Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 117574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117574 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 588(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
I pick up my bucket and lug it into the kitchen for dumping and refilling. But before I turn on the faucet, I freeze at the sound of muffled footsteps in the hallway. Is that one of Carlo’s colleagues taking matters into his own hands? Did Carlo lose control of the situation, despite his assurances? That’s the terrifying thought that’s been keeping me up at night for almost a month now, on top of the generalized anxiety I also feel about my layoff.
While I’m still frozen and listening carefully at the sink, a muffled, cheerful male voice says, “Are you hungry, buddy? Yeah, me, too. Let’s eat!”
Phew. It’s only my annoying next-door neighbor and his three-legged pooch. What a relief. I haven’t run into Auggie since that first time in front of the building, and I’m hoping the trend will continue. I don’t have time to spar with him again. And flirting is out of the question. I’ve got work to do.
Breathing a huge sigh of relief, I turn on the faucet, refill my bucket, and head into the bedroom. Thanks to Tessa’s crew, it’s empty now. I’ve set up an air mattress in here and that’s all there is, other than my big suitcase in a corner.
After setting down my bucket, tools, and a stepstool I had to go back into the living room to retrieve, I get to work, taking down all wall decorations—an amateurish oil painting, a funky, clunky oval-shaped mirror that’s covered in dust, and a framed movie poster for Hitchcock’s creepy thriller, Rear Window. After that, I grab a hammer and pull out every nail in every wall and then tape the baseboard and outlets in preparation for wiping down the walls.
Finally, I’m ready to get to the heart of my work. I drag the stepstool into position, climb up, and swipe with the sponge. But in short order, something in the wall a few inches below eye level catches my attention. Right where the Rear Window poster used to hang, there’s a small hole in the wall that doesn’t look like one of the nail holes I’ve just created. For one thing, it’s bigger than any of those holes; but more importantly, there’s a pinpoint of light flickering through it.
I toss the sponge into the bucket below me, step down a rung on the stepstool, and lean my face into the hole—and that’s when I behold my annoying next-door neighbor, Augustus Vaughn, naked on his bed and jerking off in front of a laptop. To be fair, he’s wearing a Deadpool mask on his head, so I can’t see his face. But that fit body most definitely looks like Auggie’s. And those are absolutely his large hands. Not to mention, the fit man with big hands is beating off in Auggie’s bed, so who else could he be?
I jerk my head away from the wall, shocked by what I’ve seen. There’s a fucking peephole in my wall? And it’s aimed directly at Auggie’s bed?
My breathing turns erratic. Labored. My pulse is skyrocketing. This is a truly shocking discovery. Also, damn, Auggie’s got a big dick.
I realize that last thing shouldn’t be a top concern at the moment, but, damn, that was quite a dick. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dick quite that impressive before, as a matter of fact, other than in porn. Auggie’s cock is not only long, but thick and girthy, too. I bet the sensation of a dick that big, stretching you out and then filling you up, feels insanely pleasurable. My clit is suddenly pulsing, just thinking about it. Or maybe my body’s simply reacting to the sight of Auggie’s naked body, in general. It was absolutely stunning. Perfect. Athletic and fit, without being too bulky. Most of my lovers have had dad bods, which is great with me. But I must admit . . . Damn.
Stop it, Charlotte. You can’t think about boning the man at a time like this! For fuck’s sake, there’s a fucking peephole in your bedroom wall. Now, pull it together!
Okay, I’ve gotten control of myself now. I’m focused on what matters. The peephole. What should I do about it? Go straight next door now and tell Auggie what I’ve discovered, or let him finish masturbating first? Based on that opened laptop and the Deadpool mask, I don’t think Auggie was getting himself off, privately, all by his lonesome. I suppose he could have been watching porn on that laptop. But then why the mask? That’d be kinky. Or maybe he’s over there having video-chat sex with a special someone who’s got a thing for Deadpool? No, neither of those scenarios feels right. The mask doesn’t make sense if that was a private, intimate moment. I think the most logical conclusion is that my darling next-door neighbor wishes to hide his identity from whoever’s watching him jerk off. Is Auggie jerking off for some kind of online audience? He must be. It’s the only thing that makes sense.