The bedroom clock showed 2:36 AM. The red numbers glowed brightly, as if to mock her. It seemed hopeless to even try to sleep. She had tried everything but all the effort just made her more tense and restless. She just finished reading the novel that she expected to last over the coming week. The old sure fire sleep aid, a hot cup of tea hadn't even worked to make her sleepy. The whole lot of recent events in her life seemed to be working against her at this particular moment. Having the car breakdown on the highway was bad enough, but to miss an important management meeting yesterday morning left her with new problems; All this at a time when things in her personal life seemed to be coming apart at the seams. The knock down drag out fight with her former boyfriend really troubled her. She found herself re-living the events of the day and worried about the new problems of tomorrow.
Carol crawled out of bed to get a drink of water. Walking to the kitchen, she noticed the glow of light through a window behind the shrubs at the new neighbor's house. She had never seen a light in that basement before, .The shadows moving through the light made it flicker behind the shrubs. She thought nothing of it as she filled a glass with water from the tap at the kitchen sink. On her way back to the bedroom, she noticed the faint glow of candles through a corner of one of the basement windows. She paused to look as she sipped the water. A slight view of the basement was visible through the gap where the curtains came together. The sight of a woman who appeared to be naked caught her attention.
The breeze made the curtains flutter and had parted them just enough for her to catch a better glimpse of a figure whose arms were bound with thick rope coiled neatly around them and held over her head. As Carol stared at the mysterious figure the woman bent down and vanishing out of sight. She set the glass down on a nearby end table and stepped outside onto the deck for a better view. The cool breeze felt cool on her lightly clad body. Carol shivered. She had never been one to peek through windows but this was too curious and intriguing to disregard. Once on the deck, she could feel the heavy air movement, suggesting an approaching storm. The sky was star-less as she glanced up, noticing the billowing storm clouds.
At first she thought the sound she heard faintly was just the wind, but then she realized that the rhythmic whooshing sound was too loud and regular to be the breeze. The sound was punctuated with soft whimpers. Without even thinking about how she was dressed, she found herself on the grass, sauntering closer to the neighbor's yard and the open window. The sod had just recently been laid in the new yard, making the grass feel spongy beneath her bare feet. All she really knew about him was that he was a single professional man, perhaps in his mid-thirties. He had caught her attention when she first saw him with the realtor. He was strikingly handsome she thought and seemed charismatic in the way he carried himself when dealing with the real estate agent. The flickering shadows of an individual moving about could be seen against the far wall. She moved closer until her face was nearly against the window screen. One of the sounds clearly was that of muffled moans. The other sound seemed to have stopped. She tried to see more but could only see the shadows of a vertical figure holding something resembling a multi-stranded whip, dangling from one hand.
The rumble of distant thunder could be heard all around her. Suddenly feeling embarrassed to be peeking in the neighbor's window; she decided to quietly return to her own home. She noticed the "3:10" on the clock as she returned to bed. Her mind was racing now in spite of the utter exhaustion of her body. She fantasized about how it might feel like to be dominated by a man like her new neighbor. His tall physique standing over her, controlling her and having hos way. She ran her hand over her bottom, wondering how it would feel to be spanked or whipped. She hoped to meet him soon to get to know him better and see what he was really like.
The buzzer of the alarm was merciless when it came alive at 6:30. She struggled to remember which button was for snooze. Still in a dream state, she could remember her dream about being in the throes of her dark and strangely sexy neighbor. She felt a bit of relief that it was just a dream but yet the thoughts of being under his control us titillating as well. The cloaked figure stood over her with a menacing look. She was unable to move...
The drone of the alarm eventually freed her from the grip of her captor ten minutes later when it sounded again. Crawling out of bed she headed for the shower. The images from a few hours ago remained firmly etched in her brain. Standing naked in the shower, Carol continued to fantasize about being naked before the mysterious man. When the water coming from the shower head suddenly cooled off she realized that she needed to move along quickly. She had made arrangements for a friend to drive her to work today because one of her current problems included car trouble. She rushed to get ready for work.
Carol waited at the front door for her ride to work. The skies looked ominous, ready to open with a sudden morning downpour. Glancing next door, she noticed a woman leaving the house. The woman opened the door to a car parked in the driveway then gingerly lowered herself into the driver's seat. Carol's surveillance was interrupted when her friend, Barb pulled into the driveway, blocking the view of the neighbor's guest. They chatted on the way to the office but her mind continued to drift to her unusual night. It was not until they pulled into the parking lot at work that her thoughts returned to the more urgent matters of the workplace. Lacking vitally needed sleep; she took a deep breath before entering the building. The rain began to beat against the large office windows as she arrived at her desk.
Tired from the start, Carol somehow managed to make it through the dreary and non eventful workday. The gloomy skies and steady rain seemed to bring out the worst in everyone at the office. Just as she was about to leave for the day, Barb called to tell her that she had to stay at work another hour or two. Fortunately, there was a city bus whose route was somewhat convenient for getting home. Carol decided to take the bus home rather than wait for her girlfriend.
The unrelenting rain beat against the bus windows at times on the drive home. Riding in the bus felt somewhat more secure in this stormy weather. The quiet on the bus allowed her to relax a little and mull over the events of the past week. Her thoughts returned to the sights from early that morning. The man next door intrigued her. Perhaps she should introduce herself to the new neighbor. Would bringing him a casserole to welcome him to the neighborhood be too kitschy?
The bus came to a stop on her corner. A gust of wind blew rain into her face as she struggled to open her umbrella as she exited the bus. She headed for home at a brisk pace to get out of the nasty weather as soon as possible. A gust of wind caught her umbrella as she headed up her sidewalk, peeling the fabric of the umbrella away from one side of the frame in one sudden burst. She hurried to the front door. The rain seemed to have intensified, blowing sideways and soaking her even under the overhang. She searched through her purse for the house keys. To her horror, she realized that she neglected to bring them since she wasn't driving. She raced to the back door just in case it was unlocked. She was drenched to the skin by the time she found the back door locked as well. Her cat stared helplessly at her through the patio door. She thought about her options. She headed back toward the boulevard to see whether her neighbor across the street was home. Just as she passed the front of her house, a man's voice called out,
"Hey there! What are you doing in the rain? Are you locked out?"
Turning, she saw that her new neighbor had just pulled up his driveway and stopped along side her.
"Yes," she admitted, feeling somewhat embarrassed to meet him this way.
"Come on in and get out of the rain," he gestures toward his opening garage door.
She followed him into the attached garage as he stepped out of his car.
"My you are soaked! How long have you been standing in the rain?"
"Not long, I just got here," she answered, feeling very self-conscious as water dripped from her dress onto the garage floor.
"First, let's got you dried off. We can figure out how to break into your house later. By the way, I'm John. As you probably knew, I just moved in last week."
