Page 4 of Neighbors With Benefits

Cat shook her head. “I just got out of a relationship with a penis-haver, which means it’s time to date a vagina-haver. I like to switch every time. Variety is the spice of life.” She took a bite of pie and moaned. “Speaking of spice, this pie is incredible. It’s chocolate mixed with some sort of berry.”

I grabbed the fork out of her hand and stole a bite. “Wow, thatisgood.”

“Tall, dark, handsome,andhe knows his way around a kitchen? Forget dating this guy, you should skip straight to marriage.”

“He’s my neighbor!” I insisted.

Cat groaned unhappily. “You’re no fun.”

We drank the rest of the wine, and Cat took an Uber home. Then I was all alone. In my own house. A house that Iowned. Well, technically the bank owned most of it. But that was a detail I didn’t really care about.

It felt like I had moved from one stage of my life to another.

I filled the dishwasher with plates and glasses, then realized I didn’t have any dishwasher detergent. One of the many things I needed to buy, since my old apartment didn’t even have a dishwasher. There was a convenience store two miles up the road, but I didn’t want to drive after drinking.

I glanced at the pie, and the Stick-It note next to it. Normally I wouldn’t want to bother someone, but if they were right next door…

Before I could talk myself out of it, I texted the number.

Me: Hi! I hope I’m not replying too quickly, but I’ve considered your offer and want to take you up on it. Are you home right now?

I tidied up a bit more, and then a response text came in.

I read the text.

And my jaw practically hit the floor.

2

Jazz

Me: Hi! I hope I’m not replying too quickly, but I’ve considered your offer and want to take you up on it. Are you home right now?

UNKNOWN: I’m really glad you texted! Dante’s not here right now, but we can discuss everything without him. Just to confirm the basics before you come over: you’ll be dating all three of us. You get to choose who, and how often. You also get to decide what level of relationship with each of us: emotional, intellectual, sexual. And if it is sexual, you get to decide whether you hook up with us individually, all together, or any combination in between. Basically, you’re the woman running the show. We’re comfortable with anything. If this sounds good, then come on over so we can discuss further!

I stared at the text. I read it three times. I wasn’t drunk, but I was definitely too buzzed to process what I was reading.

Me: I’m confused. This is Jazz, next door. Aiden Rush left me this phone number with a pie.

UNKNOWN: I don’t know who Aiden is. You have the wrong number.

I groaned. I must have texted the wrong number. But when I checked the digits, they were all correct. At least, I was pretty sure they were based on the handwriting.

Great. Aiden must have written down the wrong number. I took a screenshot of the conversation and sent it to Cat.

Cat: YES! I love it when this happens. They know you texted the wrong number, and are fucking with you for fun. You should fuck with them right back.

Me: I don’t want to tease a wrong number. I want to wash my dishes and I don’t have any detergent.

Cat: That can wait until tomorrow. Right now, you have an opportunity to have some fun with a stranger! Pretend to be a prostitute. Tell them you charge $1,000 per hour.

Me: Hah, I’ll consider it.

I didn’t mess with them, though. I was actually sad that Aiden had accidentally given me the wrong number. And not just because I needed detergent; I really did want to have a good relationship with my neighbors.

Aplatonicrelationship.

Fortunately, he did live right next door. I would probably run into him at some point and let him know what had happened. He would probably laugh about it. A good icebreaker.

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