Basedon whatIknew about him, the latter seemed unlikely, but he also wasn’t impulsive.Andhe’d never given any indication he would consider a career change to take an elected office.
“Man, that was something, huh?”Jen, the officerIwas buddied up with for the day, seemed almost giddy about what we’d just witnessed. “Iwas starting to thinkCaptainAsshatwould be in office until he dies.Ihave no clue how he even got elected in the first place.”
“Thereare plenty of people in towns like this who have exactly two boxes.Eitheryou’re from here, or you’re not,”Iexplained.EventhoughIhadn’t been living here when the election happened,I’dheard from my mom about how everyone drew their lines in the sand.Forall the progress over the years, it was still hard for anyone viewed as an outsider to win against a so-called local.Andthe mayor’s challenger had been a woman who’d recently moved to town fromPineville.
“Doyou think he’ll actually run?” she asked as we wandered toward the lake.Therewas rarely anything happening down here, but sometimes kids thought they could hide and get up to no good.Asif previous generations hadn’t all thought the same thing and not gotten away with it.Sowe got our steps in making laps around the festival area and baseball fields to ensure no one was being stupid.
Ishrugged because that was the question running through my mind as well. “Ithink he just might.Hisfamily works hard to make sure everyone has a place where they feel like they belong, so it has to be difficult to see that level of hatred coming out of city hall.ButIguess time will tell.”
“Ihope he does.God, can you imagine the look onThompson’sface when he gets his ass handed to him by one of the gayest families in town?”Jenwas practically giddy at this point, so much so she didn’t notice my irritation at her reducingAnsonto brothers’ sexualities.Sheknew better than to act like that. “Shit,Ireally didn’t mean that the way it came out.Ijust…”
“Iget it.”Andon some level,Idid.That’swhyIhadn’t called her out.Jenwas a damn good cop, but she was still learning to make her mouth wait for her brain to catch up before speaking.AndIcouldn’t imagine what it was like to be both female and a lesbian working in the department.Sheprobably had a right to be as eager for change as she was. “AndIreally hope he will, but he has a lot going on with his law firm too.I’mnot sure he has the personality to run for office.”
Sayingthat felt like acid on my tongue.He’dmake a damn good mayor, but it was known that he didn’t like talking to people.Andhe enjoyed his quiet life out of public view.Itwasn’t as if he’d be thrust into a spotlight if he won the race, but there were comforts he’d have to give up.
Jenquirked an eyebrow. “Youseem to know a good bit about the hopeful mayor,” she teased. “Ididn’t realize the two of you were close.”
“We’renot,”Iinsisted.WasIfeeling like there could be a solid friendship between us?Absolutely.Buta few nights hanging out together didn’t mean anything. “Buthe’s my neighbor, soIknow about as much as anyone knows about the people who live near them.”
“Bullshit.I’vebeen in my apartment for three years, and the only thingIcan tell you about anyone in my building is that someone likes to torture us by baking something sweet almost every day and my upstairs neighbors apparently gave birth to a herd of elephants based on the amount of noiseIhear up there at all hours.”Themusic got louder as we cleared the far end of the park.Shekept side-eyeing me as we walked, as if waiting to see ifIwould offer more information about my enigmatic neighbor.
Apartmentswere a completely different living situation.Thelack of interaction was one of the things that led me to buy a house.Andit had just recently started paying off.
Asit turned out, the dust-up betweenAnsonand the mayor was the only drama beforeIfinished my shift.JenandIdrove back to the station and filled out our end-of-shift paperwork before heading our separate ways.Ilet out an audible sigh asIhoisted the vest with all my gear over my head.Itwas never comfortable, but everything on my body ached after spending eight hours walking around the park.Iwas just gratefulIhad the opening shift rather than the closing.
Iretrieved my phone from the center console whenIgot to my car.Ihalf expected a text from my mom inviting me over for dinner, soIwas pleasantly surprised when it was a text fromAnsoninstead.
Ifyou don’t feel like cooking after being down at the park all day, let me know.Ifound a salmon recipeIwant to try out.
Itried keeping my racing heart in check.Thiswas just a friend returning the favor, inviting me over since it was sort of becoming a thing for us to hang out and cook whileBarthung out on the deck.Itdidn’t mean anything, andIneeded to keep reminding myself of that fact.Ansonwasn’t gay.Andeven if he was, that didn’t mean he’d want to date someone his baby brother’s age.
Justleaving work now.AmItoo late?
Perfecttiming.I’mjust about to put the fish in the pan.Youwant to run home and shower before you head over?
Ireally did need a shower, butIdidn’t want to keepAnsonwaiting either.ButifIdidn’t shower,I’dspend the entire night being self-conscious about the workday funk.
I’llmake it quick.Thanks.
Anson’sresponse was almost immediate.
Takeyour time.Iturned off the burner.I’llfire it back up when the beast lets me know you’re home.Foodwill be hot and ready when you get here.
God, it would be so easy to let myself fall into a fantasy whereIwasn’t going home to the house next door toAnson’sbut instead walking into a shared home whereIwas free to wrap my arms around him from behind and nuzzle my face into his neck after a long, boring day on shift.Nomatter howItried, it had been impossible to completely keep these thoughts out of my head the past few days.Mycrush onAnsonLangsfordwhenIwas a pimple-faced teenager had gone from smoldering memories to a hot, burning fire.
Iglanced towardAnson’shouse asIdrove past, smiling whenInoticedBartstanding with his front paws on the back of the couch, barking as if he’d understood the assignment to let his daddy know whenIpulled into the driveway.Ireally needed to get that dog some treats because the human next door wasn’t the only one who’d stolen my heart.
Istripped out of myT-shirt and uniform pants in the laundry room.Thebenefit of living alone was no one could complain about me walking through the house in nothing but my boxer briefs.Typically,Saturdaywas laundry day, but everything about my routine was already tipped on end.I’dget up early tomorrow to make sure everything was done.
Inthe shower,Ikept the water on the comfortable side of cold.Itwas a good reminder thatIneeded to hurry, but it also kept my dick from perking up the secondIthought about whyIwas showering.Betweenwork, puttering around the house, and helping my mom, it had been far too long sinceI’dcalled my buddies inBrookfieldto go out for a night.One-night stands weren’t somethingIsought out, but eventually, the need to feel something around my cock other than my right hand got to be too much.
Iran my fingers through my wet hair after pulling on a pair of worn, comfortable jeans and an oldT-shirt.Ireached for the beard trimmer, then set it back down.Thatwas somethingIdid for a night out or a date, not for spending a couple of hours with the neighbor.
Iswiped my phone off the nightstand, my stomach clenching when there was another text fromAnson.Myfears were quickly extinguished, replaced with an intense wish thatAnsonfelt the pull between us too.
Comeon in when you get here.I’mfinishing up dinner.
Assoon asIopenedAnson’sfront door,Iwas assaulted by a hyperBart.Hejumped up, nearly pushing me out the door as his paws landed on my chest.Histail flipped back and forth with excitement as he licked my face. “Hey, boy!HasDaddybeen neglecting you all day?Wereyou just waiting for me to get here to give you some love?”
