Page 5 of Voyeur

Chapter Four

Stephen

I hadn’t meant to scare her.

I just thought it was time to let her know that I saw her. How long could I really have gone on acting like I didn’t see her, when she was always only a few yards away? I thought maybe if we acknowledged each other, we could start a conversation and maybe get to know each other.

I didn’t think she’d run away. I tried to laugh it off, but maybe that hurt her feelings or scared her more, I wasn’t sure.

I pulled myself out of the hot tub and strapped my knee brace back on, cursing myself for being such an insensitive idiot. I had to make it right, and besides, if I didn’t finally meet her, I was going to drive myself crazy wondering about her.

I tugged on a button-down and some jeans, grabbed a six-pack of beer out of my fridge, and walked up the hill.

I knocked on the door. Obviously, I knew she was home. But what if she didn’t answer? Then the message would be perfectly clear for me to stay away, permanently.

But to my surprise, the door swung open, and—wow.

I knew she was cute, but up close, she was stunning.

My mysterious neighbor was younger than I was. I was thirty-four, and she looked like a college student in an oversized hoodie and black leggings that showed off her long, muscular legs.

Her wide-set green eyes reminded me of sparkling emeralds as she peered up at me, and her bright red cheeks almost matched her flaming hair.

“Hi,” I said finally, managing a smile. “I’m Stephen. I thought I should come up and introduce myself, since we’re neighbors now.”

She awkwardly stuck out her hand and stammered, “Oh, umm… I’m Kylie.”

“Kylie,” I repeated back, the name rolling off my tongue. I liked it.

“Well, I brought this up,” I said, gesturing to the six-pack. “Do you mind if I…?” and motioned towards her fridge, which I could see from the door.

“Oh, yes, sure!” Kylie said, opening the door wider so I could enter.

I walked over to the fridge to stick the beer inside, noticing that the layout of her cabin was exactly the same as mine. But the way she had decorated was completely different, with tons of paintings covering the walls. Most of them were surreal portraits of nudes in funky colors or whimsical landscapes. She watched me as I moved closer to examine a few of them and whistled.

“Wow,” I said, genuinely impressed. “These are good. You made these?”

She nodded, then pulled two of the beers from the fridge. She opened them both and handed me one. I gathered that I was dealing with an exceptionally shy woman. Maybe she was a voyeur only because she wasn’t comfortable with social interaction? I was determined to break her out of her shell.

“So, have you been painting me outside, then?” I grinned, teasing her. There was no point pretending we hadn’t noticed each other after what had just happened.

When she looked like she might die of embarrassment, I tried to reassure her.

“Relax, I’m flattered. Honestly,” I said, grinning. “It gets pretty lonely and boring in the mountains. You showing up has been the most interesting thing to happen since I’ve been up here.”

“Why are you up here?” she asked. It was a fair question, since the cabins were long-term rentals, and it takes a certain kind of person to want total isolation like this.

“Bike accident,” I said. “Busted my knee up pretty good, so I’m staying out here to recover and do physical therapy. What about you?”

A dark expression flickered across her face for a moment, then disappeared as she answered, “I’m an artist. I like painting nature scenes and thought staying up here would be good for my work. I also like to paint people, but, um…there haven’t been too many people up here to paint.”

“Is that all I am to you? A portrait model?” I laughed.

“Well, I hardly know you!” Kylie laughed back, loosening up a little.

I saw my opening and went for it. “Well, if you want to get to know me, I’d sure be interested in getting to know a cute girl like you.”

“Oh,” said Kylie, surprised. “Well yeah, I mean… it would be great to have a friend up here.”

Friend-zoned. Right out of the gate. I could work with that, though.

“Yeah, and I can keep posing for you,” I teased. “And hey, if you ever want to do more than look, that’s fine with me, too.”

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