“Hi, I’m Jim.” He had a pleasant voice, warm and soothing, like the velvety texture of dark chocolate. “My partner says I’m being impetuous, but I saw you peeking through the window and thought I’d drop by to assure you we’re not aliens moving into your neighborhood. Just regular people—Jim and Merry.”
Oh, drat, he was taken. I must have been wrong about the interest I’d seen in his eyes.
“Jim!” Cairo shouted from behind me. My mouth fell open as he passed me, and he and the man embraced.
Jim! Could it be the Jim from work Cairo had told me about? I hadn’t seen a picture of the guy, but Cairo had been open about them having lunch together, which sort of budded from him showing the new guy around.
“Cairo, man, am I glad to see you. You didn’t mention you lived in this neighborhood.”
“You didn’t mention you were moving.”
I cleared my throat, feeling left out of the conversation.
“Oops, my bad.” Cairo placed an arm around me and pulled me to his side. “Babe, this is the Jim I told you about from work, so I can vouch for him that he’s not an alien. Jim, this is my husband, Brandt.”
“Hi Jim, nice to meet you.”
He shook my hand, his grip firm. Tingles shot up my arm when his gaze fell fully on me once more with undivided attention, just like Cairo had done when we first met. I’d fallen for Cairo then and there. He’d made me feel like the only person in his world. I’d never thought anyone else would look at me that way again.
“Brandt, the pleasure is all mine.”
Holy shit, why did I get the impression he meant that?
A man with long blond hair down to his shoulders walked from the house next door, carrying a white Maine Coone in his arms. He seemed to be in his midtwenties. Tiny high-waisted shorts with a textured pattern and white trim around the edges showed off long, toned legs. He had complemented his outfit with a pair of white and rainbow Chuck Taylor All Star Pride from Converse. I knew the specific details because I had a similar pair.
“Merry, come on. Meet our neighbors.”
Merry stopped next to him, stroking the cat. “Hi! I hope Jim hasn’t been bothering you. I told him we should settle in first before we disturb everyone.”
A barbell piercing flashed on his tongue, matching the several piercings adorning his ears and left nostril.
“It’s no disturbance at all,” I said. “We’re always happy to meet our neighbors.”
“Believe him,” Cairo said. “He was thinking of making you all a chocolate mocha cake when you knocked.”
“Yes, please,” Merry said sweetly. “That sounds so yummy.”
Oh fuck, the way he said “yummy” went straight to my dick. Those two really suited each other.
“All right, I’ll definitely bring one over soon. I will have some time this weekend.”
“Sounds great. Then you should stay for dinner so we can get to know each other better.” Jim brushed a lock of hair from Merry’s forehead. “Guess what, Merry Berry? This is the Cairo from work I told you about. The one who’s been super helpful.”
“Ah,thatCairo.”
They exchanged a look.
Cairo and I exchanged a look.
When we glanced back at them, they were smiling, with a spark in their eyes that was hard to read. If we were single, I would think they were hitting on us. Maybe Cairo and I’d been talking too much about adding a couple to our relationship.
“By the way, do you know whose cat this is?” Merry asked. “I found her lying on top of one of our boxes in the yard. Figured she belongs to a neighbor.”
“She’s ours.” I held my arms out, and Merry kissed the head of our purring cat and handed her to me. “Thank you. She doesn’t normally leave our house.”
“I was shocked to see her wandering around,” Merry said. “A white Maine Coone isn’t something you see every day. How long have you had her?”
“Almost six years now.” I glanced at Cairo to confirm, and he nodded.