“Hello, Avery. Once again, I want to apologize for yesterday. I hope your heart is back to its normal rhythm after your near cardiac arrest.”
This gives her pause, and then she erupts into absolute hysterics, holding her side. “Ah, you’re funny, Rowan. And no problem. I mean, it’s quite comical once you think about it.”
The large box in my arms is getting heavier by the moment, and I turn, without explanation, to the house. “I’m getting inside before I drop this box,” I explain.
Avery hollers from behind me, “It goes in the living room to the right.”
“Oh, good to know because once I drop it, it’s not moving,” I call back.
The house is lovely, the best on the block, but I’ve never been inside. I circle the room, taking in the beauty of the ornate moldings in the living room and the cherry floors.
My mind is on the house when Knox’s hand connects with my ass. He loves slapping my rear. It’s like the man can’t keep his hands off it. I certainly don’t mind. His lips make contact with my ear. “Hey, hon. Are you okay?” he asks as his arms circle my waist.
“Oh, yeah, this house is one of beauty,” I reply, and I take in the same cherry wood used for the cabinets as on the wood floors. “I sort of wish we’d bought it now.” It was a discussion we had, knowing it would go quick. And because it’s the envy of the neighborhood, we considered it, but we’d rebuilt our Tudor from the ground up and weren’t willing to give up the memories of making our home ours.
“Yeah, wait until you see the library.” He pulls on my hand and pushes back two pocket doors to a room full of bookshelves surrounding a purple chaise lounge and a velvet couch. I always say everything is better with pocket doors.
I pull Knox to my side. “Yeah, I love this house, but I think we did the right thing.” I drop a kiss on his forehead as we’re alone in the room.
“Ah, I wondered where you both took off to. You found my favorite part of the house.” Avery’s pink cheeks beam with pride. “I’m going to fill this with all my favorite books.” She opens her mouth to continue but is interrupted when a young woman in all black—from combat boots to jeans, top, and hair—appears with a box in her hands.
“And believe me, Ave has a fuck ton of books, too.”
Avery playfully slugs her, turning to me. “Oh, Knox, you remember my sister, Whitney. And, Rowan, please forgive her foul mouth. It’s not a battle I plan to fight.”
“’Cause you’d fucking lose, sis.” The girl in all black pulls her sister into her side. “But you love me, Ave.”
“It’s just ’cause I have to keep your obnoxious self around.” Avery’s interaction with her sister pulls a smile from my lips. “Anyway, Rowan, as I was saying, this is my favorite room in the house, and because I want to be surrounded by my most beloved books and knickknacks, this will be the hangout room, TV room, and pretty much whatever I deem it to be.”
The black-haired girl who I now know as Whitney begins to giggle. “So you’re the one who scared the shit out of my sister. I wish I could have seen it. I would have doubled over.”
Avery shoves at her sister again. “Don’t you have someplace to be, like anywhere but here?”
“Yeah, I have a room I need to paint black, remember?” And she slips away from us before Avery can respond.
“Is she really going to paint her room black?” I ask, wondering what their story is.
“I’ve given her full rein. Who knows what she’ll do?” With a shrug of her shoulders, she winks my way as she turns on her heels toward the other side of the house.
I don’t read social cues well at all, but if I had to guess, I’d almost say she was flirting with us.
“Sweetheart?” I call out from our en suite. We didn’t stay over at Avery’s much longer. It’s as if Knox could sense my discomfort.
He’s already in bed, setting up a movie for us because it’s what we do on the weekends. “Yeah, hon?”
I tap my toothbrush on the edge of the sink, trying to rid it of as much excess water as possible. “I’m sorry we left earlier than you wanted,” I start.
He pulls the comforter out for me, and I crawl against his welcoming body. “Nah, don’t worry about it. She’s not going anywhere, so we’ll have some time to get to know her better. Anyway, it’s Saturday night. I know we always say we’ll watch a movie, but it’s only a pretense to fuck you.”
His touch connects with me. It’s immediate, and I let out a long moan. “Is that what we do?”
I hate to be touched, so I knew it was something special with Knox when I craved his hands on mine. And it was more evident when I took charge of our sex life.
“Yeah, hon, it’s what we do.” His stroke begins at the base of my cock.
I move his face to mine as an idea forms in my head. “And what would you say if I wanted to imagine the sweet and sexy Avery between us right now?”
At the suggestion, his free hand moves to his cock and begins to rub in slow, lazy strokes.
“I’d say,” he begins, “you should imagine that my attention on you is her pussy while I pretend my hand on my erection is her mouth.”
We’re two men with a large sexual appetite. It never surprises me what sort of filthy smut comes from our lips, especially on the preamble of sex.
“If your hand is her pussy, I’d say it needs to be wet.” I lean over just enough to grab the lube from the end table.
“You’re shy around others, but what the hell would others think if they knew how fucking kinky you were?”
“But, Knox Glacier, you’re the one who brings it out in me.” I squeeze a generous portion of lube on his fingers, and with the increase in his speed, my eyes roll back in my head, my orgasm building quicker and quicker.
“Ro, I love you so much. Fuck, I love you.”
Upon his declaration, I come. I take over for him even though I still see stars from the hand job he’d just blown my mind with. It’s not long until he follows suit, and we’re a sticky mess, but the idea of our muse remains on our minds all night.
4
Avery
I know very little about my new neighbors. But to say I’m enamored by them is an understatement as my attention is on their home. I’m shameless, and I find every excuse to be outside on this crisp snowy morning to catch a glimpse of them.
My little sister broke curfew last night, but I’ve let her think she’s snuck one over on me until she wakes up and I’m able to break the news that she’s caught. I was up, having heard her keys jingle in the door at two in the morning.
I can only justify being outside for so long as I pull my beanie cap farther down to cover my ears. I’ve already emptied all the boxes in my garage, and now I’m simply staring at the cute Tudor next door.
Standing in the middle of my front yard, I take stock of the bushes and trees that frame my house. It’s a lovely landscape, especially with the fresh layer of the wintery wonderland, and I can’t wait until the spring when I’m able to see the yard in full bloom. I won’t be able to make a plan until I examine all the perennials that return. But I’m giddy for the chance to really get my hands dirty and make the yard more mine.