When You Least Expect It

By Wayne Mansfield

At thirty-nine, Dane has begun to think that life holds no surprises for him. His last relationship was twelve years ago and, apart from a couple of flings, there has been no one special in his life for so long, he has given up even thinking about meeting anyone. His work keeps him busy and he's used to going on holidays by himself or with friends. He hasn't really missed having someone to love, and to love him back. Although sometimes ...

One day, he's cleaning the sliding door when he notices movement in the villa next to his. It's his new neighbour. His handsome new neighbour. He pretends he isn't watching the hot, semi-naked man. Later when he bumps into the man, Tassos, he's invited in for a juice. Who is this man?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Oct 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781646565504

Wayne Mansfield

Wayne Mansfield is a Western Australian writer. He has been writing for nine years and has been published in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Additionally, he wrote a monthly erotic story for the German publications Macho and Dreamboys for two years. His novellas and stories usually have a horror, futuristic, or fantasy theme, although he does write contemporary stories such as The Hiding Place, which received Honorable Mention in the 2013 Rainbow Awards.

Book preview

5

Chapter 1

It wasn’t something Dane had been aware of before he stood on the chair to clean the top of the sliding glass door, but now he’d discovered it, the knowledge was going to be impossible to forget.

His summer holidays were speeding towards their ultimate end. Already behind him were a week in tropical Bali, and five days over Christmas with his parents on their farm. He’d celebrated New Year with friends in an appropriately wild style and in between the hedonism, time had been found to complete all the little chores he was too busy to get around to doing during the year. That included cleaning the windows.

It was a small movement, but enough to catch his attention. His new neighbour had walked into the laundry, and from where Dane stood, he could see right in over the fence.

The man appeared to be in his late thirties, which meant they were possibly around the same age. He was tall, slender, but toned, like an athlete, and he had a thickly-haired chest. Southern European or Middle Eastern if Dane wasn’t mistaken.

Dane watched the man dropping clothes into his washing machine and felt a warm rush of endorphins as his neighbour bent to remove his underpants. As he dropped the garment into the machine, he turned to look out the window. Immediately, Dane began spraying and wiping the window with gusto, his eyes darting between the job at hand and his neighbour, who by that time, appeared to have noticed him.

Play it cool. Act naturally. Act like you haven’t been perving at him.

And when the glass door was the cleanest it had been since he moved in, Dane climbed down from the chair and moved onto the windows in the kitchen.

* * * *

Two days later, Dane pulled into the driveway of the small complex of three villas where he lived and noticed a letter poking out of the slot in his mailbox.

Probably a bill, was his first thought, but then again, in an age of Internet and emails, finding something other than a flyer advertising real estate in his letterbox was mildly exciting.

He parked the car and ambled down the driveway to the mailboxes. The letter, it turned out, was for a previous tenant who hadn’t been at the address for at least a year. Yet the flash of disappointment he felt was soon replaced by a stronger and infinitely more pleasant sensation when he heard the door of the front villa open.

He smiled. Hi there. You must be the new neighbour.

The guy was even more handsome up close. Olive complexion, dark five o’clock shadow, and perfect white teeth.

I must be, replied the man, grinning. Tassos, but call me Tas. Pleased to meet you. They shook hands, his grip firm. You keep your windows very clean.

Er, thanks, said Dane with a twinge of guilt. It’s actually the first time they’ve been done since I moved in.

Oh I hear you. Windows, hey? I’ve been cleaning this place for the past few days. A bit at a time, you know. Don’t want to overdo it.

I bet. New place and all. A lot of cleaning.

Anyway, said Tas, checking his mailbox, I suppose I’d better get back to it.

Right you are, said Dane, none too pleased that their meeting had been so brief.

Tas walked off, then stopped. Hey, he said, turning back, if you’re not too busy, would you like to come in for a cuppa? A quick one?

No, Dane replied. I mean, no, I’m not too busy.

It wouldn’t have mattered if he were flat out. Give up the chance to spend more time with his hot neighbour? No way, Jose!

The interior of Tas’s living room was a lesson in sensory overload. The first thing Dane noticed was the strong aroma of incense. Patchouli. Sandalwood. Beautiful. Next, he