t as hetero as he originally thought. That amused him, but he had to stop thinking about it. The only thing Brian hated more than homophobes were men who kept themselves so buried in the closet, they couldn’t find their way out. A wife, 2.5 children, and a dog was a sure sign that Justin’s closet was deep. Why else would he be living the happy hetero life? Luckily Michael and Ben showed up at that moment and pushed away any further thoughts of Justin. Ted, Blake, and Emmett showed up twenty minutes later and pretty soon they were all engaged in animated conversation. Brian gave a brief recap of his trip, leaving out the parts about the extensive research he did for his novel. Everyone agreed that it sounded like a great place and talked about one day visiting for themselves. After that, conversation turned towards Brian’s house and Emmett was quick to jump in with another one of his half-baked ideas.

“You should have a party. A barbeque maybe? It’s the perfect season for it and with that yard you have…and the pool. It would be perfect. 

“Oh yeah, because I’m just the hostess with the mostess,” Brian replied dryly.

“That’s a great idea, Em,” Michael said, ignoring Brian’s obvious distaste for the idea. “I know we all get together at Ma’s, but her house isn’t really big enough for all of us to have any real fun. We could grill some steaks and hang out by the pool.” He looked over at Brian to gauge his reaction. “What do you say, Brian? We could get as loud as we want and not worry about it since you’re the only one on the block.”

“Not anymore,” Brian said as he downed his drink and signaled for another one.

“What do you mean not anymore?” Ted asked curiously.

“I mean that I’m not the only house on the block anymore. I have new neighbors right next door. While I was gone my street was invaded by heteros.”

“You mean someone else lives there now?” Michael asked.

“Very good, Mikey. I always knew there was more in that brain of yours than superheroes,” Brian quipped.

“Wow, that was fast. I thought your agent said she didn’t think anyone would be interested in building there,” Ben said,

“Apparently she was wrong, the bitch. A husband, pregnant wife, two kids and a dog. I’m in hell.”

“Then I guess a barbeque is really out of the question now. I don’t think your new neighbors are ready for that just yet,” Ben pointed out thoughtfully.

As soon as Brian heard that, the wheels in his mind started spinning. What better to torment a closeted fag than to give him a close-up view of how the other half lived? He wasn’t sure why the urge to torment Justin was so important to him, but there was something about the blond that made Brian want to rile him up. Maybe it had something to do with the heat he saw in those blue eyes right before they disappeared that afternoon.

“How does next Saturday sound to everyone?” he asked with a smirk.

“Brian, do you think that’s a good idea? You’ve only been living next to them for 24 hours. Maybe you shouldn’t rock the boat just yet,” Michael said.

“Trust me Mikey, it’s perfect,” Brian assured him.

“Yay!” Emmett exclaimed gaily. “I’ll start making up a list of things we need. Oh, and we need a theme. Can’t have a party without a theme.”

Brian groaned at Emmett’s enthusiasm but let the man begin his planning. He didn’t really care what theme Emmett chose. All he cared about was seeing Justin’s reaction to a back yard filled with half naked queers.

*****

Molly waited until the kids were in bed before seeking out her brother. It was obvious that something was bothering him, and though she didn’t know what it was, she had a feeling it had something to do with their new neighbor. She found him sitting out on the back deck with a drink in his hand.

“Okay Jus, tell me what’s wrong?” she asked as she took as seat across from him. 

“Nothing’s wrong,” Justin lied.

“Bullshit. You were fine before I fell asleep and the only time you left the house today was to go talk to our neighbor. I’m taking it things didn’t go well?”

“He is the most irritating man I’ve ever met! I mean, he gives the word asshole a whole new meaning!” Justin exclaimed.

“Okay, slow down and tell me what happened.”

“He apologized for the blow job comment. He said he was talking to one of his friends and forgot that the kids were there, but then he said that if we kept the kids in our yard, it wouldn’t have happened. Can you believe that?”

“Well, he has a point.” Molly laughed at the glare Justin gave her. “Come on, Jus. He’s right. If Hailey and Jared stayed in our yard, like I told them to, they wouldn’t have been there to hear his conversation. That can’t be the reason you’re so upset. What else happened?”

“Nothing,” Justin mumbled.

“Jus, you suck at lying. You know that, right?” she chuckled. “Now tell me what else he said that has you so upset.”

Justin sighed before answering. “I asked him if he normally talked to his friends about blow jobs and he told me he was more into action and then asked me if I talk to my friends about blow jobs. Then he actually had the nerve to tell me that if I ever wanted to talk about it, I knew where to find him.”

Molly stared at Justin for a minute before breaking out into giggles.

“What are you laughing at?” Justin sneered.

“Isn’t it obvious? He’s gay and he was teasing you?” Molly laughed.

“He is not…and it doesn’t matter anyway. He’s an asshole,” Justin replied angrily. “What makes you think he’s gay?”

“Oh please. A single guy, living alone, on the phone with a friend talking about blow jobs? Doesn’t that describe half the conversations you used to have with your friends?”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” he insisted.

“Okay, what about the offer to go talk to him about them? Face it Big Brother, our new neighbor plays for your team,” Molly said, still laughing.

“Yeah, well even if he does, it doesn’t matter. He’s an ass and I have no intention of talking to him about blow jobs, the weather, or anything else for that matter. As far as I’m concerned, he can stay on his property and we’ll stay on ours. We’ll never have to speak to each other again,” Justin stated.

“Hey, that’s fine by me, but you better talk to your niece and nephew. They’re the ones who keep going over there and bothering him. They obviously aren’t listening to me,” Molly told him. She leaned over and kissed his cheek before struggling to her feet. “I’m going up to bed. Good night Jus.”

“Night Mol,” Justin replied, mentally preparing his conversation with the kids. Maybe telling them that the neighbor ate children for lunch would keep them away. He wasn’t opposed to scaring them if it meant no more run-ins with the guy.

*****

Brian felt ridiculous. He was standing at his back door, looking out for signs of the trouble twins before he went out and sat in his own back yard. There was something really wrong with that picture. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he went outside and sat down at the pool, letting his legs dangle in the water. All he wanted to do was relax and enjoy the outdoors. He never did before, but since buying the house, he was learning to appreciate nice days and his own yard. He sat there for a few minutes before stripping off his shirt and diving into the cool water. Within minutes, he began swimming laps back and forth, enjoying the physical exertion. He even thought of passing up a morning or two of his usual workout, using the pool in its place. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been swimming or how many laps he completed, when he decided to come up for air. As soon as he broke the surface he spotted his audience standing off to the side, staring at him.

“What are you two doing here?”

“We were bored. There’s nothing to do at our house,” Jared said by way of explanation.

“And watching me swim is entertaining?” he asked as he pulled himself out of the pool and reached for his towel. “Besides, you shouldn’t get too close to the pool. You could fall in and get hurt.”

“You should have a fence up around it. Grandma and Grandpa have a fence around their pool so we can’t fall in” Hailey replied.

“Well, if you two stayed in your own yard, you wouldn’t be able to fall in,” Brian grunted.

“We’ll just be careful,” Jared told him, ignoring the point Brian was trying to make. “What’s your name? Me and Hail are getting tired of calling you Mister.”

Brian thought about refusing to tell them, but he didn’t figure there was a point. For some reason, his appeal ranged from gay men to children the age of five. “My name’s Brian.”

Before the kids had time to respond, a voice called from the front of the house, causing Brian to cringe.

“Yoo hoo, is anyone home?”

“I’m back here, Emmett,” Brian called out.

Emmett appeared around the corner and stopped when he noticed Brian had company. “And who do we have here?”

“I’m Jared and this is my sister Hailey. We’re twins and we live next door,” Jared explained.

Emmett walked over to them with a smile on his face. “Well aren’t you two just adorable. I’m Emmett. What are you two doing with the Big Bad Kinney?”

“Shut up Emmett,” Brian barked.

“Who?” Hailey asked in confusion. “We were just talking to Mist…I mean Brian. We’re his friends. Are you his friend, too?”

“Well sweetie, that all depends on the day,” Emmett laughed.

“Emmett, what the fu…what are you doing here?”

“I came to have a better look around so I know what I need for the party,” Emmett explained.

“You’re having a party?” Jared asked.

“Can we come?” Hailey piped in.

“No, you can’t come. It’s a grown up party. Now why don’t you two run along so that I can talk to my friend?” Brian suggested.

“Are you going to talk about blow jobs?” Hailey asked innocently.

“Excuse me?” Emmett asked in shock.

“It’s a long story,” Brian mumbled before turning to the kids. “Go on, get out of here.”

Neither of the kids seemed fazed by Brian’s gruff attitude. “Okay, we’ll see you later Brian.”

Brian watched them go before turning back to Emmett, noting the smirk on his face. “Not one word or I’ll drown you in the pool.”

“Oh my, and here I thought it was going to be a boring day,” Emmett laughed.

“I’m going to take a shower. Take a look around and when I get back, if I hear one word about the demon spawns, you’ll be kissing the bottom of the pool.” With those parting words, Brian stormed into the house, leaving a very amused Emmett behind, reaching for his phone.

“Teddy, you’ll never guess what I just witnessed,” he whispered as soon as he heard Ted’s voice on the other end of the line.

End of part 2

08/10/06

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