The Men Next Door

Ch 13 - Campbell

"Are you... sexy Patrick?" Brooks asked in a slightly concerned voice when Addy opened the door to her apartment. Her fleshy-pink shirt and matching party hat were a little unsettling, especially when paired with fishnets and leather boots.

"The one and only," she proclaimed proudly as she ushered us into the Halloween party she was throwing. "And you must be Brooks. Or should I say Hopper?"

The party's theme was TV shows, which didn't really narrow down our costume options. There were a million and one on-screen duos we could've imitated for the night. But after I noticed a teal and pink button-up in Brooks' closet that was eerily similar to the Police Chief's shirt in season three, we'd landed on Jim Hopper and Joyce Byers from Stranger Things.

"Either works I guess," Brooks chuckled. He reached out and shook Addy's hand, then turned to Walker, who was decked out as rock star SpongeBob. His outfit was pretty spot on with a dotted yellow shirt, purple cape, and white cowboy boots, but I had a feeling the inflatable guitar he was wielding would be flat by the end of the night. "Nice to meet you both."

"You too. I've heard a lot about you," Addy noted while raising her eyebrows suggestively.

I turned bright red, but Brooks remained calm and confident as ever while he hugged me into his side. "Is that so?" he asked, looking down at me with a playful smile.

"No," I tried to deny at the same time that Addy and Walker said, "Yes."

"How does he know?" I asked incredulously, pointing at Walker but looking directly at Addy.

She shrugged. "He's nosy, my left eye twitches when I lie, and secrets don't exist when you share a 700-square-foot apartment."

"All true," Walker confirmed with a nod. "And I ask more questions than a gossip magazine when I hear you two on the phone. But anyway," he said, turning to Brooks, "the guys are about to play some games if you want to join. Beer die and pong and shit."

My neighbor looked to me before he answered. "Will you be okay without me?"

We hadn't talked about my mom's addiction yet, but because of Luca's big mouth, Brooks already knew that I didn't drink. That detail — like most things, with him — hadn't gone unnoticed, and his other, unspoken question came through loud and clear.

Was I going to be okay if he had a few beers?

"Go have fun," I told him, softening my gaze as the warm and fuzzy feelings hit my heart. His question may have been simple, but after no shortage of friends told me I was overreacting when alcohol gave me panic attacks as a teen, it made me feel incredibly cared for. "I'll stick with Addy."

"Come grab me if you change your mind," Brooks said, pulling me closer as he laced his fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck. He gave it a gentle tug, which forced me to look up at him, and he used the opportunity to kiss me like we were the only two in the room.

Like he was proud of me. Proud to be seen with me.

I was no stranger to his panty-dropping kisses by that point, but the level of PDA was unexpected. Maybe that's why the soft swipe of his tongue made my knees weak. Or maybe it was because I felt like he was claiming me in front of everyone at the party. Regardless, I touched my lips like he'd burned them when he pulled away to follow Walker across the room.

"Okay, Miss Rosy Cheeks. Spill," Addy demanded once he was out of earshot. "That wasn't a kiss from a friend, and certainly not a kiss from a neighbor."

I rolled my eyes as I settled into one of the bar stools at her kitchen counter. "Well he is a friend, and he is a neighbor, so I'm not sure what else you want me to call him."