1. The Guy Next Door - Part Three


    Date: 9/23/2015, Categories: Reluctance, Author: SITTING, Rating: 38, Source: LushStories

    But I wasn’t good enough for him. Sam was a gentleman. He was thoughtful and effervescent while I was – I was – fast becoming a bad girl. But it was a date. And it was Saturday. After work. Which meant I most certainly would not be showing up at Cooper’s door. The dilemma was over. *** Friday morning rolled around. Throughout the week, I’d purposefully resorted to spending an extra five minutes on my morning run, just so I would avoid Cooper. But that morning he’d figured me out and we ended up meeting on the stairs. “Hey, Kat,” he said breezily. “Oh. Hi.” He stopped in front of me, blocking my path. Suit. Tie. He looked sharp. Clean. “We’re still on for tomorrow, right?” He made it sound like a goddamn business meeting. I stared at him wordlessly. “You didn’t forget, did you?” There was a teasing edge to his voice like he knew there was a zero-percent chance that I would have forgotten. “We’re still on, right?” I snapped out of the zone and shook my head. “Oh – no. Definitely not.” I swallowed hard. “I have a – uh – date.” Cooper’s eyes widened infinitesimally. “Really?” “Yes. Really.” He shrugged. “We can make it later, if you want. Nine? Ten?” I shook my head. “No. No. I just – I don’t think this is a good idea at all.” He studied me and then shrugged. “Fine. I’m gonna be late for work. See you around.” He brushed past me and was gone. *** Sam and I went to Voda, a small, blasé bar that sat unassumingly between a restaurant and a clothes shop. We talked, laughed, edged ...
    closer to one another. It was tentative, soft, sweet; like all good first dates are. We knew each other enough to make the conversation flow and I liked him. I really liked him. He dressed well, spoke well, knew how to make me laugh and called himself out when he slipped into clichés. Afterwards, he walked me home, in and out of the familiar streets and up the stairs to my flat. “Do you want to come in?” I had the door edged open. “I’ll get you a drink.” Sam smiled. For the first time that evening, he looked uncomfortable. “I’ve already had enough to drink.” “Coffee?” I suggested. “No, thank you.” He was practically backing away. It made me feel like the designated desperate girl. “Okay. Well-” “I’ll see you Monday,” he said, cutting me off. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against my cheek. I was too stunned to respond. I watched him head down the stairs and then walked dejectedly into my flat. I shut the door, switched the light on, turned around and had a near heart attack. Sitting on my sofa was Cooper Hyde. “Hey, neighbour,” he said. “I thought that guy would never leave.” He was wearing jeans. No shirt. I tried not to stare. “What the hell are you doing here? How’d you get in?” He held up his hand. A key dangled from his fingertip. “I keep meaning to give this to you,” he said. “But it comes in useful.” He put the key down deliberately on the coffee table, drawing my attention to the two other items that shouldn’t have been there. Handcuffs. Lube. God. No. Yes. No. ...