“Hey Leo, so is she around?”
“She’s working on dinner in the kitchen.”
“I can come back later if…”
I smiled.
“Go see her. It’s alright.”
She walked in and I went back to work on the prototype. I heard some cheers from the kitchen followed by the sounds of them catching up. It felt kind of weird to have my assistant be friends with my neighbor. I’m not sure how to explain it, but the fact two of the most important women in my life being friends seemed kind of comforting in a way. The bonus that they had a friendship with Missy makes it feel a bit better. I smiled in my heart thinking about that while I kept trying to program the music player.
“Leo, are you all right with Aubrey having dinner with us?” my neighbor asked.
“Of course,” I answered, still concentrating on the task in front of me.
The interface was a bit wonky at best. I made a mental note to let the tech know in an email later regarding it. As I put everything to the side defeated, I looked over and saw the table set for three. I smiled knowing that everything was still alright. I stood up and headed to the kitchen to see what was going on. As soon as I entered, Aubrey pushed the bowl of salad in my hand.
‘Just in time, Leo,” she said.
I turned and put it on the table. As I sat down, Aubrey walked in with the wine and some glasses. My neighbor followed with the casserole dish filled with something. As she set it down, it looked like some beefaroni. I love my neighbor’s cooking just because it was always good. She was an excellent cook of the homestyle dishes.
She started dishing it out while Aubrey poured the wine. I started working on plating the salad. The meal went well. We talked about different things. Mostly, we talked about the house next door. Missy and I bought it once the company took off and was given a great deal on it. It only took a few years to pay it off thanks to the company’s stock going up. The thought of losing it wasn’t there. It just felt right to allow my assistant to use it while I stayed with my neighbor.
Aubrey soon left after dinner, and I was alone with my neighbor. The first thing we did was get the dishes done so we didn’t have to think about it. She then saw the remnants of the prototype. She looked at me and laughed a little.
“What happened?”
“To put it simply, the doohickey wouldn’t sync with the thingamajig.”
She looked at me again before laughing.
‘I would never have thought you’d use nonsense words to describe a tech problem.”
I smiled.
“Okay, the interface for the music player isn’t syncing. So, the lights will work without it, but it ruins the whole effect.”
“I understood it the other way better,” she said, kissing me on the cheek while smiling. “Why the rush to get it done?”
I sighed.
‘I wanted to dance with you. That way we could go dancing without leaving the house.”
I saw her eyes tear up a little.
“Well, that would have been awesome. But we can always dance without it,” I said.
I stood up before I hit the remote for the stereo. Chris Stapleton’s ‘Tennessee Whisky” started to play. As she scooted in close, my arms went to the natural place around her waist. Her arms wrapped around my neck as we started to slow dance slowly to the song. It wasn’t the light show I wanted. But the fact I had the woman I loved in my arms dancing with me in her living room made it feel magnificent. We kept looking in each other’s eyes as we danced. I started to remember how we arrived at that point. The initial meeting, the holding of each other when Missy passed, the holding when Mitchell passed, the initial seduction, everything went through my mind as we danced. It was when the song ended when I felt her lips on mine. I savored that kiss so much it hurt. I kept holding her against me. She started to whisper in my ear.
“Penny for your thoughts, Romeo.”
I looked at her smiling.
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” she answered.
“It’s been a good ride so far, huh?”
“It has. Why do you ask?”
“I want to keep riding with you if that’s alright.”
She kissed me again softly.
“I want you to. You’re too important to me and you own my heart.”
I looked over towards the stereo and saw the black collar sitting there. I walked over and grabbed it before she turned to present her neck to me. I then stopped. I put the collar back down before kissing her on the neck.
“I don’t need a collar to own you, my pet.” I whispered.
She looked over at me as my arms circled around her waist.
“Not all marks are physical, right?” she asked.
I squeezed her tight.
“You don’t need a collar to be mine, Beloved.”