Chapter 15

The Spark Beneath the Surface

The midday sun poured down like honey over the neighborhood, sticky and golden, warming everything it touched. Jess stretched in the living room, naked under one of Tommy’s loose tees, still sore in the best ways. Her lips were still swollen, her body still humming from the night and morning before. She had never felt more used or more wanted.

She walked past the window, absently sipping water, and froze.

Katherine was across the yard.

Laid out on a lounge chair in the tiniest bikini Jess had ever seen, if you could call it a bikini at all. Two thin triangles barely concealed her nipples, and the bottom... well, it might as well have been floss. Her skin gleamed with sunscreen, taut and tan, her body toned, her curves mature, seductive. Effortless.

Jess licked her lips unconsciously.

“Damn,” she whispered to herself. “The neighbor lady is… super hot.”

The thought came with a pang...sharp and confusing. It wasn’t just attraction. It was envy. Admiration. And something else. Something she hadn’t quite put her finger on yet.

Tommy walked into the room behind her, tugging on a shirt, glancing over her shoulder. “Something caught your eye?”

Jess startled, almost dropped her glass. “No—I mean, yeah—just... your neighbor. She’s…”

Tommy smirked. “Katherine.”

“Yeah.” Jess looked out again. “She’s gorgeous.”

“Mmhmm,” he said simply, and that was it.

But it wasn’t it—not for Jess. That same flicker returned, the one she felt last night when Tommy was just too smooth. Too prepared. She didn’t know what it was, but something told her Katherine wasn’t just the hot older woman next door.

An hour later, there was a knock at the back door.

Jess opened it, and there she was—Katherine. In cutoff shorts, bikini top still on, sunglasses in her hair, casual as sin.

“Oh, hi sweetie,” she said to Jess with a dazzling smile. “Sorry to bother you both. Tommy around?”

Jess blinked. “Yeah—he’s in the kitchen.”

Katherine stepped in like she owned the place.

“Tommy,” she called, her tone laced with honey. “Think you can help me real quick? I was thinking of picking up a grill today. John’s been talking about one for weeks, and I figured maybe you could lend some muscle?”

Tommy grinned. “Home Depot run?”

“Unless you’ve got better plans,” she said with a wink. “Bring your girlfriend along. Make it a little field trip.”

Jess’s ears perked up.

Girlfriend?

The word made her stomach flip—in a way she liked. But it also made her look closer. The way Katherine touched Tommy’s arm. The little glint in Tommy’s eyes when he looked at her. There was something here.

Still, she smiled and nodded. “I’d love to come.”

Tommy noticed. He didn’t say anything—but he knew.

They all drove out together, casual on the surface but humming underneath. At Home Depot, Jess trailed a step behind as Tommy and Katherine walked ahead, their banter easy, full of old rhythm. They argued over grills like a couple that had done it before...laughing, teasing, too in sync.

Jess caught herself staring at Katherine again. Her hips. Her confidence. The way she touched Tommy’s arm when she laughed. Was she imagining it?

Or was there history there?

Back at Katherine’s, the three of them set up the grill together. Jess played along...charming, smiling, helping...but the whole time, her mind kept replaying glances, touches, the sound of Katherine’s laugh.

Later, steaks hit the grill, drinks flowed, and the vibe turned relaxed. The three of them lounged in and around the pool—Jess in one of Tommy’s shirts again, Katherine in a fresh bikini, and Tommy in nothing but swim trunks, all lean muscle and sun.

Jess floated beside him, drifting closer.

“I like this,” she whispered. “This vibe. This... us.”

Tommy looked at her, calm and unreadable. “Yeah?”

She nodded. “It’s... nice. Different. I feel like I belong.”

And she meant it. Despite the undercurrent, despite the unspoken tension, she wanted this.

Even if she couldn’t name what this was yet.

The sun started to dip when John came home.

He stepped into the backyard, button-down untucked, holding his keys and smiling like a man walking into something safe and boring.

“Oh hey!” he said, waving. “Didn’t know we had company.”

Katherine stood and kissed his cheek. “They helped with the grill.”

John grinned at Tommy. “Thanks, man. Appreciate it. Glad she’s got people around when I’m gone. That thing would’ve stayed in the box for weeks otherwise.”

Jess gave him a polite smile. But the vibe shifted. Cold air slipped in. She saw the way Katherine’s eyes changed—like a switch flipped. Like she knew the game was over for now.

Tommy kept it cool. Polite. But different.

Eventually, Tommy and Jess made their exit. John waved them off like they were sweet kids, no clue what he’d interrupted.

- -

Back at Tommy’s, Jess couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Are you and her…” she began, then trailed off. “I mean, was there something before? Between you and Katherine?”

Tommy’s face didn’t change. But his silence said everything.

Jess looked at him, trying to read between the lines. “You don’t have to lie. I get it. She’s hot. And I’m not even mad. I just… I need to know where I stand.”

He walked to her, slow, quiet, and placed a hand under her chin.

“You stand exactly where I want you,” he said softly. “And tonight, I want you right here.”

That was all.

No answers. Just power.

Jess melted.

And deep in his mind, Tommy knew exactly what he was doing.

Katherine had been proud last night.

Jess was falling fast.

And soon… they’d both belong to him.