Page 22 of Never Kiss Your Neighbors

I reach into my pajama shorts, where the area between my legs feels sensitive and tingly, and I let out a big sigh. Ana told me to go out and get wet, and here I am getting wet just dreaming about my neighbors.

It feels like if the dream had continued, I might have come. There’s a warm, gnawing sensation low in my belly that I haven’t felt in a while.

Maybe I do need to start dating—but not these guys. Dating men with hundreds of thousands of followers, who have women hanging around outside their house just for a glimpse of them, would be the exact opposite of keeping my life free of drama and chaos.

But my neighbors are worming their way into my brain.

Maybe I should do my best to avoid seeing them, including staying out of the back yard for a while, and definitely staying off the Battle Duel Boys channel.

CHAPTER14

STELLA

On the weekend, Marissa and I take Jessie to a science museum downtown that has a lot of interactive exhibits for kids. She has a great time getting involved with several of the stations, learning about the body, the weather, and all sorts of different things.

We also watch a show in the planetarium, and my mind keeps wandering to the dream I had about my neighbors.

The dream has been haunting me, filling my mind any time real life isn’t demanding. I thought it would fade away after a day, but apparently not.

When we’re back out at the exhibits, and Jessie wants to revisit some things she’s already looked at, Marissa and I sit down on a bench along the wall.

I consider telling Marissa about my silly dream, because maybe talking about it would clear it from my brain, but I don’t really want Marissa to know that I’m attracted to the neighbors.

Plus, it’s just all too embarrassing. They were feeding me marshmallows! So ridiculous.

The science museum needs an exhibit about why our brains make up such crazy stories while we’re sleeping.

When we’re finally able to tear Jessie away from the museum, we go to a nearby cafe for a late lunch. It’s a beautiful day, so we sit at a sidewalk table to enjoy the weather.

Just after we order, I think I must be daydreaming again, because the two men walking toward us look exactly like Cam and Wyatt.

I give my head a little shake, sure I’m imagining things, but then Jessie spots them, too.

“It’s the guys who live behind our house!” she says, waving at them excitedly, and I have to look again.

The men are wearing crisp khaki pants and nice button-down shirts, and for a change, Cam has his shirt buttoned-up. They look like they work professional jobs, rather than do half-naked stunts for internet fans.

The guys don’t notice us at first, but as they get closer, they hear Jessie and smile when they spot her. When they look my way, their grins get even wider, and there’s warmth in their eyes.

Their apparent pleasure at seeing me makes my stomach all warm and fizzy, and then I remember my dream, which makes the area a few inches below my belly feel a certain kind of way, too.

“Hi!” Jessie calls out, continuing to wave as the men approach. “Can you have lunch with us?” she asks them.

“It’s not even lunchtime anymore, sweetie,” I tell her as I check my watch. “It’s mid-afternoon. They’ve probably eaten already.”

It’s so weird to see the men in person after the dream I had. I feel embarrassed, even though no one knows about the dream but me.

I’m not even sure I’ll be able to eat if the men join us. How can I look at them without thinking about what I hoped they were about to do to me in that dream? If I’m honest, I wanted a lot more than marshmallows and kisses.

To my relief, Cam says, “We’d love to have lunch with you, even if it’s our second lunch, but unfortunately, we’re on our way to an appointment. We’d love to join you another time, though.”

Jessie is visibly disappointed, and alarm bells ring. My daughter is getting attached to these men in a small way; how much worse would it be if I dated them and she saw them regularly?

After the upheaval of having to move away from her grandparents, the last thing I want to do is bring people into Jessie’s life who may or may not stick around. If I were to date them, and things went badly, they’d be gone from Jessie’s life, too. I’ll be much better to keep them as neighbors, who we only see once in a while. I was definitely right to turn down dates with them.

The men say goodbye to Jessie and Marissa, and then I get a goodbye that includes a lingering look from Wyatt, and a wink from Cam, just like in his videos.

Unfortunately, Marissa sees the wink too, and she sees the effect it has on me. My cheeks are definitely flaming.

---