Neighbors With Benefits: Chapter 18

Bash and I had another game night on Thursday, this time at his place. It was a little awkward at first; he was quieter than usual, and I wondered if something had happened at work that was affecting his mood. But after a few beers, both of us relaxed and were teasing each other while playing Candyland.

When I got home from work on Friday, there was a package waiting on my front porch. Unlike most of my deliveries, it wasn’t from Amazon; it was one of those flat-rate boxes from the Post Office.

And the sender was Aiden Rush.

I ran inside and ripped it open. Inside was a gallon-sized Ziploc bag filled with cookies and a hand-written note:

My first attempt at guessing your favorite chocolate dessert: fudge-filled chocolate chip cookies. More guesses to come.

“Oh, you’re good,” I said out loud. I took a bite—the cookie was crispy on the outside, with a soft fudge filling. I immediately texted Aiden while still chewing.

Me: I just made a sound that usually only comes from a penis.

Aiden: …a sound that a penis makes? Huh?

Me: I mean I made a sound that is usually CAUSED by a penis. I bit into a cookie and moaned for about ten seconds.

Aiden: Oh! The cookies arrived! You like them?

Me: I’ve eaten five already. This is going to be my meal tonight. Girl dinner.

Aiden: That’s one of my favorite recipes. They’re better fresh, but you can microwave them for ten seconds to get the same effect.

Me: I don’t have the patience to wait ten seconds before stuffing these into my mouth.

Aiden: There’s a joke about making you moan by filling your holes, but it’s been a long day and my brain is too tired to think of it.

Me: I’m eating a sixth cookie now. These things are SEXUAL. 10/10.

Aiden: So did I nail it? I guessed your favorite chocolate dessert on the first try?

Me: These might be my NEW favorite, but no. You’re going to have to keep guessing.

Aiden: You just want me to keep sending you baked goods.

Me: Also yes.

Me: Give me ten minutes to change and I’ll reward you with a sexy strip tease over Facetime.

Aiden: Damnit. I can’t. I’m stuck working at the branch late tonight. I’m training the overnight warehouse workers on our new system. Our break is almost over, actually.

Me: Then I’ll send it to you as a video, and you can enjoy it whenever you get back to your hotel room. And I’ll take immense pleasure knowing that you have to sit there in front of all those workers while the unread text burns a hole in your pocket.

Aiden: It’ll give me something to look forward to 🙂

I picked out a nice corset from my lingerie drawer and then made a sexy strip-tease video. Normally I would feel too self-conscious to do something like this, but the cookies were that good. Plus, there was less pressure on me because this was a casual relationship. I didn’t have to worry about looking silly because the stakes were so low.

I woke up the next morning with a text from Aiden, sent around midnight. There were no words—it was just a series of Bugs Bunny GIFs where his eyes are popping out of his head. It put a smile on my face while I drank my coffee.

I had a lot to do today, so I drove to Home Depot to pick up supplies. When I got home and pulled into my driveway, I blinked in surprise. Bash was sitting in the rocking chair on my porch, wearing overalls and reading a book.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” I asked.

Bash folded a corner of his page and closed the book. “I’m here to work. Did you get all the paint supplies?”

I stared at him. “You’re going to help?”

“Of course,” he replied. “I said I would, didn’t I?”

“I thought you were just being nice.”

He walked down the porch toward me. He wasn’t wearing anything under the overalls; it was all bare skin. “I’m a man of my word. If I offer to do something, I mean it. Let me help you with that.”

He took the paint cans out of my hand, his arm brushing against mine for a brief second before he carried them inside. I admired the sight for a few seconds before following him.

“Which room is first?” he asked.

“The living room. I spend the most time in here, so I figured I’d knock it out first. Most bang for my buck.”

“Smart.” He put down the cans and then squinted at the lid of one. “Soft white alabaster? I like it. That’s going to look fantastic in this room with all the natural light you get.”

“I hope so!”

He put his hands on his hips and gazed around the room. “You’ve got high ceilings. I’ll grab my ladder.”

“You really don’t have to help,” I reiterated. “This is a big task, and I don’t want to take up your whole day…”

“Stop it. You can pay me back with a six pack of beer.” He pointed at me, then left to get the ladder.

I let out a sigh. Jesus, he was hot. And those overalls were weirdly cute, in a boyish kind of way. It was going to be tough looking at him all day.

With weirdly-relevant timing, I got a text from Aiden.

Aiden: Thanks again for that video. It made my night. Normally these trips are boring.

Me: Now you owe me a sexy video 🙂

Aiden: It’s not the same reversed. Girls don’t like videos of guys just sitting there, jacking off.

Me: What? Of course we do!

Aiden: Really?

Me: Yes! That would be mega-hot! Why wouldn’t we like that?

Aiden: I don’t know. Girls are always talking about getting dick pics and how bad it is.

Me: The difference here, dear Aiden, is consent. Unprompted dick pics = bad. Dick pics from your boy toy = good.

Aiden: Thanks for the lesson, I will take that under advisement.

Aiden: Wait, do I need to send you sexy videos of my junk since I’m already sending you chocolate baked goods?

Me: Yes of course. Those are two totally different needs that need fulfilling. Plus, you need to keep me interested so I don’t go looking for a different dick 😉

Aiden: This is actually a good time to reiterate that you’re free to do whatever you want. We’re not exclusive. It wouldn’t bother me if you, like, hooked up with someone else.

Me: So in other words, you met a hot piece of Omaha ass that you want to sleep with tonight 😉

I added the winky face on the end to make sure he knew I was joking, but his comment did sting more than I expected. It was like there was an aching ball in my stomach rolling around. I tried to ignore it as he responded.

Aiden: I can assure you I’m not sleeping with anyone out here, not while working 18 hour days. I just wanted to make sure you knew I don’t get jealous. You’re free to do whatever you want… as long as you still want to hook up when I get back.

Me: I want that very much 🙂

Bash walked into the living room with a ladder under one arm. “You’re in charge, so I’ll do whatever you want here. But I have an important piece of information to give you: I’m a master at applying painter’s tape. Everyone talks about it. I’m kind of a big deal around Philadelphia.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Really? Everyone talks about it?”

He replied while setting up the ladder. “Yep. Literally every member of Philadelphia’s one-point-five million population. You’re actually incredibly lucky that I’m helping you.”

I let out a relieved sigh. “I feel like I’ve won the lottery, to have the famous Sebastian Harley in my house!” I tossed him a roll of green painter’s tape. “Will you autograph your work for me? It might increase the value of my home whenever I sell.”

He gave me a mock salute. “It would be my honor, my dear.”

We both grinned together while we got to work.