“Okay, I need a cigarette.” Amelia opened her pack again.
“Wait!” I sat up quickly. “Not in the house…”
“We can smoke weed in here, but a cigarette is a problem?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Let’s go outside.” I bounced to my feet and started laughing—for no reason at all.
“Fine…” Amelia rolled her eyes and stood.
It wasn’t like the smell was going to still be in my room when my parents got home, but I couldn’t shake the paranoia. I followed Amelia outside and took a cigarette from her when she offered it. We both crushed the filter against our thumb to make the taste a lot more pleasant, and I leaned forward so she could light mine. I hoped she was serious about quitting once she got to college—although I had heard her say she was going to quit a few times during high school, and it hadn’t happened yet. I barely inhaled mine. I was mostly just smoking to be sociable since I was going to be outside if she was. I enjoyed the joint, but the nicotine rush just made me feel queasy. My stomach reminded me that we skipped lunch entirely and demanded rectification—my buzz was giving me a serious case of the munchies.
“I’m hungry…” I pressed the tip of my cigarette to the back side of the deck until it was extinguished.
“Me too.” Amelia nodded, but a strange look settled on her face. “Oh my god, your new neighbor doesn’t have any curtains up yet.”
“What?” I walked close to the edge of the deck and leaned forward. “Damn—you’re right.”
“The tree house has a really good view—remember that time we saw Mr. and Mrs. Henderson…” She grinned.
“No, don’t remind me.” I held up my hand and nearly gagged. “I still have menta
l scars.”
“Come on.” Amelia grabbed my hand. “Let’s get a closer look at your new neighbor.”
“What do you mean?” I stared at her in confusion.
I knew what she meant before she started walking down the steps with me in tow, but I was still buzzing, so I thought it was a good idea too. We half-walked, half-ran to the back gate, and pushed it open. The houses in the neighborhood were cookie-cutter designs, and that included the privacy fences which surrounded the backyards. The Henderson’s never put a lock on their back gate, and the new owner hadn’t been there long enough to know that one was necessary to keep people out of his backyard. Amelia ran to the ladder that led to the tree house and started giggling way too loud. I quickly hushed her, and then we started climbing the ladder, listening to the creaks as the weathered wood protested underneath our weight.
“This tree house is a serious hazard,” I sighed, but I kept climbing.
“Its fine. We’re almost there.” Amelia pushed the trap door open and hoisted herself up. “See—no problem at all.”
“It’s shaking…” I felt a sense of panic sweep through my veins as Amelia helped me climb into the tree house.
“It always shakes.” Amelia waved off my concern and crawled over to the window. “Holy shit, Holly. He’s hot!”
“What? I want to see!” I quickly crawled over beside her. “Damn—you’re right.”
My new neighbor didn’t have a single curtain on any of his windows. That wasn’t a big deal for the front of the house since it was easy to avoid the big window in the living room, but the back out house had a lot of windows. He was strolling through his bedroom in nothing but a towel—with a body that looked like it was straight out of Greek mythology on full display. His hair was wet, so it appeared that we had just missed his shower. He dug through a few boxes, tossed some clothes on the bed, and then reached for his towel.
“Yeah baby, take it off.” Even in the darkness, I could see Amelia’s eyes flash.
“We really shouldn’t spy…” I blinked a couple of times, but I didn’t look away.
“Are you high—don’t answer that.” Amelia giggled. “There’s no harm in looking…”
My new neighbor tossed his towel to the side, and we got a full view of his naked body—from the back at least. I was mesmerized by the sight. He wasn’t just hot; he was smoldering. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the water droplets just turned to steam on the spot. He dug through one of his boxes, tossed out several articles of clothing, and then turned towards us as he picked up a pair of boxer shorts. It wasn’t the first dick I had seen—the Henderson brothers had no shame when we were in the tree house—but his was a lot bigger. It swung back and forth as he slid his boxer shorts on, and the second that his endowment was hidden behind the fabric, I was finally able to divert my gaze—Amelia was doing the complete opposite. She had a stupid grin on her face, and her eyes were practically bulging.
“This was totally worth the trip.” Amelia snapped out of her trance and looked over at me.
“We should probably go…” I watched as my new neighbor moved a box off his bed and moved the covers. “I think he has an early bedtime.”
“I would send him to bed early every night—but we wouldn’t be doing much sleeping when the lights went out.” Amelia grinned.
“Seriously, let’s go.” I stared at the house, and when the bedroom light went off, I tugged on Amelia’s arm.
“Yeah, the shows over,” she sighed and crawled towards the trap door.