Neighbors

Scene 22:

She had only been up a few minutes when she heard the splash in the pool and she smiled, as she knew who it was. She pulled on some shorts and ran her fingers through her hair then went out onto the balcony to say good morning.

He saw her door slide open and he swam over to the edge of the pool when she stepped outside. She still looked tousled from sleep and one side of her oversized T-shirt slid off her shoulder showing her freckles.

"Hey Doc!" he shouted up to her, "come join me in the pool."

"I swam last night, remember..." she teased him, leaning with her elbows on the rail.

"Ah... skinny dipping, that's right..." he beamed up at her, "perhaps I should try that." He kicked away from the wall to the shallow end and stood up, his hands on the waistband of his swim trunks.

"Oded don't you dare!" she warned him, covering her eyes with her hands as she blushed crimson, peeking through her fingers to see if he really would.

He laughed, pulling one edge of his trunks down to show the point of his hip and the strip of muscle that ran south. "You're peeking Xatixa." She turned her back to him as she shrieked with laughter. "Okay... okay... I'll leave them on," he promised as he dove back into the deeper water. She turned back around to watch him as climbed up onto the ladder, his shoulders flexing as he held himself on the step. "Come swim," he asked again.

"Actually I came out to ask you to come do something with me," she started, "we never talked about doing anything today other than dinner and the Mummy movies," she saw him roll his eyes and grimace, " 'ded, you promised."

"Come on... let's watch something else together," he pleaded.

" 'ded, you promised! I've been waiting all week," she argued.

"Fine, we'll watch the Mummy," he sighed, shaking his head.

She smiled, thankful he had agreed, but didn't push it, starting again, "as I was saying, we never talked about the rest of the day... I was hoping if you didn't have any plans maybe you'd like to go the farmers market with me this morning. I need to pick up stuff for dinner and we could spend the day together."

"What are you making?" he asked.

"I thought vegetarian lasagna, unless you have a specific request."

"Are you a vegetarian?" he asked, realizing he never considered this when he cooked for her last week.

"No, no," she quickly answered, "I just try to eat lots of fruits and veggies... and this is one of my favorite recipes."

"The farmers market huh?" he pondered for a moment. "When did you want to go?"

"Sooner than later, or the good stuff will be gone. What do you think? Or we could do something later when I get back." She offered him an out.

"No, no... I'd love to, give me a few minutes to shower and change." He climbed out of the pool and grabbed his towel. She couldn't help but admire him as he dried off, he was so incredibly handsome. Those shoulders, the muscles in his back, his hips, she let her eyes wander back up his spine, 'was that a tattoo?' she thought. She'd have to investigate that later. He turned to see her still watching him, "Xatixa, you're staring," he teased her.

She stood her ground, fighting the blush that he always brought to her face. "I don't know what you are talking about Mr. Fehr... I'll meet you out front in twenty minutes, if you think you can be ready." She was trying to keep her composure as he smiled up at her, that half smile, his sexy smile. He draped his towel over his shoulder, and put his hands on his hips, as he looked up at her.

"I can be ready."

She turned to go, then thought again, "Oded, do you have a bike?"

"Yes," he paused, "why?"

"Good, then we bike there." She turned again and went inside, her heart threatening to jump out of her throat. 'My god,' she thought 'does he have any clue what he does to me?' she wondered aloud. She giggled as she thought about how playful he had been this morning. 'This should prove to be a very interesting day,' she thought.

She went in to quickly braid her hair and then threw on her overalls and tennis shoes. She grabbed a water bottle and was ready to head outside to meet him when she remembered the new lily perfume. She ran back upstairs and misted the lily scent she had made from some of the new flowers, into the air, walking through it twice. She smiled and went outside to look for him.

He had hurriedly showered and gotten dressed, wearing faded denim shorts a T-shirt, and his new UBC sweatshirt with his leather sandals. He grabbed his sunglasses and looked outside to see her sitting on the steps to her place, waiting for him. He looked at his watch, fifteen minutes. She had said twenty, and every woman he knew would have taken fifty, if not more, before leaving the house in the morning. When he had seen her on her balcony she looked like she had just climbed out of bed and now she was ready to go. He chuckled and shook his head, reflecting again on how different she was that any other woman he had dated.

He headed out and she stood up to greet him seeing his door open. She was adorable. He hadn't noticed when she had been sitting but she was dressed in overall shorts. The way the front of the bibs came over her scoop neck T-shirt, creating a gap on the side where her breasts held the material away from her body was alluring. But when combined with the white ankle socks and tennis shoes she was wearing, it made her look young and innocent, definitely not professorial. The idea of her wearing that to school with a classroom of young college men looking at her made him smile, and once again he laughed at the likelihood that she didn't know.

"What?" she asked, feeling his gaze go up and down her, stopping at her shoes.

"Nothing... " he grinned at her, "I'm just always surprised by you."

She looked at him suspiciously, "Is that a good thing?"

"Oh yes...that is a very good thing," he winked and gave her his sexy half smile again.

She stepped down a step until she was eye level with him, where he was standing on the sidewalk. "Well, then Mr. Fehr, I'll just have to try to keep you guessing." She was feeling very flirtatious and found his playfulness this morning infectious. She placed her hands on either side of his face and leaned forward to kiss him. He put his hands on her waist, and let his fingers slide along her back, inside her overalls. She kissed him gently, holding his face as she felt him push closer to her, trying to deepen the kiss, pulling her waist towards him. She leaned backwards away from him, he held her chest to his, her feet almost coming off the stair beneath her. " 'ded... " she stammered, she had her hands on his shoulders, pushing against him now, overwhelmed at the response she had gotten from him.

He growled and dropped his head to her chest pressing his lips to the skin at the top of her breasts, tasting her and smelling the lilies for the first time today. He inhaled deeply, then stood her back up onto the step, letting her go. "I think you will drive me crazy with the smell of those flowers."

She felt a little lightheaded when he let go of her. She had felt the chill on her skin when he drew in his breath to smell the scent of the lilies, and could feel the scruff at the spot where he had kissed her and rubbed his beard against her. Her heart was racing already and she hadn't been with him more than two minutes. She would have to try and not underestimate the effect that just his presence had on her, and maybe keep a little distance between them, she thought. She took a deep breath and stepped down next to him. "Are you ready?" she asked looking up at him, feeling those chocolate eyes on the top of her head.

"Mmm... my bike is in the garage," he answered, still heated at simply having her next to him. She turned to put her water bottle on her bike and roll it towards his garage. He followed her, admiring the view of her legs as she walked in front of him. She paused and waited for him to open the door. He walked around her, letting his fingers touch her hip as he passed by. As he wheeled his bike outside, strapping on his helmet he asked her "Doc, you've only lived here a week, how in the world did you find this farmers market?"

She smiled when he called her 'doc', her brother did that too and she liked it. "When I was looking for a place to live I found it, when I called about the hours they told me to come early." She swung her leg over and pulled away from the sidewalk, waiting for him to follow.

He cycled behind her, a little out of practice and glad she wasn't riding too fast. He debated about pulling along side of her, but he was so enjoying the view of her backside and the way her muscles flexed as she peddled he decided to let her keep the lead. It didn't take long and they pulled into the parking lot that had been transformed into the market for the morning. She climbed off and grabbed a cloth bag from the basket of her bike. He pulled up next to her and smiled as he watched her tuck loose strands of her hair behind her ears as she took her helmet off. That natural flyaway beauty of hers would be his undoing he thought to himself. He ran his hands through his own hair and put his sunglasses back on, wondering if he was likely to be recognized today, hoping they could spend the day in anonymity. She locked the bikes together then showed him her grocery list and he took her bag from her, taking her hand in his as they walked towards the tables. She squeezed his fingers a little and looked up at him smiling, pleased he had come along with her this morning.

He watched as she collected the red and green peppers, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini and mushrooms she needed from various vendors. He carried everything as she loaded it into the canvas bag he had on his arm. They split up so she could find some fruit and she sent him to find eggplant. He found it and then noticed a fruit vendor. He found some raspberries that he thought she would like and tucked them into the top of the bag. She came back with bananas and saw the berries when she went to add her purchases to the bag. " 'ded, what are these?" she asked smiling.

"I thought you might like them," he grinned, almost shyly.

"They're gorgeous," she leaned into him, reaching for a berry, still in the bag. She placed her hand on his ribs to steady herself as she stepped forward. He wrapped an arm around her and leaned down kissing the top of her head as she bit into the berry. He almost shivered as he felt her press herself lightly against him. She looked up and ran her hand along his jawline, rubbing the beard at the tip of his chin with her thumb, letting her fingers trace his lower lip.

"You're lovely," he whispered against her fingers, feeling heat for her start to run through his body, then lowering his head to kiss her lips.

When he bent however, the bag with all of their purchases shifted and swung around to crash into her hip and arm. She flew hard into him as the force hit her, and they spilled all the vegetables and fruit. He stood up quickly to catch her, but not before his head clunked into hers. She laughed as she put her hand on her head, and quickly knelt to retrieve all of the things that had rolled onto the ground. He followed her, muttering softly in Hebrew as he often did she noticed, his hand on his temple where she had crashed into him. He heard her laugh and he sat down, his long legs splayed out, grabbing carrots near him, laughing loudly himself. She finished loading up the bag and reached out to help pull him up to a stand. He brushed off the back of his shorts and felt her touch his temple, stroking the hair that was graying there. He looked up and saw the laughter in her eyes as she sparkled at him. "Are you okay?" she asked. He reached up to his temple and took her hand, holding it to his chest and shaking his head 'yes'.

"Are you?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." She giggled again, and pulled her hand out of his, handing him the canvas bag with the food. "I think we are done shopping," she looked away, the intensity in his eyes sending electricity through her. She had enjoyed the shopping and being able to walk with him, him holding her hand in his, just being so near him. But it had quickly occurred to her that this was the first time they had been out in public together and there were two things she had noticed. First, a lot of people stopped to look at them, but more specifically she thought they looked at 'him', especially since most of those people were other women. He didn't seem to notice, but she did, and it was rattling her self-confidence. Second, it was hard to be so close to him and not want to jump him. They hadn't touched one another since Thursday night on the couch and the memory of how close they had come was always just behind the thoughts in her head. She needed a little distance and thought that getting back on the bikes would help clear her head a little.

He had still wanted to kiss her, to finish the moment that had been so interrupted by the crashing of the grocery bag. The way she had looked at him before that, as she touched his lips with her fingers had sent heat coursing through his veins and he had to remind himself they were in public and not in the privacy of the townhouse. He had gotten used to ignoring all of the looks he got when he was in public and paid no notice to anyone except her, however he had seen several men look her up and down. He was at first pissed that other men would look at her that way and he got very protective, but then he started to find it arousing, pleased that other men found her attractive but confident in the knowledge that she was with him. He made sure to make eye contact with everyone who looked at her, and he shot them looks that warned them not to even think about her. But now she had turned away from him and he sighed as he turned to follow her back towards the bicycle, not looking forward to having to climb back on the seat in the state he was in, once again untucking his T-shirt from his shorts.

As she unlocked the bikes he put the bag back in her basket and grabbed their helmets, setting hers atop her head. He looked at his watch, not quite lunchtime yet, but he was hungry. "Abby, is there someplace around here we could grab some lunch?"

"I think there is a cafe down the street," she answered, "or we could ride home and I could make sandwiches."

"Let's go to the cafe, I could use a good cup of coffee," he answered, realizing he was short on caffeine from this morning.

At the restaurant Oded noticed a sign for an art fair posted on the door and recognized the address as a park near their places. Abby was ordering sandwiches when he suggested they get them to go and go check out the fair. They headed towards home, stopping briefly to drop off the purchases from the farmers market and headed for the art fair.

They walked casually through the fair, stopping to look at the all the art wares. Abby purchased a pottery bowl to hold fruit and a small watercolor print for her hallway. Realizing she missed a lot of the personal belongings she decided not to bring with her from Minnesota and now that she had a real salary she could afford to buy some nicer things. They walked hand in hand, again drawing attention from the people they passed by. "I love these types of markets and fairs," he told her, squeezing her hand, "they remind me of the open markets of home."

"Do you miss Israel?" she asked.

"It's been a long time since I lived there, I have fond memories, but I don't think I would want to live there again, there is too much unrest. But you would like it, it is a beautiful place," he looked down into her eyes, "it would be nice to visit family, they would like you." He hadn't intended to speak quite like this, and he looked away, getting quiet.

She hadn't missed his comment about her liking Israel, and wanting to visit family. He was talking future tense, about them, and it made her warm inside. They stopped to look at some jewelry and the artist pulled out a bracelet for her to try on, she declined not intending to purchase anything this expensive. The artist looked at Oded and motioned that Abby should try on the bracelet. Oded stepped forward, taking her hand and putting it back up on the counter. "Try it on, you might like it," he nuzzled her ear with his beard as he whispered into it.

She started to flush, but let the woman put it on her wrist. It was beautiful, heavy gold with links that draped around her wrist. She quickly leaned forward and using her other hand took the bracelet off and handed it back to her, turning to go. The artist shrugged and went to replace it in the cabinet. Oded turned to follow her not understanding her hesitance. "You didn't like it?" he asked.

"No, it was beautiful, but I don't buy myself jewelry," she stated matter of factly.

"Why?" he asked, curiously. Every girlfriend he ever had, had no problem finding pretty bangles to drape around their necks and from their ears. He remembered now that all she had worn at dinner last week were simple earrings and her watch, but he hadn't thought much about the reason.

"My father always used to find beautiful jewelry for my mother for special occasions. Birthdays, anniversaries, or even better as a surprise, just because he loved her. Everything she wore told a story and had a meaning. I want that too someday. I don't want to wear jewelry just because, I want what I wear to be meaningful, even if only to myself and the person I receive it from, no one else has to know. I think beautiful jewelry should be something given with intention. It should be worn as a reminder of the person who gave it to you, a representation of how people feel for each other, not just as a pretty object," she answered, realizing she gave him quite an earful.

"Those are good reasons," he replied, saying nothing more. He was struck by her thoughtfulness and insight, realizing she was not plagued by the vanity that the people around him oozed. They walked quietly for a few minutes, until Abby spied the lemonade stand.

" 'ded, do you want some?" she asked pulling him forward.

"Sure," he chuckled pulling out his wallet. As they stood in line he tried to figure out how he could disappear for a few minutes and not have her get suspicious. He handed her some money and told her he needed to find the restroom, to wait for him here, he would be right back. She nodded and he left the line. He returned smiling, taking the lemonade from her as she looked at him curiously.

"What?" she asked, "why are you smiling like that?"

"Like what?" he teased her, putting his hand in his pocket to feel the bracelet he had just purchased for her. "Can't I just smile at a pretty girl?"

She flushed, 'oh the things he says' she thought to herself. "As long as it's not someone other than me," she smiled shyly.

He laughed, and grabbed her, hugging her tightly against him. "Never fear, my Xatixa, there is no one here to even compare to you." She knew that wasn't true, but loved the fact that he had said it anyway, and didn't challenge him. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and they walked that way for a while, stopping to look at other pictures and pottery along the way.

She glanced at her watch and knew if she was going to get lasagna made, they would need to get home soon. She mentioned this and they agreed it was time to go. As they turned the last corner to find the bikes they heard someone yell Oded's name. They both turned to find a group of women approach them, smiling.

Oded stepped in front of Abby and made it clear she should stay behind him if possible. She stepped back, closer to the bikes to unlock them, keeping her ear on what was happening near her.

"Mr. Fehr?" one of the woman asked him.

"Yes," he acknowledged, smiling warmly.

"I thought so," she answered then turned to her friends, "didn't I tell you it was him." She turned back to Oded. "Could we get a picture with you and maybe you're autograph?" They all stepped forward, and Oded took a step back, closer to Abby.

"Sure, sure," he chuckled, looking back over his shoulder briefly, to see where Abby was. Noticing that she was quietly standing on the far side of the bikes, a bemused smile on her lips. He quickly looked back at the women in front of him.
He took picture with all of them individually and as a group, signed everything they gave him willingly. He finally made his good-byes, afraid they would never let him go, and turned to grab his bike as Abby leaned it towards him.

Abby had listened intently to the conversation he had with the women. They were obviously fans and she heard several ask him if he would be doing another movie as Ardeth Bay. She recognized that name from the Mummy explanation he had given her at dinner last week, but she didn't recognize the other name they kept asking him about. She also had noticed several of the women take notice of her, and although they looked polite, and even smiled, she knew they definitely had opinions about her, and would likely talk about her after they left. She felt both good and bad about that, not wanting to be the basis of gossip, but also intensely happy that she was the one he was with. It was obvious that all of these women would trade places with her in a heartbeat.

They rode away quietly, and quickly, Oded leading the way and setting the pace. He was bigger and stronger than she was and she had to work to keep up. He finally slowed down and looked back at her as she pulled up next to him.

"You're more famous then you have let on," she started.

"My fans are great," he answered, avoiding the direct question, "I just wanted to make sure we kept you out of it. I'm always happy to stop and sign something, I wouldn't have a job if not for them."

She didn't push him, " 'ded, who is Antoine?" was her next question.

"What?" he asked looking over quickly.

She noticed his ears went red immediately. They had pulled up in front of the townhouses and were climbing off the bikes when she asked again. "Who is Antoine? I heard a couple of your fans ask you about reprising your role as Antoine. Who is Antoine? Were you in another movie you haven't told me about?"

He looked at her coyly, not quite sure what to tell her. He had loved making Deuce, and Rob was one of his best friends, but he knew women formed opinions about him based on that role, and he didn't want her to know about it... yet. "I did do another movie, I played a character named Antoine Laconte, the movie was called Deuce Bigalow." He left off the rest of the title.

"Really?... can we watch that one too?" she asked, knowing the answer would be no, since he had pretty obviously kept this from her up until now.

"Not tonight," he answered, "we won't have time with the two other movies," hoping she would drop it for now.

She did and he was relieved. But she was curious and a little worried that there was something about the movie she wouldn't like, and that was why he didn't tell her. She'd pursue it later she thought. She needed to get dinner going.

" 'ded, what time do we have to start the movies?" she asked, trying to be innocent about it.

But he knew better, because he was thinking it too. "Well, that depends on when we want the movies to be over." He teased her waiting for her reaction.

She took the bait, but she turned it on him. "Well, I'd say that depends on you."

His ears went red, and he looked down not meeting her eyes, knowing he had been beaten at his own game. He was the one on Thursday who had put the brakes on, promising her the next time they were together they wouldn't let the time get away from them.

She knew of course, that Thursday he hadn't stopped because of the time, and she didn't know now if he was any more emotionally ready then he was then. She would be patient, but she still couldn't help but tease him. She waited for him to look up at her.

"Well, I'd say we shouldn't start the movies any later than 7:00, which would end them about 11:00," he answered sheepishly, again evading the actual question. And once again she didn't push him.

"Alright, then we should plan to eat around 5:00- 5:30. It is 3:00 now, I need to get going on dinner. "

"Do you want help?" he offered, not wanting to be away from her.

"No, I'll be fine," she answered, "you go get cleaned up, I'll see you in a little while." She smiled at him, watching him, trying to read his reaction.

He knew it would make sense to leave her alone for awhile, they had all evening together and his thoughts drifted to the idea of taking her to bed before the evening ended, he suddenly felt very distracted and couldn't remember the last thing she had said to him. He stood there trying to remember.

" 'ded," she called him back, "go get cleaned up," she giggled realizing he was daydreaming and now she teased him.

"mmmm... right, okay," he answered, snapping his head back to the present. He turned to go.

"Thanks for going with me this morning, " she called after him.

He turned to look at her, that sexy smile creeping over his face as his eyes started to sparkle. He propped his bike on the stair rail, and walked back towards her.

"Your welcome, Xatixa... any time," he said as he came up on her. He reached out and with his hand on her neck he pulled her close to him, leaning down to kiss her the way he had wanted to kiss her earlier that morning standing on the sidewalk, and at the market. He had realized as he had walked away that he had spent almost all day with her and he had not once tasted her the way he had wanted to. She opened her mouth to him immediately, catching her breath slightly and then ran her hands up over his back pulling herself into him. He held his hand in her hair, holding her lips against his, not getting enough of her as he tasted her thoroughly. When he finally let her go, she fell back a step, her lips soft and red, and well kissed. She didn't say anything as she looked at him.

"I've wanted to do that all day," his voice deep and warm. He reached for her hand and kissed her fingers softly as she stood, still silent in front of him. "Until later Xatixa, I will not let the time get away from us again." He smiled his sexy smile and turned to let her go upstairs and inside. "I'll see you at 5:00." He left her standing there dumbfounded.

She pulled it together just as he turned up his own stairs. "Well, that wasn't very fair!" she yelled after him. She heard him laugh as he went inside.

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Neighbors - Chapter 23