"Oh, we had such a lovely party. Not a big one like the young kids do these days, mind you. It was a recession that year and..."
I tapped on the roof of my car impatiently, waiting for Francine to finish her rambling. I had learned to tune her out with the occasional perfunctory comment so she would think I was listening.
My eyes drifted behind her to her lawn before narrowing at the state of her grass. We had the same size lawn since they were attached houses. I always made sure I kept my yard neat and short. Well, not me personally; I paid a mowing company for that menial task. Francine's lawn had always matched mine in tidiness. But looking at it now, their grass seemed overgrown. Where was her husband? The rare times I did see him outside, it was usually to mow their front and back yards. If it got any longer, I would need to have a word with him about the unsightly, unkempt yard. I couldn't be living next door to sloven neighbors.
"... he's doing okay for now, but it comes and goes. The doctor doesn't think the progno -"
"I'm so sorry, Francine," I interrupted, unable to fake my interest any longer, "but I really have to go. Traffic and all that." I jiggled my keys at her.
Francine's face fell briefly before she fixed me with an overly bright smile, waving me off. "Oh, of course! Sorry, dear, you don't want to hear me dither on when you have an exciting party to get to. Please give your cousin my congratulations. Barron, wasn't it?"
My head jerked back in surprise at her words. I vaguely remembered mentioning that my cousin's name was Barron, but I swore that was long ago. "Yeah, Barron," I confirmed slowly.
"All the best to Barron and his love," she smiled kindly at me before turning back to her garden.
I opened my mouth to thank her before closing it again. I hesitated momentarily as my stomach turned uneasily at my blatant rudeness. But Francine had already resumed her weed pulling, so instead, I hopped into my car and reversed out of my car space.
"Henry, Henry, Henry," I repeated to myself as I drummed on the steering wheel. I read somewhere that if you repeat someone's name out loud a few times, you will remember it forever. If Francine recalled the name of my cousin, whom she'd never met, the least I could do was remember her husband's name.
I groaned as Maria lifted her wet mouth from my shrinking erection. She smiled adoringly at me as she wiped the corner of her mouth from where her salvia and some of my come had dripped.
I tucked my soft dick back into my pants before patting Maria's head and backing away. "Thanks, babe."
I pretended not to see her as she stood on her tiptoes to try and kiss me. No matter how often she attempted the act, I couldn't bring myself to kiss her or any other woman after a blow job. Taste my own sperm? No, thank you.
I picked up my bag, which I had dropped to the floor as soon as I walked in Maria's door and spotted her naked and waiting. Without thinking, I had unbuttoned my jeans and roughly guided her willing mouth onto my dick. One thing was for sure; Maria gave good head.
"What did you want to do tonight?" We can go out to dinner and then come back and watch a movie?" I felt her hand caress my back before I discreetly stepped away.
Fuck. I forgot to tell Maria why I was in town. I knew it was an asshole move to use her place to crash - and for some hot sex - but a bigger part of me was cursing myself for making her think I was in town to see her.
I didn't want her to get any ideas, and she was already starting to do and suggest girlfriend things. In all the years that we had casually started sleeping together on and off, we never actually went out to dinner. For drinks, yes, but never an intimate dinner with just the two of us. That was entering into couple territory.
I knew it was my fault. I had started staying over at Maria's a lot lately. A change in habit that was obviously giving her ideas.
"Sorry, babe, I should've mentioned. I'm here for Barron and Eden's engagement party tonight. I would've stayed with my aunt and uncle, but my parents are there. Full house."
That wasn't strictly true. My Aunt Kelly and Uncle Gavin had a huge house with plenty of room for me.
No, the reason I insisted on staying with Maria had little to do with wanting my own space but more to do with a certain sexy as fuck woman who I discovered lived on the same floor as Maria. A sexy as fuck woman who, unfortunately, still wouldn't give me the time of day.
Not that I blamed her. I just loved watching her eyes darken in anger as we traded heated barbs or those plump lips sucked into her mouth as she regarded me with distaste.
Did I linger out in the hallway today, hoping her apartment door would open so that her bratty mouth would sneer at me and her whiskey-colored eyes would flare in annoyance? Perhaps.
"Oh." Maria's naked shoulders deflated at my words. The disappointment was written clearly across her pretty features. "That's okay, then.
I stood there feeling awkward, especially since I was still fully dressed and she was standing unashamedly naked in the middle of the room.
"I didn't know that Barron and Eden were engaged. Bit of a shotgun proposal, don't ya think?"
I shrugged, uncaring. I had long since gotten over the surprise that Barron had managed to get Eden to not only forgive him but take him back. It wasn't that long ago that I recalled her cool indifference to my cousin at my aunt's barbecue a few summers back. Now they were planning a wedding.
"So, you're only here to crash and then take off back to Helensville again?"
I paused as I surveyed her hurt and slightly annoyed expression. Well, when she put it like that, itdidfeel like I was only using her for a pillow to rest my head on tonight. As much as I knew that I had to end things soon with Maria, a part of me didn't want to hurt her feelings.
"The invite has a plus one. You could come..."
