Covet Thy Neighbor

gently prodded my neck and upper back, finding all those tense, tender spots like they were visible to him. He tapped in a few needles one at a time. Out of the blue, he asked, “So what’s his name?”
    I lifted my head. “Beg your pardon?”
    Michael raised his eyebrows, then chuckled and focused on the needle in his hand. After he’d tapped it into place, he said, “Do I look like an idiot to you?”
    “Is that a rhetorical question?”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He opened another needle packet. “How long have we known each other, Seth?”
    “I don’t know. Like twenty years now, isn’t it?”
    He positioned the needle just below the base of my neck and tapped it. “And after two damned decades, don’t you think I’ve learned how to tell when some guy’s keeping you up at night?”
    I said nothing. Forehead pressed against the doughnut pillow, I closed my eyes and tried to will the muscles in my torso to just relax before all this tension counteracted everything I was paying Michael to do.
    “Jesus, man.” Michael pressed his fingertips into one particularly tense muscle, and I swore through gritted teeth. He put a couple of needles near that spot. “What’s his name?”
    I swallowed. “Jason tell you about him?”
    “No, he hasn’t mentioned him.”
    “I told him the story last night. At the club.”
    “I see.” Another needle into a tender muscle. “Well, he was still asleep when I left this morning, and I haven’t had a chance to talk to him. So I guess I get it straight from the horse’s mouth?”
    “I guess you do.” I swallowed. “His name is Darren.” I gestured in the general direction of my tattoo shop across the street. “He moved into the apartment across the hall after Robyn moved out.”
    “What’s he like?”
    In spite of all my reservations, I couldn’t help smiling. “He’s a great guy. Funny. Easy to talk to. You know those people you meet and feel like you’ve known your whole life?”
    “Yep. He’s one of them?”
    “Very much so.” I sighed. “Except for the sort of minor detail about him being a fucking minister.”
    Michael’s hands paused as he placed another needle. “A minister?”
    “Yeah. You know. Guy who waves the Bible around and—”
    “Yes, I know, smartass. So if he’s a fucking minister”—Michael tapped another needle into place—“does that mean you’re fucking a fucking minister?”
    I laughed.
    So did he, and playfully smacked my arm. “You dog. Lead him not into temptation.”
    “Please.” I snorted. “I didn’t lead him into temptation. He tore off my clothes and led me to—”
    Michael laughed again. “Oh. Yeah. And I’m sure you were protesting the whole time.”
    “I was!”
    “Is he hot?”
    “Of course he is.”
    “Then no, you weren’t.”
    I sighed dramatically. “You know me entirely too well.”
    Michael just snickered.
    “Pity he’s part of that crowd,” I said. “He’s a nice guy, but . . . there’s no way I can get involved with someone like that.”
    “He isn’t our families, though,” Michael said. “Just the fact that you were able to talk to him tells me he’s not one of those self-righteous cunts like the people we grew up around. That bunch would’ve beaten you with Bibles and drowned you in holy water by now.” He paused, no doubt eyeing me the way he always did. “Obviously he’s not that type, is he?”
    “No, he’s not.”
    “Then give him a chance.”
    I sighed. “With a past like mine, that’s easier said than done, don’t you think?”
    “Maybe. But it could be worth it.”
    “Yeah. Maybe.”
    “Well, at least don’t write him off quite yet. Now lay here and relax for a while. I’ll be back in ten.”
    He left me in the dark, quiet room, and I closed my eyes as the muscles in my back and neck slowly unwound—as much as they could with Darren still front and center in my mind, of course. Add to that a few aches and twinges to remind me that no, I hadn’t imagined last night, and it was difficult to relax. Fortunately, though, the sleepless night caught up with me, and I managed to drift off for a little while.
    Eventually, Michael came back in. Neither of us said anything as he took out all the needles, and once he was done with that, I sat up. We discussed my neck and shoulder, same shit we did every other week, but when we were done, he didn’t dismiss me.
    He folded his hands on top of his clipboard. “While you were in here, I was thinking about your