Bob Kuzneski, the man next door, was the man of her dreams.
Over the days that came, Misha's whole perspective of her life changed. Sure, she was still the same person, but her outlook and priorities had changed. She found herself a lot more upbeat, giggly and excitable. She again felt like the silly teenage girl living next door to the hot guy.
She was spending her days laughing at his jokes, dressing revealingly for him, hoping to catch him alone while trying not to get caught by her husband, who just as well could be just a roommate, now. She had lost all interest in her husband.
Misha's audit report for work hadn't gone to plan. It had been handed in late and was below her usual standards; her boss had been reprimanded and passed the flack onto her. She simply accepted it was under par, explaining that she had been unwell, and she promised to step up her game after a few days off.
It became habit then second nature and effortless to tell her husband she was going in to work later. This meant she was able to slip over to Bob's and present herself as best she could. She knew he enjoyed watching her as she carried out all sorts of what she had seen as menial tasks before she realized how important they were for the right man. But, he still hadn't touched her or given any indication that he would.
The last few days had been the same: Ken would kiss his wife goodbye before getting in his BMW and reversing down the drive as she watched from behind the curtain; she would wait ten minutes before moving her own car, either further up the drive or reversing it down. She proudly thought this would lead to less suspicion, as her husband would see that the car had been moved and would assume she'd had been at work.
Hastily she would walk to Bob's front door, always aware of how nervous she felt every time she knocked and before he would crack the old door open and peer around its edge. He always seemed just a little surprised to see her there, and then their nervousness would be gone as he would invite her in.
Her first task each morning was to prepare his breakfast, usually bacon and a cup of tea. She'd then sit and watch as he sat flicking through the stations of his old TV and devouring his morning snack.
She would then check the house from top to bottom. Having sorted, cleaned and organized over the last couple of days, she now found the house more manageable and easier to keep on top of, which meant more time to study Bob.
Today she planned to reorganize his drawers and the cupboards with his clothes, putting everything into order. She also desperately wanted to see if he owned something besides the three outfits she had seen him in. (Not that she was complaining, she actually wanted to see him in less.)
After starting the washing machine and cleaning the morning's breakfast away, she took note of where Bob was and went back into the sitting room. On his big chair with his legs up on the stool, he sat snoozing with the remote in his hand. Realizing that he wasn't watching her or requiring anything, she could continue on.
She smiled broadly as she slipped away towards the bedroom. Excitement overwhelmed her as she pushed the door open slightly and scanned the room. This was her first visit here but she desperately found herself hoping it wouldn't be the last.
She approached the unmade bed, and her hand reached down to touch the sheets, firstly with her fingertips before her palm checked for warmth across a larger area beneath the covers. She found herself wishing she had lain beside him the night before. She closed her eyes as an image of them appeared, both asleep and comfortable wrapped in each other's arms. She took a deep breath at the image of their loving embrace before opening her eyes and looking further around the room.
Her eyes rested on the chest-of-drawers before reluctantly pulling her hand from the cotton bed spread and nervously approaching them. Opening the drawers she carefully took out all the items, re-sorting them neatly back in a more organised fashion. She kept the underwear for last and with more love and attention than she dared to admit, she placed them in the top drawer; she was excited about touching it and found herself highly aroused.
As she struggled on through her arousal she opened the cupboard next to the drawers and found it full of women's clothes. Checking the contents, she would randomly pull items from the rail; she found them unstylish and dated, clearly from an older lady's collection. The clothes had surely belonged to Bob's wife.
Closing the door, she then left the room and went back about the rest of the house and soon found herself on her knees eagerly scrubbing the kitchen floor. She became aware he was at the door behind her, watching her in silence. She wanted him to rush over and pull her up, up and into his arms. She wanted to press her chest against his, for him to pull at her. She would have let him take her right there in the small, dated kitchen. Sure, she would have preferred a more romantic setting, but after all these days performing for him, auditioning as the perfect woman, she was no further forward other than seeing how he liked to watch her.
She looked around seductively to make eye contact with him. Her own heart jumped as he looked sheepish and went red before turning away.
'For God's sake!' She screamed in her head.
She was in her tightest jeans, bent over, scrubbing away. She knew herself how good her ass looked in these jeans, but still he was no closer to making a move on her.
"You okay, Bob?" she called after him.
"Err, yeah, fine. Yer doing a good job," he mumbled.
"I do aim to please," she teased.
He stole another glance at her, his eyes betraying his bashfulness; she smiled as she caught his lingering stare, which seemed to take him aback.
"You are, it's looking good. Very pleasing."
She found it adorable he was nervous and it suddenly struck her she might need to change tactics a bit.
"Do you see anything else that's pleasing?" She looked directly at him, tilting her head down to look up at him through the tops of her eyes.
Looking dumbfounded, he slowly began to scan the rest of the room and the work she had done. She was suddenly apprehensive she had pushed him too far before deciding to try and claw her way back.
"Do you like my jeans?"
"I'm more of a dress man myself. I like a lady in a nice elegant dress. Jeans were for boys in my day. Give me a woman in a nice plain dress all day long."
It was a light bulb moment. It was so obvious now. Here was a guy in his seventies; he didn't want to see her in stuff a man in his thirties or younger wanted to see her in. She had been thinking about this all wrong; he might be hot and looked way younger but the reality was he had older tastes. She had been dressing for a man of the wrong age.
She finished the floor and made him a fresh cup of tea; when she handed it to him, he was sitting in his usual seat in front of the TV again. He grunted a small thanks and she offered him a smile before turning and leaving the room. She walked down the hall with purpose and into the bedroom again. Opening the cupboard, she slid the clothes along the hanger while looking from a new perspective.