In My Neighbor's Bed

Ch. 1: Welcome to the Neighborhood

"Ugh, you sound like my husband," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"I should be so lucky," he said with a wink.

Immediately, all the blood in my body rushed to my face. My mind was such a mess that I couldn't even respond. Why was I so flustered though? It wasn't even that suggestive of a comment. God, had it really been that long since a guy had flirted with me?

He backtracked as soon as he saw my face. "Ah, I'm sorry. That was completely inappropriate."

"No, no. It's fine," I reassured him. "Just not used to hearing things like that I guess."

"Well, you should be."

Again, such a little comment, but it threw me off a lot more than it should have. I didn't even notice that he had moved closer to me until he was about an inch away from my face. I could feel my heart racing in my chest. My mind went hazy as he reached towards me.

Only he wasn't. Instead, he reached past me, nudging the boards of the fence. He frowned as he looked at them.

"In all seriousness though, this isn't safe. Not to overstep or anything, but you guys should really get this fixed."

"Ah, well, that's a little difficult actually," I mumbled, avoiding eye contact. "I-I'm no good with tools myself and Phil works all the time. He's too cheap to pay someone else to do it too, so it kind of leaves us without too many options."

Mason stared at the fence. He pushed the boards gently with his fingers a couple more times before finally pulling back. He smiled at me.

"Well, how about I help?" he offered. "I'm no Bob the Builder or anything, but I know my way around a hammer. Why don't I come by tomorrow and fix it for you?"

"What? No," I said immediately. "I-I mean, it's very nice of you to offer, but I couldn't.

"Aside from my husband being a cheapskate, you just moved in. You already have enough on your plate without having to worry about my home repairs too."

"Exactly, I need the distraction," he laughed. "Otherwise, I have to get around to tackling all this mess."

He gestured vaguely to the pile of boxes outside the house. I bit my lip. It was certainly a tempting offer. Aside from finally getting the damn fence fixed, I wouldn't really say I was opposed to the idea of having an attractive, muscular guy hanging around the house either.

I shook my head as if to shake the very idea from it. What the hell was I just thinking? I couldn't just bring some random hot guy in to fix my fence. What would I do if Phil found out?

"Sorry, but it just feels like I'd be taking advantage of your kindness."

He gave a slight nod. Maybe it was just my imagination, but he almost looked disappointed. However, he perked up again just as quickly.

"Alright then, how about a trade?" he suggested.

"A trade?"

"Yup. I fix your fence for you, and in exchange, you help me unpack all this crap. Win-win, right?"

Again, temptation reared its ugly head. I mean, would it really be so bad to let him fix the fence?

At this rate, Phil would never get around to doing it. And if he asked, I could just tell him the "truth" and say a neighbor fixed it. Besides, it was just a fence. It's not like I was going to let him strip me down and fuck me on it afterward or anything. Not that I would be opposed, of course.

I shoved that last thought back where it came from and forced a smile to my face. "You know what? Why not? Sounds good. I'm home all day tomorrow, so you can just drop by whenever works for you."