Page 64 of Never Kiss Your Neighbors

Afterward, while all four of us are sitting around an outdoor table enjoying ice cream bars shaped like Mickey Mouse’s head, two teenage girls approach.

“Are you—” they start to ask, and when Cam and Wyatt turn toward them, they squeal. “Oh my god, it is you! I knew it! We love you guys!”

Both girls gush over the Battle Duel Boys, as the men smile and nod with humble expressions on their faces.

“Can we take a picture with you?” one of the girls asks.

The men agree, and I do the polite thing and offer to take the picture instead of making them take a selfie.

The men get recognized two more times throughout the day, but both encounters are polite and not too intrusive. It’s odd to be out with people who are semi-famous, but I think I could get used to it.

We go on several more rides, including another rollercoaster that my brave daughter requests, and the world famous “Small World” ride, whose song I’m certain will be a worm in my brain for the rest of my life.

After dark, we watch fireworks over the castle, and by the end of the show, Jessie’s barely able to keep her eyes open. Wyatt carries her out of the park, onto the tram, and all the way back to the car. Seeing my daughter asleep in his arms makes me feel all kinds of things.

I’m tired too, but the happiness I’m feeling gives me energy.

“That was so much fun. Thank you for everything,” I tell them both when we’re all in the car. Neither of the men let me spend a penny all day, not for admission, food, or even souvenirs. They insisted on buying a shirt, a stuffed toy, and Mickey ears for Jessie, and sparkly sequined Minnie ears for me. I feel a bit like a kid again myself.

I’ll have to find some way to pay them back, maybe with homemade blueberry muffins, because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to make cookies as good as Wyatt’s. I’ll definitely have Jessie make a thank-you card for them, too.

“Our pleasure,” Cam says, as Wyatt says, “You’re welcome. We should plan to come back during the Halloween season.”

“I’d like that,” I say softly, thinking about how nice it was for the four of us to spend the day together, and how nice it is that the men want to make future plans with us. They were so attentive to Jessie, so helpful, and as always, so much fun.

The little part of my brain that remains wary is sometimes on the lookout for their faults, but I haven’t found any yet.

CHAPTER45

STELLA

The men stay in touch throughout the week with text messages, chats over the back fence, and one night, they join me when I take Goldfish for a walk.

“Can you go out this weekend?” Cam asks as we slowly circle the block after dark.

I’m eager for another date with them, especially for time alone with them at their house, but I don’t want to shirk my mom responsibilities or take Marissa’s time for granted by asking her to watch Jessie too often.

However, when Wyatt slides his arm around my waist, and Cam stops me on the corner to kiss me, I’m persuaded to ask Marissa if she’s available to babysit.

“Go out all you want,” she says, when I bring it up later that night. “You’ve been so much happier since you started dating the hot neighbors. I mean …I can only imagine why.” Her eyes make lewd suggestions.

“It’s not that,” I protest. “Well, it’s not just that. But yeah, I really like them.”

I tell the men I’m available on the weekend and ask what they have in mind for our date, but they say it’s a surprise.

I’m fluttering with anticipation and curiosity when I drive over to their house to meet them Saturday evening. I asked them not to pick me up, because if Jessie catches a glimpse of them, she’ll want to go along, no matter what type of boring errand I claimed we were doing.

Cam opens their door looking like I’ve caught him in the middle of getting dressed. He’s wearing black dress pants and a gray sleeveless undershirt that molds to his broad chest like it was painted on. He pulls me into a welcoming kiss, and I take the opportunity to squeeze one of his biceps, because I can’t resist.

“We know you’re not ready to tell Jessie we’re dating yet,” he says, “so we didn’t want to ask you to get dressed up tonight, or we figured she’d ask a lot of questions.”

“Okay …”

Wyatt appears from the hallway with a garment bag in his hand. “So we got this for you, so you could change here.” He unzips the bag, revealing silky black fabric.

“You bought a dress for me?” I couldn’t be more surprised if there were a giraffe in their house.

Cam says, “Yeah, we’d like to take you somewhere nice tonight.”

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