Good Neighbors Ch. 094

It was a few weeks after I received the invite to go to my high school reunion. The date was set for May the next year, so there was plenty of time to think about it. Still, the thought of walking into the venue with my beautiful neighbor did fill me with some of the feelings that made me think about it more. It didn't help that Matt volunteered to pay for my trip with her or that Ben was talking about bringing his new girl. Still, it felt like it would be a hard sell. So, I decided to let it go for a bit.

She was running errands and texted me to let me know she'd be home late. I took that opportunity to invite her to my place for dinner. She responded with a yes but challenged me to actually cook. This began to seem like a daunting task because I rarely cooked as of late. Yet, I knew she'd appreciate the effort even if I failed miserably.

I started by finding some chicken thighs in my freezer. I put the bag with two of them under cool water to help them defrost slowly. As that happened, I found some alfredo sauce in my cupboard as well as some noodles. I went ahead and chopped the chicken into strips and started working on cooking it in a pan with some oil until cooked through. I then cooked the noodles before warming up the sauce and mixing everything together. I grabbed a bag salad out of the refrigerator and dumped it in a bowl with some shredded cheese and started to set the table.

I could hear her car driving up. I put the lights down and lit a few candles before I heard her open the door. As she walked in, I went to her to hug her tightly before guiding her to a chair. I pulled it out for her and pushed it in after she was seated before sitting myself and popping open a bottle of wine. I poured myself a little glass before handing her the bottle. She filled her glass before smiling at me.

"Will you escort me home after dinner, Sir or am I staying for dessert?" she said seductively.

I smiled.

"Whichever you like, Beloved. Thank you for joining me for dinner."

As we started to eat, she started grilling me about dinner.

"Frozen chicken thighs or the prepped kind?"

"Frozen. I defrosted them before cutting them into strips and cooking through."

"Did you order from Sal's?"

"No, I cooked this."

"You're improving, Romeo."

"Thank you. Maybe I need more lessons."

She then paused for a moment.

"Is this to butter me up about that reunion thing?"

I paused before answering.

"That's too far away. I'd rather just cook for you because I love you."

This made her pause. It was then I realized after all the things we have done together that I had never said I loved her before. She looked at me before speaking.

"I don't know what to say. I um..."

I put a finger on her lips before I spoke.

"I do. But it's mostly because of who you are and what you have done for me. I'm not trying to marry you or anything, but I'd rather just say it. You don't have to say it back or anything. I mean, you know."

She leaned in for a kiss. It tasted like the wine she was drinking before she wrapped her arms around me and pressed herself against me. She then backed up and looked me in the eyes.

"I know you do. You show me every day that you have those kinds of feelings. But I also know that we are both a little bit on the independent side because of our situations. Does that make sense?"

My heart sank a bit, but I understood what she said.

"I love you too, Romeo. I just don't want to disappoint you."

"You never disappoint me, Beloved. I'm just happy we're friends above everything else. Does that make sense?"

She nodded before taking my hand.

"I miss Mitchell so much sometimes. At the same time, I feel like he approves of you being close to me and taking care of me. I also get the feeling Missy does too. I just don't want to push you into something that could mess up both up."

"I understand."

She then grabbed my hand and started to guide me up.

"However, I do know I need to show you how much I appreciate dinner. Shall we head to your room now?"

I smiled for a moment before I spoke.

"Can we cuddle first though? I kind of need it today."

"Of course, Romeo. I need to get under your blankets anyway. We can keep each other warm."

We walked to my room both content.