The Guy Next Door

Chapter 20

20

ZANE

S ince Leif’s parents are gone for the week, I wind up staying over more often. It’s easy enough since I can bring my laptop and work at his desk. He’s got a strict no-guns-in-my-parents’-house rule, which is fair enough, but even without my gun, I’m more relaxed over here than I ever was watching surveillance footage from my place.

I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much goddamn food in my life, which is an amazing feeling. And we’re filling up in other ways too. Lots of BJs, jerking off, and anal that I can get whenever my dick’s hard.

Leif sates all my appetites.

Then after the final fucks at night, we’ll stream something. I’m willing to put up with a few romantic comedies for him, and he’s more open to psychological thrillers than straight-up horror, since apparently, I traumatized him with It Follows , which he’s still got on his mind even after a few days.

Unfortunately, playing house comes to an end when his parents come back the following week, but Leif doesn’t let that stop the sleepovers. Now he’s sneaking over to my place for the night.

But during the day, when he’s at his parents’, all my worries and anxieties are as intense as ever. My life is back to watching footage and cramming in work whenever I can manage. It’s the beginning of the second week of December when I get a text from Leif: So Mom and Dad wanted me to invite you to come over for dinner sometime this week.

They hadn’t mentioned it since they got back, so I was thinking they’d been busy trying to get back to their routine.

LEIF: Does my boyfriend have plans for Wednesday night?

A familiar swirl of warmth in my chest.

I can’t help myself—it feels so damn good every time either of us says it.

I’ve always thought that was such a stupid word: boyfriend . Doesn’t sound so stupid when Leif calls me it, though. I’ve never had one, and neither has he. For different reasons, obviously. Him because of the whole thinking he was straight, which is amusing, given the number of times I’ve come inside him since we started messing around. Me because I’d never met anyone I even considered doing something like that with.

Until Leif.

I was supposed to protect him, not fall for him, but I couldn’t help myself. He’s too fucking hot. Everything from that sexy-ass smile to those goddamn beanies. And now that I’ve gotten to know him, I’m greedy for more.

ME: You know damn well your boyfriend doesn’t have other plans. I’ll be there.

LEIF: Cool. I’ll let them know, and see you later tonight. ;)

Of course he’s gonna come over again, but hearing him say it excites me. My feelings for him are such a fucking cliché, and I don’t give a fuck as long as he’s mine.

*

“So…Zane, tell us about yourself,” Leif’s dad says as I’m scarfing down Leif’s roast.

Eh, not much to know. I’m kind of fucked up, and I’ve been protecting your son from what I think is a serial abductor, who I’m pretty sure abducted my brother and another guy, but maybe not, because sometimes I have trouble distinguishing between what’s real and what’s not. Also, I’ve been fucking your son. A. Lot. Like I don’t know if it’s normal for a guy to come so many times in one day. And we’re now officially an item. Can you pass the brussels sprouts?

I don’t say that, of course, but damn if it’s not right on the tip of my tongue.

Something about having so many goddamn secrets has them bubbling up to the surface, and the way I’m stuffing my face like I’m about to go into hibernation makes me think some part of me is trying to keep all those secrets down.

“Not much to know,” I say. “Grew up closer to the Snellville area. I’m a freelance IT guy. I do odd jobs here and there.”

“It must be expensive renting next door,” Ginny says.

“It’s pricey, but I do fine. And I cut back on other areas to make it work, you know?”

“Is there a reason you chose this neighborhood? Do you have family nearby?”

“Somewhat. Jill and Todd are about twenty miles from here.”

“Are those your parents?” Paul asks, squinting—maybe wondering why I’m using their first names.

“Foster parents. The better ones, so I keep in touch.”

“Oh, sorry,” Ginny says. “We didn’t mean to pry.”

“It’s all good.”

“Well, how have you liked the neighborhood so far?”

“It’s great. And Leif’s been helping me get to know the area better.”

Particularly the area around his ass.

“Can I grab some more of the brussels sprouts real quick?” I ask, and Leif passes them to me.

“So Leif told us you came over when there was that break-in?” Paul says.

“Yeah. I saw the guy outside, looking around your place, and I called the cops.”

True enough.

“We appreciate that. Otherwise they could have taken something or worse.”

If only he knew how bad the worse could have been.

“Well, don’t worry,” I say. “Your son’s safe as long as I’m next door.” It’s like my dumb fucking mouth is desperate to give me away, and as soon as Paul and Ginny react to the odd-ass comment, I say, “I meant, you guys are safe as long as I’m next door. I’ll keep an eye on your place, and you guys can keep an eye on mine, right? That’s what neighbors are for.”

Leif purses his lips.

You find this so fucking funny, don’t you?

I’d punish him later by edging him, but I doubt I’ll have that kind of self-restraint.

The rest of the dinner goes fine, and I have fewer slips, mainly because I’m wise enough to keep my damned mouth shut.

Afterward, I head back to my place and wait for Leif, who tells his parents he’s gonna come over and hang out. We fuck around some before lying in bed. I curl up close to him, his ass gravitating to my pelvis as our bodies lock together like a puzzle.

“Your parents are nice.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll keep them.”

I laugh. “You think they liked me? Or did I come off too weird?”

As he rolls toward me, I pull away to let him face me. “You worried they might not?”

“I don’t know. I said some weird shit…”

“You always say weird shit. That’s what I like about you.”

“You know that makes you really weird too, right?”

“I’m getting more comfortable with my weirdness,” he says, leaning close and offering a kiss. Gentle, tender. When he pulls away, he adds, “I think they like you.”

“I don’t think they’d like me if they knew all the bad things I had in mind for you tonight.”

“Talk is cheap.”

So I show him just how serious I am.

*

I’m sitting on a bench in a long, familiar hallway.

Muffled voices come from nearby—an office along the same wall as the bench.

I look down the hall again, trying to figure out where I am, when suddenly Shelly is standing beside me. She’s the social worker who’s been working with Mike and me.

She wears an apprehensive expression and makes eye contact as she says, “Zane, I’m sorry, but we won’t be able to find a family that can take both you and Mike.”

My heart sinks. I knew this would happen; another social worker had sworn to me we’d already had enough happen to us and that this will work out.

“But we were told we’d be kept together,” is all I can think to say.

She bites her lip. “We’ve done everything we can. We really were hoping, but it’s hard to find people to adopt kids your age already. Childcare facilities are packed, so we’re lucky if we’ll be able to place both of you anyway.”

“You won’t separate us! No one will separate us!” I shout, pushing to my feet and heading to the office. Somehow I know that’s where Mike is. I push it open, but now I’m outside and Shelly is standing in front of me.

Mike’s in tears as a man—one of the staff here at the facility—pulls him by his arm. Mike reaches back to me, his eyes wide with terror. “Zane! Zane!”

I start toward him when I feel an arm hook around my waist and pull me back.

“No! Let me go!” I turn to find another staff member. I hit and slap and struggle as he restrains me. “Mike! Mike!”

“I’m so sorry,” Shelly says.

In my fit, I realize this is a nightmare.

Because it’s already happened.

But even knowing my efforts are in vain, I must give this my all. So that I can, at least in this fantasy, see my brother one more time, talk to him. A desperate part of me will do whatever I need to spend another moment with even a dream version.

“Let me go!” I scream, but I can’t break free, and in the background, I hear Mike crying out, “Zane! Zane!”

As I turn back, expecting to see him being pulled away, he’s already gone.

“Let me go!” I plead, but it’s like no one hears my screams. No one cares how much I ache. Not even my own mind, which can only be putting me through this to make me suffer once again.

A quick jolt moves through me, and the nightmare is gone.

There’s only darkness. My eyelids are heavy as I start to open them. Seeing my desk and computer monitors, my dresser and open closet, I’m reminded I’m not a child anymore. As recollections from the night before filter through, I remember where I am in time—years away from that incident.

Leif and I stayed up later than we should have to watch two movies and part of a series we started a week ago, the night after my dinner with his parents. Usually when I wake, I have my arms securing Leif close, but they’re empty, and a surge of fear courses through me.

He’s gone.

Someone’s taken him.

Adrenaline races through me as I sit up.

I let my guard down, and now he’s fucking gone. But as I glance around, I discover him at my side, right where he usually is.

He’s here. He’s fine. He’s safe.

I repeat that mantra as I catch my breath.

My panicked movements weren’t subtle, so I’m not surprised when he stirs, his eyes opening. “What is it?”

“Nothing. I scared the shit out of myself. Thought you weren’t here.”

He smirks. “Was my short king worried about me?”

“Yes,” I say without a trace of humor.

He must realize how deadly serious I am because his expression twists into a frown and he props himself up on his elbow. “It’s okay. I’m right here.”

I relax on my back, and he cuddles up against me, burying his face in my chest.

Between how he’s gripping me and his words, my body relaxes. I kiss his head, his hair gently tickling my lips. “Sorry, I had a bad dream, so when I woke up, I was on edge.”

“What was it about?”

“It was about when Mike and I were at that children’s home. The social worker who promised they’d try to keep us together was there. Even when she first told us, I knew it was bullshit, but I think she was trying to set us at ease after everything that happened. She’s the one who let me know about the couple wanting to adopt Mike. I screamed and cried and tried to cause a big fuss, thinking it would make it stop. But crying doesn’t stop the world from being shit.” It’s a fact that weighs heavily on my chest.

“That’s horrible.” His gentle breath rushes against my skin.

“It’s still rattling me. In the dream, I’m putting up a bigger fight than I did back then. Like really doing what I think I should to keep them from taking him away, but they still do. And there’s nothing I can do to stop them.”

Leif kisses my chest and gazes up at me, worry in his expression.

“Sorry for waking you,” I say. “And good morning.”

He kisses near my pec. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about,” he assures me. “You want me to do something to take the edge off?”

“I don’t know how.”

I can barely process what he’s saying before he crawls down and takes my cock into his mouth.

I figure not even that would do me any good, but Leif knows how to work my dick after all this time we’ve spent together, and I relax and let him give this to me. It’s one of the wonderful perks about our little sleepovers, and it helps distract me from the haunting echoes from the past.

After his quick pre-breakfast swallow, I help him get off, and then we get up, brush our teeth, and take showers. I’m getting a morning shave in when I hear from the bedroom, “Dude, it snowed last night.”

“What?” I ask, even though I heard him.

The day before, I’d seen the app on my phone predict snow, but in Georgia, that rarely means snow.

I approach Leif and peek out the blinds. A white blanket covers my yard, the nearby rooftops suggesting at least half a foot.

“Holy shit,” I mutter.

“Mom said we might get an inch, but Jesus.”

Despite the heaviness that even Leif’s BJ couldn’t completely shake, some more of it lifts.

“Looks like we get to have a snow day,” I say, drawing him close and kissing his cheek, getting some shaving cream on his face.