My name is Bill. I'm middle-aged, married and mostly live the classic boring suburban life.
When I was growing up, I always assumed I'd get to the big city someday. But that never happened; instead, I landed steady but dull work and moved around from suburb to suburb for the job. Each time the houses and people look the same. Everyone is friendly, but it's shallow because we're all busy with life and sooner or later we'll get transferred again anyway.
We've been in our current house for five years. We slightly know the neighbors on one side. We knew the ones on the other side even less. The dad drove new BMWs all the time but wasn't home much. The mom was a workout queen who tried to keep looking twenty years younger. We didn't see much of them. When they moved away, we barely noticed.
A few days later on Saturday we saw a moving van arrive. The couple looked similar in age to us. My wife and I came to say hello.
Their names were Scott and Susan. Scott looked like me and every other guy on the block - polo shirt, middle-aged and fighting his waistline. He seemed decent. And I immediately warmed up to Susan. Compared to the workout queen with her way-too-skinny ass, she looked a lot more normal. She had a friendly smile and a nice curvy body. I liked her, on several levels.
"Welcome to the neighborhood," I said. We all smiled and chatted some more.
The more we talked, the more I liked both of them. Scott and I hit it off right away. Not only did we have various shared interests, but we had similar personalities. He laughed at my jokes.
Susan was also very nice. She just seemed like a very genuine person. And I'll admit I checked her out some more. She wore jeans that really showed off her nice hips and curvy but firm ass. I couldn't tell much about the rest of her body, which was okay. I felt a little guilty, toward Susan for checking her out as soon as I met her - and to Scott for checking out his wife, since I was beginning to really like him.
After a few minutes they had to go back and direct the moving crew. But I invited them for hamburgers on the grill - and they accepted. A few hours later the whole family came over. Everyone clicked very nicely. I was pretty happy. Maybe these would be the friends we never seemed to have.
On Sunday afternoon, I helped Scott put together some things in the garage. We kept talking. This guy was really cool. When we were done, he opened two beers and we stood and talked in the growing darkness. I thought this might be the start of a beautiful friendship.
****
On Monday morning, I followed my usual routine. I always get up very early, and spend an hour or two working in my home office while everyone else is asleep. It's my favorite time of day and I get a lot done. The office is in a back corner of the house and it's nice to have the peace and quiet.
There's a small window that looks directly across to what was now Scott and Susan's house. I casually glanced out the window and received an enormous shock.
Right across the yard, less than twenty feet away, I could see Susan through a window, in what must have been their bathroom. In all the years our former neighbors were there, that window had been covered every day. But now the blinds were up, and the view unobscured. Susan had clearly just gotten up. She was wearing a baggy T-shirt that came just below her bum, standing at the bathroom sink and unpacking things out of a box.
I was mesmerized...and confused. Why in the world was she standing there, not wearing a whole lot, with the blinds open? Surely she must know the window was visible from our house.
But of course I couldn't take my eyes away.I could see most of the bathroom, including the tub and shower, though not the toilet (which was fine with me.) My own window was small and high up the office wall. It was very unlikely Susan could see me sitting at my desk. But she was on full display.
I watched her do nothing in particular, in her baggy shirt that didn't show anything. Frankly I felt dumb and stupid - voyeuring her as she put away mouthwash and aspirin. But I was still fascinated. I already mentioned I found her kind of sexy. And now here she was, half-naked. Obviously she didn't realize it and would probably yank the blind down as soon as she did - which is why I kept low in one corner of my window. But part of me hoped...well...you know. That maybe that baggy shirt would come off.
I felt bad but couldn't stop. Here was a woman I knew...a brand new friend and neighbor...but all I cared about was getting a look at her with no clothes on. I rationalized to myself that I hadn't done a thing wrong. I was just looking out my window like any other morning. And, after all, I wasn't really seeing anything at all. Her street clothes actually showed off her body better than the t-shirt. And it was perfectly normal for me - caught in such an unexpected, unusual situation - to be curious. Right?
Right. No, I was just being dirty and wanted to see Susan take her clothes off. That's the truth. Because men like to see nude women.
I kept watching but the shirt stayed on. I started to get bored, and told myself it was time to stop watching and get back to work. But I didn't. Finally...Susan began to leave the bathroom. As she did, she began to pull her shirt off. But all I saw was her bare back as she left the room and turned off the light.
I kept checking the window for another fifteen minutes but saw nothing more. At one point I heard a car nearby start up and drive away. I wondered if it was Susan.
I managed to get back to work, marvelling at that little episode. It had been a thrill, but probably good that I saw nothing else. It looked like we might become very good friends, after all. Spying on friends was hardly right.
The rest of my day went normally. I waved at Scott when I got home from work, but didn't talk to him or Susan. The next morning, Tuesday, I immediately checked the office window. Their blinds were down. Okay. She had obviously realized her mistake.
