Page 28 of Succeeding Love

“You’re acting like you’re not already neighbors, weirdo. Just go across the street and ask to borrow a cup of sugar and see if he’d like to pet your naked mole rat while he’s at it.”

“Kate!”

“What?” She took a long sip of her coffee. “Want me to ask him for you?”

“Do I want you to ask him to pet my naked mole rat?” I giggled.

“Yes. Yes you do,” she answered like I was asking her the question and not pointing out how ridiculous she sounded. “I kind of want to meet him face to face, anyway.”

Right then, my doorbell rang and Kevin went nuts. He barked at the window, and Kate looked at me with that gleam in her eyes. She hopped up and ran for the front door before me, looking excitedly through the peephole. Her excitement grew, and she threw open the door when I reached her.

“Flowers!” She bent down and lifted the vase full of roses from my porch. I was busy staring at the handsome man getting into the driver’s seat of his action hero car. “To Lynn, I had a great time with you last night. I believe the next date is yours to plan, so give me a text when you can with the details. I’m looking forward to hearing from you soon. Your action hero,” Kate read the card in the petals as I waved to Vin, who was driving off down the street. I swear I could see him blushing, which made him even more attractive. “Oh my gosh, Fay! Or should I say,Lynn,” she laughed. “This is the sweetest! I’m going to text him for you right now!”

“Don’t you dare.” I snatched the card from her hands, cradling it to my chest. “Get your own flowers.”

“I should,” she sighed. “I’m texting my husband instead.”

I carried the flowers and card back to the kitchen, reading the card repeatedly with a big smile on my face as Kate called her husband and picked a fight about wanting flowers. This really was the sweetest gesture ever, and I wanted to plan so I could text him soon.

Tattooed Hoodlum

Vin

“You just dropped the flowers on her porch and drove off?” Al Milton, my childhood friend, laughed at me. “Scared she would call the cops on you for assaulting her the night before?”

“I didn’t assault her,” I muttered, knocking back my beer. “I just kissed her.”

“Oh, my bad,” Milton snorted. “Kissing her in front of her ex-husband to make him jealous could never be construed as assault. Especially when she tells you to go home.”

I glowered at my friend. “I’m not telling you shit anymore.” I’m embarrassed enough thinking about that night. Not that I regret a damn thing. She loved it. I could tell by her reaction, and I’ve been thinking about that kiss endlessly ever since.

“Ah, come on,” he chuckled, signaling to the bartender to bring us more beers. “I’m just playing. You know I got to tease you a bit. I’m jealous you went on a date with your milf neighbor before seeing me after moving back home.”

“You told me you were busy when I asked you to help me move!”

“Oh. Yeah,” he smirked. “I was busy.”

“Bull shit,” I scoffed.

“Hey, some of us still work for a living. Not all of us become lifers with a nice early retirement like you. Must be nice.”

“It is pretty nice,” I grinned. Because of retirement and military disability from my deployments, I never have to work again if I don’t want to. I’m set for life. The army uses and abuses you, but they pay for it afterward too. Milton joined and went to basic with me right out of high school, but he just stayed in for four years, then used his GI Bill for school back in the civilian world while I reenlisted.

“Well, when you’re bored again, I spoke to my boss like I said I would. He wants to meet with you if you’re still interested in the security manager position at the district courthouse. The current manager is retiring in a few months, so they’ll start putting out employment ads soon.”

“At the courthouse? I thought it was for city hall?”

“Both, but the manager works out of the courthouse building.”

“Maybe,” I pondered, taking another drink. Going from Military Police to a civilian job, I thought I would look at joining the regular police force, but I’m still not sure what I want to do yet.

“So, tell me about this neighbor you assaulted. Has she texted you yet?”

I grinned, despite myself thinking about Feighlynn. After I dropped the flowers off two days ago, it wasn’t even ten minutes later that she sent me a text saying thank you for the roses. I was standing at the gas pump, pumping gas while smiling like a freak, reading the sweet message she sent me.

“We’ve been texting,” I shrugged, trying to play it cool.

We’ve been texting quite a bit, and I even called her last night, asking if she wanted to slip out and go for a walk with me and her dog. We walked for so long that I had to walk her back to her door. It got too dark, and she was squeamish about stepping on a frog on a way back inside. She’s so fucking adorable.

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