I Love You, My Neighbour: Chapter 28
Jess & Alfie
Kristy
A mix of excitement and nerves wash over me as I reach home Monday evening—thrilled to see Jess again and apprehensive about meeting her 'Alfie'. I had initially planned to pick them up from the airport, but an early flight change—thanks to Alfie upgrading them to first class—made that impossible. Though I offered to take the day off to retrieve them, Jess insisted it was unnecessary. Having already taken Sunday off, I decided to respect her wishes.
Jess' plane touched down just two and a half hours ago. I know she's home because her text about the spotless house pinged on my phone as soon as she walked in. Logan and I had dedicated the previous day to cleaning, inadvertently initiating a series of intimate interludes I would never dare share with Jess for fear of her wanting to sterilize every corner.
"Hello," I announce, unlocking the door and stepping in.
The muted sounds of activity from the bathroom pull me in their direction. As I near the door, my heartbeat accelerates in anticipation of greeting Jess with a warm, tight hug. However, when the door swings open, it's not her who steps out—it's a tall, dark-haired Italian I presume to be her new fiancé, Alfie.
His lips curve in an impish smile. "Ciao Bella."
"Ah, you must be Alfredo. I’m—"
"Kristy, I know," he interrupts, lifting my hand to his lips. "Please call me Alfie."
"Alfie. Right." I find the warmth in his eyes a tad unsettling.
Is it just my imagination? He lets go of my hand, and I drop it to my side. Not being acquainted with many Italians, I wonder if this is just their typical charm. However, the deep intensity of his gaze unnerves me. And he's only in a towel. Isn't he self-conscious? I definitely am. It's a struggle to keep my eyes on his face, away from the gravitational pull of his exposed body. My cheeks flush as he stands there, unfazed.
"Well." I clear my throat, trying to regain composure. "It’s lovely to finally meet you. Congratulations on your engagement to my best friend. Speaking of, where is Jess?”
His response is a soft chuckle. "My near-nakedness seems to make you uncomfortable. You're blushing like a blushing bride on her wedding night."
"I apologize. I'm just not accustomed to seeing Jess' boyfriends quite so...undressed."
Suddenly, his playful demeanour falters. "She's had many boyfriends, then?"
"No, not a lot, I wouldn't say."
Gosh, this has to be one of the most awkward first conversations I've ever had. First, he's all... well, flirty - there's no other way to describe it. And now, he's acting like Jess's jealous lover, putting me on the spot. I'd never spill the beans on Jess; she's my best friend, for goodness' sake. I'm certainly not going to rat her out. If he has questions, he should ask her directly.
I look around him, desperately hoping that Jess is nearby and can ease the palpable tension between us. But I already know Alfie and I are alone in the house - which makes me intensely uncomfortable.
"So, where is she?" I ask. "It's been months, and I was really looking forward to squeezing the daylights out of her with a big hug."
His expression changes back to friendly, his eyes warm and dark, and his smile... wolfish. "Jess said the two of you are close."
"We are. Of course. She's my best friend."
"And you are hers. She's told me a lot about you already, but one thing she failed to mention was just how beautiful you are."
His gaze slides over me languidly, looking me up and down. His eyes practically smoulder as they meet mine again.
My heart thumps nervously in my chest. I must be imagining this; Jess's new fiancé couldn't be hitting on me. Why would he? Jess is a goddess, and I'm nothing next to her; none of Jess's boyfriends ever hit on me before.
And why would they? No man would favourably compare me to my best friend. I must be fabricating it; surely he acts like this with everyone. I'll have to ask Jess to mention that he should dial back the charm a bit. It's just too much.
The smile doesn't leave his lips as he looks in the direction of Logan's house. "She said you had a new neighbour, and she wanted to go over and introduce herself."
"What?"
The blood drains from my face, and I feel sick. Knowing my outgoing and perfectly social friend, she has decided to introduce herself. If I know her, she's currently finding out what my deal with Logan is by going straight to the source and asking about it. I wanted to be there when they first met, to see Logan's reaction when he saw Jess. I wanted to know if he looked at her with the same attraction every other hot-blooded male felt - make that the world.
"Well, I'd better go and rescue my neighbour from my overly inquisitive friend. Please excuse me, I'll be right back."
I bolt out of there, more than ready to get away from Jess's half-naked fiancé and find out exactly what Logan thinks of Jess.
As I reach his doorstep, I pause. The heavy wooden door is open, and I can hear their voices through the wire security door. They're not quite loud enough for me to catch more than a word here or there, but it's clear they're having a conversation and getting along well enough.
I grip the door handle, ready to walk in when I hear both Jess and Logan erupt in laughter together. Jealousy rips through me, stealing my breath with its intensity. It took me weeks to make Logan laugh. Yet Jess walked in there today and made him laugh like that - a way I had only ever heard him laugh with his friends. I've never even heard him laugh like that with me.
Never before have I felt so defeated. It doesn't matter that I know I have no future with Logan. Knowing he is as easily charmed as every other man leaves me feeling... heartbroken. I don't want to feel like I have to compete with Jess when it comes to Logan, too. I'd never win. I never do.
If Jess had been there on that first day I met him, he wouldn't have looked twice at me. But with every night we've spent, tearing each other's clothes off, I convinced myself that he wouldn't look at me and compare me to her the way my ex-boyfriends had - in other words, he wouldn’t find me lacking in areas Jess clearly is not.
"...home by now," I catch Jess saying.
My heart lurches as I realize that Logan and Jess are about to catch me standing here, on the brink of a breakdown.
"Knock, knock," I say as cheerily as I can, tapping on the flywire door, all the while blinking the tears from my eyes and forcing myself to smile.
Any other day, I would have just walked in, but I need the extra time to compose myself this afternoon.
"That's her!" Jess squeals loudly.
Seconds later, the door is yanked open, and Jess is in my arms. Or I'm in hers. Either way, we're hugging each other while Jess talks excitedly about how happy she is to be home and how thrilled she is to be in the same country as Alfie and me.
Once she lets me go, I do my best to keep my smile firmly in place as she squeals once more and takes me in. "Oh my God, you're so skinny now! I knew things would work out for you and Cricket. Auntie Sheila and Uncle Norm said he was a handful, but I never believed he was that bad."
I can't help it. I look up and see Logan standing there just behind Jess, an amused expression on his face, his eyes full of humour, and his smile infectious. I can't help but smile back at him.
God, I've missed him. My gaze sweeps over him in his T-shirt, shorts, and runners. He's dressed just the same as always, but there is absolutely nothing ordinary about him. He's so handsome, so gorgeous, and so sexy. I've only been away from him for a day to go to work, and it feels like it's been too long. I'm so crazy about him that I know this can end in no other way but heartbreak. I just hope that the end of our non-relationship is on my terms and not because he's decided my best friend is a better option for him than I am.
My heart clenches as I imagine the scenario. My smile falters, and even though I try to plaster it back on my face, I can see Logan notice the change. Worry replaces his earlier look of contentment, and his lips no longer curl up into a smile.
"So, what are you doing here?" I ask Jess. "I knew you were desperate for the goss, but I never expected to roll up and find you banging our new neighbour’s door down."
Jess laughs. "Actually, Alfie only drinks herbal tea, and since we don't have any, I came over to see if Logan did."
"Because guys in their twenties always have a stash of herbal tea just lying around," I say pointedly. "Admit it, you wanted to suss out our new neighbour."
"Okay, okay. I did want to know about the herbal tea, but I was also curious to find out what he was like after all the conversations we'd had about him."
"I'm glad you admit it. I was a little surprised when I found your fiancé walking out of the bathroom half naked, and you weren't there."
"Oh, you've met Alfie then?" Jess gushes.
"Yes, I certainly did."
"And?"
"And... he was... nice."
"Just nice?" she teases.
"Ah, charming, forward. A little more flirtatious than I'm used to."
Jess bites her lip, trying to keep her smile hidden. "Oh no. He embarrassed you, didn't he? I was really hoping he wouldn't."
"I'm not sure it was intentional. I guess I just didn't expect him to be so..."
"Friendly?"
"That's the word."
Jess waves it off. "Don't worry, I'll tell him off for behaving badly. Which I guess I'll go do right now. Are you coming?"
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you if you've got a sec," Logan says, catching my eye. "Can you spare me a minute?"
"Of course." I turn to Jess. "I'll be home soon."
I'm not sure I'm ready to talk to Logan, especially about Jess, but I can't bring myself to say no when I've missed him so much. His presence is like a powerful magnet, drawing me closer.
"Or not," Jess says with a mischievous smile as she steps down the stairs. She turns and winks at me, her eyes dancing with mirth.
The moment I enter Logan's house, he pulls me into his arms and pins me against the wall, his body flush against mine. His gaze holds mine captive.
"Missed you," he says before dipping his head and kissing me so fervently I lose all sense of time and where I am.
My hands curl into his shirt, and I try to pull him even closer. The ache that had started up in my heart earlier is still there, but it's much easier to ignore when there is a different sort of ache between my legs, starting to compete with it. Logan has his lips and hands all over me, reminding me that he owns me – my body and my heart. His lips slide down my throat as his hands cradle my hips and pull me against him.
Finally, he wrenches his mouth away from mine. "God, that isn't why I asked you to give me a minute."
"That's too bad. When you kiss me like that, I'm happy to give you as long as you want."
"I want to spend the night with you," he tells me, causing my heart to go into overdrive. "But I can't when Jess has just arrived home."
I want to ask him what he thinks of Jess, but can't bring myself to do it in case his answer shatters my heart all over again.
"I'll have to get back soon, but I'm here now."
"Yes, you are," he says, picking me up and walking towards his bedroom with me.
Hopefully, I can find somewhere else to live when our lease is up because I already know that when this thing with Logan does go bust, I won't be okay. Not even a little bit. And if he does start to show an interest in Jess, well, I'm not sure how I'll survive that.
Once again poor baby