Neighbors, Part Two (Patreon)

Two.

There had been times when I woke up the next morning after a night of drinking, and the previous night felt like it had happened two years ago. Hours would pass in the new day before I’d have any specific recollection of it.

But the morning after our dinner with Veronica, it was all there, right away. I woke up thinking about Veronica and Ashley making out with each other; thinking about Veronica’s insistence on Ashley calling her “Mommy.”

I was mad - and I wasn’t even sure who, or what, I was the most upset with.

I went over the targets of my ire while in the shower.

There was Veronica, who had not only been annoyed at me for having invited Ashley over, but had even voiced strong displeasure for my obvious attraction to her. Only for Veronica herself to take advantage of my unconsciousness so that she could make out with Ashley? Not only did it feel like a betrayal, but it felt like a massively unfair double standard.

And Ashley! Who...well, rationally, I realized she owed me absolutely nothing. Still, could I at least be mad for a minute that my selfish and unethical lusting had gotten me absolutely nowhere with her?

And ‘mommy?’ Seriously? That felt like the biggest punch in the balls. All the “good girl” and “mommy,” talk...the cute dress and bow. The chicken tender diet. It was as if my fantasies were all coming true, but for Veronica instead of me. Veronica - the very person who had previously rebuked my efforts to incorporate talk like that into our own bedroom.

I had calmed a little by the time my shower was over. More than anything, I felt embarrassed for myself. Who had I been trying to fool? What had I expected to happen?

“Well, well, well,” teased Veronica as I dragged myself into the kitchen. “If it isn’t the city’s greatest host. A true gentleman who graciously falls asleep in his company’s presence.”

It occurred to me, for the first time, that she did not know that I saw her and Ashley in the kitchen. This knowledge felt powerful. Of course, nothing came easy with Veronica.

“I’m sorry about that,” I said. “I shouldn’t have overdone it.”

She shrugged, offering an indifferent smile. “I suppose that just happens to men of a certain age. Alcohol just hits a little differently than it used to.”

It was the truth, but hearing “men of a certain age” ruffled my feathers a little. I nodded. “I hope you and Ashley had a pleasant evening, at least?”

The smallest of quivers in her bottom lip; she was likely both enjoying a pleasant memory of her evening, and devising the lie she’d use. “It was nice,” she said. “We had a bit more in common than I expected and we got along well as a result. She’s a nice girl. A shame you passed out early.”

Obviously. Though I doubted the evening would have gone the same way had I been awake.

“Do you think she’ll be over again?” I asked.

“Oh...maybe. We hadn’t talked about another dinner.” There was a brief and seemingly purposeful pause before she added: “But we’re going to meet up tomorrow. Maybe grab a drink and a late lunch before we do a little shopping together.”

My fists balled up instinctively. It was one thing to be irrationally upset about my hopeless crushing on Ashley to go unrequited. It was another for Veronica to withhold information from me.

“Are you disappointed?” she asked. I wondered if she sensed my frustration, or if she would’ve asked this anyways.

“N-no,” I said, caught off guard. “Why would I be?”

“Well...I just know you’ve been quite fond of our new neighbor. I wasn’t sure if you...expected something to happen or not last night.”

This could’ve, should’ve, been the moment when I told her what I knew. I didn’t. Instead, I composed myself and laughed it off. “Maybe I was being a little silly. I think I just got a little caught up in all her...newness.”

She didn’t respond, instead pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“Did she...seem disgusted by me?” I almost immediately regretted asking that. What was I hoping to get out of any answer that Veronica gave me?

“Hmm, no,” she said. “Surprisingly. Mind you, she didn’t mention any burning desire to jump on top of you either. So that’s your choice whether that’s a win or a loss.”

“A draw, maybe,” I immediately replied.

“Should I ask her directly?” she asked. “Would you like a definitive answer as to whether or not she harbors any interest in allowing you to fuck her?”

Yes.

“No,” I said. “But also...that’s not what I wanted.”

She laughed and shook her head, seemingly unconvinced. I shouldn’t have been surprised. I could barely convince myself that was the case.

--

I was in a deep state of sulk from that morning conversation up through the next day, when Ashley showed up so she and Veronica could go out together.. It was probably more obvious than I wanted it to be, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I felt like a lovelorn teenager, one Smiths record away from just replicating most of my younger years. To her credit, Veronica didn’t touch it. Either she didn’t want to kick me while I was down, or I had somehow transcended the known apex of patheticness and she knew there was nothing else she could say.

“Well you can’t go out shopping looking like that,” Ashley teased, pointing out my sweatpants and worn t-shirt.

I blushed. I had no idea that Ashley was coming into the apartment, and if I had, I would’ve done my best not to look like a disheveled slob.

“It’s a girl’s day out,” Veronica said. “Much to Jaime’s dismay, I’m sure.”

“Aw, that’s too bad,” Ashley said. It was hard for me to tell if she was showing sincere disappointment or just continuing to tease. “I’m sure if you asked nicely, Veronica would bring you home something from our lunch.”

“Don’t count on it,” Veronica chimed in.

“I’ll sneak you a little something,” Ashley said so softly that it was almost a whisper. She winked.

Again, was I being played? Or was she being sincere? My heart was dancing around in my chest and the uncertainty was killing me..

“Y’all just enjoy your day,” I said. “I’ll hold the fort down.”

--

Somewhere out there, Veronica and Ashley were giggling and chatting with each other. Maybe they had some cocktails in their hands, or they were knee deep in panties at some boutique lingerie store in the mall.

Meanwhile, I was lying in my bed with my cock in my hand. All of my pent up frustrations and fantasies were merging and colliding with each other. One moment, I was imagining myself crawling around on the ground in just a diaper when the two women returned. They’d mock me and watch me - taunting me to use my diaper for them.

And then the next moment, Ashley was the one in a diaper. She crawled around for me now, and looked up at me as she sucked on her thumb. She needed a diaper change. I’d be happy to help with that. I don’t know where Veronica was in this fantasy - maybe it didn’t matter.

I sighed at just about the same time I came all over my belly. It was a disappointing climax, muddled by both indecision about what I wanted, and the inability to completely break out of my romanceless reality.

I heard the front door opening, followed by laughter and chatter. Perfect timing.

I had been regretting not actually putting a diaper on - a thrill I rarely made time for anymore, but now I was thankful that all I had to do was quickly wipe up my belly and throw away the tissues. I bypassed my sweatpants, opting for a pair of slim jeans instead, throwing a newer - cleaner - t-shirt on.

I sprang to the bedroom door, about to emerge and greet them - but I paused to listen to them talk.

“...in the bedroom. During the day, too, so you probably know what that means,” Veronica said.

“Nooo,” Ashley said, her voice lowering - but not far enough. “Get the hell out of here. You don’t think he’s…”

“Maybe? Probably.”

I shook my head in frustration. She wasn’t wrong, or so I could safely assume. I was beginning to think I was cursed. I couldn’t make a single move without it somehow blowing up in my face when Ashley was around.

I quickly grabbed a laundry basket full of clothes off the floor and carried it out of the bedroom like I was completely unaware of what they had just been talking about.

“Oh, hey girls,” I said, putting my acting skills to the test with a faux-smile. “You’re back a little sooner than I thought you’d be.”

“Lunch was quick,” Ashley said with a shrug. “And the stores were too busy to spend much time in today.”

“We thought we’d come back here and hang out a little,” Veronica said. “Did we come home...too soon?” She offered a smirk to Ashley.

“N-no… I was just getting some laundry together.”

“Hurry back,” Veronica said. “We’ll show you what we bought.”

Now I was doing laundry, which I hadn’t really planned for, but I had to make good on that little lie. As I loaded the washer, I found myself daydreaming again - this time about Ashley walking into the bedroom and catching me touching myself.

They seem awfully chummy, I said to myself, interrupting my own daydream.

Returning to the living room, I found them sitting next to each other on the couch, going through a few bags of clothes.

“Oh, Jaime, good - you’re just in time. You have to see this dress that Ash got.”

Ash?

“Uh, sure… Go ahead and show me.”

I could immediately tell that I had been somehow set up by Veronica. She had this smugness to her face - more smug than usual - and whatever I was about to see was going to be more than I could handle.

Ashley - Ash, as her friends apparently called her - pulled a small pink lump of cloth from the bag.

“Oh...these are my new panties,” she said, giggling a little. “That’s not what I wanted to grab.”

“Oh, you should show those off too,” Veronica said, giving Ashley a playful poke in the arm.

“Yeah? Jaime, do you want to see my panties?”

“I...well...I mean, sure. Like, if you want to show them to me, or whatever. It’s no big deal…” I was rambling. I sounded like an absolute fool.

“Just show him,” Veronica said, putting me out of my misery.

Ashley held them up. They were bright pink. An electric bubblegum, if that was such a thing. I knew little about what the various cuts of panties were - I’m sure these had some sort of clever nickname in feminine circles. Were I in charge of the decision, I likely would’ve called them “fuck me” panties. Yet it wasn’t even the shape or the color of the panties that captured my attention the most. It was the bold white letters on the ass: BABY.

I just about choked on a gasp. It caught me by surprise. What the hell was the game that they were playing? This was a game, right? It had to be.

“Okay,” Ashley said, setting aside the panties as if there was absolutely nothing left to say about them. “Here’s what I wanted to show off. I’m so excited about this dress!”

It was a pinafore-styled dress, likely intended to be worn over another shirt or garment. It was a dreamy shade of lavender, with a big pink heart square in the center of the breast. Had it been smaller in size, I would’ve been sure that it was for an actual toddler.

“Is this not the cutest thing?” Veronica cooed. “God, I just saw it and I want to die from cuteness overload.”

“It’s not too much, is it?” Ashley asked her. “I love it, but I worry people are going to see me in this thing and think that I’m a…”

“Baby?” Veronica asked. “Is that the worst thing in the world?”

They both laughed. No - they cackled. It felt like I missed something. Some conversation where an in-joke had been born. I wished I was there for it, because I suspected it would’ve been right up my alley.

“I want to see it on you,” Veronica said, clapping her hands together. “Please?”

“Yeah? I could show you.”

“We’ll go to my room. Come on!”

Veronica took Ashley by the hand and pulled her from the living room and into the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

The bedroom - where just minutes ago I had rubbed myself off while thinking about the girl who was in there now. I couldn’t help but be a little bitter. I wanted to see her in the dress too. Another loss for me.

I hadn’t seen Veronica like this in…well, it was possible that I had never seen her like this. Even when she was ten years younger she didn’t act “one of the girls.” In a way, I was kind of happy for her. If nothing else, I could at least boast that I wasn’t completely wrong about introducing her to Ashley.

From the bedroom I heard giggling and laughing. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but I could hear the tones. Veronica was using soft tones. She was cooing; praising and encouraging. It was harder to define Ashley’s tone. Curious? Obedient?

Infantile?

This felt like betrayal. This felt like I had lost my mind. History was being rewritten and maybe it was her who suggested the baby stuff to me and I was the one who rejected it.

How did this happen? Veronica knew this was a version of what I had wanted and what I had once sought from her. She had played it off as if she wasn’t even remotely interested. But now she was practically rubbing it in my face as she explored some version of my fantasies with Ashley.

From behind the door, I heard a high pitched giggle from Ashley. One phrase managed to make it through the door with just enough clarity:

“You like, Mommy?”

I had heard enough and decided to get some fresh air.