The Men Next Door

Ch 24 - Luca

It's true that ADHD can cause you to hyperfocus.

It's also true that once I start one of those wooden brainteaser puzzles, with the pieces that are interlocked in janky ways you have to undo, I won't set it down until it's solved.

I was sitting on the floor in my living room, fully engrossed in one, when the distinctive sound of my ringtone snapped me back to reality. Seeing Addy's name pop up on the screen caught my attention for just long enough to answer the call.

"Hey. Is everything okay?" I put my phone on speaker, then sat it down on the coffee table with a clunk.

"Yes," she said slowly. It was more of a question than a statement, and I could practically hear her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Why do you sound so worried?"

"I don't know, I didn't expect you to call me," I explained, still fiddling with the connected pieces of wood in my hands. "I thought maybe there was something wrong with Bella."

"Oh," she said in realization. "No, nothing like that. Sorry to call you out of the blue. But are you busy today?"

"Not really. Why? What's up?"

"Want to come hang out with me, Walker, and our other friend, Noah?" I heard the rumblings of another voice on the other end of the line. "Plus Noah's friend Cassidy, I guess."

"Mother of fuck," I murmured as I hit a dead end with the puzzle.

"What the hell are you doing? I keep hearing something clinking." The display on my phone shifted as she requested to video call me.

I ignored it and focused on the task at hand. "Nothing, sorry. Noah's the one with the dog, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Bella never shuts up about how cute the damn thing is," I said, imagining the easygoing border collie that she'd told me about a million times before. "She has like, two pictures of it that she shows me on repeat."

I heard Addy's bright laugh through the speaker. "Sounds like her. I tried to get her to come too, but she had plans, and I need backup." She paused for a split second, then continued before I could ask what she meant. "Anyway, I think you and Walker would get along. I've been trying to get you guys in the same room since Campbell first introduced us."

My head tilted thoughtfully as I finally unhooked the last piece of the brainteaser. I didn't know how I felt about Addy trying to set up a bromance between me and her boyfriend, but my friendship with Brooks was on the fucking rocks—some slippery ass, moss-covered rocks, at that—so maybe it was for the best. "Alright, send me the location. I'll be there soon."

It turned out 'soon' was an understatement, because the first winds of winter cut through my clothes like ice-sculpted knives. I should've ran back upstairs and grabbed a scarf, a jacket, a fucking blanket—anything to keep me warm. But instead, I put my head down and set out on a record-breaking speed walk.

Even so, my nose was as red as Rudolph's by the time Addy ushered my shivering ass inside her apartment. I cupped my hands over my face and blew hot air into my palms while my eyes drifted around the front room.

"Noah, Walker, this is Luca," Addy introduced. I gave them a nod. "He lives next door to Campbell."

"Ah yes, one of the famous men next door," Walker observed showily. It wasn't hard to guess what he was referring to, especially after his girlfriend hushed him with a pointed look. "Sorry, dude. That was supposed to be a joke. It wasn't a very good one."

"I see why Campbell calls you Crosswalk," I jabbed back. "Anyone who makes a joke that bad the second they meet someone deserves an equally bad nickname."