The Men Next Door

Ch 8 - Luca

"Manhattan's best martinis, huh?" I asked as Bella led me to the random address her friend had sent her.

"That's what she says," my neighbor confirmed. "I don't even drink, so you'll have to be the judge of that."

The night ahead was a total mystery. I was on my way to bother Brooks as a form of free entertainment when Campbell walked out of her apartment and straight into me, and somehow, I ended up following her to West Village like a lost puppy. All I knew for sure was that we were grabbing dinner with some chick named Addy.

"This is it... I think," Bella said, with her face scrunched up in confusion. "Why couldn't she have picked a place with an actual name?"

"Is it a speakeasy or something?"

She nodded. "We're supposed to go in at the neon sign that says 'psychic,' then walk through the curtains."

"You're going first," I teased. "I'm not about to get cursed by some voodoo magic if we've got the wrong spot."

Thankfully, there was no weird spiritual shit happening inside... unless you count the alcoholic kind of spirits. Addy was already sipping on a drink when we spotted her at the bar, and a big, bearded guy was leaning over her shoulder to whisper in her ear.

"Is that her boyfriend?" I asked Bella. I figured she would know since they met at Central Park last weekend, but maybe she was too focused on 'the world's sweetest dog' to remember what he looked like.

"Definitely not," my neighbor whispered back. She waved to Addy as we approached, and the brunette's eyes lit up with something like relief.

"Babe!" she said, jumping out of her seat and wrapping an arm around me. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

What the fuck?

"Um, yeah. Me too," I replied, looking at Big Beard warily. "Everything okay?"

"I was just telling this man you were on your way." She nodded toward Sir Drunks-A-Lot, and he narrowed his eyes at me like he was looking for a damn fight. "He didn't believe me."

"Well, I'm here now," I said, pulling her a little closer. I glanced at Bella, who gave me an encouraging smile, and I was suddenly extra glad that she didn't come to this place alone. "So I think he can give us some space. Right, man?"

The asshole's hand tightened around his glass until his knuckles were white, but thankfully, he took the hint and disappeared through the curtains in the front. Addy didn't let go of me until she was sure he was gone, and I wondered what the hell the guy said to her before we showed up.

Couldn't have been anything good.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked softly when Addy finally settled back onto the bar stool. There was something incredibly nurturing about her tone, and her gaze, and, well, her, which made me want to get to know her that much more.

"I'm fine," Addy sighed. "The idiot was way too drunk for this time of night and thought I owed him something since I was here alone." She turned to me. "Thanks for playing along, by the way. I'm Addy."

"Luca," I greeted, shaking her hand. It felt kind of silly considering she was in my arms 30 seconds prior, but I didn't know what else I was supposed to do.

"He's one of my neighbors," Campbell added. "Don't remember if I told you that when I asked if I could bring someone else."

"You didn't mention it, but that makes sense. I was wondering if you bumped into some other stranger at a coffee shop," Addy said with a teasing grin.

"Not in a coffee shop, but in a hallway," Bella laughed. The bartender had brought us all a round of water, and she tucked her dark auburn hair behind her ears before taking a sip through the straw. "Literally ran straight into him as I was leaving."