Waiting For August

Part 1~ Food poisoning is never the best gift.

My new neighbor was a witch. I came to this conclusion early one morning when I stepped out onto my porch and looked over to see my new neighbor's brand-new house. A house that hadn't been there the previous evening; on land that had never before been cleared. Land that was wooded and marshy and wet for eight months out of the year and frozen solid under three feet of snow for the other four.

Now, instead, a large two-story Victorian with a steep gabled roof, large dormers and a round corner tower was sitting in the middle of a perfectly manicured lawn.

The vision had stunned me so completely that I turned and marched back into the seven-bedroom farmhouse that I had inherited several years before. I lived alone, but my door was always open to my large extended family, and it was customary that there would be at least one or two of them lounging about. It didn't feel like a home without them.

Heading to my main-floor bedroom, I pushed open the door and crept up to the bed. Naomi was snuggled down within the blankets with the most peaceful expression upon her sleeping face. She was a beautiful woman with dark skin, full lips, and a headful of wild and crazy curls. For a moment I considered leaving her alone, before I leapt clumsily on top of her, straddling her prone body and rudely awakening her.

"Seriously, what the fuck Caleb?" She'd snapped at me with her deliciously haughty British accent, clearly not appreciating the wake-up call I had so selflessly provided. In response I rubbed my scruffy beard across her face as she struggled to wiggle her captive arms out from beneath the covers. Before she could push me off, I brushed the wild curls back from her forehead before honoring her with a loud, and unappreciated zerbert.

I rolled to my side as she pushed me away, and she turned towards me in the dark, our faces mere inches from one another. "What Goddess awful time is it?" she'd asked, as she searched my face.

"Hmm..." I mused. "Sometime after five, I think?" I leaned over and licked the tip of her nose. I had it on good authority that she despised it when I did that, but that was the price you paid when you fooled around with your best friend.

"Have you gone mad?" She immediately sat up to face me, the covers falling down, revealing the skimpy nightie she was wearing. Somehow it had reappeared during the night, as I had a fond memory of previously slipping it off of her. Over time, I had expertly come to deduce that the bedclothes she wore directly coincided with whether or not I would be getting lucky. Last night for instance there had been sexcapades, hence the little negligée. If she happened to climb into my bed wearing sweatpants, I knew it was a cold shower kind of night. The jury was still out however, when it came to her wearing one of my shirts as a nightgown. A night like that I'd found, could swing either way.

"Yes dear, completely bonkers. I'm fit to be tied, if you'd care to indulge."

To my surprise, she slid on top of me and pulled my hands up above my head, pinning them there as she leaned down to kiss me. She started at my forehead, before working her way down my face with gentle barely-there kisses. She purposely bypassed my lips, teasing instead by letting her hot breath linger before continuing past. When she reached my jaw, she let her lips graze along my neck sending wonderful shivers down my body as she nibbled enthusiastically on my Adam's apple.

Before she continued further, I whispered gently in her ear. "Thought you might like to know that we have new neighbors."

"They have a fucking gazebo."

We were standing in my kitchen, I was in boxers and a t-shirt, Naomi had wrapped a little robe around herself and was now peering out the window at the house across the way while I brewed coffee. My French press made exactly enough for two. "Seriously, is that what you're taking away from all of this? A house randomly appears out of nowhere and you're shocked by the fact that they have a gazebo?"