The Men Next Door

Ch 4 - Luca

Brooks wouldn't stop pestering me about getting out of bed.

No, fuck. Not like that. We were in separate beds. In separate apartments. Hell, I don't even know if he was in a bed. Probably not, given that it was noon-thirty.

I was still glued to my mattress though, since instead of drifting off into dreamland, I was up and at 'em doing fuck all for most of the night. Not by choice, really, but because my brain wouldn't shut up. And now I had a wicked headache, brought on by the aforementioned lack of sleep and a yet-to-be-mentioned lack of water.

ADHD can go to hell.

As could the ringer on my phone.

I really should've turned the sound off, especially on weekends. But then I would've lost the thing twenty times a day, give or take, when I couldn't ask somebody to call me, so maybe it was better that I didn't. And fuck me, it was pinging again.

Brooks: If you went on a run with me this morning, I would've already hit my social quota. But now we're here. This is your own doing.

I sent him a middle finger emoji in response. He sent one right back. It was practically the guy equivalent of hearts, as was Brooks going dad-mode on me a few seconds later.

Brooks: Seriously, let's go do something. You'll feel like shit if you lay in bed all day.

I wanted to argue, but I knew he was right. Plus, some part of me did want to go out and enjoy my weekends while the weather was still warm. Fall was approaching quickly, winter always followed sooner than I thought it would, and while I was no stranger to New England weather, I knew my free days were going to get a whole lot more depressing once everything was covered in salty gray mush. So I shot off another begrudging text and agreed to meet my best friend downstairs in fifteen minutes.

By the time I'd popped a Tylenol along with my Adderall prescription, moseyed my way through a half decent skincare routine, and scarfed down a quick breakfast, most of that time had already passed. Brooks informed me he was talking to Jenkins and there was no rush, so I set a brief timer to keep myself accountable, then hung out on my couch waiting for the pain meds to kick in. And I was glad I was running late when I finally stepped out of my apartment, because my new neighbor was just stepping out of hers too.

"Bella!" I greeted, a little too happily. Or maybe it was a little too loudly, since she visibly jolted. "Sorry, hi. Hey. Good morning. Didn't mean to scare you."

"Not your fault." She schooled her features into a practiced, cheerful smile. "My apartment building in Florida was only one story, and the doors all faced the street." Pointing between our units, she added, "I'm still getting used to this whole shared hallway thing."

I gave her one of those halfhearted nods that dudes give each other on the sidewalk, then mentally rolled my eyes at myself. I hadn't seen her since her move in day. I wanted to flirt, not secure my place in the friendzone. "How's your first week been?"

This time, the smile was real. "Better than I was expecting. Work went smoothly...And I think I already made a new friend? We met on Sunday and she sent me a really helpful map of her favorites around the city."

"You meeting up with her now?" I asked, starting to move toward the stairwell at the end of the hall.

Bella shook her head and fell into step beside me. "I just needed to get out of the house today. But I might check out a couple of her reccs now that you mention it."

"Like what?"

"A library, maybe. A bagel shop. The everyday things that are still novelties to me." I opened the door, and she looked over her shoulder as she moved onto the fifth floor landing. "Where are you off to?"