Page 75 of Their Wicked Ways
“Oh yeah?” Wes asked.
He nodded. “Our back neighbors were the nosiest people on the planet. We had to keep our blinds and curtains closed as soon as the sun went down so they couldn’t take advantage of the fishbowl effect.”
“The fishbowl effect?” I asked.
“You know how people can see into your house when you have your curtains open and the lights on after dark? I call that the fishbowl effect because it’s the same as though you were living in a fishbowl, and everyone can just look inside.”
Wes and I chuckled. “I like that. I might steal it,” Wes said.
“Go for it.” He grinned.
“So your neighbors were nosy?” I prompted, wanting to hear more.
He nodded. “So nosy. Our next-door neighbors were just as bad. It got to the point where we couldn’t even open the windows because they liked to eavesdrop.” His grin went mischievous.
“I know that look,” Wes said. “You fucked with them.”
“Of course. I’d purposely leave the blinds and curtains open and walk around naked when I was home alone. It was always a laugh when they’d knock on my door and complain that I was being indecent in my own house.”
“I can’t with some people,” I said. “They’d really come to your house to complain about what they saw when they peeped in your windows?”
“At least once a month. If it wasn’t about getting an eyeful of peen, they complained about my music or playing movies too loud when the weather was nice, and everyone would open their windows. I swear they’d be out in their backyards just puttering around and trying to look busy any time we’d fight or argue about something.”
“Thank fuck we never had to deal with people like that.” Wes tossed me a quick grimace. “I wouldn’t be able to hold back if someone tried to scold me for existing how I want in my own house or backyard.”
Jett’s smirk intensified. “I used to play porn next to our back windows when they got on my nerves. I wouldn’t even watch it. I’d just pick something like a giant orgy or a gang bang compilation, crank the volume as loud as possible, and go do something else for a bit.”
“You’re devious and I love it.” Wes cackled.
“I got in so much trouble for that, but it was worth it.”
“How did you get in trouble for that?” I asked, not quite following. “The porn thing?”
He nodded, his smile falling. “And the naked thing.”
Wes and I exchanged a look. Why would he get in trouble for any of what he’d just told us? We knew he’d grown up out of state, but he only said he moved up the coast. Maybe the laws were different where he’d grown up?
“My neighbors were friends of my parents, of course. That’s one thing that sucks about living in a place where everyone knows you and your entire family. You can’t do anything without people tattling on you.”
“That sounds so invasive.” Wes absently rubbed my thigh.
“It is. But it came in handy a few times.” He smiled wryly and scrubbed his hand over his face.
I’d noticed he did that when he was feeling emotional distress. Would he keep talking, or was that as much as we were going to get?
“It did?” Wes asked, his tone light and his expression curious, but I could tell by the way he gripped my thigh that he was hoping Jett would tell us more.
“That’s how I found out my wife was cheating on me with my best friend.” He said it so matter of fact, all inflection gone from his voice.
Wes’s nails dug into my leg.
“She cheated on you?” I asked carefully, not wanting to push him so he clammed up again. “With your best friend?”
“Yup. And it went on for months before anyone told me.”
“Do you want to tell us about what happened?” Wes asked. “You don’t have to, but we’re good listeners.”
He looked away. “I know I don’t really talk about myself much, but it’s not because I’m trying to keep people away or that I don’t trust you. It’s more that I don’t like talking about it because I’m realizing just how messed up my life was.”