Emily's ears perked at a sound coming from the direction of the house next door. She put down the iron and moved to the window and carefully peeked through the blinds. He was out there again. Wondering what he was up to this time, she moved to the next window, which had a better vantage point.
His Jeep was still parked at the bottom of the drive where he always left it, deliberately obstructing her drive just enough to make it difficult for her to get out. He didn't seem to be up to no good, but Emily didn't believe for one minute that he wasn't at least scheming to make her life hard. It's what he enjoyed most.
She decided to have another go at getting him to move the Jeep. She turned off the iron and went out to the fence. "Hi Aaron. How's the landscaping business these days?"
"What do you want Emily. You didn't come out here to shoot the breeze."
She bit her lip. "Well, I was wondering when you're going to move your Jeep. I told you it makes it hard for me to get out when you park it like that, and..."
"Oh, for christ's sake, Emily, are you gonna bitch at me about that again? I told you, I need to park it like that, so just leave it out, will ya?"
Emily's face got hard and she put her hands on her hips and planted her feet. "Now see here Aaron, I know you think it was me that told the council about your illegal drainage, but they have inspectors coming around to check on these things and..."
"Dammit, Emily, I know it was you!" Aaron stormed into his house and slammed the door, putting an end to the confrontation. He was good at that. He peeked through the curtains to see what she was doing. She was staring at his door. Damn, she was insufferable. It had been like this ever since he'd moved in. The first couple of weeks they gotten along, but something happened. He could never quite put his finger on why she pissed him off so much. It wasn't like she'd seemed to be a bitch. It was just...something.
Emily went back in to finish the ironing, but she couldn't get her mind off this feud she found herself in. That man was so infuriating! Why wouldn't he move the damn Jeep? All right, so she had called the council when he put in that drainage system without a permit, but really, the law was the law. He wouldn't have been denied the permit, so what was the big deal? She ironed furiously, then set about vacuuming with a vengeance.
The next day she had an appointment in town and fumed as she had to manoeuvre around his Jeep to get out. That man, what was his problem?! She went to her appointment and ran some errands, but found herself constantly wondering what dastardly plan he might have to annoy her further.
Aaron made some business calls and went out to check on his work crew, waiting for Emily to leave before he went. No way was he going to move his Jeep before she left. Served her right for always trying to make his life hell. He thought about getting a big dog, one that would bark at night, which would piss her off. It would keep him awake too, though, so that was out.
He had lunch at his favorite cafe downtown, and out the corner of his eye he saw a good-looking woman sit down at a table adjacent to his. For a minute he thought it was Emily, and his blood pressure went up, but it wasn't her. She just sort of... well, anyway it wasn't her, so that was good. He just couldn't escape her! Even when he was minding his own business she seemed to have a way of irritating him. What was that about? He finished his lunch and ordered another Steinlager. It seemed called for.
The next morning he didn't have much to do and decided to sleep in. He was deep in dreamland when he was yanked out of his blissful state by the sound of a stereo that had been cranked up. He stormed out of bed and went to the window. Right, it was coming from next door. That bitch! She knew he was sleeping in. He just knew it. How dare she! He sat back down on the bed and fumed, then picked up the phone and punched in her number. She answered on the fifth ring.
"Hello?" She had to shout over the stereo.
"Emily? What the hell is the meaning of this?! I'm trying to get some sleep here!" He was really working up a lather now.
"Oh, is that you, Aaron? Gee, I didn't know you were home."
He could swear he heard her giggle. The stereo was turned down and then she came back on the line.
"Sorry about that. Hope I didn't disturb you too much." She hung up before he could answer.
He took a shower and tried to calm down, but he couldn't get her out of his mind. This was getting unbearable. Something had to give. He put on his slacks and pulled on a tee shirt, combed his hair, and headed out the door. He was distracted and annoyed and not sure what to do, but he found himself knocking on her door.
He heard the stereo being turned down and then the door opened. She was standing there in her bathrobe, which she clutched at the neck when she saw who it was. "Hi Aaron, what do you want?" She was all innocence and light.
He was at a loss for words for a moment and thought about just leaving, but something made him stay. "Look, Emily, this can't go on. What's your problem, anyway? Why do you have to piss me off all the time?"
She glared at him and then launched into an attack. "What do you mean me? You're the one who makes my life hell, and now you come over here and start in on me? What is it with you?"
He was shaking now, in a rage. He leaned in till he was close to her face and started yelling fiercely. She did the same, and all hell seemed to break loose as they stood with their faces only a couple of inches apart, giving each other hell. Suddenly she stopped, looked in his eyes, hesitated, and then grabbed his face and kissed him for all she worth.
He stiffened up in surprise, then melted and kissed her back, pulling her to him. They kissed for another minute, then she pulled him into the house and shut and locked the door. It was time to break the tension.
