Kevin has an obsession; one that involves the muscular Adonis in the penthouse adjacent to his high-rise condominium. He’s told no one, not even Alice, his best friend at the office of his fascination. He purchases binoculars, adds a camera with zoom lens and spirals into the depths of voyeurism before devising a plan to finally meet the man of his dreams. An evening of easy conversation and lustful glances ends far too soon, but not before Tony plants the most amazing kiss ever on Kevin’s lips, leaving him yearning for more.
When Tony shows up at Kevin’s apartment the next night all bloody and bruised, Kevin offers him instant refuge…and his bed. But not all is what it seems. Police burst into Kevin’s home, searching for the killer of a man in the penthouse across the street—Tony’s so-called partner.
Will Kevin’s pleas of innocence save him from this horrible turn of events?
Voyeur in MEN – An Anthology)
Publisher: Loveyoudivine His & His Kisses
E-book ISBN:978-1-60054-253-4
Print ISBN:978-1-60054-240-4
Excerpt:
Chapter One
“Cheer up, Kevin. It’s spring!”
Kevin looked up from the flat screen monitor of his computer.
“What now, Alice?” He loved his one friend at the office, but at times,she annoyed the hell out of him.
She smirked and ignored the friendly jab. “Honestly, Kev. You should get out more. You look like you’ve lost your best friend.”
He forced a smile. “Well, if anyone around here knows how that feels, it’s me.” He rifled through a stack of financial statements scattered across the desk. “It’s not a good day. If I can’t get these spreadsheets to balance before the Stutman meeting next week, I’m screwed.”
“Correction,” she said, and moved behind the desk. “We’re screwed.”
He flicked off the screen. “How ‘bout lunch?”
Alice crossed with him to the door and smirked. “I thought you’d never ask.”
***
The warmer temperatures and longer days of April awakened a dormant nature. Spring permeated the air, and Kevin relished every moment of the city coming to life. He couldn’t wait to get home from the office before the sun faded. He often spent much of his time in his garden on the balcony of his twenty-eighth floor condo. The cultivation of an array of clay-potted plants amounted to no more than an urban collage of colors, both brilliant and full. He took great pride in his hobby,often working well into the night. A pastiche of carnations and snap-dragons filled every inch of soil in the pots. Though not one to gloat,he knew that he possessed the proverbial “green thumb”.
It was sometime in mid-April when he first noticed the man who lived in the adjacent high-rise penthouse apartment. The building stood a couple floors shorter than Kevin’s apartment. Poised behind a giant palladium window, the stranger sipped a beverage while staring out across the western horizon. Molasses streaks of the sun's rays cascading across his shirtless torso cast a halo often seen in sultry scenes of a Hollywood movie. He raised a free arm and pushed fingers through a mess of dark curls. The ringlets of hair fell about his face as he let his hand travel along the back of his neck and around to his chest. He drained the last of his drink and rested a hand on a stomach that was toned and defined by youth.
Fearful the guy might notice him staring, Kevin kneeled and peered around the edge of the foliage of his garden. True to form, when presented with such a tantalizing image, he began to perspire. Within minutes, his body soaked the cotton shirt. He wiped hands on the back of his shorts, careful not to tip backward and risk discovery. Heart palpitating, Kevin remained transfixed, staring over the pageant of colors at nothing short of an Adonis.
His eyes blurred the more he strained to look at that angelic face through the window that reflected the glowing embers of a dying sun. A light breeze caused his eyes to tear up, but he refused to wipe them, afraid he’d miss even the slightest blink of an eye or flex of a muscle. The object of his desire stood there, frozen in time,gazing out at the sunset, perhaps daydreaming.
Arms came from behind and wrapped around the man’s torso,pulling him away from the window and out of sight. He disappeared.
Later in the week, Kevin sat at his desk and stared at a spread-sheet of figures. He calculated and recalculated the numbers, but each time he ended up with a total different than before. He snapped his fourth pencil and held his face in his hands. Frustrated and exhausted, with a headache the size of a boulder, he sighed. Month-end loomed and the more time he spent on this client’s portfolio, the less time he had for his other accounts. He’d spent the last few nights tossing about and awakened by nightmares, none of which he could recall. Each retching experience left him drenched in sweat and drained. Though forty-five minutes remained of his shift, he logged off the computer, killed the lights, closed the door to his office and exited the building.
He walked a couple blocks to Peachtree Street and headed south, strolling past a menagerie of street vendors who hawked everything from faux designer handbags and watches to fake collegiate team jerseys and sweatshirts. He entered the Five Points Rail Station and boarded a crowded commuter train headed west. Exiting at Centennial Olympic Park, he walked the few blocks home.
Inside his unit, he rushed to the wet-bar camouflaged behind a beveled mirror door in the kitchen. He poured a tumbler full of scotch and downed half the amber liquid. Though not prone to needing a cocktail before dinner, tonight he made an exception. He was anxious, but he couldn’t figure out what made him nervous, or why he lacked focus at work. The guy in the window, maybe? He shrugged. Whatever caused his stomach to grind the last few nights and be responsible for his restless sleep, now seemed poised to ruin the rest of evening.
He stepped out onto the terrace and moved to the railing to stare across the horizon. The scenery appeared aseptic, and not as beautiful as the other day. Could it the absence of that angelic face? The golden rays glistening across his bronzed skin? He frowned. The sun set the same time every day during spring, spreading tranquility across the sky. So, why should today be any different?
He chanced a glance toward the window across the way. The glass stood empty and dark, the vertical blinds drawn. No young man peered out. Disappointed, he sipped the alcohol dry and moved back inside.
Before going to bed, Kevin opened the mini-blinds in his bedroom. The floor to ceiling windows covered the south wall and overlooked the city. He looked up at the night sky that resembled a black canvas littered with white dots of various shapes. The view engrossed him. He stood there longer than he’d intended, when a flash caught the corner of his eye. He glanced down and across to the adjacent tower. A light glowed against the backdrop to reveal a bedroom of the unit across the way and by his calculations, the same floor belonging to the hot guy from the window. He made out a dresser, reclining chair and the lower portion of a frameless bed.
His heart jumped into his throat, excited with the prospect of seeing the guy again. He would wait to catch a glimpse of the man once more, and he’d be content. Afterward, he’d go to bed and forget about him for the night.
His plan failed the moment a figure moved within sight. He found himself trapped, frozen by hunger for more. The stranger he saw days before passed by the window. He moved about the room getting ready for bed. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, he removed his sneakers and socks, and stood, unbuttoning his jeans, letting them fall to his knees. He sat and slipped free of the denim.
Kevin’s heart pounded in his chest like a jackhammer. His stomach somersaulted and his mouth went dry. What luck! Adrenaline shot through his body. Clad only in white briefs, the man came forward to the window. Kevin panicked. He tried to move away, but stumbled. He regained his balance and eased forward like a child sneaking a peek at Santa Claus in the middle of the night.
The blinds no longer glowed, and the guy disappeared once more.
When Kevin missed his alarm in the morning, he called in to explain his tardiness. He showered, dressed in a pale blue linen suit with a yellow tie, and rushed to work. When he arrived, he found Alice waiting in his office. She handed him a cup of coffee.
“You’re late.”
“I called in.” Kevin pulled the cord of the lamp on his desk.
“You missed our appointment.”
Her eyes followed him around the room as he opened blinds and turned on the radio. He placed his jacket on the back of his chair, plopped down behind the desk and narrowed his eyes. “You’re late once in a while. Give a guy a break, will ya?”
“I am never late,” she sassed, brushing aside auburn curls. “Relax, already. I’ve proofed the figures. We won’t be late for the presentation.”
“I did that yesterday.” He felt the irritation rising in his voice.
“I know, but I found several mistakes.”
Rolling his eyes, he retrieved a pair of reading glasses and placed them on the bridge of his nose. “Where?” He figured she’d already marked the errors, like usual. Her character often involved pointing out the faults in others. He watched her tiny body squirm with agitation.
“Pages three, five and eight.” She pointed to each correction.
“What in the hell was on your mind yesterday, Kev? You know this is an important proposal. If we don’t show the Stutmans they’re investments are solid, we’ll lose the account. That’s half a million in revenue for this firm.”
“I’m sorry, Alice.” He sighed. “I promise I’ll pay closer attention.
Okay, let’s get to the meeting.”
Kevin drifted through the rest of the day. The image of the guy in the adjacent high-rise seemed to be everywhere, haunting him around every corner, in the lobby, even in the break room. Men who passed him in the corridor took on the features of the mysterious young man. In the john, a colleague stood beside Kevin at the sink as they both washed their hands. Turning to exit, he nodded at Kevin,who could only see the full lips of the stranger from the window.
On his way home, he passed a photography store. The window display featured binoculars of various sizes. Kevin entered to browse with no intent to purchase, but he left with an inexpensive pair of binoculars. Embarrassed and feeling guilty, he concealed the purchase under his blazer and rushed home.
That night, after Desperate Housewives, Kevin glanced out the glass door to the balcony. The blinds across the way were open and lights illuminated from the penthouse. Seized by the possibilities, he rushed to get the binoculars. Sneaking to his bedroom window without turning on the lights, he pressed the rubber tips of the scopes to his eyes and focused. He’s lifting weights!
The guy appeared far better looking than he’d imaged, with a narrow nose, sharp jaw line, dimples and piercing green eyes. He could easily be a runway model at Bryant Park. Shirtless and wearing white gym shorts that clung to his body like a second skin, Kevin watched as he bent down to retrieve a set of chrome dumbbells. He curled the weight in each arm, twisting his wrist at the top of each pull, his stomach contracting to reveal solid muscle. Kevin couldn’t help but count the lines of the six-pack. The stranger’s biceps bulged with each repetition.
He ignored the stirring in his loins and struggled to keep the binoculars steady. Finishing his routine, the man moved out of view, perhaps to shower.
Kevin remained at the window waiting for his return. His hands shook, his chest heaved. What are you doing? he chastised himself.
Becoming a freaking Peeping Tom! A flash regained his attention. The guy reappeared, a white towel secured about his waist. Kevin stared through scopes, the heat of his eyes fogging the lenses. The man moved toward the window and in a quick one-two motion, he stripped from the cloth and closed the blinds.
Kevin stood awestruck, angry he’d drawn the blinds, but thrilled to get a glimpse of the beautiful man. He stayed at the window for an hour longer, hoping the guy would return and open the blinds. Although he tried many times, he couldn’t pull himself away from the window. He wanted just one more look before going to bed, an image to take with him into slumber. His eyes aching from the strain of staring too long through the rubber-tipped scopes pressed into his face, and frustrated the glimpse he prayed for never came, he fell onto his mattress well after midnight.
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