Page 25 of Dad Next Door

Even from this distance, I could see how in shape Quinn was. He sat against the side of the hot tub, his outstretched arms resting on the rim of the tub and his head back. His shoulders and arms were a work of art, as were his chest and stomach. I couldn’t see below the waterline because of the darkness, but the droplets of water glistening on his skin emphasized his incredible muscle definition.

Yeah, it was time to go back inside. Quinn was a friend, and he would be horrified to know I was creeping on him like this.

Before I could move, Quinn stood, the water splashing around his thighs as he climbed out of the hot tub.

Naked.

Holy shit, Quinn was naked.

My eyes traced down his rippling stomach and stopped on his dick.

Jesus H Christ, he was hung. I’d never asked for his modeling alias because I hadn’t trusted myself to not look him up.

But now that I’d seen the goods, I understood why he was making enough money off nudes to live in this neighborhood.

Shit. I wasn’t just creeping on him; I was violating his privacy and trust. I needed to leave. Now.

In my haste to get back to the door, I didn’t notice how close to the metal railing I was and knocked my beer bottle against it.

The hollow crack of glass on metal echoed in the night.

Quinn’s head snapped up, and his eyes connected with mine.

We stood there for a few beats, frozen. Then Quinn lifted his hand and waved, a smirk-smile replacing his earlier shock.

On autopilot, I waved back.

Wait, no. I was waving to my naked neighbor and still staring at him.

Shit.

Darting away from the railing, I fumbled my way through the door, barely missing hitting my face, and scurried into my room.

“Oh, crap.” I leaned against the wall next to the balcony door. “Shit!”

Ping.

Digging my phone out of my pocket, I glanced at the screen, only half seeing the notification from my sister telling me she’d made it home safe.

What had I done?

Quinn was the first friend I’d made since my divorce. The first friend I’d had in over fourteen years who wasn’t a mutual with Simon.

We’d grown close over the past three months, and I honestly didn’t even know how it happened.

The night he’d invited me over for a beer had been one of the best nights I’d had in years. Between work and being a dad, I didn’t have much time to socialize. And I was usually too distracted during my off-custody weeks to do anything with my free time except be sad that I couldn’t see Leo and try to catch up on work and chores.

That first night had turned into a tradition where Quinn was ready and waiting for me in his garage when Simon left with Leo. We’d have a beer, wait for dinner to arrive, and he’d listen patiently while I went on a tirade about all the things I’d held in all week.

That had evolved into us meeting up a few times during my off weeks and chatting over a beer when I got home from work too.

Hanging out with him was the only social time I spent with another adult who wasn’t my colleague or sister, and I looked forward to our conversations all week.

On paper, we were complete opposites, but hanging out with Quinn was easy. He was an incredible conversationalist, and his sense of humor matched mine. He was also well read and constantly dropped info dumps about whatever we happened to be talking about, and he didn’t mind when I did the same.

Ping.

This time, when I pulled out my phone, I expected to see my sister’s name in the notifications.