The Neighbors

The Question

Mike Summers watched his neighbor closely. He made a mental note of how beautiful the man's hands were and how clean he kept his nails. From what he could tell, Mike imagined Gabriel Washington as someone very important. 

The entirety of his demeanor practically gave him away. He was very masculine with broad shoulders and a firm, tall physique. He embodied the old cliché of tall, dark, and handsome but with a slight twist. He was gay. Everyone knew about it and many of the neighbors felt they needed to warn him about Mr. Washington.

Of course, when they told him, his ideas about the man hadn't changed. He still admired him and found his exterior impeccable. If anything, Mike realized he liked Gabriel even more now that he knew the type of man he was. Not everyone could be a gay successful business man and Mike liked Gabriel for his boldness and his strength to be an open gay in a predominately closed-mind cul de sack.

" How did you like the chicken? Did I cook it nicely?" Mike asked innocently.

Gabriel nodded, " I enjoyed it, Mike. It was really tasty. I had no idea you were a chef."

He laughed, " I'm not. My mother was, however, and she taught me well. Anyhow, come join me in the dining room. We can be more comfortable there."

Gabriel stood and followed Mike into the living room where everything seemed to have its place. The entirety of the room appeared as if it was straight out of a catalog. Everything matched, everything sparkled and shined, and everything seemed like it cost a fortune. Gabriel took a seat on the beige, leather couch. There was a throw rung underneath his shoes and he could only fathom how much the beautiful work of art cost. Just having his shoes on it made him feel bad.

" Everything you have here is awfully nice," Gabriel noted as he eyed the couch pillow next to him.

" Oh, thanks. I hate to boast but my mother likes to shower me with all sorts of things. The couch was her idea. So is the rug you were eyeing."

Gabriel blushed a bit, " Well, it's all pretty nice. Where did you say you worked again?" He was starting to feel a tiny bit of jealousy.

" I work for an office downtown. I'm a clerk. Nothing fancy but my family helps me time to time."

"I see," Gabriel had to admit he felt bad. He hadn't meant to sound rude by questioning what his neighbor did for a living, but his curiosity truly put him in a choke hold and he couldn't resist. For a moment, he had this desire to fantasize about one day living just like his neighbor. But instead of getting nice things through hand-me-downs, Gabriel desired to earn nice things on his own because life to him was about building one's own success.

"Well, Mike thanks for the dinner and thanks for having me over. I had a good time."

Mike quickly lifted from the sofa, " No, wait, please. Let's have some tea before you go. I always end dinner with tea."

Gabriel considered the offer for a moment and then nodded, "Okay, we can have tea."

The young man ventured off into the kitchen and then returned with a teapot and two small tea cups. He poured the tea for Gabriel first and then handed him the cup. Smiling, he poured himself tea and gently, he took a sip.

" Good?" Mike asked Gabriel.

"Yes, it's good."

" So, have you heard of any nice books. I've been asking everyone around if they know any good ones."

"No, not that would interest many. I have a load of accounting books but they would seem boring to most."

Mike took a sip of his tea and then chuckled, " Oh, okay, but tell me, have you heard of Fifty Shades of Grey?"

"I heard of it but never read it," Gabriel placed his empty tea cup down on the living room table. He leaned back in the sofa and pondered a moment. After a while, he announced amusingly, " I think the book is very kinky, from what I heard. It had a lot of sex bondage in it. It seems plenty of people enjoyed the book."

Mike placed his cup down, too. He laughed a bit but it was an awkward laugh, " Yeah, I was wondering if you were into that sort of stuff. You know, like maybe a master-slave type of thing."

Gabriel knew his expression was like a wide-eyed deer caught in headlights. What Mike said blew him away. Why on Earth would his neighbor even think he had an interest in such things? Gabriel instantly thought of the foul-mouth mothers down the road who might have had a hand in this. They constantly talked bad about him and insisted he move right away. Of course, he wasn't going to move and of course, he was used to their nasty insults, but this had to be the lowest level yet: getting the new neighbor to think he was into sexual bondage and master-slave role playing.

" Yeah, Mike. I'm going to go now."

Mike grabbed Gabriel by the arm and confessed, " I'm just asking because I'm into those things, Gabriel and I want you to be my master."

Gabriel yanked his arm away and walked quickly to the exit. Immediately, he ran down the short block all the way to his house and once he was safely inside of his home, he quickly slammed the front door. Heaving with his back against the wooden frame, Gabriel tried to catch his breath and figure out what just happened.

" Mike wants me to be his master," Gabriel asked himself as he slid down to the tiled floor to lay there in an emotionless heap.