Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!

Fuck. I’ve got to change this damn ring tone. It always starts so abruptly I jump from the sound eight times out of ten.

I click the blue icon jumping on my laptop screen to see that it’s Matt calling. I put on my earphones and click the green circle to start the call.

“What?”

“Why are you always so pissed off when I call you, man?” Matt’s frowning face appears on the screen, the graphics lagging a couple of seconds behind the voice.

“Your ugly mug annoys me.” I take a sip of my coffee. Maybe it’ll help me deal with the day.

“Come on. You know you love me. Besides, my Mom tells me I’m handsome.” Matt leans closer to the camera and raises his eyebrows. He squints at his screen. “Did you just wake up? What time is it over there?”

“It’s seven. And yes, I just woke up like twenty minutes ago.” I stretch my hands to the side and yawn.

“God. It pisses me off that you get to sleep in all day.”

“It’s not sleeping all day. It’s called working at night.”

“Po-tay-toh, po-tah-toh.”

I put my mug of coffee down on the cheap particleboard computer desk and sigh. “Why are you calling?”

“You used to be cool, Jacob.” Matt sticks out his bottom lip like he’s five.

This guy used to be an active duty First Class Petty Officer, a Navy SEAL. A damn good one, too. He's got his act together, so everybody likes to ask him for advice. But if you didn't know him, you wouldn’t know it by the way he acts. He can be pretty goofy.

“Negative. I was never cool.” I chuckle.

“And yet here I am, the coolest guy ever, calling you. All because I’m a great friend who’s worried about you. And you don’t even appreciate it.” He sighs in mock disappointment.

“What are you even worried about?” I frown. “I don’t need you to fucking babysit me, man.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about that temper of yours. I just want to check that you’re doing fine.”

“Of course I am.”

“Business doing well?”

“It would be if you weren’t harassing me.”

“You're still moving around? Not seeing anyone? I almost regret teaching you how to make your own money.”

“What are you talking about? That was the best thing you've ever done for me. Really.”

“Yeah. I just think… Maybe it's time for you to stop traveling so much. Think about settling down with a nice girl. You’ve never taken any woman seriously after the thing with that stripper, and I really don't think that's healthy.”

“What do you want me to do about it? Nice girls don't just grow on trees.” I shrug. Jesus, this guy. Just because he’s seeing some girl, suddenly he’s a relationship expert.

“Bullshit. I know you get your dick wet on the regular. Maybe pick one from your harem and just do it.”

“It doesn't work like that.” I squint at the image on the screen in front of me. I'm still talking to Matt, my buddy from the Navy SEAL, and not my nosy Aunt Ida, right?

“Yeah, okay. I'm not saying you should settle down tomorrow. Just try to take your dates more seriously. You know?”

“Uh-huh.” I pull up the Internet browser window on the computer. Maybe I should catch up on today's news instead of listening to this lecture.

“I just don't like seeing you getting all hung up on some stripper you slept with eons ago. Strippers do that, you know. Just ghost people and disappear without a trace. Doesn't mean all girls will do that to you. Try some other profession next time. Say, a hairdresser, or a teacher.”

I burst into laughter. Fuck, if he only knew how close he's gotten to the truth…

“Hey, I'm trying to have a serious conversation here,” Matt says with a big shit-eating grin on his face.

“Yeah, whatever,” I say as I peer above the laptop screen, past the horizontal slats of the white plastic blinds covering the window. Jessica’s car rattles as it pulls up into her driveway.

I can see her emerge from the car, between the slats of the blinds. And damn, does she look good. She’s wearing a dress tonight, which doesn’t happen often. I get up to take a closer look before I realize the earbuds in my ears are still plugged into my laptop.

“Hang on,” I tell Matt as I take off the earphones and stand in my usual spot right behind the blinds.

This particular window faces Jessica’s house, which is one of the reasons I like working here. I can see her come and go while I sit in front of the computer.

I position my eyes between two slats to get a clear view of Jessica.

She’s wearing a black, snug dress that shows off the tantalizing outline of her curves. There is some lace above her chest, through which I can see some of her creamy skin peeking through. The heels she’s wearing exaggerates the sway of her hips. It’s almost hypnotizing.  

My hands are itching to yank her dress off so I can take a good look at her full, perky tits, her narrow waist, and her curvy ass. Jessica is not a tall woman, but she packs a lot of curves in her otherwise slender, petite body.

In my imagination, Jessica’s looking at me seductively, batting her eyelashes as her full lips form a small smile. I pull the hem of her dress up to see nude stockings that go halfway up her thighs, with a garter belt and suspenders holding them up.

I slip my hand down her panties and find her wet and ready. She moans and begs for more, as her long, fiery red hair is tangled in my hand. I pull until it hurts, forcing her to tilt her head so I can bite hard on her neck.

In reality, Jessica is like five yards away, and yet I can feel myself growing in my sweatpants. The soft fabric clearly outlines my hard cock. I reach my hand down to stroke myself. I’m so fucking glad I live alone right now.

It feels like I’m watching her move in slow motion, the way my eyes take in every small detail of the way she looks tonight. The magic is broken when she gets inside her car and slams the door close hurriedly.

I glance at the clock on the wall. It’s almost seven. There’s not much time left until the market opens. Definitely not enough time left for me to take care of myself.

Then I look at the laptop.

Fuck, I’m still on a video call with Matt. Jesus. He’d never shut up about it if he sees me jerking off while creeping on my neighbor. I’d never live it down.

Luckily, the monitor and the webcam face away from the window where I’m standing.  

I stick the earphones back in and take a seat, careful to keep my erection off camera. “Sorry man, I had to take care of something.”

“Hmm… You look suspicious as hell.” Matt leans closer, no doubt to scrutinize my expression.

“Whatever.” I laugh it off. “Hey it's almost time. I should go.”

“Okay. Talk soon.”

“Bye now.” I end the call.

As much as I consider Matt as my family, I don't like the way he was pushing for me to talk about my girl problems. Fuck that. I don't have girl problems. Girls have me problems. I chuckle at my own joke.

On the screen, I pull up my work window. Things are looking good tonight. This makes me feel better about not having time to take care of the boner in my pants. I dive into it and, before I realize it, two hours have flown by.

My knees feel stiff and my ass hurts from sitting for so long. I hear sitting too much is supposed to be as unhealthy as smoking now, so I’ve apparently traded one unhealthy habit for another.

I get up to straighten my legs, but just as I’m about to head to the kitchen to grab some food, I hear something outside.

It’s Jessica’s voice. She sounds frantic.

I stop everything as I perk up my ears to listen.

“Max! Where are you? Help! Someone!”