Love Thy Neighbor

2

"It's just a simple dinner, Devin. The man is grilling steaks, it's not like it's going to be some big formal thing." Melodie told her husband again who had been pacing the floor in their bedroom for the past twenty minutes. "You need to relax and lighten up. He's just a new neighbor being friendly and welcoming us to the neighborhood. Don't read more into it than that."

Devin wasn't convinced. His words were clipped. "It doesn't feel right."

Melodie couldn't help but scoff at his words. "I think you're jealous, hun." And from the way Devin tensed when she spoke, she knew the words were true.  She straightened on the bed, staring at her husband. "You are jealous." She stood while fixing her skirt, walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You don't need to be jealous of Christian. You're the only man for me. I mean, I married you after all."

Devin's body relaxed only a little bit. His shoulders slumped as he gripped her hand in his own, giving it a squeeze. "I'm sorry, Mel, it's just, I don't know what it is." He admitted. "Something just seemed off. I think I must be imagining thing being in a new place and all."

It was kind of how she had felt something was different earlier with Christian as well when they'd first met. The little ticks he kept doing whenever Devin had been mentioned or referred to. Maybe Devin felt something similar from him, or he was just being a protective husband, worried for his wife with a beautiful stranger.

"It's alright." She placed a small kiss on his shoulder before skirting around him, right for the door so they could head over to Christian's. "Play nice is all I ask. I want to make a good impression with our neighbors."

"I will." He promised coming up behind her and following her out the door. "For you."

...

They were about to walk up to the front door of Christians house when a whistle had them stopping in their steps. Melodie nearly dropped her bowl of salad at the sound. When she turned, she saw Christian waving over at them, a pair of tongs in his hand. He was standing in the side yard just on the other side of their shared fence, the grill smoking in front of him.

Melodie relaxed and smiled, lifting her bowl of salad as they walked closer to where Christian waited for them.

"I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to go to the store, so I hope a salad is okay for us to bring."

Christian laughed. "That's more than okay. Thanks for bringing it, and for actually coming over, I almost thought you wouldn't. Gives me the perfect excuse to grill up these steaks I've had sitting in my kitchen for a while."

"I'm sure your wife would love for you to grill." Devin said with a laugh that Christian didn't reciprocate.

"I'm not married, actually." He said, his eyes spilling over to Melodie for the briefest of seconds before turning back to give Devin his focus. "Haven't had much time for that sort of thing."

It was almost hard to believe. Christian was a gorgeous man, how could every man and woman in the world not want to climb over him and stake their claim to his body? Melodie sure did, even though she was married, and Devin had her heart, had since the day she met him.

Before memory lane could steal her away, Melodie blinked them back. She didn't have time for that, it'd be rude of her to do so, she was company after all.

"Is there anything either of us could do to help you out?" it was in her blood to be helpful; it wasn't easy for her to sit back and let others do things that she could easily do as well. Devin had stopped fighting her on that after their second date. It just wasn't worth the hassle.