"Hello there, neighbor!" The keys slipped out of Charlie's hand at the sound of a voice, crashing onto the floor despite his best attempts to hold onto them.
He turned to see his next-door neighbor Meredith staring at him, the right side of her lip curled with amusement. Charlie reminded himself not to stare at her, making eye contact. She wore nothing but a sports bra and gym shorts going down only to mid-thigh, frazzled black hair between her shoulder blades. Sweat fell down her forehead, neck, and arms. "Sorry, I didn't mean to do that." Meredith giggled. "I'll get them for you." Before he could say anything, she bent down and placed them into his hand, giving him almost what felt like a stroke before withdrawing.
"Well, all things considering, not quite the impression you want to make on a woman." Charlie joked back, eyes still focused on her face, free hand carrying his laundry basket. "I swear, I have no idea how you move that fast."
"Talk like that, I'm going to think you're spying on me." Meredith threw her hair across her neck, taking a step closer. "Because it does seem that every time I work out, somehow, I see you doing your laundry in the other room. You come down there just to enjoy the show?" He looked down at her toned, muscled legs.
Charlie coughed, his face burning. "Um... no, I'm not spying on you." He didn't want to admit there were occasions where he'd gone down there to see Meredith, the glass door to the exercise room providing him with a perfect view. "Hey, if it's making you uncomfortable, I can always wait until you're done." His heart beat faster, something he hoped she didn't notice.
She laughed louder, head going up to his nose. "Oh, I promise, you're not in trouble." Meredith placed a hand on his shoulder, a look in her eye he couldn't identify. "You know, I don't exercise for so long for the health benefits alone. Actually... I kind of like the attention." She placed a finger on his lips. "Don't tell anyone, though. Might revoke my feminism card and kick me out of the sisterhood."
"I promise, your secret's safe with me." He opened the door to his apartment, the squeaky hinge making his ears cringe. "I happen to belong to the sex-positive branch of feminism. Good to know I have permission to ogle you." Being on the autism spectrum often made it difficult to know what the rules were, especially when they seemed to change on a whim.
Meredith leaned against the wall. "Besides, guys are going to look no matter what, so why get upset about it? Might as well put on a good show." She frowned for a moment. "I hope this isn't an imposition, but... you work with computers, so can you take a look at mine?"
"I'm a paralegal, not a computer technician." Despite knowing her for a few months, Charlie couldn't remember offhand what her job was. "But I can fix some simple issues."
Meredith fiddled with her sports bra. "Not only am I pandering to men, I need one to bail me out again. God, I'm going to be ex-communicated for sure."
Charlie smirked, eyes briefly wandering down to her C-cups. "Let's see: I've had to pick you up in the middle of the night more than once, helped you drag heavy objects up the stairs, found your phone when you left it in the lobby, and let you borrow some of my books. If they haven't thrown you out by now, I think you're safe." He gave her a light pat on the arm, his blue eyes locked with her brown ones. Charlie set his clothes down just inside his apartment and moved to follow her.
Meredith opened the door to her apartment complex, Charlie looking over the living room and dining room. The couch stood prominently in front of the television, which he'd previously hauled inside alone for no other reason than to show off a bit. A sink of dirty dishes had several flies buzzing around it. Not something his roommate and older sister Melanie would ever have tolerated.
Her Christmas tree still stood in the living room, though the lights were turned off. Meredith marched to the dining room table, which her desktop stood, complete with modem. "Keeps turning off randomly and I don't know why. It runs anywhere from a few minutes to a couple hours, then dies."
"I'll see what I can do for you. If I can't help, I apologize." Charlie clicked the computer on, holding back a sneeze from the dust.
"Well, I need to hop in the shower, wash all the sweat and grime off me." She smiled. "Wouldn't want to be a poor host to my favorite neighbor." She blew him a kiss and marched into the bathroom, not bothering to wait before stripping off her sports bra. Charlie's cheeks burned, catching the faintest hint of boob as she disappeared.
All right let's see what's going on.
Charlie's eyes wandered over to a folder in the right-hand corner, labeled "NUDES" in capital letters.
He moved the mouse above it, listening to the shower, before moving the cursor away. He'd had an infatuation with her for close to three months, the duo at least acquaintances, if not friends. Early on, he made the decision to keep it to himself, not let it get in the way, and allow it to run its course. Didn't mean he wasn't curious about the folder's contents.
He checked her anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, finding they hadn't been run or updated in more than two months.
Hmm, maybe this'll end up being simple after all.
Charlie headed to her kitchen and grabbed some cleaner and paper towels, wiping all the dust off her console.
He looked down at the back to see the fans almost completely caked with dust. "Hopefully, this will do the job." He stared at the "NUDES" folder again, feeling his khakis stiffen. Charlie wiped the fans with all the delicacy he could manage, the fans inside the modem growing in strength as he did so.
She'd be in the shower for several more minutes and...
Nope, not doing it.
Fearing temptation would overwhelm him if he remained, he retreated to the kitchen and poured a glass of water. He reached into his pocket, tossing a painted rock into the air he always kept with him whenever he needed a moment to think. Nothing, however, kept his mind off Meredith for long.
In the end, it didn't matter. He wasn't going to risk one of the few friendships he'd managed to make in his life. Whenever he confessed to a female friend, or they figured out he liked them, the friendship was dead in the water despite any attempt he made to salvage it.
A few minutes later, Meredith arrived in the living room wearing nothing but a robe, her skin and hair still damp. Charlie's cheeks burned, looking down at her smooth legs. "So did you get everything squared away?" She typed something on the computer, mouse hovering over her "NUDES" file. "Hey, were you looking in here?"
"No... of course not." He stammered, staring at the ground. "What kind of person do you think I am?"
"Relax, I'm just messing with you...though I'm a little surprised, to be honest." Meredith sat down on the couch next to him, staring at him with an unreadable expression. "I put a lot of work into those photos, you know."
"I'm sure." At least she didn't appear angry, though it'd always been hard to him to tell. "Turns out I just need to clean the fans and update a few things. Should work now." He expected his face made an excellent impression of a tomato.
"You weren't in the least bit curious?" Meredith raised an eyebrow, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Wanting to be a naughty neighbor?"
Charlie looked down at the gap between her breasts, before catching himself. Meredith placed a finger on his chest. "Well, I expect anyone in my position would be." He ran a hand through his hair. "You're a gorgeous woman if you don't mind me saying so. Just seems like basic decency not to pry... tempting as it may have been." He cursed himself for saying that, having been slapped for less.
"Such a gentlemen." Meredith hugged him, Charlie going stiff as a board. "People looking at my body has never bothered me, long as there isn't any unwanted touching. And... I don't mind looking, either." Her gaze wandered toward his erection.
He struggled to keep eye contact, taking in her strange behavior. "Well, anyone would be lucky to have your attention, woman like you."
"I heard something about you, a couple weeks ago." If he didn't know better, he'd swear she was flirting with him. "Someone said that you've never... been with a woman."
"Yep, I'm a virgin." It didn't bother him the way it had in his younger years, though he occasionally felt left out of a fundamental human experience. "Tried reassuring a college kid living on the first floor it was okay, only for him to laugh and spread it around. Expect everyone knows by now."
"Well, screw him!" Meredith held his hand. "How old are you, anyway?"
"I'm a week away from my thirty-eighth birthday." Charlie's face flushed. "Being on the autism spectrum makes it very difficult to connect, especially when it comes to romance. Didn't take care of myself physically or mentally in my younger years. Starting about thirty, I lost weight, bulked up, got healthy, put myself out there. Spent three years trying every dating profile you can imagine, tried networking, got out of my comfort zone, all the classic advice you receive. Haven't so much as been on a date." She was the first he'd told of his condition in years, remembering how others responded in his past. "How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Had my twenty-ninth birthday a couple months ago. That was the night I needed to call a ride." Meredith's hand went to her thigh. "I, for one, notice all the hard work you've done." Still that strange gaze she gave him. "Can't believe some woman hasn't snatched you up. If you hadn't told me, I'd have thought you were around my age."
"I suppose it wasn't in the cards for me." Charlie got to his feet. "But you know what? I've got a good life. I have a job I like, I have my independence, my health, even a couple friends. So I don't have much to complain about." He struggled to change the topic. "Everything should be in order now. Still, I give it a week before you need me to pick up something heavy or squash spiders for you. Let me show off my muscles a bit."
"You're never letting me live that down, are you?" Meredith stood next to him, hands on his shoulders. "But... I had something different in mind. I was thinking I could help you..." Her breath blew against his ear. "... with your virgin problem."
