The Good Neighbor Ch. 02

2 - The Helpful Neighbor

It was almost the end of summer when a windstorm tore through, bringing down several trees in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, one of the ones in my backyard was among them. It wasn't huge and it hadn't damaged my fence luckily, but it was resting partially on it and would require a trip to the hardware store. It was my first home and I was lacking a lot of tools.

I'd put off dealing with it for about week when I finally got a knock on the door about it.

"Oh, hi, Dan," I greeted the dark-haired gentleman when I opened the door.

"Hello, Grace," he replied with a friendly smile. "How have you been?"

"Great, great. Yourself?" I tried to make small talk, hoping I wasn't half as awkward as I felt. But it was real hard, because this was Dan, AKA my next door neighbor, who had possibly seen my backyard activities from his window.

"No complaints. Shame about your tree though," he said.

I didn't know Dan well, though our interactions had been pleasant enough in person. But I couldn't help wondering about some of the other longer distance interactions that I'd been suspicious of lately. I sure as hell couldn't just ask him if he'd been watching me from his window though. Besides, he seemed so casual now standing in front of my house that I started to think that couldn't possibly have happened.

"I know, I'm so sorry for the eyesore," I said, embarrassed that I hadn't dealt with it sooner. "And I'm sorry, it's practically in your yard too. I should have done it right away."

"No apology needed. I was actually coming by to see if I could give you a hand with it," he said helpfully.

"Oh no," I said quickly, "that's not necessary. Thank you though. I really will get it done this weekend."

"It would be no trouble." He met my gaze steadily with penetrating blue eyes.

"You really don't have to do that," I said. This man, hell, he was probably my dad's age. There was no way I was going to let him chop down a tree for me.

"Do you have a chainsaw?" he asked reasonably.

"No," I admitted. "Maybe you'd let me borrow yours for a couple hours and bring it back?"

"Maybe you'd let me do it for you," he returned. He wasn't being particularly forceful, but he was making it very hard for me to get out of this without being rude. "I insist." To be fair, he was always out working in his own yard. He had a lovely yard. It showed the hard work. So did his body, I noticed, as my eyes drifted down his body, taking in the man who so suddenly appeared there. He looked sturdy. I felt bad for briefly assuming otherwise.

"Sure," I accepted, finally giving in. "Thank you, I really do appreciate the help."

"You can return the favor quite easily," he said. My eyes went wide and I completely lost my voice. Was this--was he... "With firewood," he said, as I stared at him blankly, "from your tree."

"Of course!" I said, with far more enthusiasm than I'd intended. "Yes, as much as you want. I don't have much use for it myself."

"I appreciate that," he said, giving me such a kind smile that I was ashamed for even briefly thinking he was asking for sexual favors in return for his help. He was just being a nice guy. Maybe I was the one who was the real pervert. "If now is an alright time, I'll go grab my saw."

"Yeah, now would be fine," I said, feeling a sense of relief as I closed the door behind him.

I felt strangely flustered. My mind was spinning with all the questions I had overthought for weeks. And it really didn't help matters when I realized he was actually quite handsome. Which certainly made no difference to me. Because he was just my neighbor who was coming over to help with my tree. And that was that.

Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Dan had returned, this time carrying a chainsaw in one hand.

"I can go around the back if you'd rather," he offered as I stood aside to let him in.

"Don't worry about it," I said. I needed to vacuum and his dirty boots wouldn't make it much worse.

"You've done a beautiful job with the house, Grace," he said, looking around as I unlocked the sliding door to the backyard.

"Oh, thank you," I said modestly. "Amazing what a fresh coat of paint will do."

"To be fair, I haven't been in this house for probably a decade, but it looks great and much different."

I appreciated the compliment but I still felt embarrassed about having him see it. I hadn't been prepared for company and I wasn't always the tidiest person. It was just a matter of good luck he'd come by after I'd put away the stack of folded laundry that had been on the couch for two days.

"Can I get you anything?" I asked as he headed toward the splintered tree.

"No. Should be done pretty quickly."

The roar of the chainsaw filled the air as he turned on the motor. I thought it might be a bit weird to stand on my porch watching him work while I did nothing, so I went back inside. I could at least bring him some water, I decided, heading for the kitchen.

I took my time getting a glass. Getting ice. Getting water. Occasionally, my eyes drifted to the window that looked out on the backyard. He was cutting sections off with such ease that I found myself extremely glad he was doing it. Let's face it, I'd never used a chainsaw before. Hell, I was so clueless I would have bought an axe and probably spent all day hacking away at it. Not that I'd ever used an axe either. Thank god he hadn't caught me doing that.

"Wow, you work fast," I said, joining Dan in the back. The tree was almost gone, replaced by a pile of logs surrounding a four-foot stump.

"It was just a sapling. Shouldn't haven't been a problem, but it looks like there was some disease when I cut into it," he said, thanking me as I handed him a glass of water. I nodded along like that had some meaning to me, but I hadn't known if it was a sapling or just a small tree and I had no idea what diseases trees could get. "Last of your privacy is gone now though," he said.

I blushed deeply as I remembered all the things I had done in the patchy privacy that sapling had provided. Is that why he said it like that? "There's still the fence," I said.

"Of course," he agreed. "Grace," he looked at me, almost slightly amused, it seemed, "you know I can see your backyard from my bedroom window." He nodded in that direction.

"Oh." My mouth felt very dry. I wasn't sure what to say. "Right." So, that was his bedroom window.

"I have to ask," he said, pausing long enough to make me nervous, "do you still paint in the winter?"

"Oh," I chuckled shyly, "sure, I do."

"I take it you move indoors."

"Yes," I nodded. He was as much as telling me he'd seen me in my backyard. I had no idea what to do. "I'm sorry if, uh, I'm a bother or a mess or you hear my, uh, music out there," I rambled, "or anything."

"It's certainly no bother to me," he said with a knowing twinkle in his eye.

My cheeks were burning and I was sure I was the color of a tomato. The idea of him seeing a peek of me once in a while from his house felt very different now that he was standing right in front of me. All I could think about now was that he had seen me naked. Countless times probably. He'd know exactly what my body looked like. From my perky breasts to the small patch of fur between my legs. Maybe he was even thinking about it right now. I suddenly felt as naked as if my clothes were off.

"Can I see?" he asked.

"What?" I said horrified. In my mind I thought he must be talking about my body since that was what I had been thinking about.

"Your paintings," he clarified.

"Oh no," I said quickly. "I'm very sloppy. They aren't for public viewing."

"Then it's a good thing we aren't in public."

I swallowed. The way he said it--the way he looked at me--I wasn't sure why it was making me so nervous. Okay, I knew exactly why I was nervous. I was 95% sure this man had been pleasuring himself as he spied me peeing in the nude in my backyard. It was such a bizarre notion to me that I convinced myself down to 85% then and there. That kind of thing didn't happen, right? And he was so nice...there was no way he was such a pervert...80%.

"I'm going to finish up here," he said, turning back to what was previously the tree.

I realized I'd never replied to his previous statement, but he started the chainsaw again and the noise meant I couldn't rectify it even if I had come up with something to say. I took the empty glass he'd put down and took it back to the kitchen. By the time I returned, the chainsaw was off and all that remained of the tree was a pile of logs and a small stump.

"Wow," I assessed the new sight. "Thank you so much. Really. I--thank you."

"You're quite welcome, Grace," he said, stacking logs.

"Can I at least help bring some of those to your yard?" I asked.

"That would be nice," he smiled. "Thank you."

"It's the least I can do," I said, hurrying to pick up an armful, disregarding the dirt that was getting on my white shorts in the process.

"You should pull those blackberries before they take over," he said, glancing to the back corner where they were growing along the fence as we left my yard through the gate.

"Pull them?" I said, surprised. "But they're blackberries."

He gave me that amused, almost pitying, look again and said, "You're not from around here, are you?"

"I am," I said defensively, following him onto his property, "but I've always lived in the city."

"Blackberries are a weed; they'll take over if you let them."

"Oh." I hadn't been aware of that. "Thanks for the tip."

We stopped in his side yard by the gate to the back. "You can drop them here," he said, dropping his own load to the ground. "I'd be happy to help you clear out the blackberries if you want a hand," he offered. "They can be pretty nasty."

"You don't have to do that," I said quickly. "Really, you've helped me so much by taking care of that tree."

"Consider it me being selfish then," he said. "They'll be coming into my yard if you don't take care of it soon, and I'd really rather not deal with it once it gets to that point."

"Oh, of course," I said, feeling stupid as ever. "I'm so sorry."

"Maybe I can come over tomorrow and we can tackle it together, if you're free."

"Sure," I gave in. "I'll be around all day, so, stop by anytime." I waved goodbye as I headed back to my own home.

He was so damn nice. And I was so clueless.

There was no way this man had been spying on me. Well, I was sure he had seen me, obviously. He'd as much as said so. But surely my imagination had been running rampant when I thought he'd been touching himself as he watched. I could barely see anything up there and now it seemed like it had been a ridiculous assumption to make. I had been 95% sure...now down to 70%. And to think that he had done it to the sight of me peeing. Dan was so fucking normal and so nice that it was simply impossible. 50%.

I had just gotten dressed when I heard a knock at the door. I swore under my breath and checked the time. It was almost 11. I should have been dressed and ready for the day a long time ago, so I really couldn't be mad about Dan showing up when I'd said I was free anytime. What kind of degenerate wasn't even dressed by 10? I brushed my hair hurriedly, sweeping it into a ponytail as I went to the door.

"Hello," I said brightly when I opened the door.

"Hi, Grace," he greeted me. "Is now a good time?" I noticed his eyes flick down, but I didn't think he was checking me out. The look was more of patriarchal disapproval which I found quite irritating. As if he could pretend to be scandalized by short-shorts, when he'd spied on me in far less.

"Absolutely," I stepped aside to let him in and lead him to the backyard.

We walked over to the blackberry bushes. They looked more intimidating up close.

"Where are your gloves?" Dan asked, looking me up and down as he pulled his own gloves on. "Grace," he said, almost scoldingly, "I told you I'd help but I'm not doing it on my own. Go get your gloves."

"No, no! I want to help! I just don't have any," I said uncomfortably. "I mean, I own winter gloves but..." I wasn't sure why I had even said it when it was so clearly not what he meant.

"Do you have shears?"

"I think so?" I said unsurely, glancing at the storage chest the previous owners had left half-full of random garden tools.

"Shovel?"

"Probably not."

He sighed, shaking his head, though I thought I saw him smiling as he went to the storage bin I had been looking at. He lifted the lid and peered in, reaching around inside to, no doubt, judge whatever limited crap was in there. "Oh, Grace," he tutted, closing the lid and looking at me, "you really don't have much in here."

"I'm sorry," I apologized, embarrassed. "I-I just--sorry I wasn't prepared. I'll buy some stuff. Maybe you should just come back tomorrow."

"How about we make a trip to the store together right now. I'm starting to get the feeling you wouldn't know what to get if I let you go alone."

"I'm so sorry," I said, wanting burry my face in my hands and hide.

"Please, stop apologizing and let me help you."

I nodded quietly, resisting the urge to apologize again. I drove us to the store--only a five-minute trip--and told Dan to pick whatever I needed. I followed him around the hardware store, letting him fill the cart with a few garden essentials, but not an overwhelming amount. Then we headed back, finally ready to start working.

I learned quickly that removing blackberries was an unpleasant task and it had been very generous of Dan to offer his help. I also understood why he said I shouldn't wait to do it. I hadn't thought there was that much in the corner, but an hour of shearing sharp woody stalks with inch long thorns and barely feeling as though we'd made a dent had me thinking otherwise.

I was surprised how quickly the time went. We chatted on and off and I learned we actually had quite a few things in common. Literature. Art. The great outdoors. Everything seemed so normal and so casual that I'd almost forgotten about our mutually questionable behavior until we took a break to rehydrate.

I stood up and brushed off my knees. "I should have probably worn jeans," I said begrudgingly, eyeing my knees which still had bits of dirt on it, imprints from the grass, and a fair number of scratches, "in retrospect."

"Probably," he agreed. I now understood the disapproving looks he'd been giving me at the beginning of the day. Perhaps shorts and a tank top had not been the most sensible outfit to wear for pulling blackberries.

"I thought it was better than what I usually wear back here," I muttered. Dan almost choked on his water, and I immediately regretted my words. "Because wearing a dress didn't seem practical," I added quickly, wishing I hadn't brought it up at all.

"Oh yes," he agreed, sounding serious but also looking like he was trying not to laugh. "A dress certainly wouldn't have been practical."

I didn't know what to say. I was blushing furiously and wished I could vanish on the spot. The look he gave me was one as if to say, 'we can keep pretending as long as you want to.' Well, I did want to. I wasn't sure how I felt about the truth yet. I wasn't even sure what the truth was.

"Let's get back to it," he said, putting the glass down. "Should be able to wrap this up in about an hour."

I nodded and put my gloves back on.

"Do you plan on planting something else over here?" he asked as we worked, indicating our shared fence which now looked quite bare with the tree and most of the blackberry bushes gone.

I shrugged. "I wouldn't even know what to plant."

"Well, would you like it to give you some more privacy?" he asked carefully. "Or just decoration?"

I stopped what I was doing and looked at him. I was almost certain the question had nothing to do with plants. "Should I plant something there so you don't have to look at my yard?" I returned.

"I don't mind the view," he chuckled. "Please don't do it on my account."

I bit my lip, working up the nerve to say, "Maybe you can recommend a nice decorative plant then."

"Maybe we could find one together," he suggested.

"Yeah," I turned my smile to the ground, returning to the task at hand, "I'd like that."

I was exhausted by the time we were done, even though it had only been two or three hours. I was amazed by how much we'd cleared.

"Satisfying, isn't it?" said Dan as we admired our work.

"It is," I nodded. "I really appreciate everything you've helped me with. If there's ever anything I can do, please let me know. I'd love to return the favor."

"That's very kind of you, Grace. I'll let you know if there is anything I need a hand with." He bid me goodbye and returned to his own home.

I ran myself a bath once I was alone. I felt dirty and my body was sore. The fact that people did that activity for fun amazed me. No wonder Dan was in such good shape.

Dan... My mind drifted to some of the less appropriate moments we'd had that day. He'd asked if I'd wanted privacy and I'd told him no. I'd essentially confirmed it was perfectly okay for him to watch my naughty backyard activities from his window. His bedroom window, as I'd learned. I wasn't sure why that detail mattered, but for someone reason it did.

I wasn't sure why I'd done it. I thought it should bother me more that a random man was peeping on me and likely pleasuring himself as he watched. But he wasn't that random, I reminded myself. I'd lived next to him for almost a year, and he seemed like a perfectly nice man. Apparently a pervert. But a nice one.

An image of Dan touching himself floated through my mind, making my stomach tingle. I wondered what his dick looked like...it was probably nice. He had the confidence of a man with a great cock. I barely noticed my own hand snake between my legs. I fingered my clit lightly as I lay in the tub imagining the handsome older man next door. How many times had he watched me? I wondered if it made him cum. I hoped it had. I was realizing I liked the attention, and it would have made me strangely disappointed if it hadn't been enough for him.

It felt so naughty to touch myself as I thought about him. But I didn't stop. I imagined he was doing the same thing right now. That he had gone to clean up after leaving my house and found his cock half-erect after flirting with me. I thought about him stroking himself, perhaps as he imagined what I had looked like on my hands and knees in the dirt next to him. I wondered if he wanted to fuck me. Or at least thought about it. I wasn't sure I wanted that, but I wanted him to want it.

I grabbed one nipple urgently as I felt pressure building in my pelvis.

He's seen me cum before. He's seen me like this. And I'll let him see me like this again.

A small whimper escaped my lips as my body shuddered, causing the bath water to splash a little as I climaxed.

I thought about the next day as my body started to relax. I wanted to show my body off to him again, but I got more nervous with every confirmation that he was watching me.

I glanced down at my body, rippling a bit through the water. The dark triangle of hair down there looked thicker and overgrown, and I suddenly felt a little embarrassed about it. I didn't mind having hair there, but most men I'd met didn't care for it. As a result, I usually kept myself clean shaven or close to it when I was planning on being intimate with someone. But it had been an embarrassingly long time since I'd actually hooked up with someone and I'd had no real reason to groom lately. I was surprised I hadn't had this moment of self-conscious realization that even though I hadn't been intimate with anyone for a while, I had been letting a man view my naked body on what I thought was a fairly regular basis. If truth be told, I think I'd actually felt a small sense of security with it for that reason. From far away and covered by hair, my pussy was kind of censored.