Innocent Temptation

Chapter Seven: Prettiest neighbor

“What’s gotten into you?” Raphael asked, sitting behind his desk.

“Blue balls.”

Mac glared at Jesse as he continued his back and forth in Raphael’s office.

“Seriously, man. What’s wrong with you?" Raphael sounded annoyed as he watched the big man pacing back and forth in front of him. "You have been pacing here for last twenty minutes like some caged animal on steroids.”

“Blue balls.” Jesse commented for the second time, popping a gum in his mouth as he sat back on the couch.

Mac stopped and levelled a hard glared on the man. “I liked you better when you were a pain in the arse but were silent while doing so.”

“Look, I don’t mind you being here and staying. You are most welcome, but will you stop trampling all over the flowers my duchess is trying to plant?”

“Flowers?” Mac asked, finally turning to face Raphael. “I know you love your wife, but you don’t have to be so blind in love to call those weeds flowers.”

“Shush that mouth or she’ll hear you.” Jesse hissed, his eyes going to the closed door.

Mac looked at him in confusion as he said, “Weren’t you the one who always hated her?” Because he remembered all the time Jesse was against Amelie and thought her unworthy of Raphael.

“Who? Me?” Jesse gave him an innocent wide eyed look. “No, man, you must be thinking about someone else. I always liked the Duchess.” Raphael let out a warning growl and Jesse quickly added, “I mean his duchess, her Grace, Amelie, his wife, Mrs Wolfe. You get it, right.”

Mac caught Raphael biting back a smile and he shook his head. He said, “Whatever.” Then he continued pacing.

“Is that about Zurich?” Raphael tried to guess.

“No. It’s the blue balls.”

“If you say those two words once again, I’ll turn your whole body fûcking blue.” Mac threatened, his fists tightening.

“You children need to remember not to throw hands inside the house. My wife doesn’t like things broken.”

“And still she married you.” Jesse murmured and then looked away when Raphael glanced at him.

“Is he high or something?” Mac asked.

“It will be a good thing if he is, otherwise he is going to need an ice bath for after you turn it blue, I am going to turn it red.”

The office door opened and Amelie entered. She paused and looked at the three of them and asked, “What’s going on? Why do you guys look like you’re about to breakout into fistfights?”

“Because Jesse here seems to have a death wish,” Raphael answered his wife, glaring at Jesse.

“Oh, don’t be mean to him. The poor man just found out his girlfriend is getting back together with her ex husband.” Amelie walked to Jesse and patted his head like he was her pet bear.

Mac couldn’t help but bark out a laugh while Raphael glared at where Amelie touched Jesse and said, “Remove that hand, duchess, before I remove his head.”

Jesse quickly slid away from Amelie and she rolled her eyes before walking around the desk to her husband’s side. Raphael pulled her closer and arranged her on his lap. “So, what’s going on here? What are you all men talking about?”

“About Mac’s blue—”

“Finish that sentence, I’ll punch you into the next world,” Mac growled.

Amelie looked between the two giants and then looked at her husband. He gestured at his phone facing up, his chat with Zurich was open.

Raphael: Do you know anything about your brother’s foul mood?

Zurich: There can be many things. Currently, I think it’s me.

Raphael: I don’t think it’s you. He has been here for a few days and has been wearing out my carpets, behaving like a Hulk out on a prowl with grunts and perpetual look of menace on his face.

Zurich: Oh. Does he also happen to have a pink band around his wrist?

Amelie looked at her husband with a curious expression. “Want to find out?” Raphael asked.

Amelie turned to Mac and asked, “Mac, have you been working out in the gym?”

“Yes.” Came his clipped response.

“Oh, good. Let’s see if you can win against Jesse in arm wrestling?”

“Of course, I’ll win.” Jesse responded without having to think about it.

“You didn’t win against Raphael,” Ami sing-songed, sounding too proud.

“Because, he cheated.”

“If he didn’t win against Raphael then I should arm wrestle with Raphael,” Mac said, “I don't want to win against a loser.”

“He didn’t win. He cheated!” Jesse almost shouted and hissed.

“Tomato. Tamato.” Amelie waved her hand.

“No. You,” Jesse stood up and pointed at Raphael. “You and me. Let’s go and this time, you won’t say that you think you might be having a heart attack.”

“What?” Amelie turned to Raphael.

He shook his head and said, “He is making things up because I won.”

Mac watched the whole exchange and said, “I’ll agree on one condition,” When everyone looked at him, he said, “If I win, I get to punch Jesse in the face.”

“Agreed.” Raphael was the first to announce it. And when Jesse gave him a look, he shrugged and added, “You can also choose whatever you want if you win.”

Jesse gave it only a moment’s thought before he agreed and said, “Fine. Whatever I want.”

Mac nodded and gestured for Jesse to come to the desk. Amelie interrupted before they could get into position. “Get those shirts off, let me see what those long hours in the gym is shaping up to.”

Mac watched as Raphael tightened his arm around his wife and glared at her and as if a silent conversation happened between them, including the mobile phone that sat on the desk, Raphael sighed and gritted out, “They can just roll their sleeves up for that.”

“You are such a spoilsport,” Amelie murmured and then gestured for them to continue. “Ok, go on, roll those sleeves up and lemme see.”

Feeling a little bit like a cattle put up on auction, Mac did roll his sleeves just like Jesse and when he did, he thought he heard Amelie squeak and he definitely saw her practically diving for the mobile phone and quickly typing on it.

Raphael: Yes. There’s a pink band.

Zurich: Yeah, my brother has an incurable case of Aira.

Raphael: Aira?

Zurich: Long story, short: Our childhood friend, next door neighbour and my brother’s secret obsession is back in the town and he obviously doesn’t know what to do with it when he had spent all those years in the past trying to avoid it.

Raphael: Oh, maybe we should help him get the girl!

Zurich: Hello, to you too, Ami. Didn’t know I was talking to you.

Raphael took the phone from her and typed: Now you’re not. Go back to your bodyguard duties.

Raphael put his phone back on the desk and looked at both Mac and Jesse. They both had almost same physical stature and the muscles to go with it. And both of them seemed to be holding up well against each other as the match seemed to be at a standstill.

With a twisted grin, Raphael said, “So, I was thinking, has anyone ever had a crush on their next door neighbour?”

Mac lost focus and Jesse took the advantage as he pushed and slammed his arm down smack against the desk surface. Jesse yelled his victory while Mac glared at Raphael.

Raphael smiled back at him, arching one dark brow up. Not privy to the silent conversation, Jesse jumped in as he said, “Well, I never had pretty neighbors to have a crush on. But I remember that one time when we went to this arseh—” He looked at Amelie and then rephrased, “This jerk’s house and there I saw the prettiest girl that I’d have like to—”

And, then Mac punched him.

He heard Amelie gasp.

He heard Raphael’s booming laughter.

And he heard Jesse cursing him out, and yelling at him for going against the rules of the bet.

But he didn’t care as he walked out of the office and made his way out.

If only he could walk away from his thoughts this easily. The thoughts that consumed him day and night, and never leave his mind where she was concerned. The prettiest neighbor. God. He wanted to go back there and punch Jesse once again. How dare he call his— no, not his, never his— but she was his neighbor, not his.

He looked down at his arm, at the pink band that was on his wrist and not for the thousandth time he wondered why did he still have it.

.

.

A. Gupta

Have a good day everyone, or evening!

Why does Mac have a pink band around his wrist, though?