"So, you're finally going out with Trevor tonight, Huh?"

"Yeah, he's going to text me before he comes over later," I said as I grabbed Joey's mouth and turned his head from side to side as he tried in vain to bite my hand but mostly just covering it in slobber.

"Hopefully it's a good text this time," she said with a scowl.

"Yeah, that would be nice," I said half-heartedly, still playing with Joey.

"Maybe it's just me, but you don't sound very excited."

"No, I am. I mean, he's really cute and all, and he's the first guy who's actually wanted to hang out with me since I moved here. So, there's that." Joey was now trying to sneak his way under my arm and onto my lap but Barbara stopped him.

"No, Joey! Get down. That's right, back it up. Keep going, mister. That's better, be a good dog and sit next to Avery, not on top of her. Man, he can't get enough of you," she said as she watched him to make sure he stayed where he was. I smiled as I watched him sneak his paw back up on my leg, then look over at Barbara to see what he could get away with and when she didn't tell him to stop he put the other one up too.

"It sounds to me like your only criteria for whether a guy is worth dating is whether he's willing to date you? That doesn't sound very sexy."

"No, it's not that at all. I mean, he is cute, and we do have that class in common, so I'm just going to see how it goes. But, ok, I have to tell you something and you have to promise not to freak out or tell me I'm a total weirdo."

"What? Tell me!"

"Well, there's someone else."

"What do you mean? There someone else that you have the hots for? Some dude you haven't told me about?"

"I know you're going to think I'm crazy but I can't stop thinking about that guy next door," I said really fast as I hid my face in my hands in mock embarrassment. I was a little weirded out by the whole thing, but mostly by how much I liked the thought of him watching me because it made me feel like a total nympho, and I had no intention of telling her about that.

"The creepy dude next door?"

"Come on, Barbara, you promised."

"No I didn't. I would never make a promise to not freak out. I have every right to freak out whenever I choose. But I promise I won't tell you that I think you're a weirdo."

"Gee, thanks."

"I'm kidding. I'm not gonna freak. I honestly just thought he was kinda stuck up the few times I saw him before you moved here. It was you telling me that he was looking at you in your window that creeped me out a little. But if you want to have a crush on him it's your funeral."

"I'm probably going to regret this, but you won't believe what I saw when I was down in the tunnel today."

"What?"

"Well, it was nothing, really. Nothing bad, anyway ... except ..." I paused as I ran my hand down the length of Joey's back. I knew the more I told Barbara about what happened the more I would be at risk of convincing myself that the guy was bad news.

"Except what?"

"Except I saw him. The hot neighbor."

"Oh my God, he was down there in the tunnel? What was he doing down there?"

"I don't know. When I left the basement I went in the other direction, the way that we didn't go when we were down there, you know, with all the boxes and stuff stacked against the wall. And when I turned around the basement door had shut by itself cause I had WD-40'd it before I went out and the hinges were all lubed up. I started to get a little freaked out so I headed back towards the door, and then I heard some footsteps."

"Holy shit, Avery! What the hell did you do?"

"I'm telling you what I did! As soon as I heard the footsteps I shut off the flashlight and jumped in between two stacks of boxes."

"Wait how could you have seen the boxes after you turn the flashlight off? It's pitch black down there!"

"Alright, I got behind the boxes, then I shut my flashlight off. Ok? Are you going to listen to this story or are you going to keep asking questions?"

"Ok, sorry. I'm just trying to get a clear picture of what happened down there. Ok, go ahead."

"Alright, so I'm hiding behind some of those big wooden boxes and off in the distance, in the direction of the hot neighbor's house, I see a light appear, like someone had just come around a corner. It was a ways down the tunnel but, you know, because it's so dark down there I could see it really easily, and it was coming right towards me."

"Oh my God! Dude, I'm not even down there and you're totally freaking me out," she said as she jumped up from her chair and leapt onto the couch from where she was standing. Joey stood up between us and barked but then settled back down as I continued.

"So, I couldn't see who it was, but I could see the light and I could hear the footsteps coming closer and closer and I was just praying that they would stop before they got to where I was hiding because I was totally terrified that they would see me. But the footsteps stopped about fifty feet away from where I was then turned and the light shined on a door. The neighbor's door."

"Oh my God!" she said as she grabbed my arm.

"So, the light's on the door, like he's got a flashlight in his hand or in his mouth, and I can hear him unlocking it and then when he turns the doorknob and opens the door I guess he took the flashlight out of his mouth and it flicked backward for a second. I could kind of see him, I mean, I couldn't actually see his face but it looked like it could be the same guy. He was really tall and he had something over his shoulder."

"What like a rug?"

"Well, I guess it could have been a rug. It was something in a bag. A really big bag. But it looked ... well, it looked like ..."

"Like what?" she yelled as her grip on my arm tightened.

"Like a body."

We just stared at each other with wide eyes for a few seconds while Barbara squeezed my arm even tighter.

"You have got to be kidding me. What did you do?"

"Well, I waited till he shut his door, then I ran back into the basement and shut the door as fast as I could and locked it. What do you think I did? I was scared half to death after that."

"Ok, so let me get this straight," she said as she finally started to loosen her grip on my arm.

"This is the guy that you have the hots for? A total freaking weirdo that walks around in the tunnel carrying a bag over his shoulder. A bag that looked like it had a body in it. And on top of that this same guy stares into your room all night long like a fucking maniac. This is the guy that you're spending all your time thinking about?"

"I didn't say I was spending all my time thinking about him, it's just that ... there's just something about him that I like. He seems interesting is all. And besides, I don't even know what was in the bag. It could have been groceries."

"Yeah ... um ... what planet did you say you were from again? There ain't nobody using the tunnels to get their groceries home. I can pretty much guarantee you that."

"Well maybe he is doing renovations. Maybe he's redoing his basement and he was lugging some heavy carpentry stuff around and it was just easier to use the tunnel." But even as I heard myself say those words I realized how preposterous they sounded.

"There is literally no reason for anyone in this century to use the tunnels to transport anything. Ever. It would be, like, ten million times easier to just get in a cab and have someone help you carry whatever you bought down the stairs and into the basement if that was where you planned on putting it. Or pay someone to have it delivered and taken downstairs. Some people's entire jobs revolve around delivery and moving heavy furniture up and down stairs, you know. And you don't see them using the tunnels to get around."

"Ok, ok, I get the picture. Whatever he was doing he didn't want anyone to see. Anyway, I don't know if it makes sense to keep trying to figure this out. It's entirely possible it wasn't even him anyway."

"Well, who else could it have been? Someone bringing him a giant sack full of candy or presents? Maybe it was Santa Claus," she said with mock excitement as she threw her hands up and put them on her face.

"Ok, ok! I told you I thought it was kinda weird!"

"Kinda? But you're still hot for him though?"

"I don't know what it is. There's just something about him that I find really interesting."

"Maybe he is a magician and he hypnotized you," she said with a laugh.

"Yeah, maybe that's it."

"Look, don't be bummed. I'm just giving you a hard time. I mean, I do think that guy is a little weird but, seriously, it's entirely possible that he seems weirder than he actually is. I just think you should be careful."

"Ok, I will. I should probably get going. I gotta take a shower before Trevor texts me." I said as I got up off the couch and gave Joey one final head ruffle.

"Let me how know how everything goes," she said as she opened the door. "And don't go down to the basement without me ever again. Ok?"

"Ok, ok, I promise. I'll text you later."

"Ok, later," Barbara said as she closed the door behind me.

* * *

I went up to my room then went down the hall and took shower. As I was finishing getting dressed in my room, I walked over to my window and looked out at the house next door. There was no one in the window, and actually, when I thought about it, I hadn't actually seen him in the window for a few days.

I was starting to think that I had completely blown everything out of proportion and that he wasn't anywhere near as big of a weirdo as Barbara thought he was.

I sat on the window seat for a while and watched the rain fall in streams on the glass. My phone started moving around on the windowsill and I smiled when I saw the text from Trevor, that he was actually coming over, and I tried to stay calm while I waited for him.

I was really nervous at first, especially when I tried to figure out what I was going to say to him. Small talk always made me kind of nervous and even though we knew each other, we had only talked in class and I wasn't completely comfortable with him yet. I was afraid the conversation would come to a standstill and he would start wondering why he was even at my place. And because I'm not super chatty like a lot of other girls, I'm always dreading that inevitable silence.

Not that I was always uncomfortable with silences. I didn't mind them at all when they were with someone I felt more at ease with. In fact, it felt more intimate to me to just be able to sit and not say anything sometimes.

* * *

"So these are some French doors that go out onto the balcony, but it's raining out so it probably wouldn't be very much fun to go out there."

"Yeah, that's cool."

"And this window seat is where I sit and read or whatever."

"Who's the dude?"

"What do you mean? What dude?"

"The dude in the window over there," Trevor said as he gestured toward the neighbor's house. I looked out the window and there was, the neighbor. I couldn't believe it, I was just thinking about how I hadn't seen him for a while and there he was, but only for a split second and then he disappeared again.

That's so weird, I thought to myself. I vaguely realized that Trevor was talking but I was still so lost in thought about the neighbor that I didn't hear a word he said.

"Whaddya say?"

"Oh, sorry," I said as I shook my head slightly. "What did you say?"

"I was just asking what you felt like doing. Did you want to hang out here? Or go out? It's kind of a bummer though that it's raining so hard."

"Yeah, maybe we should just stay in. I don't have a TV or anything but we could watch a movie on my laptop," I said as I crossed the room and grabbed my computer, then threw it on the bed.

"That sounds cool. We could watch something on Netflix," he said as he reached up and brushed a piece of hair out of my face. I thought for second that maybe he was going to kiss me and I got really nervous and put my head down. It had been a while since I'd been kissed and even though I really wanted it I was feeling kind of shy.

"You ok?" he asked as he lifted my chin up.

"Yeah, just a little nervous," I said as I looked up into his eyes. He really was pretty cute.

"You don't have anything at all to be nervous about. I think you're super hot and ... hey, there's that dude again!" he said as he walked towards the window, but by the time I turned to look there wasn't anyone in the window. But I knew Trevor wasn't lying.

"You really need to put some curtains up in here. What's up with that guy? Is he always looking in here?"

"No, not really. I mean I've seen him before but it's been a while. Why don't we get on the bed and start the movie? You can't see the bed from the window," I said as I pulled Trevor out of view of the neighbor's house.

That was really weird. Why was he looking in my window again?

Suddenly, I was way more interested in what the neighbor was doing than the guy standing right in front of me and I was starting to wish that Trevor wasn't there at all.

Am I really that fucked up? I wondered to myself as Trevor and I settled onto the bed. It was a little uncomfortable because the bed was a twin and I didn't feel like I should have my whole body pressed against his just yet. But then I thought about that night out on the street when I felt the neighbor's legs and chest and pelvis flexing and pressing against the front of my body. I closed my eyes for a second and remembered how amazing it felt, and the way his deep, sexy voice made me feel.

It wasn't too soon for him to press up against me, I thought with a slight smile.

When I opened my eyes back up the movie was starting so I scrunched up next to Trevor with my back on the pillow that was propped up against the wall and let my leg rest up against his.

We had only gotten ten minutes into the movie when Trevor put his arm around me and laid his head on my shoulder. I thought it was sweet, but I wasn't really interested in doing anything with him and it wasn't that I was nervous or scared. I had actually stopped feeling nervous the minute I saw the neighbor looking through my window. I just wasn't interested in anything happening with Trevor anymore.

Not long after that Trevor shut the laptop and set it on the table next to the bed, then put his hand on my leg and kissed me. It seemed kind of awkward and I wasn't all that into it, but after a few seconds I started kissing him back and it was really kind of nice.

"Your lips taste really good," he said as he pulled me down further on the bed and got on top of me. It really was nice to feel a guy on top of me, and to feel the intensity of a kiss, but no matter how hard I tried to lose myself in the moment something just wasn't working for me.

Trevor was cute and fun to talk to in class and his breath smelled really good, but all I could think about was that guy next door. About the dark hair that shadowed his incredibly sexy jawline and how his eyes seemed to burn into me when he stared into my eyes that night on the sidewalk. There was also something else, something about the way he felt to me.

I didn't know if it was just the heat from his body or the excitement, but I could almost feel him inside me, coursing through me and making every cell of my body come to life. In that short amount of time when we met on the street I felt more going on inside me than in the last five minutes with Trevor on top of me and with his tongue in my mouth. There was just something about his vibe that I couldn't shake. And even though I knew that Barbara was right, that the stuff he did was kind of creepy, I just didn't care.

I opened my eyes slightly and looked up at the ceiling as Trevor moved his lips down to my neck and started massaging my breasts but then my attention was drawn to the balcony for some reason and I gasped when I saw a face in the window.

"Oh my God!" I said as I sat up, pushing Trevor off of me.

"What? What's the matter?"

As soon as Trevor sat up the face was gone and I scrambled for something to say.

"I ... uh ... this is going a little too fast for me." I don't know why I felt like I had to lie. I knew I had seen someone out on the balcony, but for some reason I didn't want to tell him. And, the thing is, it wasn't just someone, it was my neighbor, I was sure of it. I didn't have the vaguest idea how he could've gotten up there, but I knew it was him.

"Sorry, Trevor, I'm just not feeling it right now."

"So, what? You want me to go?"

"No, no, you don't have to go. We can keep watching the movie if you want," but I didn't really mean that. I did kind of want him to go, but I didn't want to be rude.

"That's cool. I've seen that movie anyway. I'm just going to head out," he said as he put his shoes on.

"Are you mad?"

"No, I'm not mad. I'll see you later," he said as he went to the door. I was relieved that he didn't try to kiss me goodbye, but it did seem like he was probably mad or he would have at least given me a hug.

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow in class," I said as I followed behind him and held the door open as he left.

I felt a little lame for doing that to him, but I also didn't really care. I couldn't stop thinking about what I had seen, both through my bedroom window and just now out on the balcony. And I couldn't stop thinking about him. The neighbor.

As soon as Trevor was gone and I had closed the door I went out onto the balcony to see if I could tell if someone had been out there. The rain had stopped and the entire balcony was wet, but there was no sign that anyone had been standing outside my door. I walked over to the other side and peeked into my neighbor's apartment but the room was completely dark. Then I went back over to my side of the balcony and looked at the house next door. There were no lights on at all. The house was completely black as usual.