Neighbor Dearest (23 page)

She smiled at Damien before looking at me.

He spoke first. “Chelsea, this is my mother, Monica.”

She gave me her hand. My own hand was trembling a bit as I extended it to her. “I’m sorry. I’m so nervous.”

“Me, too.” She smiled. The fact that she also seemed nervous comforted me a bit.

“Really?”

“Yes. Of course, I am.” She smiled over at Damien. “How was your ride?”

Damien looked at me impishly. “The ride was absolutely perfect.”

I felt my face heat up.

“Good,” she said. “Well, I made your favorite sausage lasagna for lunch. I hope you’re hungry.”

“Starving,” he said.

“Why don’t you show Chelsea around? I’m just gonna go back in the kitchen and check on the oven.”

Trying to calm my nerves, Damien traced his fingertips along my arm and kissed my cheek.

The décor was very Bohemian with lots of vibrant patterns. Despite her shy nature, Monica’s style seemed to be very adventurous and indicative of a free spirit. Damien had mentioned that while not very religious, his mother was quite spiritual.

Noticing some family pictures on a table, I made my way over to the living room. Damien followed me and snatched a frame out of my hand just as I lifted it.

“You can’t look at that.”

“Why?”

He reluctantly flipped it around to show me. It was a picture of two boys, assumably Damien and Tyler. Damien looked quite…chubby.

“You were so cute.”

“I look like I’m about to eat Tyler.”

“You never told me you were heavier as a kid.”

“Well, this was before I learned that you should actually stop eating when you’re full.”

“I think you look adorable.”

“You
would
say that.”

“I mean it.”

Putting the picture down, I picked up another one—his parents’ wedding picture. “Wow, your parents are both stunning. It’s no wonder where you get your looks.” Now that I’d seen Damien’s father, I realized he actually looked a lot like him in the face despite having his mother’s complexion.

Damien took the picture from me. “They were really in love. There wasn’t a day that went by where my father wasn’t all over her. Tyler and I had to look the other way a lot.”

“That’s the way it should be.”

“I have no doubt it would have still been that way if he were around.”

Monica entered the room. “He
is
still around. I feel his presence every day.”

I hadn’t realized that she’d been listening to us.

She continued, “It’s not the same of course, but he is still very much here.”

It warmed my heart when Damien wrapped his arm around his mother and kissed her forehead. I knew he wished that she would move on with her life, but he’d also explained that he no longer argued with her about it, because it only seemed to cause her stress.

We sat down to a quiet lunch out back on the screened-in porch. Monica had made mojitos with fresh mint and strawberries. I had to stop myself after one because the rum was getting to my head. I didn’t want to say or do anything stupid in front of her.

Looking out toward the yard, I said, “You have a beautiful garden.”

“Thank you. The mint is freshly-picked from it, too.”

“Gardening is her thing,” Damien said.

“I feel very close to Raymond out there—in nature. I see him in everything; in the wind, in the butterflies that land on me when I’m out there, in the red cardinals that fly overhead.”

My heart was breaking for this woman, even though she seemed to be finding solace in her own ways.

“I think it’s wonderful how in love you are with your husband.”

“You only get one true love, one soulmate. Not everyone is lucky enough to find that person in a lifetime.” She turned to Damien. “My greatest wish is that each of my sons is able to find the person who was meant for him. She looked down at Damien’s and my intertwined hands. “I strongly believe Damien has.”

Looking at him as I spoke, I said, “Thank you. I have no doubt that he’s
my
person. I can’t explain it. It was just a feeling I had very early on. Even when he was constantly rejecting me, I always still felt a strong connection.”

She nodded. “That’s what it is. Intuition. I was worried that Damien would never allow himself to experience this. I know you recently found out about his genetic heart condition. My husband never knew he had it. In many ways, that was a blessing. He never had to live in fear. At the same time, he never had the opportunity to do anything to prevent it from killing him. So, the lack of knowledge was a double-edged sword.”

Damien looked tense as he let go of my hand. “What my mother is trying to say, Chelsea, is that
she
thinks I should have the surgery my doctors are recommending.”

Monica placed her hand on Damien’s tattooed forearm. “I think you should do whatever it takes to ensure the longest lifespan, yes.”

I suddenly felt nauseated. It hit me then that I’d really been intentionally blocking out anything having to do with Damien’s condition for a while now. He’d told me that some days he felt great while others he would become tired quickly. He also occasionally had trouble breathing. But the good days outnumbered the bad ones. Before I knew about his diagnosis, though, not once had I ever suspected something was wrong because he was so active and virile. He hid it very well and never complained; that helped me to live in denial.

Still, even though he took such good care of himself, there was only so much he could do on his own to prevent something bad from happening.

“Chelsea and I haven’t really discussed it. We’ve been trying to enjoy being together for a while without worrying about the serious shit for the time being.”

“Well, you’ll know when the time is right to have that discussion.” She looked over at me. “I’m sorry if I dampened the mood at all. That wasn’t my intention. Thank you for making my son happy.”

“Thank you. He makes
me
so happy.”

Damien chomped on the leftover ice from his drink and promptly changed the topic of conversation. “Wanna go see the treehouse?”

My eyes widened. “Treehouse?”

“Yeah. Tyler and I built it with Dad. It was ninety percent finished when he died. We completed it ourselves a few years later and went all out. It’s pretty damn cool.”

“It’s more like a man cave in the sky.” Monica grinned.

“I would love to see it.”

Damien led me to the side of the house where a magnificent wooden structure sat amidst a giant tree. The treehouse even had windows. A long ladder made of rope hung beneath it. It literally looked like a little home.

Inside there was a bed with a plaid comforter and a small couch across from it. A lamp was plugged into an electrical outlet. There was a television and DVD player.

“There’s electricity?”

“Of course. How else would I sneak in here to watch porn?”

“That’s what you did in here?”

“Tyler and I definitely took advantage of this place in our teen years.”

“Okay. I don’t need to know any more than that.”

He laughed. “You know what I think?”

“What?”

“I think I would really like to christen it with you right now.”

“I can’t do that with your mother right downstairs.”

“Well, we’re gonna have to figure out a way, because I can’t go the entire weekend without having you. Maybe after she goes to sleep, you can sneak up here to visit me.”

We were spending the night here in San Jose. The plan was for me to stay in Tyler’s old bedroom, and I had assumed Damien would be sleeping in his room at the house.

“You’re sleeping in the treehouse?”

“Yeah. It’s really peaceful being up here at night. My second favorite place in the world.”

“Second favorite?”

“Inside of you is always my number one.” He winked, pulling me close.

“I should’ve known.”

***

Later that night, I’d said goodnight to Monica and retreated to the guest room after Damien kissed us both and headed to the treehouse.

An hour later, he texted me.

Get your beautiful ass up here.

Chelsea: What if your mother catches me leaving?

Damien: My mother knows we fuck. She’s not stupid. We’re adults.

Chelsea: Okay. Is there enough light for me to see where I’m going?

Damien: You’re good. I’ll make sure you get up okay.

Damien held a lantern at the entrance to the treehouse so that I could safely make my way up without falling.

After I climbed up the ladder, he pulled me into his arms. “It seems like I haven’t touched you in forever.”

“Well, it’s not every day we’re under the watchful eyes of your mother.”

Damien squeezed my ass cheeks as he kissed me. After he slowly released my bottom lip, he said, “My mother really likes you.”

I pulled back to examine his face. “She told you that?”

“She didn’t have to. I could tell by the way she was looking at you. She was smiling and engaged while talking to you. That’s rare. Basically, she sees all the things I see. You’re very real, and she appreciates that.”

“I’m so relieved.”

His eyes trailed down from my chest to my legs. “And
I
appreciate that you look like a teenage dream right now in these tiny shorts.”

“Well, I’m sneaking into a boy’s treehouse. I had to look sexy.”

“I spent many nights in this very treehouse fantasizing about imaginary women who didn’t hold a candle to you.”

“You know…I didn’t think I was your type when we first met.”

He slipped his finger under the strap of my cami. “Why did you think that?”

“I look nothing like Jenna or the other couple of girls I’ve seen you with, for that matter.” Just thinking about that made me cringe. “I don’t have huge boobs or a big ass or wear a lot of makeup.”

“I never had a type. And honestly? From the first night we hung out, all I fantasized about was the beautiful, lithe blonde next door.” He ran his hands through my hair. “I’d wonder what this would feel like between my fingers.” He lowered his mouth to my neck. “What it would be like to suck on this…” He gently bit my skin before lifting my shirt off. “What these tits would taste like.” Bending down, he took my nipple into his mouth and sucked hard before licking a line slowly down to my belly button. “What the grooves of this tiny navel would feel like against the tip of my tongue.” As he continued to kneel, he said, “Don’t get me started on this navel. I’ve
painted
this navel. That’s how much I love it.”

“You have?”

He caressed it with his fingertips. “Yes. I’ll show it to you sometime.”

I ran my fingers through his hair as he stayed on his knees. He then slipped my shorts down my legs.

“You know what I love about you, Damien?”

He looked up at me, flashing a crooked grin. “My massive rod?”

“I wasn’t going to say that, but honestly you far exceeded my expectations in that area. The first time we had sex, I swore your dick was the width of a Coke can.”

Damien bent his head back in laughter. “You mean a twenty-four ounce Coke can, right…the tall one?”

“Of course.”

He kissed my stomach. “I interrupted you. You were about to tell me what you love about me.”

“Oh.” I paused. “Everything. That was what I was going to say.”

He looked up at me with a devilish expression, and I just knew I was in for it tonight.

Damien stood up. “What do you want to do tonight?”

“I want you to deny me until I can’t take it anymore.”

“You seem so innocent when someone first meets you, but you’re a little masochist. I fucking love it.” He lay back on his bed and pointed to the wall across from it. “Stand over there.”

Completely naked, I leaned against it. My nipples were hard as steel as I watched Damien peel off his boxer briefs. His rock hard cock stood fully erect, glistening with precum. My mouth watered as my eyes travelled from his naked abs back down to his cock. I’d seen his body naked so many times now, but it never ceased to amaze me how beautiful he was fully naked.

This was going to be good.

I loved the little games we played.

“Open your legs. I want to see you. Then put your hands by your knees. You’re not allowed to touch yourself. I want you to watch me while I jerk off to your sweet little cunt.”

Damien fisted his cock and began to stroke himself while he stared at me. The need to rub my clit was enormous. Clenching my inner muscles, I moved my hips around in a feeble attempt to satisfy myself without the use of my hands. I knew I wasn’t going to last long before I was begging him. Still, the waiting, the challenge was precisely the point. The longer the wait, the bigger the payoff.

“Fuck, I can see how wet you are from here.” He jerked himself harder. “You see what you’re doing to me?”

“Yes.”

“Come here and lick it off.”

I walked over to him and sucked all of the precum dry off his tip. Tasting him only made the muscles between my legs throb harder. I was going to need relief soon. When I started to deep throat him, he stopped me. “This will end in ten seconds if you keep that up. And I really want to come inside of you. So, no.”

“I need to touch myself.”

“Not yet. You’re not there yet. Go back to the wall.”

As much as I needed him, he knew I secretly loved this desperate feeling. More than that, I loved the intensity of the moment he finally gave in.

This time, Damien got up from the bed and stood right in front of me while he masturbated. The up close sight of him jerking himself against the backdrop of his abs only made me crazier. When he finally kissed me hungrily, it ate away some of my frustration. When he stopped the kiss, yet continued the game, my body started to tremble in need for the return of the contact. Whenever I would start to shake, he knew I was done.

“Turn around and touch the wall.”

My body buzzed with excitement when I felt the warmness of his chest at my back, a prelude to what I knew was coming soon.