Page 42 of Her Alien Neighbor

“The phone?” he asks, lifting a brow. “When someone calls, you turn jittery? Or text messages as well?”

“Just when someone calls.”

“Why is that?”

“Because the only phone calls I get nowadays are when someone has bad news,” I explain. “The second my phone rings, every part of my body clenches with anxiety. Besides, the majority of communication now is digital, so phone calls feel strange, too intimate, I guess. It’s why I prefer texts, like most people.” I fiddle with my bangs in the hallway mirror, trying to get them somewhat straight using sheer force of will, which is pointless. “Being my age, you must understand that.”

He tilts his head. “Am I your age?”

“You’re…” I trail off as I stare at him, trying to come up with a guess. He might be older than me, but not by much. “Forty-one?”

He gives me a strange look at first but eventually nods. “That is correct. Good guess.”

Is he lying about his age? No. That couldn’t be it. Men never do that.

Axil gets to his feet, stretching his arms over his head. His manhood, even though no longer hard, is still too magnificent to look away from. I could’ve had that thing inside me earlier, gloriously stretching my insides, and I ruined it. The moment I saw how close it was to my pussy, I completely freaked out.

I can give head, and love doing it, I can be eaten out, do sixty-nine, play with toys––I can do everything with another person except for sex. Once it reaches that point, my pussy dries up like the desert. I can’t think straight, and the only thing I know is that fear has consumed me, and I need to get out, out, out before things go any further.

Axil feels different, though, compared to other sexual partners I’ve had. When he says there’s no rush, it seems like he means it. And the problem is that I want things to go further. He’s the first person I’ve actually wanted to have sex with since The Incident. I want to figure out a way to make my body cooperate because I know he’d give me the kind of orgasm that would melt my brain.

The doorbell rings again just as Axil starts pulling on his pants. I don’t realize I’m still gawking at him until he looks up and says, “I thought you were eager to answer the door.”

“Right! Yes, that,” I stammer, rushing through the hall and into the dining room. I swing it open to find Zev leaning against the door frame, a boyish smile on his face as he reads something on his phone. A text perhaps? “Hi, there, Zev. What brings you by?”

His eyes finally leave his screen and widen when he sees what I’m wearing, or more accurately, how much I’m not wearing. “Apologies, Vanessa. Am I interrupting something?”

“Not at all, little brother,” Axil replies for me as he approaches from behind. “We were just having a lovely mid-morning snooze.” He managed to put his pants on, but not a shirt, and with me still wrapped in a towel, it’s abundantly clear what we were doing. The only thing that could make it more obvious is if I had Axil’s dried come all over my chin.

Oh god, do I?I wonder as I reach up and feel along my chin, trying to make it look casual. I find nothing on my face, but I doubt the action looked as natural as I intended. Luckily, Axil and Zev don’t seem to be paying attention as Zev gives Axil a knowing smirk and says, “Is that so?”

Axil ignores his teasing and asks, “What areyoudoing here?”

“I am here to spread Lady Norton’s ashes with you, Vanessa,” he says, pulling out a piece of paper and mouthing the words as he silently reads. “Just beneath the bench swing in the garden, apparently.”

“Ah, right. Okay, well, come on in. I’ll get changed really quick,” I say, stepping aside so Zev can enter.

As I leave the dining room, I hear Zev say, “Axil, a word?” followed by Axil sighing, and the front door shutting behind them. I try not to think about it as I go into the bedroom and put clothes on. Whatever they’re discussing is not my business. The timing of it, however, makes me wonder if the thing they’re discussing is me.

Is Zev telling him not to get involved with me? I can’t imagine that’s it, as Zev has no reason to say those things, but that doesn’t stop my mind from wandering down that path. Does Zev not think I’m good enough for his brother? Not pretty enough? Or does it have something to do with my weight?

No. Not doing this.

I step in front of the mirror and lean in, so my face is almost touching the glass. Then I point at my reflection. “Your fat ass is fine just the way it is. Not everything is about you. Let it go.”

Then I recite the words “it’s not about you” silently to myself as I add a stroke of blush to my cheeks and put on lip gloss before striding down the hall. This is just a casual fling with Axil, anyway. He’s no longer insufferable to be around, and he stood up for me when Trevor started acting like a dick at Tipsy’s. Then he got me out of there when I had a panic attack. So he cares about me, that much is clear. I’m starting to care about him too.

And the things he does to me…my god. His body is somehow a finely tuned machine as much as it is a work of art. His hands, the strength and warmth of his arms, and that mouth… a shiver rips through me at the memory of last night when he first called me a “good girl.” It was definitely strange, at first. It’s never happened before with previous partners. But beneath the initial shock was something else, something I didn’t realize even existed in my mind: elation.

Words spoken in that low, rough voice of his as he showered me with praise made my toes curl, all while giving me the best orgasm of my life. I have to think that part of the reason it was so amazing isbecauseof the “good girl” thing. It felt embarrassing, and I didn’t know if I was embarrassed to hear the words or embarrassed for Axil for saying them. Then it felt good. Very good. A tingling sensation that started in my belly and spread to my fingers and toes, and suddenly, I wanted to hear him say it again. I became desperate for it. I wanted his smoldering gray eyes on me as he told me how good I was.

Maybe it’s something my sex life has been missing. Or maybe it’s only with Axil, and it would feel weird and wrong with anyone else. But as much fun as I’ve had with him, I know this is not a relationship of any kind. It’s a temporary, casual thing. I’m going back to L.A., eventually, and he’s made no mention of wanting anything more serious, so I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

As I grab Aunt Franny’s urn from the mantle in the living room, I hear Zev and Axil come back inside. “Shall we?” I ask Zev as I meet them in the dining room.

“We shall,” he says, gesturing for me to lead the way.

Axil has an odd look on his face, a mix of nerves and stress that must have come from the talk he and Zev just had. “I must, um… I must make a call. I shall return after you spread Lady Norton’s ashes.”

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