the storm. The dark light revealed his form, standing in front of his door at the other end of my respite. The redness from his cig enhanced his chiseled features and sleepy blue eyes, entrancing the deer in the headlights in me, making me be still and readying my time to bolt.

His body was relaxed, barely covered in thin white boxers, one arm crossing his impressive chest. He leaned back his head and enjoyed the smoky air he pulled through his own Marlboro. He exhaled with loud joy and his thighs seemed to flex and guide the rest of his body to follow suit in complete relaxation. The hand tucked neatly under his arm, opened and spread smoothly across his chest, ruffling the smattering of dark hair tracing it down his belly and to the top of his boxers.

He stepped toward the porch edge as a new flash of light bombed the earth. He quietly counted out loud, “One…two….three….” stopping when the thunder roared, supposedly three miles away. He chuckled softly and turned to find a seat.

His turn to be the deer in the headlights as he noticed me seated, watching him. “Oh God, I didn’t know you were out here.”

“It’s okay man, no big deal. Couldn’t sleep and was just enjoying the rain.”

“Me, too.” He pulled again on his cigarette and looked off into the rain. “God, it’s so beautiful.” He stretched his hands above his head and pulled himself toward the porch awning. A few drops of rain splashed on his forehead. They gathered at the temple of his dark hair and began to ooze down his cheek, dampening his skin and then leaving a small wet trail across his shoulder, down his chest and pooling in his navel. His fingers quickly followed suit smearing the wetness into his chest hair, seemingly oblivious to his near nakedness and intensifying his uncontrollable sexiness.

“Mind if I join you for a little while?” not really asking, but pulling up the second chair and seating himself. He stretched his legs out to imitate mine and placed his hands behind his head, bulging his massive forearms, and making his abs seem even tighter.

I tried not to stare, and hopefully the darkness wouldn’t tattle tale my struggle. While as neighbors we were occasional buddies, I harbored a secret. It seems that unlike any of the others who had lived in the upper part of the duplex, there were occasions that I was able to hear him, although I had told him I couldn’t.

It wasn’t that I was a compulsive liar, it was that he was such a sweet guy and I knew he was unaware of what I could hear and at the odd times I could hear it. He would probably be too embarrassed to speak with me and I actually valued our occasional exchanges of words and brief times together on the porch.

While we had sat