I Love You, My Neighbour

Chapter 24: Okay With a Booty Call

LOGAN

I get out of the small, cramped hatchback Jamie's girlfriend drives and close the door behind me, looking through the open window at Gemma.

"Thanks for the lift, Gem."

"Anytime, Logan."

She's volunteered to play taxi service for the night so the guys and I can get drunk, play poker, and let loose. Tonight is the first real guys night Adam, Kyle, Jamie, and I have planned in a long, long time. With my move out of the way and most of the renovations on my house finished, we've all figured tonight would be a good night to take a break and just have some fun. Plus, I want to prove to myself that I can go a night without screwing my neighbour's brains out.

"Tell Jamie I'm not playing poker with him again anytime soon. He robbed me, that cheater."

Gemma laughs, makes a comment about bourbon clouding my usually sound judgement, then drives off.

The bourbon has impacted my poker playing skills, but truthfully, I've been distracted all night. Ever since Kristy agreed to the whole friends-with-benefits proposal I put forward two weeks ago, I haven't been able to stop thinking about my neighbor or what I want to do with her. I should be somewhat sated sexually since we've been hooking up like rabbits since Shark Bait. Yet I'm not.

After suppressing my libido for so long, it's come back with a vengeance. And the fact that Kristy seems as happy as I am to indulge in the perks of our new friends-with-benefits arrangement doesn't help one bit, either. She makes me feel like she can't get enough of me. Every time I touch her, her desire is as uncontrollable as my own. Our lust for each other feels like a train that has broken away from the tracks and now can't be stopped.

Being with her is quickly becoming an addiction, and I've started worrying that our arrangement is becoming far more than I ever intended it to be. We are, after all, spending every night together. That wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I suggested we become friends with benefits. Tonight, I've promised myself I won't knock on Kristy's door. I'm going to stay away from her. I can get through one night without her, can't I?

I turn around and look at our houses, nestled together. I already know she's home from her parent's place because I looked for her car as soon as her house came into view. I also know she's still up because the lights are on.

It's past one in the morning and I can't help wondering why she is still awake.

Do not knock on that door, Jacobs.

Fighting the urge to find out why Kristy is still up, I walk up to my front door and unlock it. My house is dark and unreasonably cold for the end of October. Worse still, the place feels...kind of foreign.

Before I move in, I spend nearly every waking minute at this house, fixing it up. But now I spend more time at Kristy's than I do here. In the beginning, my reasons for staying at Kristy's have more to do with the mess my new place is in after the move. But as I start to sort the place into some semblance of organised chaos, I begin to feel strange about having Kristy here. It probably has something to do with the fact that everything in this house reminds me of Izzy. Kristy has been over a few times over the past couple of weeks to help me unpack, and every time I see her surrounded by stuff that reminds me of Izzy, the entire situation seems wrong somehow. It's as though my past and my present are colliding and the results are a complete and utter mind-fuck.

Switching on a few lights, I start getting ready for bed. I've had a few – or more – bourbons so I'm not exactly quick on my feet, but I succeed in undressing myself, brushing my teeth, and drinking a litre of water – not exactly in that order – without falling down or injuring myself too badly. I switch off the lights once I'm ready, slide into bed and shut my eyes. Considering I'm exhausted and a little bit drunk, sleep should come easily.